Want to improve your finances in 2023? Fiona Reddan has four pain-free steps to better financial health.
Switching – even if it’s only to a new rate with your own mortgage provider – can offer significant savings.
Given that mortgage holders on trackers are likely to have a very low loan to value ratio , there are better deals to be had. Remember, doing this doesn’t have to be permanent: many banks take a flexible approach, even if you’re on a fixed rate, so if you’re feeling too stretched each month, you can revert to your regular payment.Given those hikes in interest rates, it must surely be only a matter of time – right NTMA? – before interest rates on deposits start to increase.
For example, if you’re on a salary of €50,000, and your employer will pay 8 per cent into a pension as long as you pay 6 per cent, then you will get €4,000 a year from your company if you can contribute €3,000. And thanks to tax relief, this €7,000 annual contribution will only cost you €1,800. So do the sums and see if you can afford to maximise your contributions. It will likely work out much better for you than saving €200 a month in a deposit account and earning zero interest on it.
In any case, it’s worth checking to make sure you’re not too conservative when you’re young and have plenty of time to weather markets – or, on the other hand, signing up to too risky a strategy if you’re approaching retirement. If you are in the latter group, and within 10 years or retirement, 2023 should be the year you consider paying for some financial advice to guide your transition out of the workforce.
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