# Spare 500 euros ?



## lysa Cork (12 Dec 2006)

Hi,

I have 500 per month that seems to be spent on non essentials that I would prefer to do something constructive with, any ideas, what best return/investment would be ?

Also 100k equity can be released in home ? should we invest in property ?


lysa.


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## baby_tooth (12 Dec 2006)

releasing equity is just a loan from a bank. 
Nothing more, nothing less.
You use your home as collateral.

 Do you think its prudent to borrow to invest, and do you think its prudent to borrow to invest and use your home as collateral for if/when it goes wrong.

Do not release equity to invest if your a novice investor, which is what you appear to be.

Put your 500 in a high interest bearing account or else buy some funds.
Make an avc then at end of each year.


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## almo (12 Dec 2006)

Make a decision and stick with it.  Last year I began sticking away €100 a month for our daughter, this is on top of a €300 a month savings scheme from years back with Generali and while it's tough at times, a few years down the line it pays off.  Also we got in 2 lump sums and bought a car with one and some land with the other, both only 2-3,000 each, but it was either an asset or a holiday, but isn't life one long holiday anyway!


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## tivanagh (12 Dec 2006)

Go on a good week-end away on the piss each month. There are plenty of places to choose from around Ireland. Find different B&Bs from €35 you cant go wrong. Enjoy it while you have because at the end of the day you cant bring it with you.


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## lysa Cork (12 Dec 2006)

thanks all, baby tooth can you explain to me what funds are and how they work, a high interest account - the only ones i have seen give a return of 6% which doesnt seem like much ... is an avc an extra pension contribution ? 

 lysa


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## Guest109 (12 Dec 2006)

tivanagh said:


> Go on a good week-end away on the piss each month. There are plenty of places to choose from around Ireland. Find different B&Bs from €35 you cant go wrong. Enjoy it while you have because at the end of the day you cant bring it with you.


 

well said and very true enjoy it when you can, years ago my two old uncles went nowhere just to the ulster agriculture show for 1 day left 3 farms and £200,000 never had a good piss up or nothing out of it all
both old crusty bachelors


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## fatmanknows (12 Dec 2006)

ainya said:


> well said and very true enjoy it when you can, years ago my two old uncles went nowhere just to the ulster agriculture show for 1 day left 3 farms and £200,000 never had a good piss up or nothing out of it all
> both old crusty bachelors


 
And now your living in one of the big farms......nice one


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## Guest109 (12 Dec 2006)

no i got a few thousand just, a niece of thiers had a son to one of them she also carried a lot of lies about the other nieces and nephews to the surviving uncle  and he believed her,well she never enjoyed it either she died 2 years after she got it,her son a heavy gambler probably done it in on the football and horses her own brothers and sisters never got a tosser of it all


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## lysa Cork (12 Dec 2006)

I had to laugh when I read your replies there was a time just a few short years ago when I did nothing but blow my money every weekend but a mortgage and a 4 year old daughter has now made me half sensible, I will still enjoy the weekends away but would like to have a "nest egg" for a rainy day .... 

dont think I have any wealthy relations that would leave me a farm or 2, will have to look up the family tree ... 

lysa.


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## liteweight (12 Dec 2006)

ainya said:


> well said and very true enjoy it when you can, years ago my two old uncles went nowhere just to the ulster agriculture show for 1 day left 3 farms and £200,000 never had a good piss up or nothing out of it all
> both old crusty bachelors



Modelled themselves after Podge and Rodge by the sound of it!


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## baby_tooth (13 Dec 2006)

lysa Cork said:


> thanks all, baby tooth can you explain to me what funds are and how they work, a high interest account - the only ones i have seen give a return of 6% which doesnt seem like much ... is an avc an extra pension contribution ?
> 
> lysa




sure, no prob.

avc stands for annual voluntary contribution. Say you are paying tax at the top rate of 42%, with and avc you can pay an amount each year into a designated retirement fund, up to a certain percent of your slaray, ie: some terms and conditions,

So, if you want to increase your retirement fund buy 1000, you would be required to lodge 1000 -42% into this fund, ie: 640 euro. You have automatically made 420 euro (well you get tax relief on this). This is a very very effective way of saving, but the money can't be touched until you retire.

You can buy differing types of investment funds, where your money is pooled together to buy differnt types of assets, This may be commerical property, tech companies, manufacturing companies and so on. It can also be a combintation of all of the above. Some have capital guarantees and other bells and whisltes.

You can place money into stocks directly, but you need to be prepared to sit with them for a long period, they make on average 10% per year. THere is not alot of places where the normal investor is going to obtain anything more than 10 to 15% on average.

Regualar savings accounts are also good at 6% apor per annum.

Personally, and this is only my opinion, all assets classes are over priced because money has been too cheap for too long. This includes both property and shares. Rates look to be rising in the short term, whihc will make this money more expensive and will in turn push down the price of shares in compainies as more people will put money into deposits than they did previously.

I beleive there is good value in agri companies, as we will always need food, health care companies and hospital/nurisng companies, as we are all living longer and so on. Oil is getting scarcer, so alternative energy providing companies will do well. Also inflation is rising so commodities like gold and silver will increase in value when this happens.


Take your time and do some research, an investment property might not be a great idea in ireland or most other countries at this moment. If there was value to be had, I'm afraid that somebody else most likel has beaten you to it on this one.


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## Sarsfield (13 Dec 2006)

tivanagh said:


> Go on a good week-end away on the piss each month. There are plenty of places to choose from around Ireland. Find different B&Bs from €35 you cant go wrong. Enjoy it while you have because at the end of the day you cant bring it with you.


 
There's no doubt that you should live a little.  But remember you'll probably live for a long time too.  I plan on living a little when I'm older too.  That means investing some of my spare cash now.


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## diarmuidc (13 Dec 2006)

Sarsfield said:


> There's no doubt that you should live a little.  But remember you'll probably live for a long time too.  I plan on living a little when I'm older too.  That means investing some of my spare cash now.


well said. It's not black or white, you don't have to either save it all or blow it all. There is a happy medium there.


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