Looking for advice on my families future with money matters.

[crimsontide]

Whilst Im ok in my working life , i feel i am awful with money. Im more of a hoarder, (never had much , so I also thought i was going to lose it)

Mid 40's
Full time employment
Partner who works part time,
Three children under age of 10
2 in school
1 in creche part time (700euros)
Works covers health care for familiy

Morgage : Tracker :
Outsanding Value : €20,500 , 2 years left
House value : 650k
Two cars, no payments

I had tried to maximise payments in my morgage than my pension in order to get it down fast which ive done

I had a pension in the 20's but it was peanuts and still worth peanuts, circa 7k . ive no idea even how it was set up orginally


pension: 7k
Income: 125 k ( excluding bonus 40k)= 165k total
partner : 23k
No investments
No pension currently
Cash on deposit : 260k earning nothing
Childrens allowance account: 34k post office
No loans on cars

Do I use the existing pension who is with zurich and ask to pay into it and maximise those contributions for next lets say 5 years or so ?
Do I open a new pension plan?
Do I pay of my morgage?
Do I invest other funds?
Is it even worth it to get married ?

Sometimes you need someone from outside your circle to be direct and defintive with you...

I

 

[PaddyW]

Pay off the mortgage ASAP I would say. Does your employer offer an occupational pension? If so, get into it straightaway and maximise contributions. Could you get a better account to save the child benefit into? Look at deposit best buys and put it into a better earning account at least.

 

[Farma1]

firstly well done - you have nearly paid off mortgage and don't have any daft unnecessary debt.

Mortage is very small anyway so your pension is priority especially as higher rate tax payer. So far you have been paying off mortgage which is grand, but now you need to build up pension rather than just cash reserves. I'm not one to advise about specific pensions but max contributions into a well diversified fund, with low charges, and appropriate risk for your age is your biggest gap at the moment.

Then do sensible things with what's left - the 260k earning nothing is madness - even if you want access to some of this check out the deposit best buys or consider state savings - at 2% interest you are missing out on 5k a year interest on this money and you need to earn nearly 10k to provide 5k after tax - you are working a month per year for nothing nearly! You can cash in the state savings anytime you need them if things get desperate but more than likely you don't really need that cash within 5 years.

Then the options depend on what you spend and how much you have left each month after max pension contributions - you have plenty of cash reserves so making a regular contribution into a diversified equities portfolio is your best bet - this should be considered alongside your pension for asset allocation and diversification.

As for whether its worth getting married I'd say ignore the financial aspects and focus on that conversation with your partner from a philosophical point of view - you are both earning so it won't make the world of difference financially!! just make sure all the house keeping is in good order - e.g. Wills are made etc

 

[misemoi]

Right now under law there are a lot more advantages to being married that not...eg if married could you take any unused tax credits and cut offs. How is the home ownership structured, if one of you were to pass away do you have inheritance tax due even if it is willed? Is there a survivors pension? Try to figure out what would happen in the catastophic event that one of you died suddenly and see what the impact would be on all aspects of life under marriage v no marriage. TBH for 200 EUR I would just do the paperwork (ie civil ceremony, just need 2 witnesses) to save on the hassle and get the benefits.

It is so so hard to spend when you have a fear of losing it all. But you have worked very hard to be in the position that you are in. Take the 5 of you off for a lovely holiday to celebrate this. Whatever that looks like for you!

 

[Clamball]

I would definitely prioritise getting married to allow things to be a lot easier if one of you died suddenly. Give the 3 months notice, pay the €200 and you could be married by June. Then make wills etc.

You have great savings, so well done on that. I would start the pension via your employer if they have one, if they match your contribution you are leaving money behind you.