We are delighted to announce, due to expansion, that we have moved to new offices in Northwood Court, Northwood Business Campus, Santry, Dublin 9. We apologise for any inconvenience in our transition. For all enquiries please contact us temporarily on 087 2343434 or email info@thewealthshop.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
“I wandered into ‘The Wealth Shop’ by chance 3 months ago and met Caitriona. I had recently completed Probate on my late mother’s estate and needed some advice on how best to invest my inheritance and organise my finances. In this current financial climate I felt unsure where best to save my money to give me peace of mind and also plan ahead to my retirement while making the most of tax reliefs etc. We went through everything from utilities, bank accounts, savings, pension plan, life insurance over our next few meetings and, 3 months on and 2 Collector-General refunds later, I am less stressed and worried about my finances. I know I can contact Caitriona anytime about any financial concerns, in fact we plan to review things again later in the year. I am more than happy to recommend Caitriona and her colleagues in The Wealth Shop – my sister has also contacted her for confidential financial advice. EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A ‘WEALTH CHECK’!! Look no further than ‘The Wealth Shop”.
Noreen Giblin
A RECENT survey found that stock market collapses have turned people off investing in pensions. Just a quarter of people think it is a good idea to put money aside for retirement, the research found.
And who could blame people for being wary of pensions?
Private pension funds have endured their worst-ever period, with losses of a staggering €30bn last year.
The vast majority of pension funds, whether they are old-style company funds or the increasingly popular defined contribution schemes, have mammoth deficits.
No wonder that just a little over half of those who have a job have decided they can do without a pension.
But what is the alternative?
Another piece of research, this time conduced by the Pensions Board, found that eight out of 10 people do not consider the State pension adequate for their retirement.
The State contributory pension is €230 a week for those who have made sufficient PRSI contributions.
If you decide you can’t live on this then you need to do something to provide yourself with additional income in retirement.
Up to now many people thought that investments they had made in property would see them through retirement. With the bottom having fallen out of that market some radical rethinking is needed.
There are almost a million people between the ages of 44 and 64 in Ireland, and for these people there is an urgency about sorting out their retirement income arrangements.
Unfortunately, many of these people who do have a pension will need to revise downwards their expectations.
With the average pension fund having lost around a third of its value last year, those nearest to retirement may not get the sort of pension they were hoping for.
Increasing life expectancy is obviously something to be welcomed but when it is combined with low interest rates and poor investment returns it means pensions are difficult to fund.
That is the bad news.
The good news is that pension fund deficits have improved hugely this year.
Funds have gained back between €8bn and €10bn of their losses from last year, according to investment advisers Mercer.
This means the combined deficits of company pensions could now have fallen from €30bn to around €20bn.
The financial position of private pensions has improved due to a combination of rising stock markets and favourable movements in long-term bond yields, which are used to value pension losses.
Stock markets globally are up some 25pc from their lows earlier this year.
Markets have been boosted by the “green shoots of recovery”, and the decisive actions on interest rates and stimulus packages by governments and central banks.
None of this changes the fact that too few people in the private sector have a pension. To overcome this what we now need is a new pensions policy from the Government.
It is three years now since a Green Paper was issued on pensions policy, but still there is no final policy proposals.
The Green Paper examined proposals to get more people to sign up for a pension.
One good way of getting people to sign up for a pension is to set up a State-backed scheme where workers in the private sector would be automatically enrolled in a pension, with those who do not want a pension being forced to opt out of the scheme.
But the minister with responsibility for pensions, Mary Hanafin, has yet to let us know what the Government’s thinking is on proposals like this.
Wednesday June 24 2009
Caitriona Coyne, Qualified Financial Adviser at The Wealth Shop brings you her Debt Busting plan.
Ditch your debt!
It is time to get rid of the debts and put the money you have been using to repay your loans to good use elsewhere!
Financial adviser Caitriona Coyne of The Wealth Shop offers you her step-by-step action plan to help you reduce your debts. If money is tight in your household then read on to free up some cash and get to work on eliminating those financial headaches!
Stage 1 – do your homework
1. Make a list
Ok, first of all find yourself some quiet time. Take one to two hours alone or with your partner to sit down with a blank sheet of paper. Write down all your loans, amounts outstanding, the number of repayments outstanding(term left) and the rate of interest you are paying. This list is essential to knocking down those debts.
If you don’t know this information off hand, take out your last bill or statement and you’ll find it there. And, if you don’t have any statements to hand pick up the phone or go on line and order one from the relevant financial institution. Do you know your credit score? The Irish Credit Bureau will give you a personal report for just €6. Just give them a call and order one today www.icb.ie
2. How much are your debts actually costing you?
Ouch! This is eye opening stuff and a little hard to take in. Often when you think of a loan you think of the initial amount you borrowed not how much the credit is costing you i.e. the actual amount of money you are going to repay in total. Often we just want to know the monthly cost at the outset and if we can afford to pay it. Sound familiar? We need to shop around for better deals when it comes to interest rates. This can really make a difference to your pocket!
Some examples of how much a loan cost’s you in total:
· A car valued at €20,000 financed with a personal loan with an interest rate of say 8.5 % APR over 5 years (or 60 payments) will actually cost you €24,4442.40 that’s an additional cost of €4,4442.40 (source: Halifax).
· A mortgage of €350,000, fixed at an interest rate of 4% over 35 years will actually cost you €300,878.20 in interest. A total repayment of a staggering €650,878.50 (source: WealthTrack, The Wealth Shop).
· Switching a balance of €5,000 on your current credit card at 20.9% APR to another card with 6 months 0% APR and 11.7% after 6 months could save you a whopping €752.50 in the first year. If possible you could use the 6 month interest free period to pay off your debt at €833.33 per month interest free! (source: Halifax)
*the figures above are from interest rates quoted 10/06/09 and may fluctuate.
So when you look at your statements write down the actual amount you are going to repay in total capital .
3. Check out your spending habits
Now it’s time to set aside another couple of hours to go through your spending habits. If you want to ditch those debts it’s time put the brakes on the spending. Take out your bank statements and look at what you’ve been spending your cash on. Does eating out and take out food feature more than once a week on your statement? What about trips into department stores just to grab a bargain that you can’t live without? We’ve heard and seen it all. What about lunch every day costing you on average €10-€15 per day that amounts to approximately €50 per week! If you were a little bit more organised couldn’t you bring your lunch with you? Your waistline would thank you too!
4. Think cash not credit
Stop using the plastic. It’s that simple. Every week allocate yourself a set amount to spend each week. Take out the cash at the start of the week and only use that cash. This will stop you using the laser or hitting the plastic for pain free purchases. They are only pain free in the instant you make the purchase and you end up paying more for the item on credit …..yes, interest is charged. Cash is king! Once you have stopped handing over the laser or credit card and are using cash you will physically see the money moving out of your purse.
Stage 2 – eliminate one at a time
Now that you’ve got a full picture of your debts and their actual cost it’s time to put your action plan in place and get serious about clearing the debts faster.
1. Analyse your spending habits.
This takes a bit of time and you can use your bank account statements as a guide to help you see what’s coming in and what’s going out in terms of bills and expenses. You can clearly see what’s essential spending and where you are leaking cash. Start a spending diary and use this in conjunction with your monthly bank statements to get an overall picture. This is actually an excellent exercise to do with the whole family too. Involving them in the household financial plan you will surprise you how cost conscious they become especially when you get them to do the grocery shopping!
2. Earn extra income
Have you looked at ways to make extra money in the evenings or at weekends? What can you do to bring in a little extra to over pay your debts? What are your skills and expertise? Could you be making a little something extra by putting your talents to good use? Do some brainstorming and come up with some creative ways to make some extra cash and get going.
3. What to pay off first?
List your debts starting with the debt with the shortest term of repayment. By overpaying this debt first you will clear it faster. Once it’s cleared you will have a nice little sum to add to over paying the next debt in line. Step and repeat this method to clear your loans faster. With a little commitment, creativity and discipline you can do it.
Don’t forget to reward yourself too. Give yourself some goals to reach and once you achieve them you deserve to be rewarded. Keeping your eye on a prize will motivate you to keep going.
Now if all of this seems like too hard work for you and you don’t have the time to work on a debt busting plan yourself, contact an independent financial adviser to help you work out a plan.
Our team at The Wealth Shop have a unique debt management system to help you ditch those debts. Just give us a call to get started 1850 88 24 24. We’d be delighted to work with you.
If you have a lump sum to invest and want to know what to do with it, then get in touch with our team of financial advisers. We can show you different options depending on the amount you have to invest, the term you want to put it away for, if you want access to the money and your attitude to risk. We will work with you on your financial plans and give you options relative to your overall objectives. As we are independent we can give you choice and impartial advice. Before you invest make sure you are making informed financial decisions so getting independent financial advice is a must. Get in touch with us today, we’d be happy to help 1850 88 24 24.
The Wealth Shop continues it’s tour around the country to meet with staff of all types of businesses to offer independent financial advice. Today our senior adviser Richard Fitzgerald is in Limerick Army Barracks delivering a seminar on pre-retirement financial advice. In his presentation he will talk money management, investing, retirement planning and tax advice. These seminars are well received.
To arrange a money management and tax advice seminar for your business please get in touch. We’d be delighted to hear about your business and how we can assist your staff with financial advice.
What’s your business story? Whether you are a sole trader, in a partnership or a limited company our advisers can give you all the advice you need on how you can operate tax efficiently.
We can show you how to protect your income, invest your profits, build your retirement fund and give you all the tax advice you need. As we work with lots of self employed clients we know that running your own business keeps you busy which means you focus less on your personal finances. This is where we can help. We work with you to put a personal and family financial plan into action so your business and your personal finances are running smoothly.
If you’re already in business please chat with us. We understand that you may already have an accountant and more th but if you work with an independent financial and tax adviser in tandem you will make the most of what you earn for sure!
We provide company formation services too. We’ll handle the complete set up from name registration to legal set up. If you’re just setting up or even thinking of becoming self employed please get in touch. We’d be delighted to help.
Call 1850 88 24 24