Welcome to Ireland’s only dedicated and straight-talking Personal Finance & Financial Planning Podcast. Delighted you have decided to have a look at this weeks’ episode. Firstly, want to say a heart-felt thank you to all listeners of the Podcast and readers of the Blog for their encouragement and feedback over the past 2 years, we picked up the title of ‘Ireland’s Best Finance Blog’ at the Irish Blog Awards last week in Dublin, totally surprised to win it for the 2nd year in a row, particularly against such top-drawer blogs as the Zurich, Bank Of Ireland, Taxback.com to name just a few. I’m a big believer is not focusing on the past too much, whether it is a high or a low, o lets get stuck in to this weeks’ episode!
We are joined in conversation by Derek Bell, the Chief Exec of the Retirement Planning Council of Ireland, which is based in Dublin. While it might sound a little like just another pensions company they are actually anything but. They provide, what to me sounds like, an invaluable service to people who are on the verge of retiring from their jobs here in Ireland. They run courses which help people to consider all they need to consider in advance of ‘graduating’ from their full-time permanent positions…….and to head off into the sun-set.
Derek shares with us in this 30 minute or so Podcast what he believes are some of the main aspects which people often overlook when considering retirement, and the funny thing a lot of those aren’t the financial, which makes it all the more interesting to hear and consider.
And be sure to listen through to the end where Derek shares the single biggest piece of advice he believes will impact on anyone who is preparing to retire, be that 40 years or 40 days away…….enjoy!!
Oh, be sure to drop me a mail here with your ideas, suggestions or feedback on how to make the Podcast/Blog as effective and useful as it can be, please!
Cheers,
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Coach
'I'm not a procrastinator, I just prefer doing everything in a dead-line induced panic!'......Honest words shared with me by an acquaintance recently. And to be fair it totally struck a chord with me, as a former repeat procrastinator it sounded so accurate a description of the logic a procrastinator uses to rationalise their behaviour (or lack thereof). It is only when the pressure is on, the procrastinator will them him or herself, that I am at my best....so there really is no point in that particular item until such time as it is time-sensitive or urgent! We did touch on the subject previously and shared a story about a granny and €8k! We are not now here to criticise or condemn that approach, rather to try and understand why it is a default for so many of us in lots of aspects of our lives, and not just financial planning & money aspects.
Welcome back to Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning Blog & Podcast, we're on a mission to share ideas and help you make decisions about your money that will benefit you now and into the future. We love to hear from readers and listeners to the podcast, and invite you to drop us an email here with suggestions, ideas or feedback.......thanks!
It is said that the avoidance of a task, postponing until tomorrow what can (and often should) be done today, is one of the main obstacles to us achieving success in our professional and personal lives. Think about that, how many times has an idea, a picture of a desired outcome, a goal or a wish entered your head, and for you to talk yourself out of it, for whatever reason? This is procrastination at work, and it nigh-on constantly prevents many of us from doing stuff that we want to do!
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
In 2016 The Natural Environment Research Council in the UK invited the public to name their latest scientific research vessel, which was costing £200m. This vessel was going to be doing (and currently is doing) really insightful and exploratory work, making new discoveries and so on. Really important, noble and global research for the good of the natural world. In the initial stages the likely suggested winner was names such as 'Endeavour' and 'Poseidon' etc. Which made sense. However you can imagine the consternation internally when the public unanimously got behind a viral idea of calling it something rather ridiculous, yet pretty hilarious at the same time. And so it was that the winning vote, by some margin, was ‘HSS Boaty McBoat-Face’!
In the past week we saw the 2019 Budget being released, and depending on your level of interest you may have either read every single iota of info in it, listened-out for any major bits that will impact you, or paid no heed to it at all. Each to their own. For me at least, The Budget is one of these things that happens every year (as far as I'm aware) and which the media latch onto and utilise to create a good week's worth of material and supplements and 'special reports' etc. But for many of us, The Budget is something that largely happens in the background, and has little impact on our overall financial lives or indeed financial planning. For many the drama of the Finance Minister somberly walking onto the steps of the Dail with his or her brief-case looking all serious is all a bit much, it is over-dramatising a budgetary process that any prudent government in any nation attempts to do in a way that ensures it’s financial stability. Between the media and the incumbent government they try and whip us up into a state of frenzy about the Budget…..perhaps so that we’ll notice them and think more of them, I’m not clear on the motive to be honest, as it seems they use the same of hype whether it is a give-away’ or a ‘tightening’ Budget!
I’m not suggesting we change the name from ‘The Budget’ to Budgety McBudget-Face’ but I am inviting us to look at it in less of a reactive ‘Oh-my-God-look-at-what-they-are-doing-to-us’ sort of way, and in more of a pragmatic and proactive manner. So this week we are going to share a bit of a budget update, and invite you to observe how significant (or otherwise) it might be to you individually, particularly if you are in the process of either building and maintaining your wealth over the long term.
The Update Bit:
The budget didn’t carry too many shockers in fairness, while it was being reported as an ‘election-friendly’ budget you’ll see from our highlight reel here that there was nothing overly generous or prohibitive in it. Here’s our ‘Super 7’ list of Budget Updates:
Paddy Delaney QF| RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
If you have ever invested money in a fund or collective fund with a 3rd party, either through a pension or through an investment structure (product or platform) you will most likely have already completed a 'Risk Questionnaire' or 'Risk Survey'. It may have formed part of the bigger conversation about your investment goals, or it may have been the sole basis on which you made your investment decision. If it was the latter than there may be cause for some concern.
Welcome to Ireland's only dedicated and straight-talking Personal Finance Blog & Podcast, and thanks for reading! If you want to gain some insights about money, hear from some super guests and to help yourself to make financial decisions which benefit you, then you are in the right place! We are always keen to hear from readers so please do send me a mail with any ideas, suggestions or feedback, you can mail me here.
The Conflict:
If an individual seeks financial guidance they generally do so in good faith that the person they seek it from will have their best interests at heart. In a recent interview with Eric Brotman we explored what the term Fiduciary meant, and it means. In essence it relates to the relationship between a financial advisor and a client as being one established on trust, and where the advisor is bound by a responsibility to act in the best interests of a client. That is to say that they place the client's interests before their own......which for many people in Ireland will seem like a strange idea.
When we seek any help, whether it is to buy a car, have some domestic appliance fixed, book a holiday, visit a physio, hire a painter, as a nation we expect that the person(s) providing the product or service to be acting in their best interests and will perhaps try to sell us or charge us more than may perhaps be strictly necessary.....it is a cultural thing, perhaps in every corner of the globe.
To suggest then that a 'financial advisor' would not act in their own best interests, to act in a fiduciary manner, seems almost alien, and totally counter-intuitive! Yet this is a formal means of working for a small yet growing population of financial services professionals in the US. I, for one, am looking forward to the growth of such a population in Ireland....perhaps it starts right here.
Need Versus Wants:
You are perhaps wondering what any of this has to do with Risk Questionnaires, thanks for bearing with me. Lets image a scenario where you are a 60 year old with €250,000 sitting in deposit accounts but who now needs to generate an income of €15,000 per year (6% of fund) from your investment in order to pay for the lifestyle you maintain. In addition you want to have that income increase in line with inflation each year, your circumstances demand it.........Listen to hear more!
Or check out our Blog here.
Thanks,
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
Are you swimming in the nip dear reader?
This week we share some ideas with you about a what the State Pension looks like currently, how much we might get, how we go about qualifying for it, and how the level of income we have from 'guaranteed sources' when we do retire determines how we can access other retirement funds we have set for ourselves.......so a nice simple one!!
Welcome to Ireland's only dedicated and straight-talking Financial Planning and Personal Finance Blog & Podcast. We are on a mission to share insights and to help people to help themselves. In return if you feel it is of value to you then please do tell a friend! We'd love to hear from you with any feedback, suggestions or questions, drop me a mail here.
This week we help answer the following questions.....
How Much Is The State Contributory Pension Right Now (at time of writing!)
What Age Can I Get The State Pension?
How Do I Qualify For Contributory State Pension?
How Much PRSI Need I Pay To Qualify?
Why It's Not Enough?
Hope you enjoy...
Thanks for listening!
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach