# Review of financial status



## FANTANA (21 Oct 2018)

Hi,
*
Age:* 27
*Spouse’s/Partner's age:* 28

*Annual gross income from employment or profession:* 60,000
*Annual gross income of spouse:* 0

*Monthly take-home pay:*
3,300

*Type of employment: *
me: Private sector - full time, permanent
spouse: Stay at home Mam

*In general are you:*
Breaking even.

*Rough estimate of value of home:*
235K


*Amount outstanding on your mortgage*: €175,000


*What interest rate are you paying?* 3.6% (PTSB 2 year fix one year remaining)


*Other borrowings:*
20K personal loan. Interest 9%, Term 5 years with 4 years remaining

Have a 1K over draft that we dip into slightly every few months or so.

*Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? *
Have struggled to pay it off fully the last year but now have cleared it fully and intend to keep it this way.

*Savings and investments:*
None


*Do you have a pension scheme? *
Yes, I contribute 5% + employer gives 5%. Current value is 8k

*Do you own any investment or other property? *
No

*Children*
Yes, one. Age 2.

*Life + health insurance:*
None other than Mortgage protection and serious illness cover.


*What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?*


We’ve had a lot of changes in the last few years. I moved home from working abroad, had a child, bought our first home and got married. Money has been tight since we bought our house this time last year which I guess is pretty normal.

We were lucky to be given 20K towards our house from my parents but just a month after drawdown my parents ran into difficulty and had to recall the gift. They tried not to but they were really stuck and I couldn’t live with the guilt of not trying to give them their money back. I was afraid to go back to my bank where I’d got the mortgage from in case they considered it a breach of the loan so soon after drawdown. So I took out a personal loan of 20K over five years with my current account bank.

This loan I feel is a big weight over our shoulders. It’s effectively pushed us from an affordable mortgage of 750 a month to 1150 a month mortgage. I would like to get this paid off as soon as possible. With this loan I doubt we would be able to switch our mortgage. This time next year we would be free to switch and I would like to go to Ulster bank or KBC to avail of a much cheaper rate.

We seem to always be just scrapping by and every few months or so we have an unexpected expense, (spouse tipped a car €500, son had an operation €600)

I’m particularly worried about our lack of health insurance. My son’s operation was very minor (one day) and it cost €600. If I or my spouse got seriously sick I feel we would be in a lot of trouble. There has been rumours my work will start a scheme but I have my doubts this will be anytime soon.

We got married in February of this year (registry office) so I should take in an additional €280 Net per month from January 2019.

I’m expecting a promotion that will begin at the start of the year which should bring my gross income to €70K.

My wife should have her full license by then and will start minding two children for additional income.

Pleased to hear some valuable words of guidance/pointers of how to get some breathing space.


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## Protocol (21 Oct 2018)

Quick point on income tax: are you claiming the Home Carers tax credit?

On health, are you aware that public hospitals are tax-financed in Ireland, and there are just two charges? AE fee 100, and overnight fee 80.


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## dub_nerd (22 Oct 2018)

A long shot, but do your parents realise that not only have they taken back the €20k "gift" but they have cost you an additional €5k in interest payments at a very high rate? Maybe your guilty feelings went too far, though I guess it's unlikely you can do anything retrospectively.


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## bcol1 (22 Oct 2018)

Have you notified revenue of your marital status? You'll be able to retrospectively claim tax credits for 2018, married in Feb means 11/12 of full year, should be 3,160 tax refund due to you in Jan '19.


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## David1234 (22 Oct 2018)

You are doing just fine. You have had a few expensive years with one off expenses. Your outlook is good with increased income from potential salary increases and your wife's ability to earn.

In the short term, as bcol1 said alert the revenue that you are now married and that you want to be jointly assessed. This can be back dated to your wedding date. You should be due a significant rebate for this year so get it done asap https://www.revenue.ie/en/life-even...documents/assessable-spouse-election-form.pdf . Tick the box that says "_ If you wish to have transferable tax credits and standard rate band allocated to the assessable spouse." You can always amend this if your wife goes back to work._

On illness/death benefits check what is offered, if anything, by your employer. I am a few years older that you and took out a 20 year life assurance policy for €500k that costs roughly €25 a month. It offers decent peace of mind if something was to happen to you.


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## FANTANA (22 Oct 2018)

@Protocal Didn't know about the home carers credit, googling it now not sure we can be get it while being jointly assessed? Thanks for the advice on medical costs, I guess my concerns are more long waiting times then instead of financial.
@dub_nerd Yes I know this has potentially cost us 5K in interest but they gave it in good faith and they are my parents. I have no intention of falling out with them over this money. TBH it could have been a lot worse if we hadn't been able to get the loan.
@bcol1 & David1234 will send off the form tomorrow. Hopefully with the rebate and an annual bonus in January (fingers crossed) we can pay off a lumpsum off the loan. Then the additional salary and my wife's income can go towards month to month living. will check out the illness/ benefit as €25 seems very reasonable.

So the immediate goals are; change marriage status with revenue, to try build a few months savings, sort life insurance and then try to clear the personal loan ASAP so we are free to switch etc.


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## HollowKnight (22 Oct 2018)

On your last point, I think I would try to pay off the personal loan (9%) rather than build up savings (2.25%).


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## BilliamD75 (23 Oct 2018)

As David 1234 said your doing fine, remember to enjoy life especially with the little one  they are great times good luck


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## gnf_ireland (23 Oct 2018)

BilliamD75 said:


> remember to enjoy life especially with the little one they are great times


Just to add to this, at the age of 2 the innocence is still there and they want your time more than anything else. As they get older, the costs start to rise a bit as they 'want' more based on what they see their friends with

A few hours exploring in a forest or along the shoreline is an adventure at that age  enjoy the innocence !


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## Bronte (24 Oct 2018)

If you wish to switch and this loan is blocking you could you get the 20K from somewhere for a short period to pay off the loan and then switch and borrow the 20K again?

- you should try and pay off the 20K loan as quickely as possibly as it's costing you the most money
- you should aim to weed yourself off dipping into the overdraft and getting rid of it altogether, people are far too dependent on these and they are a curse
- if you're not paying off your cc each month than you shouldn't use your cc at all. 
- Make a monthly budget and stick to it
- do out a list of your spending and identify areas that costs can be cut.  Put it up here your costs and we can give you ideas. 

And don't worry, it's perfectly normal this early in a relationship with a new child and new house that money is tight. It will get easier.


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## Jonny bravo (24 Oct 2018)

Also remember to claim back tax relief on your medical expenses. You can get 20% back by completing a form. Can do it for the last 4 years. 

There's other items you can claim tax back on as well - bin charges etc. Not massive money but everything adds up.


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## jpd (24 Oct 2018)

Jonny bravo said:


> There's other items you can claim tax back on as well - bin charges etc.



Not any more - that was phased out in 2011


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## BigBoots82 (24 Oct 2018)

How about refinance your mortgage but borrow enough to repay your 20k loan? Based on your home vale this should leave you at 90% loan to value on your home but with a more manageable interest rate overall. You can fix with aib for 7 years at 3.5% for a 90% ltv and possibly 10 years with boi


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