patontheback
New Member
- Messages
- 5
Personal details
Your age: 35
Your spouse’s age: 37
Number and age of children: 1 child (<6 months old)
Income and expenditure
Annual gross income from employment or profession:
Current - €100k + bonus (~15%), soon nil due to redundancy
Annual gross income of spouse/partner:
€85k + bonus (~10%) prior to maternity leave
Monthly take-home pay:
Currently ~€9k, soon to reduce due to maternity leave and impending redundancy
Type of employment:
Both PAYE workers
Employer type:
Both work/worked in Tech
In general are you:
(a) spending more than you earn, or
(b) saving?
Still broadly saving overall, though this will obviously reduce for a while.
Summary of Assets and Liabilities
Assets
Lender: BOI
Interest rate:
1.9% currently - likely moving to approx. 3.3%
Type of interest rate:
Fixed
If fixed, what is the term remaining of the fixed rate?
Expires July 2026
Remaining term:
~21 years
Monthly repayment:
~€840 currently, likely rising to ~€960
Current options from existing lender appear to be approx. 3.3% fixed for 1–3 years.
At the moment we likely can’t shop around due to redundancy/employment uncertainty, so we’re assuming we stay with the current provider for now.
Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc
Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month?
Yes
Car loan details
Single EV household on PCP.
€395 monthly payment.
Balloon payment of ~€21k due June 2028.
Pension information
Combined pension value: ~€335k
Historically we’ve both maxed pension contributions where possible and used RSUs/bonuses toward AVCs.
Other information which might be relevant
A lot has changed since my original post last year. We now have our first child, which has naturally shifted our priorities away from constantly chasing the next financial/career milestone and more toward stability, flexibility and family life.
My wife is currently on maternity leave. Her paid leave ends in July 2026, after which she plans to take 4 months unpaid leave, followed by parental leave and annual leave. In theory she would return to work around Feb 2027.
However, there is a reasonable chance redundancies could impact her employer over the next 6–12 months. While obviously nobody actively wants redundancy, if it were to happen it would probably give us a bit more flexibility at a point where our priorities are changing anyway.
Realistically, with a young child, her appetite for returning to a very high-intensity role has changed. Even before maternity leave, the role was demanding, and I think there’s a good chance she may ultimately want something more manageable and family friendly long term.
Separately, I’ve recently been informed that I’m being made redundant and will finish up in August. I’ll receive an ex gratia redundancy payment in the region of ~€70k. I was hoping to opt for SCSB and maximise money in hand, but I know there are pension implications I still need to understand properly, so depending on tax treatment the net figure could be closer to ~€40k. I’m getting separate financial advice on this.
I’m actively interviewing for new roles at the moment. Previously I probably would have prioritised compensation and career progression, but now I’m trying to find more of a balance between compensation, flexibility, stability, work-life balance and still feeling challenged and motivated in the role itself.
At the moment I’m hesitant to make any major financial decisions until I understand what my next role looks like from both a salary and lifestyle perspective.
Our financial goals
Our current thinking/strategy
What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?
I’d be interested to hear how others would approach the next 6–12 months given the combination of redundancy, maternity leave, possible career changes and a young child.
Financially, our instinct is to prioritise liquidity, flexibility and stability for now rather than aggressively chasing growth or returns, but I’d appreciate perspectives from others who’ve gone through something similar.
I’m also finding myself conflicted professionally. Before kids, I probably would have prioritised compensation and career progression. Now I’m leaning more toward stability, flexibility and work-life balance — but at the same time I still want to feel challenged, motivated and engaged in my work rather than simply taking the “safest” option available.
So I suppose I’m trying to figure out how others approached:
Thanks!
Your age: 35
Your spouse’s age: 37
Number and age of children: 1 child (<6 months old)
Income and expenditure
Annual gross income from employment or profession:
Current - €100k + bonus (~15%), soon nil due to redundancy
Annual gross income of spouse/partner:
€85k + bonus (~10%) prior to maternity leave
Monthly take-home pay:
Currently ~€9k, soon to reduce due to maternity leave and impending redundancy
Type of employment:
Both PAYE workers
Employer type:
Both work/worked in Tech
In general are you:
(a) spending more than you earn, or
(b) saving?
Still broadly saving overall, though this will obviously reduce for a while.
Summary of Assets and Liabilities
Assets
- Family home value: €530k
- Car: €30k
- My pension: €195k
- Spouse pension: €140k
- Joint savings: €24k
- Individual savings (between us): €22k
- Child savings/allowance account: €1.8k
- Emergency fund (Bunq): €75k
- Investments: €50k
- Mortgage: €176k remaining
- Car PCP: €30.5k outstanding
Lender: BOI
Interest rate:
1.9% currently - likely moving to approx. 3.3%
Type of interest rate:
Fixed
If fixed, what is the term remaining of the fixed rate?
Expires July 2026
Remaining term:
~21 years
Monthly repayment:
~€840 currently, likely rising to ~€960
Current options from existing lender appear to be approx. 3.3% fixed for 1–3 years.
At the moment we likely can’t shop around due to redundancy/employment uncertainty, so we’re assuming we stay with the current provider for now.
Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc
Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month?
Yes
Car loan details
Single EV household on PCP.
€395 monthly payment.
Balloon payment of ~€21k due June 2028.
Pension information
Combined pension value: ~€335k
Historically we’ve both maxed pension contributions where possible and used RSUs/bonuses toward AVCs.
Other information which might be relevant
A lot has changed since my original post last year. We now have our first child, which has naturally shifted our priorities away from constantly chasing the next financial/career milestone and more toward stability, flexibility and family life.
My wife is currently on maternity leave. Her paid leave ends in July 2026, after which she plans to take 4 months unpaid leave, followed by parental leave and annual leave. In theory she would return to work around Feb 2027.
However, there is a reasonable chance redundancies could impact her employer over the next 6–12 months. While obviously nobody actively wants redundancy, if it were to happen it would probably give us a bit more flexibility at a point where our priorities are changing anyway.
Realistically, with a young child, her appetite for returning to a very high-intensity role has changed. Even before maternity leave, the role was demanding, and I think there’s a good chance she may ultimately want something more manageable and family friendly long term.
Separately, I’ve recently been informed that I’m being made redundant and will finish up in August. I’ll receive an ex gratia redundancy payment in the region of ~€70k. I was hoping to opt for SCSB and maximise money in hand, but I know there are pension implications I still need to understand properly, so depending on tax treatment the net figure could be closer to ~€40k. I’m getting separate financial advice on this.
I’m actively interviewing for new roles at the moment. Previously I probably would have prioritised compensation and career progression, but now I’m trying to find more of a balance between compensation, flexibility, stability, work-life balance and still feeling challenged and motivated in the role itself.
At the moment I’m hesitant to make any major financial decisions until I understand what my next role looks like from both a salary and lifestyle perspective.
Our financial goals
- Maintain flexibility while our child is young
- Reduce dependence on very high-stress jobs long term
- Continue building financial security over time
- Eventually achieve financial independence / optional early retirement in late 50s or early 60s
Our current thinking/strategy
- Preserve a strong cash position until the employment situation becomes clearer
- Potentially pay a lump sum off the mortgage now/once things stabilise
- Likely dial back pension AVCs
- Keep things flexible for now rather than trying to maximise returns
What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?
I’d be interested to hear how others would approach the next 6–12 months given the combination of redundancy, maternity leave, possible career changes and a young child.
Financially, our instinct is to prioritise liquidity, flexibility and stability for now rather than aggressively chasing growth or returns, but I’d appreciate perspectives from others who’ve gone through something similar.
I’m also finding myself conflicted professionally. Before kids, I probably would have prioritised compensation and career progression. Now I’m leaning more toward stability, flexibility and work-life balance — but at the same time I still want to feel challenged, motivated and engaged in my work rather than simply taking the “safest” option available.
So I suppose I’m trying to figure out how others approached:
- Cash reserves vs mortgage overpayments/investing during uncertain periods,
- Balancing security now with continuing to build wealth over the longer term,
- Navigating career decisions after children, particularly finding the right balance between stability, flexibility, ambition and personal fulfilment.
Thanks!
