Hi. I wanted to come back after 5 years and give an update on my progress after some great perspectives here 5 years ago.
Updated details:
Age: 45
Spouse’s/Partner's age: 43
Annual gross income from employment or profession: 90000
Annual gross income of spouse: 60000
Monthly take-home pay: 6,500
Type of employment:
Both Public Sector
Usually saving €2000 /m - between myself and spouse we have taken a lot of different career breaks over the last number of years for childcare reasons.
Rough estimate of value of home: 450,000
Amount outstanding on your mortgage: 0
Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc:
None
Savings and investments:
€270,000 National savings certs and deposits
€700,000 in shares and trust funds
Do you have a pension scheme?
Yes - Both Public Sector
Do you own any investment or other property?
Property 1 - this property was sold since initial post.
Property 2:
Value: €180,000
Mortgage: €102,000 (15 years left)
Interest Rate: 0.6%
Monthly Rent: €850
Property 3:
Value: €265,000
Mortgage: €136,000 (15 years left)
Interest Rate: 0.9%
Monthly Rent: €900
Property 4 - this property was sold since initial post:
Ages of children:
8, 6, 4 years
What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?
We made progress in getting more organised about our finances after the initial post. I feel much more in control than I did 5 years ago. We got lucky in the markets over the last year especially. The same performance will unlikely ever be matched again.
- I am interested in starting a PRSA/AVC self directed pension for me and/or my spouse. I feel this would be more tax efficient - even if it eventually becomes overfunded. Does anyone have any perspective on this or see any flaws in this logic?
- We have an option to sell property 2. But there's no obvious place to put the proceeds. The management of the property doesn't bother us and I know it's a good investment. But the prevailing winds in politics that are chipping away at the property rights of landlords is causing us a lot of concern. I can't see the logic of the new restrictions - given that it will disincentivise landlords from renting property. The lack of houses for sale is now being compounded by the lack of properties to rent. But I don't see a sensible policy for the medium term. I feel this is a real risk.
- We intend to take more unpaid leave and career breaks between us going forward. While I intend to work long term - my spouse may retire early ~12 years from now. I'd like advice on how to best prepare for this eventuality.
- In general - we've had a step change in where we were 5 to 10 years ago. I'm struggling to get my head around being in this position and feel that I may be applying 'just starting out' methods to an altogether different scenario. If anyone that has had a similar transition and has any comments on things I should be thinking of I'd love to hear them!