What was your best investment decision?

I think having a good financial mindset is key in life. Don't want to be too frugal but also don't want a YOLO attitude.

Started work in Dublin aged 23. Rent was €550 amonth in house share. Started saving €1,000 a month for 10 years aged 24 to 34.

Didn't have a car which saved a lot; got bus to work. Still went on nice holidays. Qualified as an accountant which gave me a nice promotion.

Moved to Cork aged 30 as couldn't afford to live in Dublin long term. Allowed me to buy a house on my own with 120K deposit.

Ended up single again after the move and from dating, couldn't believe the amount of people in their early 30s that hadn't a penney to their name, even those still living at home.

Rented my spare rooms for 3 years under Rent a Room Relief. Mortgage already paid off, just turned 40. Wife and 1 child. Saving away. Hoping to retire early c. 55-60.

The ground work in 20s really paid off. Was able to take Parent's Leave recently for a few weeks and was really nice to see my son growing up before my eyes. On a good level of pay to stress in work. Managers keeping asking why I won't go for promotion but 20K pay rise before tax ain't worth it.
 
1. Agreeing to a occupational company pension when I worked in UK before moving to Ireland, which is probably the furthest thing from your mind when you're in your 20s! Paid a good few thousand pounds into it over 6 years and paid no more into it. Moved to Ireland in 92, didn't really think much about it but as retirement was looming, a few years ago I made further enquiries and updated my address etc. Fund value is now about 10 times the payments received.
2. Paid off 16 years or so of NI arrears for UK state pension (no brainer!)
3. Switching mortgage in 2020 to 5 year fixed rate of 2.35 is looking like a good decision hopefully!
 
Howth Head said:
Rumors were circulating that Bertie was considering devaluing the punt, so held off on bringing the cash back to an Irish bank (I think they give you about three months before it becomes a non-resident account.) Sure enough, the punt was devalued by 10% which, added to the exchange rate was worth a few extra thousand.
Click to expand...
Yes I remember that, it was 1993 I think, the UK devalued forced out of the European monetary system whereby sterling was pegged to European currencies at uncompetitive rate. Then the traders focused on irish punt, irish government denied they would devalue, they didn't want to be seen to follow UK. The markets didn't believe them as UK was still the most important market. Low and behold the irish government devalued and many people reckon that was the catalyst that started the celtic tiger. It wasn't a brilliant strategy by irish government they were forced into it
 
Pension! 10 years, maxing AVCs for most of that time. Thanks to AAM, I learnt about fees/passive funds, and stepped out of the default 'lifestyling' approach my provider had everyone in (all bonds/cash by 65!)

This relatively simple investment has the potential to change my life now. I've two paths I'm toying with, continue working in the corporate world, and look to retire early in the next 5 years, or step back from that life and do something else/lower paid, knowing that even I don't contribute further to my pension, compounding will do the work for me, and I'll be secure come retirement time.
 
nest egg said:
Pension! 10 years, maxing AVCs for most of that time. Thanks to AAM, I learnt about fees/passive funds, and stepped out of the default 'lifestyling' approach my provider had everyone in (all bonds/cash by 65!)

This relatively simple investment has the potential to change my life now. I've two paths I'm toying with, continue working in the corporate world, and look to retire early in the next 5 years, or step back from that life and do something else/lower paid, knowing that even I don't contribute further to my pension, compounding will do the work for me, and I'll be secure come retirement time.
Click to expand...
Apt username
 
joe sod said:
@Steven Barrett yes if you earn a high income in a relatively low demanding job. Lots of people earn high incomes but in very demanding high stress jobs, I don't think it's a good decision in that case especially if it starts affecting your health. Nobody is going to pay you a high income unless you are delivering results and that usually comes with high demands
Click to expand...
joe sod said:
The public sector be a good fit
Click to expand...

I have never met a high earner who doesn't have a demanding job.

Of course it is not a good fit if it effects your salary but that doesn't happy to everyone. There are also lots of people who work in demanding roles for 20 years and then step back into less demanding ones. People tend not to be able to sustain work at that pace for 40 years.

The top public service jobs are extremely demanding. Anything from principal officer upwards. The term on a secretary general is 5 years (with the possibility of another 5).
 
age 21, owning only a bicycle, a good rucksack and a pair of doc martins, investing in US MNC profit share schemes from payroll, rather than taking and spending the cash .
In 4 yrs until left in '97 spent c.4000 euro, have held on to shares since today, today they are worth a wopping 194,000 euro.
That is 4700% growth.

age 23 buying 1st house , prices 59950 IR£ because of taking up all overtime available.
 
clinteastwood said:
age 21, owning only a bicycle, a good rucksack and a pair of doc martins, investing in US MNC profit share schemes from payroll, rather than taking and spending the cash .
In 4 yrs until left in '97 spent c.4000 euro, have held on to shares since today, today they are worth a wopping 194,000 euro.
That is 4700% growth.

age 23 buying 1st house , prices 59950 IR£ because of taking up all overtime available.
Click to expand...
you were lucky that you survived the dot com crash, was it a high tech mnc like Microsoft, people forget how low companies like Microsoft were valued after dot com crash and for a decade afterwards, bravo if you held onto your shares throughout all that
 
Not sure if it is an investment but I took a paycut to come off shifts (giving up a shift allowance) to take a first promotion into management. That was the first step up the ladder which led on from there. I could have taken the short term view but looked long term.

I've never had a loan in my life, bar a mortgage.

Best investment?, probably backdating my NICs for the UK pension. (assuming I live long enough to get it !)
 
Invest in yourself. I recently had a meet-up with some friends from college. Although I don’t think any of us had planned it, we all had earned multiple degrees (i.e. science/engineering/information technology, etc.) and all had worked abroad, in these areas, at some stage in our careers. So:

1. Study for additional relevant qualifications.

2. Work abroad, in a low tax environment. Ireland’s high-tax regime makes accumulation of funds difficult, if not impossible, for employees.

3. Pay off mortgage early.

4. Invest regularly (i.e. pay yourself first) in index tracking funds, particularly investing the money available when the mortgage is paid off. Anyone can do this. You do not need to be a stock market genius to invest successfully.
 
1. Bought and held two houses for 6/7 years. Sold both 4 years ago and then bought forever home with a good chunk of equity. A lot of luck with market here.

2. Starting maxing out avc's about 4 years ago. Regret not doing sooner.

3. Switched mortgages multiple times in the past and pockets a decent amoubt in doingg so which I paid off mortgage. For me, it was minimal effort.

4. Successfully applied for uk pension a few yrs ago so i pay the cheaper class each yr going fwd. All going well this should prove to be a brilliant investment.

5. Fixed my current mortgage 2 years ago at 2.1%. 2 years left on fix.

6. I have moved around employers within my industry thus moving up the salary scale to a point now where im comfortable. Maybe not an investment but more so a decision.
 
Learning about money and interest and investments. Best investment you can make in yourself is to know how to manage your money and where and when to seek help. For me, AAM was a huge help in mortgage attack and I have passed on my knowledge to others who are interested - (remember the Avant 1.95% 7 year rate!!). Also helped avoid a lot of pitfalls.

Don't be afraid to move employers/industry. Have secured 20% pay rises moving around (sometimes involuntarily!) by changing roles with far less than 20% increase in responsibility and stress and far more than 20% increase in satisfaction.

For me despite a lot of thought and back and forth, both of us staying in the workforce was a key factor in our families' current and future financial situation. We always had the knowledge that the creche fees was a temporary cashflow issue and if we could manage the non financial aspects we could ride out those expensive years. Each family and set of circumstances is unique and while it is possible to return it can be very difficult. And we kept pensions rolling and career progression going (albeit at a slower pace for one of us, since caught up).

Be born at the right time! Grow up in the 80s so learn to live well within your means. Don't buy a house in the boom as you are not long graduated and only have travel on your mind. Have a few years experience in a solid profession under your belt so while you get laid off in the financial crisis, you get another job immediately. Buy a house in the era post crash with ease as no-one is buying and your frugality means you had a large deposit. Pure luck as to when I was born and the economic cycles I fell into as a result.
 
Getting seconded to work abroad in 2002-2003. Employer paid my rent abroad (and I had no accommodation in Ireland). I received Irish salary, and in 2002, it was still possible to claim tax relief for days out of the state (abolished in 2003). Made a nice saving that year.

Deciding in 2006 not to buy a house (after being underbidder in one particularly crazy bidding war). Made the decision after doing a lot of research. Was correct decision in hindsight. But at the time, was quite risky.

Buying a house in 2013. No great analysis here. That was just dumb luck. I was at the stage of my life where it made sense to buy. I didn't expect house prices to rise any more than inflation at that time.

And worst decision: Getting suckered into playing cup and ball on the streets of some European city and losing 100 Deutschmark (a lot of money for me at the time). It's the continental equivalent of the three card trick.
 
Starting a pension once I go my first 'real' job. Will give my father some (most!) credit for the decision however has worked out very well and is now my biggest financial asset by a good bit (house equity slowly catching up).
 
Last edited:
joe sod said:
you were lucky that you survived the dot com crash, was it a high tech mnc like Microsoft, people forget how low companies like Microsoft were valued after dot com crash and for a decade afterwards, bravo if you held onto your shares throughout all that
Click to expand...
It was a semiconductor company. For about a decade, they shares were worth v little, since 2010 they started to move!
 
clinteastwood said:
It was a semiconductor company. For about a decade, they shares were worth v little, since 2010 they started to move!
Click to expand...
that happened alot of the big tech survivors from the dot com crash, you had to wait a decade to get back in the black. Microsoft didn't take out its 2001 high until 2016, now its the largest market capitalised stock on the planet. In 2010 it was being dismissed as an old tech stock because of the arrival of android and smart phones where Microsoft wasn't a player. Its crazy how the markets can get things so wrong and how many people sold out of Microsoft during its long doldrum years
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top