Beginner seeks investment/savings advice

Hi there everyone.

Today is my 30th birthday, and I think it's about time that I face facts and get my financial life turned around. I'm new to this site and to be honest, I am totally lost when it comes to shares, savings and investments. My financial knowledge has been obtained from the Eddie Hobbs magazines so obvioulsy I need to improve.

I was hoping to get some advice from you all about what I can do with my money. Any help and answers are apprecated.

-I have approx 10000 left in SSIA after all loans (car, credit card) have been paid out.

-I am debt free.

-I currently save 200 per week and earn 38K/year.

-I do not have a mortgage. I live with my gf and my rent is 370/month including internet, TV, car Parking and Bin.

-I will have approximalely 12000 coming to me at the end of June due to a work training bonus.

-I will be made redundant around October and my redundancy will be around 35000 (Obvioulsy I will have to keep some of that so I can survive in case I do not get a job for a few months).

So I am looking to make my money work really hard for me. First thing is to get my SSIA and savings moved from the Credit Union to an institution that can pay me better interest. In the Eddie Hobbs magazines, it was suggested that I transfer my lump sum into a bank with a good interest rate and no limit on the amount, and then to drip feed this into 3-4 other accounts that give better interest, but have deposit limits. Is this generally good advice? I have highlighted BoI, Halifax and AIB regular saver Accounts as they all give 6.5-7.1% interest.

Or would my better option be to invest the money in shares? As mentioned elsewhere, the Quinn-Life option seems really good with low fees. What should I be investing in and how much?

I'm sorry if I am asking some completely basic questions, but I really am not very knowlegable. I want to study up and hopefully the advice I get here will help!

Thanks!

Re: Totally Clueless

If it was me I'd put first 10K into Rabo and balance into N R and drip feed my savings and money in NR into the regular saver a/c's as you mentioned - just watch the small print attched to these with regard to withdrawals - I think AIB is the only one with no strings attached!

Investments would tie up your funds for too long if you needed it in a hurry.

I look forward to hear what some of the financial gang will suggest.

maybe get on the affordable housing list and if you get an offer get your girlfriend to move in? assuming that she is not owning her own house and that you actually want to buy a house. I say this because rental costs seem to be increasing in the cities at the moment.

nelly said:

maybe get on the affordable housing list and if you get an offer get your girlfriend to move in? assuming that she is not owning her own house and that you actually want to buy a house. I say this because rental costs seem to be increasing in the cities at the moment.

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Thanks for the suggestion Nelly. Myself and my girlfriend are currently living together. We are only with each other 18 months and so I feel it's not the right time to buy something for personal reasons. Also, because I am being made redundant, I really do not know where my next job will take me.

Am I mad to forego a mortgage and instead invest the money? Should I just buy an apartment myself? It seems that rent in Limerick (where I live) is very reasonable and has not changed much over the last few years. 700 (350 each) for the apartment (city centre, 2-years old) plus all my living bills thrown means my quality of life at the moment is very high. I have friends that do nothing now but work overtime 6 days a week just to pay their mortgage.

I thought you were in Dublin. If in limerick i would say get yourself a house and rent a room, and then to your girlfriend as well. Its ok to say renting is better but if you aspire to ever owning a house the sooner you take the plunge the better i think . I felt awful getting a 35 year mortgage at 26. now they are offering more 40 year mortgages to first time buyers than ever, that would make you 70 when its done!
Personally due to the "stocks can fall as well as rise" i think its gambling by another name and if you can't afford to lose or wait for few years to get your €€ back then don't entertain it.
Obviously my opinion is exactly that and others have their own take.

nelly said:

i think its gambling by another name.

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Bear in mind that house prices arent guaranteed either and can fall as well as rise just like stocks. The problem would be if interest rates went up further than you can afford to pay (considering you will be jobless) and you were trapped in negative equity unable to sell out like for example the Uk in the early 80s/90s.
But thats just the downside. I just thought I d remind you for a balanced thread.

Thanks for the info everyone.

NHG, you say that I should put 10K in Rabo. Would I then only get the lower rate from the start since I would be over 10K soon with interest? Would the idea be to keep 10K there and just withdraw the interest twice yearly?

Also with NR, can you set up direct debits with them? I take it that their website is [broken link removed] as I can't ind an Irish site.

I am not really in a hurry with getting the money back, so I could easily put 15-20K into a medium-long term investment.