Switch mortgages now and you could still pocket €12k over four years

1.

Incredibly, there’s still time to switch your mortgage. We’ve had multiple interest rate hikes – more to come. Yet there’s still time to snap up a deal as low as 2%, which would save you €254 a month, €3,000 a year and €12,000 over the four-year deal compared to the dearest mortgage currently – and what is likely to be the average mortgage in a year’s time.

Yes, that’s a green mortgage deal on a low loan-to-value rate. But you can still get great deals even with a 90% mortgage on a draughty old shack of a home. It’s that much of a no-brainer!

2.

Even if you don’t switch to a new provider, there’s still time to fix!

Interest rates are already up by 1.25% with another three hikes looming. But so far fixed mortgage rates haven’t budged much. So, there’s still time to cash in on the big financial no-brainer of your life. 3.

As we’re paying a fortune to energy firms – why not get some of it back by investing in them? Last month oil giant BP for example announced profits of over €7bn in the first three months of the year, triple what it made in the same period last year.

The shares have risen strongly, but investors who want an income could still cash in on dividends, which can be paid by companies annually to shareholders.

‘It might be possible to cover some of the increase in your bills with dividend payouts on investments in energy and utility companies, but it is far from a failsafe strategy,’ says Rebecca

O’Connor of Interactive Investor.

BP shares currently provide investors with dividend income equivalent to 4.08% So a €10,000 investment could earn you €408 a year. Eon shares have an equivalent dividend of 5.49%, or €549 over 12 months on a €10,000 investment. But Ms O’Connor cautions: ‘Putting all your investment eggs in one basket, a volatile basket for that matter, leaves your capital at risk.’ 4.

Get your boss to give you voucher as a Christmas bonus – or, if you are a boss, give one to your employees as a tax-efficient remuneration. Budget 2023 upped the limit that employees can give as vouchers. Tax-free small benefit exemption means a worker can get up to €500 a year in a tax-free bonus if its in the form of vouchers. However, in Budget 2023, the Government doubled this annual limit to €1,000, effective straight away. 5.

Despite interest rates rising, many of us still have savings sitting in accounts earning next to nothing. The best savings rates are with An Post, which pays up to 0.96% annually tax-free on its 10year bond. Or less on shorter-term savings. Don’t be put off by the long-term element – you can always take your money out before then and just get a lower rate of interest – that still beats the banks.

6.

Clear your credit card debt.

Use your savings to pay off your credit card balance. It will save you far more money than you could earn in interest on your savings.

7.

Overpaying your mortgage will mean a smaller mortgage to cope with in the looming crisis that shows no signs of abating anytime soon. It could also reduce the overall loan- to-value to help broaden your choice of deals when it comes to remortgaging. A €10,000 overpayment would save a homeowner €7,866 in interest over the life of the mortgage*– and clear the debt more than a year earlier.

Check the details of your loan first – some lenders cap how much you can overpay before you trigger an early repayment charge.

8.

Most people leave tax reliefs go abegging. The average refund for a those that do bother to reclaim tax through Taxback.com is €1,076. Among the most neglected reliefs are those for working from home, medical and dental costs and a special tax deal for couples in the first year of marriage that many miss out on. There are also ‘flatrate expenses’ for particular jobs and professions that are a simple set sum that you only have to claim – yet many don’t bother.

9.

Use comparison sites such as Bonkers.ie to find the best TV/broadband/phone package.

The cheapest deals are from

€45 a month – saving up to

€700 a year.

10.

Shop around for health insurance using www.hia.ie and save €500 on average. You can switch to a similar plan with the same insurer – but for much less money. All you have to do is ask them what they have to offer.

* Based on a €200,000 mortgage with a 3% interest rate and 20 years left on the term.