- Switch your Mortgage Research current lenders that may be offering lower rates and some give cashback if you switch your mortgage. Savings of several thousand euros in just 3 years are possible, even without the cashback offers.
- File a Tax Return The citizen’s information board is always a good place to start https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/ the main credits to consider are
- Home carer tax credit
- Medical or dental tax relief
- Working for home relief
- Rent or Mortgage Credit
- The good news is there are lots of online services out there, with the biggest being taxback.com, that will file the tax paperwork for you in return for a cut of the refund. The average money saving refund received by Irish consumers in 2024 was €1,880. Due to budget 2024 that’s likely to be even bigger this year and this doesn’t include any benefits you might be entitled to, such as energy credits, working family payment or the fuel allowance.
- Switch Your Savings Account If you have savings you should check if you are getting the best interest rate. Some deposit accounts are still paying rates as low as 0.1% – but you could get rates of up to 4%.
- Stocks and Shares If you are thinking of investing in shares you could save hundreds of euros in fees by avoiding the more expensive traditional stockbrokers and using online platforms.
- Switch Energy Supplier If you are an average electricity user, you could easily save around €300 in just one year on Electricity alone by switching suppliers. Also with he role out of smart meters night tariffs can increase savings.
- Switch Broadband and Phone Average users could save over €300 in one year by switching landline and broadband.
- Switch Your Current Account Most banks now charge you for having a current account with them. There are still some ways to reduce or even avoid these bank charges.
- Install Solar Panels There are grants available and no VAT is charged. You can also sell excess electricity back to the grid.
- Pay for your groceries in cash A great tip for saving money on groceries is to use a budgeting tool. This budgeting method requires you to take your monthly income out of the bank in cash and allocate that cash into separate envelopes in accordance with your budgeting goals. This means having envelopes for your fixed costs, and envelopes for your variable costs such as for entertainment, clothes shopping, eating out and groceries. By paying for your groceries with a fixed amount of physical cash, it makes it virtually impossible to overspend.
- Cut the cost of your TV package shop around for the best deals and review your subscriptions to streaming services for music and television.
- Zero Percent Interest Credit Cards If you have a credit card balance that you are finding hard to pay off you could try and transfer the balance to a credit card with a 0% Interest introductory offer.
- Lower Your Mobile Phone Bills Move to a cheaper mobile plan with a new network or choose a lower-priced option with your current network. Heavy phone users could easily cut their annual mobile spend by around €250.
- Claim all the government grants there are grants worth thousands of Euro available for heat pumps, solar energy and insulation.
- Track your Spending If you don’t know exactly where your money is going every month, it’s hard to see how you can spend less. Set up a budget and track your expenses to help you identify areas where you can cut back on spending.
- Get cheaper home insurance The lowest quotes can be half the price of the most expensive house insurance.
- Overpay your mortgage by paying just €250 off a 200k mortgage on a 4% variable rate you could save circa €36k in interest over the life of the mortgage as well as reducing the term by over 7 years.
All information and views contained within this article is for informational purposes only and the views expressed do not constitute financial advice. U Consulting makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness or suitability of any information and will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses arising from its use. Please consult a professional financial advisor before making any financial decision.
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Topic – Budgeting