The government introduced legislation in April 2014 to make it more affordable for first time buyers (FTB) to purchase their first home when they introduced the Help to Buy (HTB) Scheme. Cynics would argue that this only fueled the price of new homes further in...
This time of year self-assessed individuals are reminded of the fast approaching deadline for filing their end of year tax returns. This also presents an opportunity for pension planning and tax avoidance which can go hand in hand. There are the obvious three tax reasons...
‘WARNING: RETIREMENT RUT AHEAD’If we needed a road sign to tell us something important about what lies ahead for the majority of our retirements, it would read simply ‘Warning: Retirement Rut Ahead’. Rut can give the meaning of furrow or pothole! It’s defined as a...
Losing the ability to earn an income could be a financial headache.Your income is your most important asset as it allows you to maintain your current lifestyle, if you take a moment to think about it, the money you earn pays for almost everything you have…...
There are copious amounts of great material on Investopedia, a most useful resource on the world of finance. I thought it would be useful to begin this piece with a reminder of what a trusted definition of cash flow is:- INVESTOPEDIA EXPLAINS 'Cash Flow'In business as...
Ireland continues to have a low rate of pension plan take-up with pension coverage in the private sector at just 40% and Tánaiste Joan Burton has recently announced that a Universal Retirement Savings group will now start developing a roadmap and timeline for the introduction...
This week, the long awaited regulation for home buyers was released by the Central Bank following their extensive consultation process. Here's the press release.The Central Bank of Ireland today (27 January) announced the introduction of new regulations which will apply proportionate limits to mortgage lending by...
Taking in all the news from around the globe this week, I was struck by seven stories which emerged at the beginning of 2015. These stories signal increased market volatility ahead and will shape the global and local financial markets for some time to come. The...
This week our population's health in Ireland was put under the spotlight again. A study published by the British Journal of Dermatology on data compiled by the National Cancer Registry of Ireland highlighted new research indicating further evidence of the need for specified illness cover with an 80% increase in diagnosis of...
Whether you are a regular saver, a lump sum investor/depositor, a worker building your pension fund for retirement, a stock investor, a property investor and possibly some or all of the above, Blackrock’s Investment outlook for 2014 entitled "Squeezing out more juice" is full of knowledge. It gives...