Age:
35
Spouse’s/Partner's age:
n/a
Annual gross income from employment or profession:
~90,000
Monthly take-home pay:
~5000
Type of employment:
Self-employed (and in receipt of the artist’s exemption for some of my work so a portion of my earnings (up to 50k) are not subject to income tax currently)
In general are you:
(a) spending more than you earn, or
(b) saving?
Saving ~3k per month
Summary of Assets and Liabilities
Family home worth ~€400k with a ~€230k mortgage
Cash of ~€120k (includes ~2 years of living expenses and money loosely earmarked for house renovations/mortgage overpayment/additional pension contributions)
PRSA of ~€35k and small DB pension
Family home mortgage information
Interest rate: 2.25, fixed until 2024
Overpayment allowed of up to 20% per year
Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc:
None. No credit cards.
Other information which might be relevant:
My choice of career has the potential to be very variable income wise (more likely to go down than up). To combat that, I have two years worth of living and business expenses set aside.
What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?
Up until last year, my priority was buying a house which made everything relatively simple (earn, save, put some money into pension). Now, I don’t know what to prioritise, but being self-employed in a more volatile field makes me feel like I should put financial security above things like renovations (which aren't essential just yet).
Should I prioritise overpaying my mortgage or should I be investing more in my pension? I know it’s generally not recommended to fund your pension where there’s no tax relief, but in a way, with the artist’s exemption, I’m getting the tax relief up front, so my situation might be the exception to the rule.
Thanks in advance.
35
Spouse’s/Partner's age:
n/a
Annual gross income from employment or profession:
~90,000
Monthly take-home pay:
~5000
Type of employment:
Self-employed (and in receipt of the artist’s exemption for some of my work so a portion of my earnings (up to 50k) are not subject to income tax currently)
In general are you:
(a) spending more than you earn, or
(b) saving?
Saving ~3k per month
Summary of Assets and Liabilities
Family home worth ~€400k with a ~€230k mortgage
Cash of ~€120k (includes ~2 years of living expenses and money loosely earmarked for house renovations/mortgage overpayment/additional pension contributions)
PRSA of ~€35k and small DB pension
Family home mortgage information
Interest rate: 2.25, fixed until 2024
Overpayment allowed of up to 20% per year
Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc:
None. No credit cards.
Other information which might be relevant:
My choice of career has the potential to be very variable income wise (more likely to go down than up). To combat that, I have two years worth of living and business expenses set aside.
What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?
Up until last year, my priority was buying a house which made everything relatively simple (earn, save, put some money into pension). Now, I don’t know what to prioritise, but being self-employed in a more volatile field makes me feel like I should put financial security above things like renovations (which aren't essential just yet).
Should I prioritise overpaying my mortgage or should I be investing more in my pension? I know it’s generally not recommended to fund your pension where there’s no tax relief, but in a way, with the artist’s exemption, I’m getting the tax relief up front, so my situation might be the exception to the rule.
Thanks in advance.
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