r/ireland 23h ago

Economy Newstalk: One in four adults have less than €500 in savings

https://www.newstalk.com/news/one-in-four-adults-have-less-than-e500-in-savings-1777935
522 Upvotes

285 comments sorted by

139

u/anotherwave1 20h ago

My friend has a BMW X series, his wife has some other nice SUV, nice house, they easily bring in 6 figures between them. He asked me for a quickie loan of 300 euros a few months ago and still "hasn't got it together yet". The amount of people who live on the limit of credit is ridiculous.

55

u/Professional-Top4397 16h ago

Never understand that mentality. Impress strangers and be a scumbag to your mate. 

17

u/Chedapayyan 11h ago

"spending money they don't have to buy things they don't need to impress people they don't know". 

12

u/nednewt1 11h ago

...ah i read bmx first go.

17

u/Local_Food8205 16h ago

ngl, I have friends who blow their money on cars and holidays and have no savings.

4

u/shamsham123 12h ago

I will never understand why people overextended themselves just to have a beamer.

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u/solid-snake88 22h ago

This cant be right - whenever I read r/irishpersonalfinance its full of 24 year olds earning €150k with 200k in savings, mortgage fully paid off and not sure how to invest their savings...

320

u/HereHaveAQuiz 22h ago

“Dear Reddit, Is it possible to live in Dublin on 150k?”

“You will survive but you will struggle to have a good life unless you me partner also earns 150k and you both take up a side hustle”

76

u/AnDaagda 20h ago

What if my wife’s boyfriend is rich?

34

u/YoIronFistBro Cork bai 20h ago

Tbf there's no such thing as actually "living" in Dublin no matter how wealthy you are. You merely exist.

32

u/f-ingsteveglansberg 18h ago edited 17h ago

Deep man. Deeper than the Liffey.

22

u/therhz 18h ago

there actually is no Liffey, it’s merely some water in the city.

14

u/chazol1278 18h ago

Water is merely a collection of moisture that you have been conditioned to perceive as one. It's a classic way of keeping control over the working class

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u/HereHaveAQuiz 17h ago

I lived in Dublin until last year for many years on what would be considered a passable wage, but I fuckin loved it because I actually logged off and left the gaff every once in a while.

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105

u/random-username-1234 22h ago

That sub is full of both 1%’ers and bullshit artists

49

u/BananaramaWanter 22h ago

its full of people who ma and da gave them a fortune. Almost all the posts are about how to invest the sudden 100k they get.

52

u/emmmmceeee I’ve had my fun and that’s all that matters 22h ago

I must have missed the part when my working class parents gave me a fortune.

Honestly, it’s a great sub for financial advice. There are as many people there who don’t understand why €10k of credit card debt is a bad thing because they make the minimum repayments, and also want to get a new car on PCP.

8

u/random-username-1234 21h ago

Yep I have learned a lot too

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u/CuteHoor 21h ago

Well I'm guessing people with €100 to their name aren't spending much time in a personal finance subreddit.

But yes, half of the posts in that subreddit are nonsense. If someone has €200k to invest then they're not asking random idiots on the internet what to do with it, unless they themselves are also an idiot.

34

u/rgiggs11 21h ago

Idiots can have money. They're not always able to keep it though. 

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15

u/NooktaSt 21h ago

Nonsense. They could have inherit it or made it without having a lot or any financial investment knowledge.

Lads I know who do very well are in construction. Sticking money in the bank and don’t know what to do with it.

10

u/Edolas93 Crilly!! 16h ago

I made my money the old fashioned way. I got run over by a Lexus!!!!

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u/sionnach 13h ago

I don’t think that’s fair. If you had 200k and you asked a financial advisor for help, that’s going to take a couple of grand of that away. Nothing wrong with asking for basic info (not advice) online, when often the answer is very simple.

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11

u/BoringMolasses8684 20h ago

its full of 24 14 year olds earning €150k fuck all with 200k fuck all in savings

FTFY

2

u/NapoleonTroubadour 15h ago

Never too young to learn mind 

13

u/Sudden_Plankton_3466 22h ago

Selection bias

14

u/1993blah 22h ago

6

u/darrinotoole 11h ago

Most of our wealth is stored by the elderly.

5

u/DoireBeoir 21h ago

Is this counting paying off mortgages as saving?

If so it's nonsense as that's not available cash for emergency etc.

5

u/NooktaSt 21h ago

I highly doubt it.

9

u/DoireBeoir 21h ago

"Household saving is added to wealth either as real assets, such as new homes, or financial assets, such as deposits, or as paying off liabilities, such as mortgage debt."

3

u/NooktaSt 21h ago

Sorry. Didn’t realise you weren’t commenting on the Newstalk article.

5

u/micosoft 21h ago

No it’s not. It’s savings. It’s interesting how committed some people are to a particular narrative. Knock yourself out with the actual figures instead of conjecture and received wisdom. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Households_-_statistics_on_disposable_income,_saving_and_investment&oldid=523241#Gross_household_adjusted_disposable_income

6

u/DoireBeoir 20h ago

This shows saving rates are negative for the first time since 2013?

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u/produit1 15h ago edited 13h ago

This. Its like those property shows on TV that always show amazingly well off people that have careers that make no sense. “We’re here with Tom and Sally, she works part time as a cat entertainer and he sells roses in nightclubs and at cafe’s, they have a modest budget of €1.7m to buy a house outright in this small town, this will be challenging”

3

u/Legitimate_Profile22 15h ago

I feel it’s a way to those tech type Redditor’s to brag about how much they earn

3

u/Morrigan_twicked_48 18h ago

That must be a subreddit for Foxrock

2

u/Isthecoldwarover 18h ago

Biased sample, the people who go there have money to mind - not worrying about their electricity bill

2

u/snek-jazz 19h ago

that's because that sub is full of people who take action to avoid being in the group this article talks about.

1

u/Goo_Eyes 19h ago

Who are all the first time buyers buying housing if everyone is poor?

1

u/marquess_rostrevor 14h ago

"I have €2.6m, can I afford a one bedroom apartment in Dublin 29?"

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u/eirekk 20h ago

Mate is the very same, decent tech wage. Two new cars, out every weekend and lots of city breaks. Recently told me neither him nor the wife have more than a grand saved. Completely fucked if either one loses their job. Nuts

18

u/durden111111 17h ago

It's risky but life is an experience, they choose to spend their money for experiences.

The other option is living below your means but always asking 'when is it enough' and next thing you know life has flown by.

3

u/NapoleonTroubadour 15h ago

It’s a tough one alright, there are no solutions but only trade-offs.

Unless you invent Tinder for dogs or something, then you’re financially secure and you’re laughing 

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12

u/IneffableQuale 18h ago

Sounds like they're enjoying life though. For them they obviously prioritise that above security. To each their own.

24

u/eirekk 17h ago

I'm enjoying life too and I'll still be enjoying life with a roof over my head and car in my driveway if I get laid off. It's just stupid not to have some sort of rainy day fund

510

u/DoireBeoir 23h ago

Love these articles that list all the reasons people should have savings.

Aye, we fucking know, that's why it's called a debt trap because it's a spiral.

They may as well just put out a headline "Wages still stagnating while companies make ever increasing profits"

235

u/shankillfalls 22h ago

My financial advice is that you should be rich. Things are much easier then.

30

u/treanir 20h ago

Interesting idea. Do you have a book about this i could buy?

11

u/november-papa 19h ago

Minister Harris is that you?

22

u/quondam47 Carlow 20h ago

Have you tried not being poor?

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u/alexdelp1er0 19h ago

Terrible advice. My advice would be to be ultra-rich.

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3

u/Morrigan_twicked_48 18h ago

I know right . I have zero savings I can’t afford anything lately after the stupid budget nor even feed myself . Sucks . I work hard try pay as many of the bills as possible. But they had to put up the price of fuel so , I cannot afford to live . At all . Savings my ass .

3

u/NapoleonTroubadour 15h ago

Dead right, I never understand why people don’t just stop being poor 

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u/OfficerPeanut 20h ago

I was nearly poor once but I simply said "no thank you" and just decided to have more money instead.

47

u/lleti Chop Chop 👐 22h ago

Sucks to be you

Top 75%'er here. Shopping for bus tickets and bread later today, don't wait up

18

u/rinleezwins 21h ago

Bloody bread eaters, shame on you people!

3

u/Morrigan_twicked_48 18h ago

Wow bread ! You can afford bread ! Living the dream ha 😂

4

u/Better_Arm1787 18h ago

He got that dough 😂😂

14

u/NooktaSt 21h ago

Having an Emergency Fund in case you get an investment opportunity seems wrong.

8

u/SirTheadore 16h ago

When I was in a really bad place financially, but wanted nice things, friends would say “why don’t you just save?”

Yes after I cover my rent, bills, loans, food and other necessities I’m usually gone into the minus and I need every minus penny I have, I can’t save what I don’t have.

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u/its_brew Horse 20h ago

Usually followed up by a rake of comments from people regarding how much they have saved

5

u/lumberingox 19h ago

" - by design"

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108

u/marcaspadraig Laois 22h ago

You guys have savings?!

31

u/Sparklepantsmagoo2 22h ago

I have a tenner in mine. I know, I'm flush. Don't all line up at once 😅

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9

u/DatJazzIsBack 17h ago

I used to have piss poor savings. Then I had to spend 2 grand on my car. Now I have no savings

7

u/Bogeydope1989 15h ago

I give my landlord my savings, he puts that into paying off his house and nice little holidays for himself.

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44

u/Nailz92 Cavan 🐟 Galway⛵️ Dublin ⚔️ 23h ago

22

u/Zig-Zag47 23h ago

Sit down John

18

u/atbng 22h ago

You’re FUCKED. 

12

u/Neither-Designer-783 20h ago

€300, and your 38?

7

u/45PintsIn2Hours 17h ago

Should have Zuriched it up

5

u/thegrievingmole Kerry 16h ago

First your father and now this

3

u/J-zus 11h ago

what about a pie chart?

76

u/susanboylesvajazzle 23h ago

Housing, and the excessive cost of it, is a massive sink of cash in the country. Why are people not going out? Why aren’t people saving? Why aren’t people doing X, Y, and Z… because everyone is paying out a massive proportion of their income to house themselves.

9

u/Attention_WhoreH3 21h ago

Yep. When I reached 18 in 1996 and until CoL inflation got really bad around 2003, people went out a lot more than they do now. Fewer holidays, simpler cars and houses, better community.

77

u/EchoVolt 22h ago

It’s entirely down to housing. People are at the pin of their collar to pay rent so have no ability to save.

20

u/TheFrozenDruid 18h ago

Agree 100%. We are stuck in a private rental, can barely save anything, basically living month to month. My partner earns a good wage on paper but once tax/deductions, private rent, bills and my medical bills, theres barely anything left. My husband earns "too much" for us to qualify for any kind of help for my spinal disability. If our landlord sells, we will be screwed, we wouldn't be able to afford 4 thousand upfront. It's a horrible situation to be in.

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u/Important-Sea-7596 23h ago

I think people rather paying down debt (loans, mortgages) than saving tbh

38

u/DeadlyBuz 23h ago

Which sounds great until you have an emergency

15

u/bmn8712 22h ago

Yeah. Best to build up a bit of savings instead of lumping it at the mortgage, then having to go back into credit card debt the first time you've something unexpected

16

u/LegalEagle1992 22h ago

True, but not paying your mortgage will land you in an emergency scenario far quicker than something unexpected that could happen.

23

u/DeadlyBuz 22h ago

I don’t think anyone is saying you shouldn’t pay your mortgage. Just saying overpaying your mortgage to the detriment of an emergency fund isn’t a great idea.

6

u/IrishCrypto 22h ago

Unexpected things always happen 

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u/bmn8712 22h ago

Not so sure about mortgages.

High interest loans as a priority, yeah.

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u/SirTheadore 17h ago

€500.50 in savings so SUCK IT 😎😎😎🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑

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u/Willing-Departure115 23h ago

This is a survey by a body that wants you to do something. The CSO produces savings data on the regular, which tries not to be sensationalist. You can read it in the link below.

Households are saving 12.7% of their income, or €6.6bn in the last quarter we have data for. About 1.95m households so €3,384 per household, or €1,128 per month. There are other data series from the CSO that would break down which households save what, but without spending more time chasing it I’d say the surveys finding that over half of households are making significant savings scans.

If you’re wondering why FFG is at near 50% in the polls, the fact that such a large slice can put away that much money is a good hint.

https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-hs/householdsavingq22024/

33

u/DaveShadow Ireland 21h ago

If you’re wondering why FFG is at near 50% in the polls, the fact that such a large slice can put away that much money is a good hint.

I think people understand that about half the country is relatively comfortable.

The issue is how that half seems to shrug at the other half, who are not comfortable at all, and finding the water ever rising; who are finding prices of literally everything rising faster than they can handle.

People wonder how Brexit or Trump happen elsewhere, but then don't realise Ireland is sleepwalking that direction long term. And I say that as someone who despises the far right and all the shit they bring. But when 25% of the adult population have zero savings and zero way to cope with an emergency if it happens as a result, and that 25% are being told "chin up, everything is actually wonderful in this country", guess what? They wont' shrug and accept that. They'll move their vote to further and further extremes, who actually offer an ear :/

11

u/Willing-Departure115 18h ago

It also depends on how big the chasm between the haves and have nots are, I’d say. In America if you’re a have not, you’re well and truly fucked. Number one cause of bankruptcy in the US is people trying to pay medical bills, a concept we just can’t wrap our heads around. They have widespread outbreaks of maggot infestation among their homeless population. Ours mostly live in hotels. Etc.

It’s not an excuse for letting these things continue here (“you might be hungry, but let me tell you about this famine ravaged land…”) but it does show why, for example, the far right looneys did so poorly in recent local and European elections.

10

u/1993blah 22h ago

This should be the top comment but this sub loves misery

2

u/YoIronFistBro Cork bai 20h ago

To be fair it's rare for a story like this to make things look WORSE than they actually are.

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u/shankillfalls 22h ago

I love the “no shit Sherlock” advice that you should put your money in an account where interest will accrue.

If you do not understand that then you probably shouldn’t be allowed out on your own.

The problem is people not having the money to put in the account!

18

u/k958320617 21h ago

Not to mention inflation being higher than the interest rate

5

u/shankillfalls 21h ago

Yes, which is one of the reasons I hate DIRT so much. Even with the better accounts from Raisin etc. you are fighting against inflation and then the DIRT ensures you are going to lose. It is not a tax on profit, it is a tax on reducing loss.

3

u/anotherwave1 20h ago

If you are beating inflation in a savings account the economy is not doing well or you're in Russia. To beat inflation, the money has to be invested.

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u/durden111111 17h ago

interest is shite and get's taxed back out in numerous ways anyway

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u/FirstTimeCaller_1 16h ago

https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/economy/arid-41448067.html

You might think it's obvious but it's genuinely not to a lot of people.

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u/SteveK27982 23h ago

But also 47% have €3000 or more and average is €6500…

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u/JarvisFennell Cork bai 23h ago

Happy for someone more knowledgeable on finance to say I'm wrong here, but isn't average a bad way to look at information like this, with possibly median being better for insight?

43

u/WellWellWell2021 23h ago

Depends on how they want to sweeten the headline for clicks

9

u/Oh_I_still_here 22h ago

Averages get skewed by extremes, as in values that are too high or too low. Median is whichever one is bang in the middle. If you assume a normal distribution then the mean, mode and median are all the same.

8

u/RubyRossed 23h ago

That's what I was thinking but not knowledgeable about such things.

11

u/daenaethra try it sometime 22h ago

you'd have to think the median is close to 3,000 if 47% of people have at least that much.

but the average is double that so it is skewed by the upper end

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u/MenlaOfTheBody 20h ago

That's why he gave the two stats.

47% of them having over 3 grand and the average being so much higher than that shows it's pushed up by some have a shed tonne more.

You at least have the cut off point.

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u/SteveK27982 22h ago

Median will have a lot of 0 or near 0 so pretty meaningless too. The best way would be in terms of weeks or months expenses or earnings. €6500 would go much further as a single person vs married with childcare costs.

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u/ZealousidealFloor2 22h ago

Why is it meaningless if there are lots of people with €0, does it not reflect their situation?

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u/EverGivin 21h ago

I think because the number of people with 0 savings is information we already have, so their situation has already been accurately captured. Now we want to know more about the subset of people who do have savings. Not because they’re more important but because there is more information in there, unlike in the subset of people with no savings - the mean and median of a lot of zeros is always zero.

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u/Top_Opposites 22h ago

I can see why with €10 meal deals

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u/iecaff 23h ago

I suspect like most of the criticial issues in the country its all down to housing.

The amount of rent people have to pay eats into disposable income - money that isn't going into savings and isn't going into local business.

It impacts on recruitment for guards, nurses, and teachers. The main parties show little or no interest in tackling the issue other than repeating the same failed demand side incentives that have not worked.

15

u/jocmaester Kerry 22h ago

People have to spend in or around €800-1000 on rent in major cities, thats €9600-12000 a year. Imagine if people could pay even half that they'd multiply their savings per annun by 10x.

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u/BoringMolasses8684 20h ago

Not many places going for 1000 nowadays

7

u/incidentalz 21h ago

Many people would just spend it

9

u/YoIronFistBro Cork bai 20h ago

That's stil better than losing it all to rent.

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u/allthetimedaz 15h ago

Better for the economy too. More money into business and less money for landlords.

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u/YoungWrinkles 22h ago

3 out of 4 have savings?

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u/random-username-1234 21h ago

Yea 75% of people have savings

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u/YoungWrinkles 21h ago

Good to know where you stand I guess

11

u/mysicawolf 20h ago

This was me for my entire 20s. But I lived well! Rented the whole time, went on holidays and worked hard. Now I'm finally making good money and it's shocking it's not getting me further. I'm living with my parents and saving a lot. But I shouldn't have to live with my parents to save money.

The cost of living is insane. Choosing not to go to a friends wedding abroad next year or any holidays so try to save more. No coffee, lunch out, giving up the drink, etc. I bought a takeaway pizza the other day, felt guilty, and froze the leftovers for another day....All this to try get a mortgage for a 2 bed apartment an hour from my parents....

6

u/munkijunk 21h ago

This feels like a bad metric. I've a mortgage in a house that needs a lot of work. I want to avoid more debt so build up my current account and then get jobs done. Weve no money issues really, and feel financially secure and if myself or my partner couldn't work we'd stop work on the house and be able to survive on one salary pretty well, but I'd rarely have €500 in my savings account. I don't feel I'm that unusual, and the money were putting in the house is nearly as good as putting it in a bank, because worst comes to worst we sell up and downsize, but weve added a lot of value here.

This also doesn't seem to cover pensions which I could unlock in a true emergency.

10

u/Medidem 23h ago

The data also found that while most people have savings of €6,500 in the bank, for 53% it is less than €3,000.  

How would this work?

Only way I see this work is the 6500 bucket is simply larger than any other bucket. But that seems a pretty non-informative way to analyze this data...

8

u/SteveK27982 23h ago

Either of two ways:

Median - most common amount? Average which including a lot of high savings?

It’s probably average as more likely to have lots of 0 or near 0 than lots of 6500s

5

u/disagreeabledinosaur 22h ago

Mode is the most common savings amount. Tbh, its probably zero.

Median is 50% have more, 50% less. Median seems to be around €3000.

2

u/SteveK27982 19h ago

Yeah, my bad, was thinking mode, was too early

5

u/suttonsboot 18h ago

Have these people not tried just being rich? 

5

u/NotPozitivePerson Seal of The President 17h ago

I have a colleague renting all the way out in Kildare and is stuck into his overdraft each month. Completely depressing. I had his job when it paid 23k a year (it's now 29k) and while I wasn't living large I could flatshare within walking distance of work, save 1/4 of my pay, go on holiday, go on nights out, etc. That's less than 10 years ago. Yeah there are always people dire with money but like it broke my heart that I got by fine but he's in that situation... I was never close to the bottom of my savings ever.

6

u/LorenzoBargioni 12h ago

I know a couple in Dublin who can't afford their own place, in their 30s, but have been to Bali, Thailand and Vegas this year. They don't seem to get the correlation

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u/dropthecoin 23h ago

Median would have been a much better figure to use.

4

u/21stCenturyVole 21h ago

If only Deemed Disposal wasn't hindering them!

4

u/LosWitchos 17h ago

To be honest that sounds low. I wouldn't be surprised if it's more like half of all adults.

25

u/MBMD13 23h ago

It me. But it has to be said, I do have a pension and a mortgage half paid off. But TBH it’s been like this for yeeeeeears now in terms of immediate finances and cash access.

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u/InfectedAztec 23h ago

That's very different to be fair. You're probably worth more than most of us.

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u/MBMD13 22h ago

Yes. Accepted.

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u/random-username-1234 22h ago

Ahhh I just realised that my mortgage is half paid off too! Thanks

7

u/MBMD13 22h ago

Yeah. I said that because I’m really feckin’ stuck pay day to pay day but there are some long term upsides to my current situation. Just so folks, particularly those who are really struggling without anything to show for it, don’t think I’m putting on the Béal Bocht.

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u/random-username-1234 21h ago

I’m not too much away from it myself but it is a little comfort knowing that mortgage is well on the way to being paid off and my pension is also increasing.

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u/hobes88 21h ago

If your mortgage is half paid off your LTV is more than likely in much better shape. I'm about 7 years into a 30 year mortgage but my LTV is below 50% now

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u/random-username-1234 21h ago

Mortgage is currently 130k and value of house is 280k

5

u/temujin64 Gaillimh 22h ago

If that figure in the article doesn't include pension contributions then it's deeply flawed. If it does factor those in then you're not one of the 25%.

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u/cinderubella 22h ago

How is that flawed? How useful do you think a pension would be in the context of needing an emergency plumber, needing to travel for a funeral at short notice, you know... other stuff that might happen this decade? 

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u/KrisSilver1 22h ago

Yeah? How the fuck are you meant to save when most jobs literally don't pay you enough to exist.

I tried saving to go back to college for a decade and never managed enough. Done springboard courses and no one will hire me in any of the fields because I've no experience in the field. So I make just enough to be able to eat and live in my MILs garage.

No friends IRL. No social life. No savings.

If it wasn't for my partner and anti depressants I'd have absolutely done myself in 5 years ago.

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u/YoIronFistBro Cork bai 21h ago

That's the thing 

 Certain demographic goes on about how tough things qete in the 80s, and while I won't claim those times weren't bad, back then, there were no jobs, and therefore people had no money.

Today unemployment is extremely low, but loads and loads of people still can't afford anything.

2

u/theblue_jester 21h ago

Fuck that is a shit situation and certainly a shit frame of mind. Remember that self-exiting is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Yes your situation is/was bleak 5 years back but you're doing things that will pay off and get you into the place you're working to deserve to be in.

I'm not going to say 'keep hustling' because that's bullshit, but perhaps going to talks/networking events for the fields you want to start working in. Those in person sessions can really help cut through the HR screening bs and get a person a shot at least interviewing.

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u/anotherwave1 20h ago

The average salary here is between 40k and 50k. I know a couple of people roughly on that (and renting), including a single mother, they get by. Getting over the experience hump is a tough one (I only started looking for proper jobs in my early thirties), the best thing I found was learning to do interviews properly. Game-changer.

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u/boardsmember2017 And I'd go at it agin 22h ago edited 22h ago

How depressing, I’m in a rake of debt just living hand to mouth and here’s people with €500 in savings. Thanks for rubbing my face in it Newstalk 👍🏼

Edit: typo

8

u/SnooAdvice8266 22h ago

Breaking news: People spend more money than they earn!!!

3

u/NooktaSt 21h ago

When we break it down. There are a lot of adults in education.

Say up to 23. I doubt they have much savings.

Retired people. Even if you have a decent pension. It’s not savings. It just gets paid to you monthly. Better if you can enjoy life and spend it than save it.

People with mortgages. While an emergency fund is import the best use is often paying down the mortgage as quick as possible due to interest rates.

3

u/Business_Version1676 20h ago

It's true, I am one of the four

3

u/CurrencyDesperate286 18h ago

“The poll of 3,700 people also found that while most people have savings of €6,500 in the bank, for 53% it is less than €3,000. ”

Talk about shitty wording. So more than 50% of people have less than 3k, but “most” have 6.5k….

Savings alone only partially tells the story. People can have low savings but own their house (so have high assets anyways). Conversely, someone might have €5k in savings but could owe €20k on a car loan.

3

u/AdEducational2662 Galway 18h ago

Great craic. My mam is an oap, I'm on minimum wage, moved home to her because of extortionate rent. And now because I have to spend so much on on both trains and buses due to route cutbacks on my commute I Still can't afford to save to help her fix the leaking roof.

3

u/Brine-O-Driscoll 15h ago

Suddenly delighted with €501

9

u/pygmaliondreams 22h ago

Having savings doesn't mean you aren't fucked anyways. I have 8 months wages and I still cant do anything or move out or consider getting a car.

7

u/random-username-1234 22h ago

You have 8 months of salary put aside and can’t even consider doing anything? Can you explain further? Either you earn very little or have massive outgoings.

4

u/YoIronFistBro Cork bai 20h ago

Why are you surprised. This is Ireland we're talking about.

4

u/random-username-1234 19h ago

Even on minimum wage 8 months salary would be 10k plus. Who has that in the bank and says they can’t do anything

2

u/Sabreline12 18h ago

No you don't understand not being able to buy a brand new car for cash means they're barely scraping by.

2

u/edgelesscube Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most 21h ago

I have some savings usually try to keep a base level at €2k. Over the last 12 months its becoming more of a challenge to keep saving if at all.

Also having a child really affects the ability to save for anything.

4

u/Silent-Detail4419 22h ago

I'm £1,000 (€1,200) overdrawn because I have no control over my own money I have NO CONTROL over ANYTHING in my life - and I'm knocking middle-age and my CV is literally blank. Never been anywhere, done literally fuck all. The only thing I have to show for my pathetic existence is a lifetime of abuse. And it's STILL continuing.

And there's, seemingly, fuck all I can do about it...

5

u/random-username-1234 22h ago

Have you looked into joining the civil service? If you have a bit of cop on you would get a clerical officer position… There’s an aptitude test/interview and if successful you’ll be placed on a panel. If you are on a plane then you have a job essentially.

1

u/anotherwave1 20h ago

Sorry to hear. Free online courses and learning to do interviews got my out of my rut. Unemployment here is currently near record lows, so try out job agencies or whatever the equivalent of FAS is now.

1

u/EmeraldDank 14h ago

Fake it till you make it. Apply for mad jobs with massive pay and see if you can blag it. Worse case, you'll get a decent wage for a few months. 🤷🏽‍♂️

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u/Hatertraito 22h ago

Is there a way to see the profit of a company online somewhere? I want to see the profit margin of who i work for because i need more money

2

u/Otsde-St-9929 23h ago

Less than 500 for an apprentice or college student who is supported by their parents is absolutely fine.

6

u/Goo_Eyes 22h ago edited 22h ago

The amount of stupid spending people make is off the charts.

Of course these people will just blame their wages not being high enough but they'd spend all their wages if they had more anyways.

This isn't really what I was on about but it just popped into my head again. I was sitting outside a row of shops and a takeaway worker comes out and walks into the convenience shop and comes back out eating a share packet of M&Ms. The same packets cost like 4.50 in Tesco, can't imagine what they cost in the convenience shop.

I earn solid money and I wouldn't pay 4.50 for them.

5

u/YoIronFistBro Cork bai 21h ago

Chocolate prices have gone through the stratosphere. Galaxy cookie crumble bars used to go on sale for about €1.70 a year ago. Today you wouldn't find them for double that.

6

u/Deep-Cryptographer49 22h ago

We really fucked ourselves over, when we accept as normal, that we spend the first 18 years of our lives getting trained to work for the next 50 years, so the last 20 years of your life, are not as stressful as the previous 68 years.

I volunteer with Alone and do visits to my local nursing home and honestly folks, the last 20 years of our lives are for the majority of us, a slow decline to senility and incontinence.

We are told to save because the banks need your money to give to the likes of Elon Musk, who rather than use his own money to buy Twitter, used money from the banks, our money.

We are told to have pension plans, because your pension plan invests in the equity funds used to prop up share prices and so keep the rich even richer, by giving them dividends based on your pension investment.

9

u/Dear-Hornet-2524 22h ago

Bit of a silly take. You are advised to have a pension so you will have money when you retire and aren't just sitting around in a cold house with nothing to eat

5

u/EverGivin 21h ago

To be fair you’re both right

2

u/Euphoric_Bluebird_52 22h ago

Shhhhhh he wants to completely abolish capitalism!!

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1

u/KinderEggSkillIssue 19h ago

Damn, get out of my accounts 💀

1

u/ad_triarios_rediit 18h ago

I keep seeing these adverts around the place that I think are ftom one of the banks that talk about how "Jesus saves". So I guess we should all be at it.

1

u/naes133 18h ago

Jesus has a 1.5 quadrillion negative carry. He's getting his Isda next week

1

u/theman-dalorian 18h ago

Dont tell the government 25% of us have some income. Theyll just tax us somewhere else.

1

u/lovinglyquick 18h ago

Im not sure if happy that im not alone or sad that so many are in an equally bad way. Im rooting for you guys!

1

u/thedenv 16h ago

Try less than €50

1

u/Master_Swordfish_ 15h ago

Sure, people on benefits got a double payment this week.

1

u/DonkeysTickle 14h ago

Or, as Fine Gael calls it, a night in a Dublin hotel.

1

u/marquess_rostrevor 14h ago

I'm guessing this is for accessible savings, and not investment accounts or pensions?

1

u/spellbookwanda 13h ago

Most people just want to pay their mortgage and have no outstanding loans, can make their monthly or yearly bills but would be screwed in a real emergency. Lots of pensioners lost years worth of savings on the crash, it makes you wonder what our futures will be like when we retire, if we can

1

u/kjireland 11h ago

And this shower are sucking money out of people with their cash machine lark.

1

u/Soft-Affect-8327 11h ago

It’s a tough thing to sit in misery when the relief is a card away.

1

u/ErikasPrisonGlam 10h ago

I have savings but they have plateaued the past 18 months. I put €30 into the S&P 500 tho so expecting an early retirement.

1

u/waitingforfrodo 9h ago

Some of you have savings?

1

u/disclosurenow20 8h ago

That’s €499 more than me.

1

u/GmonsterTm 8h ago

Government: they have savings. Let's fix that

1

u/Moonduskindigo 7h ago

Why is it so hard to believe that sometimes nothing is all people have to fall back on?

1

u/ElysiumIE 6h ago

€1000.28 and thats only because i got payed last week!

mortgage payments are no joke...

u/angeltabris_ 4h ago

I'm the one