Bob's Blog

Talking about money with your spouse is not sexy, but necessary. Whether it’s dealing with the other persons credit card debt, maintenance payments or your own financial baggage, the sooner you have “the talk”, the better for your relationship long term. Here are 5 tips to get you started. 1. Let’s Talk about Cash Talk about money Whatever you do, [...]

5 ways to plug a short term hole in your cash flow Let’s start with the basics: your household shouldn’t spend more than it takes in. To pitch your household income against your outgoings, download our free household budgeting tool here and see how you’re doing. Conventional wisdom dictates you should live within your means. I would go a step further [...]

In its budget statement last December, the government announced cuts to benefits, a wider tax take and hikes in the prices of alcohol, cigarettes, and motor tax.  Going on the last few years, one could say Plus ça change. There was one provision, however, that was considered to be a break for us hard-pressed citizens; the ability to cash in [...]

Did you buy a house in the last ten years? Did you opt for a fixed rate to shield yourself against rising interest rates? When that fixed term ended, what options were you given? Let me guess: fix again or revert to the standard variable rate (SVR). Does that sound familiar? Well keep reading. What would you think if I [...]

With the Irish economy still stuttering along and job security the stuff of folk tales, you may be thinking about paying off your mortgage sooner rather than later, for the sake of peace of mind. But is it a good idea? The answer is “it depends”. Have a look at the pros and cons below and decide if it’ll work [...]

Banks’ opening hours and phone service frustrate young customers Opening hours and the telephone service are among the things that twentysomethings find frustrating about their main bank or financial institution, according to a recent survey commissioned by UK financial services PR firm MRM.