Ceist Beag
Registered User
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Moneymakeover Age 58 with savings but no investments.
- Thread starter Marner
- Start date
@GSheehy , @Colin4444 Thank You both!
I guess it would be great to be away to a warm destination from October to April. However when you have no one at home "to mind the house", during the Irish winter, there would be worry + stress. Perhaps I may rent a room eventually. Tenant might double as a caretaker.
CharlieMac
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I agree that a month or two away would not be nearly enough time to escape our endless winters. If you end up renting a place in Spain for 4-5 months every year it won't be cheap either. There aren't really any low cost destinations anymore, not in Europe anyway. Not a wise alternative to making your home more comfortable.
It's not a question of just selecting a heat pump, it's really a question of overall system design. So that means things like radiator size in each room, pipe bore diameter, flow temperatures, etc., etc.
In theory, you can use a heat pump to heat a tent in Siberia. All you're doing is replacing the heat lost through the building fabric at the same rate that you're losing it to maintain a continuous temperature. The ability to radiate heat from lower flow temperatures is really the key to efficiency, which is why underfloor heating is ideal but tbh, sufficiently large radiators can achieve the same thing.
If you're really interested in learning more, I strongly recommend the Heat Geek channel on YouTube. If nothing else, you'll quickly learn that many installers/one-stop-shops are applying rules of thumb rather than actually designing an effective system for your specific home.
You are losing money due to inflation.
You should invest in a low risk fund from a reputable fund provider, for example; New Ireland, Aviva, Irish Life, Zurich.
In a sense it really is that simple.
Yeah tis a worry, but you can have cameras to keep an eye, also neighbours.. I have smart devices that turn on and off lights and even blinds up and down to disguise no one there...
Thank you @cremeegg !
This really is the hub of my predicament. Making the best use of my savings and current income and directing them most efficiently into pension and investments. Also perhaps, settling on a good plan for my remaining work years into retirement. I know, because I've read many of them, that there are very many expert contributors with detailed and informative posts on Askaboutmoney. However, my head starts to spin after reading some of these. I feel that I'm going to need to pay someone to guide me through all of this. @Bronte has kindly suggested a few people in an earlier post but from a quick scan of their websites it seems that some may be geared for working with much wealthier people than I.
I would welcome any advice with regard to how to approach or what questions to ask a Financial advisor in order to establish that I have the right person for my needs.
Marner.
If it were me I'd download the Lightyear app.
Apply for an account...5 min job.
Put 100k in a world index fund. Fees are as low as 0.18% annually.
Make sure its an accumulating fund ( will have "acc" in the description. This means dividends are reinvested. Its too messy tax wise to manage all these dividends otherwise.
No charge from Lightyear to buy an ETF.
These passive index funds track hundreds of the biggest companies in the world.
Once you see how it works, you can add further over time or not as you decide.
You can check on your phone as often as you want as to the performance of the fund.
Tax treatment is a bit higher than if you were buying/selling shares. Plenty of information on this on this forum. So research.
Apply for an account...5 min job.
Put 100k in a world index fund. Fees are as low as 0.18% annually.
Make sure its an accumulating fund ( will have "acc" in the description. This means dividends are reinvested. Its too messy tax wise to manage all these dividends otherwise.
No charge from Lightyear to buy an ETF.
These passive index funds track hundreds of the biggest companies in the world.
Once you see how it works, you can add further over time or not as you decide.
You can check on your phone as often as you want as to the performance of the fund.
Tax treatment is a bit higher than if you were buying/selling shares. Plenty of information on this on this forum. So research.
Where are you getting that idea from?
Where are you career wise/what field are you in? You could significantly increase your notional wealth by getting a promotion/salary increase, based on your final scheme. You could potentially even retire earlier.
I don’t understand this. The spend on solar and battery is a sunk cost that you can’t get back, so how is it considered an investment? Also baffled by people spending t six figures on SEAI upgrades just to save a few quid on their electric bills - all feels v emperors new clothes to me. What am I missing?
I think I laid it out pretty clearly, but turning 10k today into 20-30 years of inflation-adjusting €1500 pa savings/benefit is a savage investment with an IRR of over 15%. If your question is more philosophical, then I think your definition of “investment” may be too narrow, closer to savings than investment. In a business, for example, a capital expenditure that returns either additional revenue or cost savings would be considered an investment all day, every day.
Commented above or elsewhere recently, but agree that whole-home, fabric first retrofits generally represent a very poor return on investment.
Ok yes that makes more sense to me. Just confused by neighbours banging on about ‘saving a fortune’ by getting solar panels, conveniently forgetting that they spent a shedload upfront to get them.
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@Ceist Beag
I'm no expert @Marner so all I can tell you is that we were able to get an Air Water Heat pump retrofitted with our radiators over 15 years ago and there has never been an issue with it.
Thank you for your reply!
Would you mind sharing your annual electricity cost?
I'm no expert @Marner so all I can tell you is that we were able to get an Air Water Heat pump retrofitted with our radiators over 15 years ago and there has never been an issue with it.
Thank you for your reply!
Would you mind sharing your annual electricity cost?
@ClubMan Thank you for your reply! I notice that you have made an incredible number of contributions, my respect!
Could you estimate what I should to pay for the services of a good financial advisor?
I need help to examine my situation (as outlined) and propose a financial plan for the remaining work years to retirement. Also how to best deal with my €600k of savings.
Could you estimate what I should to pay for the services of a good financial advisor?
I need help to examine my situation (as outlined) and propose a financial plan for the remaining work years to retirement. Also how to best deal with my €600k of savings.
Thanks.
Sorry, I've no idea as I've never used one other than bouncing some questions off a broker who I know well "unofficially" (as in, he wasn't responsible for what I did with any information provided) and learning a lot here over the years/decades.
What about the feedback and suggestions already posted here?
And excellent advice at that, completely ignored.
@ClubMan , @Persia
Once again, thank you for your replies! and to everyone who has contributed their advice.
I sense your frustration with me and accept it.
Looking back, I can honestly say that it took me perhaps another 15 years after serving my 4 year trade apprenticeship before I was truly competent to excellent at my trade. My needs are urgent now, I don't have 4 years let alone 15 to become confident and competent in the trade of finance. I mentioned earlier that my head starts to spin at the details in some of the posts I have read on askaboutmoney.
While I do understand what a tracker mortgage is and even had one once! I don't know whether I should purchase an avc or notional service? what if I start an avc now planning to retire in 5 years but instead decide to continue to work for additional 5 years, are there tax implications? Or alternatively, what if I get sick in two years and have to retire very early, what are the consequences for my avc, pensions?
My savings, I have looked at the Lightyear app @Persia , I appreciate your advice, I had never heard of Lightyear before. But could these funds go down in value? How long would I need to commit to an investment in ETF's to be guaranteed a good return? From some posts, I read that it is better to drip feed investments but I have a big lump sum to deal with, proportionally what would be the best way to divide it up? My next birthday falls in mid-March, is there a benefit to starting an avc on or before this date?
These are just a little of the questions "circulating" in my head.
Once again, thank you for your replies! and to everyone who has contributed their advice.
I sense your frustration with me and accept it.
Looking back, I can honestly say that it took me perhaps another 15 years after serving my 4 year trade apprenticeship before I was truly competent to excellent at my trade. My needs are urgent now, I don't have 4 years let alone 15 to become confident and competent in the trade of finance. I mentioned earlier that my head starts to spin at the details in some of the posts I have read on askaboutmoney.
While I do understand what a tracker mortgage is and even had one once! I don't know whether I should purchase an avc or notional service? what if I start an avc now planning to retire in 5 years but instead decide to continue to work for additional 5 years, are there tax implications? Or alternatively, what if I get sick in two years and have to retire very early, what are the consequences for my avc, pensions?
My savings, I have looked at the Lightyear app @Persia , I appreciate your advice, I had never heard of Lightyear before. But could these funds go down in value? How long would I need to commit to an investment in ETF's to be guaranteed a good return? From some posts, I read that it is better to drip feed investments but I have a big lump sum to deal with, proportionally what would be the best way to divide it up? My next birthday falls in mid-March, is there a benefit to starting an avc on or before this date?
These are just a little of the questions "circulating" in my head.
There is no black and white answer here, but i feel that AVCs are more flexible than NSP.
None, as long as your contributions are below the normal annual limits. It's unlikely that you would overfunbd the AVC.