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Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast

If you are looking for Independent voice on Investing, Retirement Planning & Financial Planning Podcast in Ireland, you may have just found it! Join me, Paddy Delaney as we talk straight and steer you towards a better financial future. Take control of your financial future and develop successful habits with your money. Join Paddy Delaney on Ireland's award-winning Personal Finance & Financial Planning Podcast & Blog. He aims to cuts through the sometimes confusing jargon of financial products and services, to help you make informed financial decisions, for you........No nonsense, straight up fact, and a little bit of a laugh at the same time! The Podcast is on a mission to enable it's listeners provide themselves with better financial futures, and ultimately to make a positive difference in the lives of listeners. Thanks so much for checking out the show! You can get in touch by email: admin@informeddecisions.ie Paddy Delaney Qualified Financial Advisor Qualified Retirement Planning Advisor Qualified General Insurance Practitioner Qualified Executive Coach
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Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast
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Now displaying: 2018
Jul 2, 2018

Growth and Value Investing are both around a long time as an 'investment strategy', and there are compelling rationale for investing in either, there are many fans of both, yet there is also quite a lot of regular investors that have no real familiarity with either. We aim to fix that even if ever-so-slightly in this episode. We will endeavor to explain a few key things about this 'earth-moving' topic......!

1) What is Value Investing?
2) What is Growth Investing?
3) Who does either or both?
4) Which has given greatest level of return? (that's all anyone really cares about right!?)
5) Which one should I do??

Before we get into the nitty-gritty however I wish to let you know that I am thrilled that you are reading this, you obviously have an interest in your own finances and in making some good decisions when it comes to your money, which I admire greatly. I would personally be very thankful if you would tell a friend about what we are trying to do here at Informed Decisions, who knows, it might help them help themselves! Thanks.

 

Paddy Delaney

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Jun 25, 2018

Nobody likes to be suffering from something that they aren't aware of, particularly if it is a nasty and invasive something that has a long term impact on their well-being, & that could do so in a pretty significant way.......so this week we are going to explore and try to diagnose if anyone here is suffering from a nasty dose of Bid-Offer Spread on their investment or pension planning.

Welcome back to Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning & Money Podcast/Blog. We are on a mission to help you to achieve the things that are important to you, to achieve the life that you want to achieve, and to avoid costly costly mistakes! We are not doing any advertising, we are shipping our 'art', loving it, and hoping that it has the impact we intend it does (feedback so far suggests it is!). If you value what we are doing and feel it of worth to others then please do tell a friend, thanks!

Check Out Full Blog Here...

Paddy Delaney

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Drop us an email here....

Jun 16, 2018

Thanks for joining us here on Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning Podcast & Blog. We are on a mission to help you get what you want, and to help you make decisions which will help you lead a successful financial life, and to avoid costly mistakes.

This week we are joined by Hugh Murray, founder of Dolmen Recruitment in Dublin. Hugh has many years experience working with individuals and firms in Financial Services here in Ireland. He is well placed to share the latest trends and opportunities for people, be that Funds, Compliance, Sales, Accounts or Fintech!

Hugh tells us about trends in Financial Services, where there are opportunities for people who are new to it, or indeed those with many years experience and are looking for a new challenge. He also shares some of his knowledge on shaping a cracking CV, if you need to sharpen yours up!

We are always keen to hear from our listeners so do drop us a line here, if you have any feedback, suggestions or questions, we'd love to hear from you!

Thanks,

Paddy Delaney

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

 

Jun 11, 2018

Welcome to Ireland's dedicated investing and Financial Planning Podcast & Blog. We are on a mission to enable our listeners to help themselves to a better financial life. Thanks for checking us out!

It is not every week we get to chat to one of the most successful investors of recent times, who has also founded a fintech firm (Rubicoin) that is changing how investors go about their investing!

In this 45-minute interview we explore Emmet's own back-story, the origins and successes of Rubicoin, and he also shares his own top-tips on how to achieve successful long term investing, which is both practical and based on his considerable experience.

For more investing and financial planning insight please do check out our website and blog here.

Thanks,

Paddy Delaney

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

 

Jun 4, 2018

For decades Bonds have been touted as the elixir to an investors' nervous tendencies when investments hit volatility. If you look hard enough it will become clear that the only rationale for having Bonds in your investment portfolio is to help you cope when the market tanks again. Whether it is an existing pension fund or a personal investment you have then you may already have a shed-load of Bonds in there, and you may be very wise in doing so, or not! We conduct a study of 3 very different Portfolios to determine the impact having Bonds in an investment portfolio has, whether times are good or whether times are bad!

We do not react to markets here, we do not run with the topical 'noise' that is flaunted on media, all of that is just noise, and you as an investor would be well advised to ignore it all and stick to your plan. The fact that market volatility has been mentioned in the past week is merely a coincidence, this episode was being created now, irrespective of the noise!

If you are new here then you are indeed most welcome to Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning Podcast & Blog. We are not perfect by any means, but we are brutally honest and hopefully convey relatively complex stuff in a clear manner, which ultimately will hopefully help you make decisions which result in positive outcomes for you, and helps you avoid costly mistakes! To our returning readers, you know we love you!

May 28, 2018

If we were to take a close and honest look at it very many of us, I'm guessing, would admit that we have not given much if any consideration to where our journey in life might take us, or indeed where we WANT it to take us. For some reason we don't accept the fact that we actually do have some control over it, some.

Welcome back to Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning & Personal Finance Blog & Podcast. We are on a mission to help as many people here in Ireland to achieve what is important to them, whether that be life or money related......it's all tied into one! We create a weekly blog & podcast in the hope that it will help some people make decisions that will increase their chances of achieving or doing whatever is important to them; which is exactly what we are talking about here today actually!

There is a movement happening in the UK for the past 10 years or so, and we are slowly starting to see it happen here in Ireland. I was invited to speak at a Financial Planning conference (short video here) last week in DCU, which was lots of fun. But more importantly, the fact that over 200 Financial Advisors & Planners were present indicated a desire and a commitment to improve the service and benefit that you (the client) receive from financial advice. There is a definite realisation that there is more to advice than products! I have been beating the drum for the past 2 years and encouraging our readers and listeners to 'begin with the end in mind', but it's probably time to delve a little deeper in that, and explore the positive impact that doing that can have.

May 20, 2018

This week in Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning & Personal Finance Blog & Podcast we take a look at what has been my worst investment ever, but also my greatest lesson as an investor. I am an open book, and happy to share this with you, in the hope it may help others avoid the same mistake! It revolves around a company share scheme that I was involved in 10 years ago, and a cheque which I received only last week for a grand sum of €0.26 (yes 26 cents!) which was what I got back, in total, having previously invested almost €10,000! Here's how it happens.......

Thanks for listening, please tell a friend!

You're a Legend, 

 

Paddy Delaney

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

May 13, 2018

This week we are trying to share a simple message, an appeal to you, one which we hope will help move things forward for you in a positive direction. When we procrastinate about or delay committing to positive action we will always manage to rationalise it in our own heads, always! We are masters at it!

Some of us are more prone to this than others, personally it's one I regularly struggle with. No matter how blatant our delaying tactics are we will quickly come up with an excuse, a rationale as to why delaying it is the right thing to do. Even if we know deep-down that we are dragging our heels and jeopardising the thing that we really do want to do, achieve or get. That's what makes us human, and so very interesting beings!

Welcome back to Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning & Personal Finance Blog & Podcast. We are on a mission to help you get what you want in life, and you are truly welcome to our little website! We would be delighted to stay in touch, and to share with you a weekly update, just pop your email over here.

Thank You,

 

Paddy Delaney

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

May 7, 2018

Welcome back to Informed Decisions, Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning Blog & Podcast. Hope you are winning! When it comes to investing in Ireland there are many folks that have no interest in what they are investing in, provided it makes them a decent return and it doesn't disappear over-night!

Others like to take a closer look at their options, to think about portfolios and what they should be doing. They might like to identify what will work for them as a suitable portfolio, to figure out if there is anything they could invest in that they had not previously heard of or been aware of much. This episode is for these types of people! (not to suggest that the 'other type' aren't welcome to keep listening!).

Is Small Cap one of the best things you can invest in? What are the risks of investing in Small Caps? How can you invest in Small Caps? These are some of the aspects we take a look at in this weeks episode.....thanks a mill for checking it out.

Paddy Delaney

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Apr 30, 2018

We don't ever go out of our way to be pessimistic on this blog, in fact we tend to be quite the opposite, having a firm belief that optimism is the only valid way when it comes to investing. However, when it comes to borrowing, which as we all know is essentially the reverse of investing, it pays, quite literally, to be even a little pessimistic!

If you are new to our website then you are truly welcome, thank you so much for giving us a chance to help create a positive financial future for you. We are on a mission to become THE place where people of Ireland turn to for practical and truthful information and ideas in regards their Financial Planning, Investing & Personal Finance. Thank you for playing a part in this mission. Be delighted if you joined our growing community here.

Buying a home, whether it is your first, second, third, fourth (well maybe the novelty wears off around now!) or whatever, is an exciting time. For many purchasing a home is a way out of a tough situation or indeed an opportunity to put down roots that they feel desperate to put down. We have no intention of talking anyone out of doing what they need to do, but invite you now to consider some aspects prior to committing..........

Thanks for tuning-in,

Paddy Delaney

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Apr 22, 2018

"Gold gets dug out of the ground in Africa or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around and guard it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head"

Those remarks about the logic of owning gold as an investment were made by someone far more experienced and accomplished in the world of investing than I, and who has been recognised over the past 4 or 5 decades as one of the single most successful investors of all time, Warren Buffett.

We have written about the fact that there is a significant fall in the value of markets on the horizon, there always is, it is merely a matter of when it will happen, not if! Whenever that happens there is usually a run to gold as it is seen by many as a 'safe-haven' for their funds when the equity markets are falling. Why people don't just do nothing, and leave their investments alone in order to benefit from the constant upward curve of growth that the equity market provides is another issue altogether! Aside from that the fact is that gold gets very popular when markets hit a downturn, so we are going to explore the pros and cons of owning gold for investment purposes.

If you are new here then you are most welcome to Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning and Personal Finance blog and podcast......we are delighted that you have joined us! If you are a returning visitor you'll already know we love you!!

Paddy Delaney

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Apr 13, 2018

Welcome back to Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning Podcast & Blog.

We have had a lot of enquiries about Peer 2 Peer Lending over the past few months, so we thought what better way to find out the detail than to interview a man that has been involved in it for many years. Oli Cavanagh is co-founder of an Irish Fintech 'Fender' which is focused on growing the Peer2Peer marker in Ireland.

We met with Oli to learn about P2P lending, how it works, what to watch-out for and to hear about the growth of their firm Flender.

Drop us an email here with any questions or suggestions you might have, would love to hear from you!

You're a legend,

 

Paddy Delaney,

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Apr 8, 2018

In Blog 61 we mentioned Section 72 plans and said the following....These are creations of the Financial Services industry endorsed by the Revenue and are sold to people as a means to reduce or indeed eliminate a potential Inheritance or Gift Tax Bill down the road. They cost money and I am told are not as much fun nor rewarding as giving the money to loved-ones while you are alive! Having said that they can work very well for some people in building an effective Financial Plan and planning their inheritance in a tax effective manner, particularly if the estate is of a size and time is against them in gifting enough in the time left! We will devote full episodes to both these types of plans in the near future.

So, as promised a few weeks ago we now going to try explain what exactly a Section 72 is, and isn't, and how to ensure that, if this is something you are thinking is for you, how to ensure it does what you want it to do for you, to achieve the goal you have in mind.

Speaking of goals, that is what we are on a mission to do here at Informed Decisions, to help you achieve the goals that are important to you. I completely empathise that our industry doesn't always make it easy to see the wood from the trees but that is our mission, to help you get whatever it is that is important to you. You can join our community here, and please do share this with anyone you feel may benefit from it. Boom!

 

If you can't or don't want to spend the money or give it away before you die then a Section 72 plan may very well be a really useful and cost effective last resort to help cover the tax bill that inherently (no pun intended!) arises when someone dies with too much money. The very worst case scenario is that a vast swathe of the estate is handed over to the revenue, this might just be a means to protect against that fate.

Thanks.

 

Paddy Delaney

 

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Apr 2, 2018

 

Optimism is the madness of insisting all is well when we are miserable.

These words are reported to have come from Voltaire, the acclaimed French writer and philosopher. I am neither a Frenchman or a philosopher but I would like to put forward the suggestion that Optimism is actually the only way! When backed by concrete evidence it is the only rational belief to have, particularly so when it comes to investing your money over the long term.

This piece aims to convey the rationale for such a belief whether you are savings €100 per month into a savings or pension plan, or have €10 million invested in a well diversified equity portfolio. This is not a debate about the virtues of owning equities over commodities, or for indeed property. Developing and nurturing this belief is the single most important attribute to have in achieving long term investment success. We can't predict the future values of equities, nobody can. The future is always uncertain, however it is rational and human to base our expectations and beliefs on what has gone before.

Firstly please allow me to confirm that optimism does not equate to sentiment. The Consumer Sentiment Index hit a 17-year high in January of this year. This suggests that as a nation we feel confident about the outlook for the economy, right now. This sentiment is a fickle thing which changes constantly based on our environment, it is not an over-arching belief.

Optimism, in this instance is an over-arching belief. It is a belief based on evidence. This evidence shows long term growth of the 'equity market' is upward only in its trajectory. While our industry might like to mystify and complicate things the 'equity market' is nothing more than the value of the World's profit-generating companies.

The basis for this belief is supported by a vast ocean of evidence. One recent piece of credible and researched evidence to refer to is 'The Rate of Return on Everything, 1870 - 2015, produced by five economists including Oscar Jorda of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Katharina Knoll from the Deutsche Budesbank - examined the return on all asset classes in 16 developed countries over that 145-year period. It found equities returned 10.75% a year over that time. That is, more than 10% annual growth every year, on average, for almost a century & a half.

There were, of course, years where the return was negative 20-40% over that time period. Investors must learn to accept this fact, for it is these temporary declines in values that deliver such impressive returns for the investor who does stay the course. Those who cannot stay the course in the face of these temporary declines ultimately pay the price for their pessimism. Enabling you to stay the course is where a credible financial advisor can pay for themselves many time over, their value far exceeding their cost, but only if that relationship is build on mutual respect and trust! History has shown that over the long term a well diversified equity portfolio has delivered far in excess of inflation, which is ultimately the curve most investors strive to stay ahead of, otherwise they are losing money.

If the world's companies is your investment of choice then there is much to be optimistic about based on current trends. According to the World Bank 42% of the world's population was defined as living in extreme poverty in 1990. As of 2016 the World Bank suggest the percentage in extreme poverty has fallen to below 10%, meaning 90% of the ever growing population now have more disposable income, and can purchase the produce and services they desire. Who benefits from this expenditure? The companies of the world who provide them with goods and services. The same companies form the 'equity market' which investors can be owners of when they purchase a well diversified equity portfolio. In addition, research by Brookings suggest that 140 million people are exiting poverty and entering middle-class each and every year on this planet. That's nearly 3million people per week with ore disposable income.

There will be another equity market crash, the evidence has shown that volatility is part and parcel of the journey. A period of temporary market decline is never more than a few years away....but learn to accept that, to welcome it, to see beyond it, and recognise that the 'markets' reward those who believe that declines are temporary, nothing more and nothing less. The 10% returns mentioned earlier were achieved despite many global crises, many dark days, many wars, and many self confessed experts predicting that this time the world really was going to end!

Please excuse me if I conclude by contorting Voltaire ever so slightly and suggest that.......madness is insisting that all is miserable when all is well!! 

Optimism is the way....

 

Mar 22, 2018

Andy Hart is one of the UK's highest profile Financial Planners. He hosts his own Podcast, runs a successful Financial Planning firm, and is the organiser of the what is rapidly becoming UK's premier Financial Advisor & Planner Conference (Humans Under Management). And to top it all off he has invited me to share some ideas at his upcoming Dublin Conference.....so I'm super excited about that......We chat with Andy Hart of UK Financial Planning firm Maven Advisers to discover what exactly Financial Planning is, how it benefits clients, and how he saves them from themselves!

As you will know we are on a mission here at Informed Decisions to help improve the financial futures of our listeners and readers. We have been voted Ireland's #1 Finance Bog & Podcast in Ireland, and are on a mission to keep the boot down and get the message out to as many people as we possibly can.....your help in sharing this with your friends, family & colleagues helps spread the word (and keeps me motivated!), so please do share the love! While you are at it we'd love to have you join our wee community here.

Drop me an email here with any questions or ideas for future episodes you would like covered.

You're a Legend!

Paddy Delaney

'Chief Informer'

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Mar 19, 2018

Recently we had a few questions from people who were saving for deposits for their first homes. This week we had another, from Daniel (surname not shared for obvious reasons!), who having read our piece about the impact of inflation on deposit values over the medium term has been moved to get in touch and ask us what are the alternatives!

Did you partake in our 2 minute survey yet?? If not then please please do, we would really value your opinion and help us shape what we cover on the blog & podcast. It's just here.....thank you.

This is timely, seeing as this week we have also been contacted by Louise McBride, journalist with The Sunday Independent. Louise was seeking our take on what alternatives are available for people who are not content with deposit. While we will cover low volatility investing options in more detail soon I am keen to try to answer Daniel's question. If you are new here then please do check out our 'Why' and we'd be delighted to have you join our wee community of Informed-Decisioners here! We are on a mission to enable individuals to help themselves with their financial futures, and to help them get whatever they want.

In this episode we will explore specifically Daniel's question which was.....'I plan to save for 5 years then buy BUT if the purchasing power of my money could lose 10% (5 years * 2% inflation) am I better off investing in a ‘safe’ fund with some (almost) guaranteed level of return?'

 

Full Blog Here

Mar 12, 2018

Regular readers of the Blog and listeners of the Podcast will know that we are on somewhat of a vocation here at Informed Decisions! We are striving to help people get what they want, to take control of their own financial futures. We are not doing this for the applause (though that is nice to get it when it comes!). We are doing this to make a meaningful and positive difference in the lives of those we touch. We aim to connect meaningfully with you.

We could of course just blindly go and do whatever we think is the right thing to do here, but we feel it more worthwhile to seek your feedback, your input and your say on what would be of use to you. We are absolutely not the best in the world at all things financial, but we do try our best to create things of use to other people.............as Seth Godin might say 'we are shipping our art'! Some will benefit and some will not. We are hoping to be of benefit to as many as we can.

So this week we have something a little different, we are asking your opinion. Long term listeners will recall that we asked something similar of you in 2017 when we asked you to complete a short survey. Almost 200 of you beautiful people duly obliged! In turn we donated a few hundred euro to Irish Cancer Society.

This year we have created a short 2-minute feedback form that we would love you to complete. Whether you are read the blog/podcast religiously or checked it out one or twice we really would value your feedback. If you have never read or listened to our stuff then it's probably not relevant to complete the form!

So Whats In It For Me??

This year we are going to offer €100 One4All Voucher, and we will donate €100 to the charity of the winner's choice. Even if you do not wish to enter the draw we would really appreciate your feedback.

How To Enter?

In order to be entered in the draw when you complete the feedback form please leave your name in the comments section of the Facebook post on the Informed Decisions Facebook page.

This way we can keep the feedback anonymous but also be able to pick a winner! If you are not on Facebook just drop me a quick mail here to let me know you have completed it and I will add you to the wheel of fortune for the draw!

When Do I Win??

We will run the survey until 12th March, or until we reach 200 responses, whichever is sooner!

Thanks

We are always keen to have your input on what we create and do, and we definitely appreciate all our readers and listeners, and the support and encouragement we have received since we started this 'crusade' almost 2 years ago!!

You're a Legend!

Paddy Delaney.

Mar 4, 2018

It is fierce common lately to hear the financial industry give out about the rates of interest available through bank deposit accounts and to recommend that you should invest your money into XYZ Fund (which just so happens to generate a nice chunky commission for whoever is doing the recommending!). It's funny, they weren't saying the same when equity markets were falling 30% per year and deposit rates were up at near 5% per year! (although they should have been!)

We will explore in this episode whether deposit really is a good place or not to keep your funds over the long term.

Welcome to Ireland's #1 Financial Planning Blog & Podcast. We're on a mission to share straight-forward ideas and information to help you get whatever financial life you want to have. We rely on feedback to help us improve the impact we have on our readers and listeners, so drop us an email, leave an iTunes review, and share the article if you feel it's of use to others.

Access Full Blog Version Here

Feb 20, 2018

This week we get to chat with a guy who is making quite a name for himself. He is advocating for greater investor education, in particular with regards to the long-running debate on the value of Active Fund Management versus Passive or Index investing.

This is the latest episode in Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning & Investing Podcast.....available on iTunes, Podcast Stitcher, Podcast Addict and all other podcast players. If you find our podcast or website of any use then we would really appreciate your support, ideally as a iTunes review!

We are on a mission to help our readers and listeners to get what they want in their financial lives. Why not subscribe to our community to get access to the latest information once it becomes available.

Robin Powell is an award-winning journalist, blogger and content marketing consultant, based in the UK, with specialist expertise in the investing industry.

He works primarily work with asset managers and advisory firms at improving outcomes for the end consumer. He also campaigns for better investor education and for greater transparency in global asset management. As well as The Evidence-Based Investor, he edits Adviser 2.0, a blog which explores the changes taking place within the financial advice profession.

He is the producer of two highly-acclaimed online documentaries about investing — How to Win the Loser’s Game and Index Funds: The 12-Step Recovery Program for Active Investors.

 

Feb 17, 2018

Welcome to Informed Decisions' very first 'Business Success Series'. 

Our main focus over the past 18 months has been Financial Planning and all aspects of Personal Finance. By all means have a look at our back-catalogue here. We have a huge interest here too in the success of others, and in business successes. For that reason we will bring you 5 or 6 Business Success stories over the course of 2018, to hear how they succeeded and the financials behind their success.

This week we are joined by Paddy O'Connell of Paddy O's Granola, who have been growing from strength to strength since it's beginnings a few short years ago.

If you feel you have a great story to tell and would like to join us then please drop us an email here.

Hope you enjoy the interview, and thanks again to Paddy O for joining us.

Thanks,

Paddy Delaney

Helping Others Get What They Want

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Feb 12, 2018

It is fair to say that the Financial Advice industry in Ireland has a reputation for forcing products on people, only making money when they sell 'policies'. The truth is that advice has so much more to offer, if it is done right! That is where Financial Planning seems to come into play. A Financial Planner can still sell you policies I guess, however the onus of a Financial Planner (if they are really behaving like a Financial Planner) should be on exploring your future plans, and helping you determine a clear way forward, that maximises outcomes for you. Family Home Relief is one such thing that Financial Planning can help people be aware of......so here goes!

This week we'd like to introduce you to Jack. Jack is in his 40's, and his parents, Frank & Sharon are both in their late 70's. Frank & Sharon had worked hard their whole lives, and through effective Financial Planning were able to retire at 62 with their desired lifestyles intact (nice cars, meals, clothes, holidays and hair & make-up!). They have been living the proverbial dream for the past 15 years, and are now in pretty rough health, given their indulgences on meals and relaxation!

Frank & Sharon have spent the vast bulk of their retirement funds at this stage (as was planned), and have assets now of €50,000 low volatility investment fund, a car valued at €20,000, and their home, valued at €600,000. Sadly, and in order for this blog to make any sense, they both die, first Frank and then shortly afterwards Sharon. Their entire assets are left to Jack, who is obviously very emotionally distraught, but has now inherited their assets!

 

Full Blog Here

Feb 4, 2018

According to Central Statistics Office the average salary in Ireland (2016) of a full-time employee was a 'grocery-shop' more than €45,000. Knowing that figure might make you feel that you're doing well or it might make you feel like making progress on the income you are bringing in. In reality this is the main thing for many of us as we go through our careers ,our own sense of value and worth can unfortunately rest squarely on the amount of money we are paid to do a job for someone else! It's totally cock-eyed but for many people in ireland's society this is what they judge their success on. It's something that I am passionate about changing over the years, I just haven't quite figured out how yet (answers on a post-card please!).

Anyway, as 'things' pick up in our economy, there are more and more jobs for people to move to, more and more salary increases happening, in comparison to 2008-2013 at least! While it is not being achieved by everyone there are at any one time many people getting salary increases, be that as a result of promotion, moving to a different employer on a higher salary, or hitting targets when they had not been in the 'rough times'.

Welcome back to another edition of the Informed Decisions Blog, Ireland's #1 Financial Planning Blog & Podcast! This week we will explore some of the common things that people do with salary increases, and share a few ideas to ensure you don't do the same!

Full Blog Here.

Cheers,

Paddy Delaney

Leave an iTunes Review......

 

Jan 28, 2018

Welcome back to another edition of the Informed Decisions Blog, Ireland's #1 Financial Planning Blog & Podcast! This week we will take on an obscure topic, a topic which is often left till the bitter end before we give it consideration! When it comes to focusing on your Financial Planning, Financial Independence or 'building wealth' it pays, quite literally, to begin with the end in mind!

Speaking of Financial Planning I am delighted to share with you that the 'My Money Matters' Programme I was invited to help create with Count Her In is now alive and well (and carrying a decent introductory discount!) It was a really great thing to be involved in, to be creating a Programme which I believe will have a hugely positive impact for people that want to make positive changes in their finances. It made it all the more rewarding to get paid a few euro for my time and expertise in helping them create it! Seriously, we hope it is of real and tangible long term benefit to anyone who feels it would be of help.

How Can We Die With Too Much Money!?

We'd like to now introduce you to this weeks' fictitious characters, Sinead & Johnny. For simplicity we'll say they were both born in 1948, meaning as of 2018 they are 70 years old. Sinead is from the South East, but living in Dublin since she was a young lady, lured by the handsome young Johnny at the time! Sinead worked on and off over the years, while also rearing their 2 children, Sheena & Joseph, who are now in their early and late 40's. Sinead's husband Johnny worked all his life, most of it in 1 large factory, originally as a labourer and then moved into supervisor and management roles. Johnny loved working and only retired fully from paid employment at the age of 69. Since then they have both been enjoying the spoils of their 50 years of work, travelling, going away for weekends with friends & family, and enjoying the company of their 5 grand-kids!

Read full blog here.......here!

 

Jan 22, 2018

We all love an oul get-rich-quick scheme don't we!? Even if we know it's far too good to be try we will 'click' through or read beyond the head-lines, we just want to know more, 'sure its only looking'.......that is what has you reading this right now! Well I am on a mission to train you out of such inquisitiveness, this is lesson 1!! (and it's totally free!)

Imagine a perfectly sane and prudent nation of people getting swept up into a frenzy of buying, trading and bargaining of a particular item, an item that holds the value of a common flower bulb. Imagine the same frenzy taking hold of an entire nation for over 3 years, eventually resulting in a catastrophic downturn and wiping-out of many many of its' citizens personal wealth and life-savings.

We will explore such an event which happened in the not too distant past, and explore what we can learn from it to protect ourselves from such get-rich-quick schemes in future. (some people have drawn similarities between this event and Bitcoin, we aren't doing that as they are totally different products & we have no idea how Bitcoin will progress, however the behaviour of the masses might not be that dissimilar!).

Here for the full blog version.

Paddy Delaney.

Jan 14, 2018

Oxford dictionary define a commodity as 'A useful or valuable thing'. Another definition they put out there is 'A raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold, such as copper or coffee'. Whichever way you look at it, be that a useful and valuable thing, or indeed a basic product, Commodities have found their way into many many pension and investment portfolios.

Apparently as many as 4,000 years ago our Neolithic ancestors here in Ireland made use of cattle, for food, leather and indeed milk. Many of you reading this may never have milked a cow, however you may well own a very tiny portion of a fund which tracks the price of those fine animals!

Chances are, if you are a member of a company pension scheme, or have some spare money invested, you are investing in Commodities, whether you know it or not! As strange as it may sound cattle prices are frequently an aspect of Commodities in investment terms, so you could well have an active interest here!

We are going to look at the pros and cons and alternatives to investing in Commodities, either as a lump sum investor or a pension investor here in Ireland.

Check out the full blog version at www.informeddecisions.ie

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