Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast

Welcome back to Informed Decisions with me, Paddy Delaney! A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that the coming 'season' would be focused on how to prepare for and importantly, navigate our incomes in retirement. It's not that I am breaking a promise but this week I want to take a very slight diversion from that, for two very valid reasons a) an article I wrote was published int he Sunday Times this week, and b) I didn't allow myself sufficient time this week to complete the next piece as fully as I had hoped.....so you'll have to wait till next week for that one I'm afraid! Sorry! It is not everyday that someone like you and I gets a full article published in one of the main weekend papers - and for someone that has been an admirer of these papers, and of the people who write articles in them, it was a big deal! So I'd love to share the article with you, in the hope that it is of value. Before I do that I have an ask of you. I have been blogging and podcasting (or 'casting pods' as my mate Lenny calls it!) for 3 years now. I absolutely love writing and creating the Blog every week, get tons of feedback and emails from people, and indeed some of you have become hugely valued clients who I work with on an on-going basis. During the 3 years I have had a strong desire to do more, to reach out and connect personally, to perhaps meet as part of a group or community of sorts. In my mind at least there is nothing more rewarding than spending time with people who are interested in similar things and sharing ideas, forming new relationships, and learning from each other. With that in mind, if you are reading this in June or July of 2019, I would really love your thoughts on the following: If I were to host a Personal Finance/Investing/Retirement conference, meeting or Webinar, would you be interested in attending? If so, have you any suggestions on the specific topics or aspects you feel would be of most value and importance to you? I have some ideas on what I feel would be of value to people, and based on my own years as a facilitator and coach feel would be able to bring something of real value - the question in my mind however, would there be anyone else there apart from me!? So who better to ask than you, my supporters. Would love you thoughts, email me here with your thoughts. Pause me, reflect on this, would you attend, and what topics or format would be of value to you? Let me know either way! Once you've that done have a read of the following Sunday Times article as of 2nd June 2019. The Generation Game… click here to read full article.

Financial Planning in Ireland is on the up. Based on my experience at least, Planning is what people really really want. They may NEED a product to help them achieve their plan, maybe. But they want a plan first and foremost. They want to know that they will be OK financially, that they can afford to do xyz, that they can graduate from full-time employ at x age, and any number of other personal money-dependent goals. Sure, the actual planning can be hard work, can require work, time, thought, challenge, compromise, debate and decision-making. These activities can and will stir up all sorts of emotions; fear, hope, pain, love, excitement, regret, joy, the list goes on. It is the emotion that it creates is what I get a real kick from. Helping people to plan, and to witness these emotions is what I love most about the work that I do with individual clients. It was in a conversation last week with a client that the topic of inflation came up. It had been mentioned in the news recently, inflation has hit a 7 year high of 1.7%. This blog topic is one I have had on 'the list' for a very long time. It is a huge topic, and some may be disappointed at how short a piece this is, given it's significance, but I feel less is more on this topic - it is a simple concept, too often over-complicated. Full Blog Here. Paddy Delaney

Inheritance tax planning is most certainly a balancing act, is fraught with concerns and challenges, and is one that I see individuals struggling with quite often. When you die you may want your estate to pass to your children or other loved-ones but them having to potentially pay a significant % of the estate in Inheritance Tax may reduce greatly the amount that goes to those you intended, and increase the amount that goes to Revenue. I often hear people say 'sure I won't be here to worry about how much tax they have to pay', and I fully accept that logic. I do however also know that many of us would prefer not to see a significant portion of our assets go to the Revenue due to a lack of planning or perhaps a little foresight. This week on Ireland's #1 finance blog and podcast I will share some ideas that I hope will help anyone that is struggling with this particular conundrum, or indeed may have this conundrum but doesn't yet realise it! I do hope you find it an excellent guide in the main aspects of inheritance tax planning, and I would also caution that everyone's scenario is obviously different, and what might work for one person may not be the optimum route for someone else, so please do bear that in mind as you digest this! Paddy Delaney

ARFs, AMRFs, AVCs, Annuities all form part of retirement planning, but as usual there's far more to it than products! Welcome back to Informed Decisions Finance Blog. As part of my own motive to share information and to help others with their financial education I am a volunteer representative of the CCPC (State body that aims to help consumers, check out their website - tons of useful resources). I was delivering a talk to a large group last week in Dundalk, at the end of which we have time for Q&A. What struck me was that most of the questions relate to retirement planning, and indeed how to ensure that the planning we do is effective and of value to us when we get to the 'spending' phase after retirement. What also struck me is that in the past I have typically varied our topics, jumping from beginning to invest, to managing existing investments, regular savings, borrowings, mindset, education etc. Based on feedback and also based on this recent experience the Blog will take a fairly heavy retirement-planning and indeed income-planning slant over the coming weeks at least. Having said that I hope to share ideas that are as relevant to those that are in 'accumulation' phase (mid-career) as much as it does to those that are in the 'spending' phase (retired or close to it!). Intro: I was talking to a friend of the family a few weeks back, recently retired and full of energy. This lady loves life, has a huge network of friends and family and is looking forward to hopefully many years of good times! When she asked me 'what are you doing these days' and I proceeded to tell her, she informed me that she has only 1 major regret, that she didn't plan a little better financially for her retirement. She doesn't have as much income as she would like in order to do the stuff she would like. It got me to thinking, about my own situation, and indeed of the situations of many people that I have come across over the years who have one eye on their graduation from full-time employment to a more leisure-based lifestyle! We all obviously have differing circumstances and different opportunities and constraints however there are at least 5 pretty common mistakes I have seen happen again and again. Here I share the culmination of those thoughts, into '5 common retirement planning mistakes', in the hope that they might be of value to you, or indeed to your loved-ones.

you can enjoy in years to come......so buckle in! Intro: It's been mentioned to me a handful of times that the topics of the Blog tend to be focused on the 'upper end' of things, and that for most 'ordinary people' the figures I talk about here are out of reach. To be fair the figures I sometimes talk about are aspirational, I get that. At the same time I fell that irrespective of the level you are aiming for the principles are the same, the ideas are the same. So whether the figures are 2x or 5x what you are aiming for, go with it and hopefully you'll gain some insights that'll help you get to where you want to get. Also, we gotta surely aim big....or as a friend of mine says 'keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground'! I covered 'can a couple retire with €1m' last year, and this week I will explore how to actually get to that level of a pension pot! In this relatively short piece I will explore the impact of different ages and different strategies in retirement planning, and we'll see how they each impact. The strategies differ in regards the duration of 'accumulation phase', asset allocation and fee structure..... Paddy Delaney

Welcome back! Many of us have heard of FIRE (Financial Independence - Retire Early) but not many of us have met many that are actually doing it! In this episode we chat with Michael to hear his story, how he is working on his own financial independence, and the vehicles he is using to maximise his own financial future. Michael stresses that his approach works for him, and that everyone should find their own way based on what they feel will work for them, so please don't replicate what he does without determining the risks and the suitability to you first. Michael's website is here, and we hope you enjoy the interview. Paddy.

Hi, and welcome to Ireland's #1 Finance Blog & Podcast. This is a first for Informed Decisions, and this week you get to hear it! We recently got to know Rob O'Donoghue of the Rob Of The Green Podcast. Rob interviews all kinds of really interesting guests, and has over 100 episodes at this stage, he is dedicated to it for sure! Rob invited me to be a guest on his podcast, and I was happy to oblige. I share the interview with you dear listener, and hope that you get something of value from the conversation we had. We discuss: A Bit Of My Own Background How I Started Blogging & Podcasting Financial Planning Insights My Top Investing Tips Personal Development All of Rob's podcasts are available here on iTunes and here on his Website. I hope you enjoy!? Paddy.

This week I share a short (but hopefully valuable) piece to raise awareness of something that impacts us all and how we make decisions, and often without us even being aware of it! What Are Biases? If you were shown a photo of 2 different people, based on their appearance, dress, facial expression, ethnicity, and any number of other visuals, we would have our own 'impression' of that person. In essence, though we might not like to admit it, we have made a judgement about that person based on what we see, but more significantly, based on our biases. Biases, which we all possess by the way, can cause us to be unintentionally prejudicial, and are formed over decades of experiences, beliefs, perceptions, information and thought. Our biases can have a positive, negative or neutral impact on our experiences and decisions. Full Blog Here Paddy Delaney

This week I share a short (but hopefully valuable) piece to raise awareness of something that impacts us all and how we make decisions, and often without us even being aware of it! What Are Biases? If you were shown a photo of 2 different people, based on their appearance, dress, facial expression, ethnicity, and any number of other visuals, we would have our own 'impression' of that person. In essence, though we might not like to admit it, we have made a judgement about that person based on what we see, but more significantly, based on our biases. Biases, which we all possess by the way, can cause us to be unintentionally prejudicial, and are formed over decades of experiences, beliefs, perceptions, information and thought. Our biases can have a positive, negative or neutral impact on our experiences and decisions. Full Blog Here Paddy Delaney

This week I share a short (but hopefully valuable) piece to raise awareness of something that impacts us all and how we make decisions, and often without us even being aware of it! What Are Biases? If you were shown a photo of 2 different people, based on their appearance, dress, facial expression, ethnicity, and any number of other visuals, we would have our own 'impression' of that person. In essence, though we might not like to admit it, we have made a judgement about that person based on what we see, but more significantly, based on our biases. Biases, which we all possess by the way, can cause us to be unintentionally prejudicial, and are formed over decades of experiences, beliefs, perceptions, information and thought. Our biases can have a positive, negative or neutral impact on our experiences and decisions. Full Blog Here Paddy Delaney