Self-employed dental benefits It’s tough to be self-employed in Ireland, as the deck very often appears to be stacked against you in terms of welfare benefits or a safety net should you find yourself in trouble. However, The Irish Times reports this week that half a million self

Financial brush up How financially savvy are you? Could you reel off the definition of a tracker mortgage without resorting to Google? According to the latest Standard & Poor Financial Literacy Survey, just over half of Irish people are “financially literate”. Those li

Home or work? Are you a stay-at-home parent considering a return to work? Writing in The Irish Times this week, Fiona Reddan discusses the financial implications of such a move, including salary, childcare costs and tax. Reddan provides a handy breakdown of potential taxation issues a

Banking from beyond What happens to your money after you die? That’s the somewhat morbid topic tackled in The Irish Times this week by Fiona Reddan, who queries what happens to your bank account, loans and other financial affairs once you shuffle off this mortal coil. “For most

Reasons to quit Faced with a big bill for health insurance? The Irish Independent’s Charlie Weston highlights quitting smoking as one method of savings thousands of euro on health insurance premiums. That’s according to research by Royal London, which recently rebranded fr

Financial pressures The majority of Irish consumers are forced to borrow money to pay their household bills, according to research by Switcher.ie. Three in five households (59%) surveyed said had to borrow money, while one-third (35%) said they used their credit card to meet their obl

Action plan for rural Ireland House buyers are to be offered renovation grants to restore properties in small towns and villages as part of the Government’s plan to revive rural Ireland, according to a report by the Irish Independent. The Action Plan for Rural Ireland is aimed a

Ireland geo-blocked? According to a recent report entitled ‘Do Invisible Borders Still Restrict Consumer Access to Services in the EU?’, online shoppers can be discriminated against on the basis of nationality through geo-blocking – the prevention of customers in one EU co

New year, new reg Around 45 per cent of Irish people intend on buying a car in the next 12 months, according to the latest Carzone Motoring Report, with 28% aiming to spend between €10,000 and €20,000. Only one in four people will use their savings to buy their new wheels, with financ