Steven Barrett's Archive

Are you on the same page about your finances?

Are you on the same page about your finances?

Almost half of all marriages in the US end in divorce. The number one reason given is disagreement about finances. It is quite common for couples to have different views on money and what they are trying to achieve. You don’t have to have the same approaches to money but you need to understand what […]

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Will we have a debt in retirement problem?

Will we have a debt in retirement problem?

The second blog article I wrote way back in July 2013 (we are now on blog 472) was the 6 biggest mistakes retirees make. The number 1 mistake that a retiree can make is carrying debt into retirement. Ten years later and my view hasn’t changed, I still think it is the biggest mistake a […]

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Consumption

Consumption

Packing my clothes to go on summer holidays this year, I was thinking how many pairs of shorts I would bring with me. I had 10 different pairs of shorts and that’s not including sports shorts (I have about 10 pairs of them too 😳). I remember thinking to myself, “I think you have enough […]

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Saving for your kids with a Bare trust

Saving for your kids with a Bare trust

Parents want to help their children out financially in the future, especially with money for a deposit on their first home. They could just gift them the money at the time that their child needs the money. But any large gift that is given to a child should be declared to the Revenue and it […]

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The fear sales tool

A retired client told me at our annual financial planning meeting that the first advisor she talked to told her she would run out of money if she didn’t invest her savings into an investment bond. She has been a client of mine for 6 years now, she has her ARF, her State pension, some […]

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PRSAs take pole position

PRSAs take pole position

The Finance Bill was published on Thursday and it has some interesting bits about pensions. The death of the personal pension From 1 January 2024, you will not be able to implement a new personal pension plan. If you have an existing personal pension plan you can continue to contribute to them until maturity. They […]

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The best experiences

There was an interesting article in The Currency a few weeks ago by Sinead O’Sullivan about what a trip to Sardinia taught her about wealth (paywall). The point of the article was the experiences she got from an inexpensive trip where she was treated as part of the family compared to those who stay in […]

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Pensions are expensive - don't leave it too late

Pensions are expensive – don’t leave it too late

Everyone knows that the earlier you start your pension, the better off you will be in the end. Afterall, some of your money will be invested for 40 years. I have come across a number of cases recently where people are nearing retirement and are drastically trying to play catch up. These are people who […]

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The "free financial review

The “free” financial review

There’s something wrong with my car. There is an engine warning sign came on first. Then the Add AdBlue sign came on. Despite putting about 15 litres of the stuff in, it won’t go off. I brought the car to my mechanic. He couldn’t fix it and said he doesn’t have the equipment required to […]

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State savings increase rates

State Savings increase rates

Interest rates have shot up over the last couple of years as Central Banks struggle to get inflation under control. At time of writing, the ECB are expected to increase rates further today. While this is bad news for mortgage holders, increased rates is supposed to be good news for deposit holders. Except Irish banks […]

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