Hi - First of all thanks in advance. This is a fantastic facility and the time taken to offer advice is much appreciated. Myself and my wife have just had our second child and are a couple of years in our new house. We are starting to think seriously about planning for our financial future - to include financing our kids' education etc. We would like to have a fund for house improvements, holidays etc as well as a long-term savings fund for the kids. The other thing that we have not addressed is life assurance. We are pretty much 'lay people' when it comes to this type of stuff and don't really know where to start - so any advice offered in relation to the information above and below is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Age: 34
Spouse’s/Partner's age: 28
Annual gross income from employment or profession: €72,000
Annual gross income spouse: €25,000
Type of employment: e.g. Civil Servant, self-employed: Public Service and Private Sector respectively
Expenditure pattern: In general are you spending more than you earn or are you saving? No, not in general
Rough estimate of value of home: €450,000
Mortgage on home: €288,000
Mortgage provider: IIB
Type of mortgage: Tracker, interest only, fixed rate: Tracker
Interest rate: 5.1%
Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc: Car Loans of €15,000
Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? No
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? €2,000
Savings and investments: Credit Union - €8,000
Do you have a pension scheme? Yes me - public sector - wife no
Do you own any investment or other property? No
Ages of children: 1, 4
Life insurance: None
Age: 34
Spouse’s/Partner's age: 28
Annual gross income from employment or profession: €72,000
Annual gross income spouse: €25,000
Type of employment: e.g. Civil Servant, self-employed: Public Service and Private Sector respectively
Expenditure pattern: In general are you spending more than you earn or are you saving? No, not in general
Rough estimate of value of home: €450,000
Mortgage on home: €288,000
Mortgage provider: IIB
Type of mortgage: Tracker, interest only, fixed rate: Tracker
Interest rate: 5.1%
Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc: Car Loans of €15,000
Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? No
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? €2,000
Savings and investments: Credit Union - €8,000
Do you have a pension scheme? Yes me - public sector - wife no
Do you own any investment or other property? No
Ages of children: 1, 4
Life insurance: None