45k saved. What now?

speedboatchase

I'm 30 and have been living abroad for three years. I have savings of 45k - from a starting point of 8k this time three years ago. - and a savings goal of hitting 50k by Christmas. I have no debt, dependants, mortgage, and I live in rented accommodation abroad.

Unless I lose my job over here and have to move back home, I'll continue trying to save 15-20k per year for the next few years. I work in the media so if I moved back home with a 50k housing deposit it actually wouldn't do much for me if I want to live in a place that costs between 200-250k - the best I could probably hope for from a salary in Ireland would be 35-45. The new lending rule of 3.5x your salary wouldn't help me to get a great place, so I'll need to keep saving. If I want a place for around 250k and I come home to a 45k salary, I'll need a deposit of 93k (correct me if I'm wrong).

Long story short, I want to make my savings go further. Right now they're just sitting in a regular bank account, with a couple of grand in my credit union. If I have 50k by Christmas - when I will return to Ireland on holiday - what would you all recommend I do with it? Bonds? A managed fund?

dutopia

speedboatchase wrote: »

I'm 30 and have been living abroad for three years. I have savings of 45k

Well done, that's good savings.

What kind of place and where would you want to buy if you moved back to Ireland? As you mentioned you have no dependents so you could get a one bed or two bed apartment in Dublin for a reasonable price. Have you checked what salary you might get now if you moved back? The wages in your sector may have gone up since you last worked here.

If you could get a reasonably priced apartment here and had a small mortgage you could still save even on a smaller salary.

Can't give any advice on investing though, maybe other Boardsies(?) can.

speedboatchase

dutopia wrote: »

Well done, that's good savings.

What kind of place and where would you want to buy if you moved back to Ireland? As you mentioned you have no dependents so you could get a one bed or two bed apartment in Dublin for a reasonable price. Have you checked what salary you might get now if you moved back? The wages in your sector may have gone up since you last worked here.

If you could get a reasonably priced apartment here and had a small mortgage you could still save even on a smaller salary.

Can't give any advice on investing though, maybe other Boardsies(?) can.

It would need to be somewhere that I could eventually raise a family, so ideally at least a two-bed (a house, if possible) in a safe area in a Dublin suburb or commuter town. A sub-300k house in Donabate would be the dream.

I had a few interviews months ago for jobs in Ireland and they were both offering around 35k basic, whereas I'm earning 65k where I am with no tax. No-brainer that I stay where I am until I'm turfed out of the country!

dutopia

speedboatchase wrote: »

It would need to be somewhere that I could eventually raise a family, so ideally at least a two-bed (a house, if possible) in a safe area in a Dublin suburb or commuter town. A sub-300k house in Donabate would be the dream.

I had a few interviews months ago for jobs in Ireland and they were both offering around 35k basic, whereas I'm earning 65k where I am with no tax. No-brainer that I stay where I am until I'm turfed out of the country!

65k with no tax?! Where are you working?

I just bought a brand new A3 rated house in Skerries for 325k.

speedboatchase

dutopia wrote: »

65k with no tax?! Where are you working?

Qatar.

If youre living abroad, you need to take account of the tax situation in the country you are now resident in. This can be a great opportunity to build up a share portfolio if there is little or no dividend or capital gains tax there.
For example some blue chip shares are now yielding over 5% with excellent prospects of good capital gains when the oil price rises, as it must.
Build up a nest egg when you have the opportunity and while you are in a low tax environment. You have the possibility to do something now that you can never do in Ireland.

obriendj

Is it wrong to ask where the other 50k of your salary goes? is qatar that expensive?
You might be living the life out there but could you save more?

What i mean is if you have more saved you can afford to move home sooner. The house you want might go up in price by 20k a year so the quicker you get it the cheaper it would be.

topper_harley2

obriendj wrote: »

Is it wrong to ask where the other 50k of your salary goes? is qatar that expensive?
You might be living the life out there but could you save more?

What i mean is if you have more saved you can afford to move home sooner. The house you want might go up in price by 20k a year so the quicker you get it the cheaper it would be.

Or it might go down 25K next year. House prices can't be predicted and shouldn't really dictate someone moving country in my opinion! Move back when it suits you to do so. Rent when you come home if needs be, buy when you are ready.

speedboatchase

obriendj wrote: »

Is it wrong to ask where the other 50k of your salary goes? is qatar that expensive?
You might be living the life out there but could you save more?

What i mean is if you have more saved you can afford to move home sooner. The house you want might go up in price by 20k a year so the quicker you get it the cheaper it would be.

I was originally on 44k when I got here, and got a pay rise in the middle of last year. Qatar is quite expensive - for rent especially - but I've tried to save close to 50% of my salary this year. I had an operation this summer that cost 5.5k and if I didn't have that, I would've saved over 25k. Instead I'll end up saving just over 21k, or about 33% of my total income, but I see 25-30k per year as a realistic target moving forward.

I definitely could've saved more in the first two years but rent was a much larger percentage of my outgoings back then and I was in a long-distance relationship, so I ended up spending a lot on travelling.

I'm not really in a rush to move home at the moment because my (non-EU) girlfriend just got a great job here and I wouldn't have enough at this point for a decent housing deposit. Ideally I'm staying here for another two years and returning with 100k savings.

ixus

How would you handle investing 10k and losing half of it over the next 3yrs? It's just a question to ask yourself in terms of ability to take risk.

There's little incentive for you to invest in risky assets right now. You're as tax efficient as possible and don't have the knowledge.

How can you improve your experience/education to up salary if you wanted to return? That's a better place to focus considering you would lose more than 50% of current salary when you net it after tax.

If you're partner is potentially long term, encourage her to save for both of you. It's better for two to ourchase house in terms of a double deposit. Buy when you're settling down and getting ready to raise a family. Remain flexible to opportunities until then. Keep saving the way you are and don't stress about trying to earn an extra 10% in markets over next few years.

Onr way to play things could be to put money into a euro bank account when euro dips. If you're saving in current currency.

Thargor

What do you do? Just curious.

speedboatchase

Thargor wrote: »

What do you do? Just curious.

I'm editor of a magazine over here. The magazine is part of an enormous government institution, though I work as a contractor. I'm doing well for myself, but I have friends in the media here directly employed by oil and gas companies or govt institutions who earn absolutely staggering sums.

If you plan to build up a nestegg, the most important thing to have working for you is compounding.

The effect of Irish tax system compared to where you are now is that you can compound at 10% compared to 4% in Ireland or 20% instead of 8%, depending on how your shares perform. Over the years this can make a staggering difference to your resources.

An example of where the Irish tax system shoots itself in the foot.

fits

I agree that smart investment is the way to go and OP needs to figure out attitude to risk. Id be splitting savings between safe deposits and riskier shares across various sectors depending on this.

In addition though, I think you can save much more than you are already, especially if living costs are shared. 45 k is a fairly hefty amount to be spending in a year.

speedboatchase

fits wrote: »

I agree that smart investment is the way to go and OP needs to figure out attitude to risk. Id be splitting savings between safe deposits and riskier shares across various sectors depending on this.

In addition though, I think you can save much more than you are already, especially if living costs are shared. 45 k is a fairly hefty amount to be spending in a year.

Yeah, as mentioned earlier, my plan next year is to save 25-30k, ideally 30k. My living expenses aren't shared and rent is 18000k per year. That plus surgery and flights for that means I probably spent 19k this year on general expenses, holidays etc. So the challenge moving forward is to bring that down and allocate more for savings.

experiMental

@speedboatchase

Can you work remotely in your job? I mean, live in Ireland, but at the same time work in your job abroad via videoconferencing? Or is the difference in time zones too great for that?

speedboatchase

experiMental wrote: »

@speedboatchase

Can you work remotely in your job? I mean, live in Ireland, but at the same time work in your job abroad via videoconferencing? Or is the difference in time zones too great for that?

No, it's a lot more hands-on than a normal editor role would be (due to lack of staffing, mainly), so it would be impossible for me to complete my tasks without lots of face-to-face meetings and interviews.

FURET

speedboatchase wrote: »

I'm 30 and have been living abroad for three years. I have savings of 45k - from a starting point of 8k this time three years ago. - and a savings goal of hitting 50k by Christmas. I have no debt, dependants, mortgage, and I live in rented accommodation abroad.

Unless I lose my job over here and have to move back home, I'll continue trying to save 15-20k per year for the next few years. I work in the media so if I moved back home with a 50k housing deposit it actually wouldn't do much for me if I want to live in a place that costs between 200-250k - the best I could probably hope for from a salary in Ireland would be 35-45. The new lending rule of 3.5x your salary wouldn't help me to get a great place, so I'll need to keep saving. If I want a place for around 250k and I come home to a 45k salary, I'll need a deposit of 93k (correct me if I'm wrong).

Long story short, I want to make my savings go further. Right now they're just sitting in a regular bank account, with a couple of grand in my credit union. If I have 50k by Christmas - when I will return to Ireland on holiday - what would you all recommend I do with it? Bonds? A managed fund?

Also an expat with no tax. You need to start investing. I would say get yourself a copy of Andrew Hallam's Global Expatriate's Guide to Investing and don't look back.

robp

FURET wrote: »

Also an expat with no tax. You need to start investing. I would say get yourself a copy of Andrew Hallam's Global Expatriate's Guide to Investing and don't look back.

On the topic of expats investing, I have heard from Revenue that a returning expat only pays exit tax on gains of a ETFs made after returning to Ireland. Does anyone know if is it similar with shares?

honey12345

speedboatchase wrote: »

I'm 30 and have been living abroad for three years. I have savings of 45k - from a starting point of 8k this time three years ago. - and a savings goal of hitting 50k by Christmas. I have no debt, dependants, mortgage, and I live in rented accommodation abroad.

Unless I lose my job over here and have to move back home, I'll continue trying to save 15-20k per year for the next few years. I work in the media so if I moved back home with a 50k housing deposit it actually wouldn't do much for me if I want to live in a place that costs between 200-250k - the best I could probably hope for from a salary in Ireland would be 35-45. The new lending rule of 3.5x your salary wouldn't help me to get a great place, so I'll need to keep saving. If I want a place for around 250k and I come home to a 45k salary, I'll need a deposit of 93k (correct me if I'm wrong).

Long story short, I want to make my savings go further. Right now they're just sitting in a regular bank account, with a couple of grand in my credit union. If I have 50k by Christmas - when I will return to Ireland on holiday - what would you all recommend I do with it? Bonds? A managed fund?

I am 24 I have 45k saved 40k of that is in prize bonds

DulchieLaois

A good thing is to invest the money in buying a good quality apartment in Dublin where you will have

1) a record with the banks as to when you do want to buy a house
2) somewhere to live when you get back
3) something that is guranteed to almost cover your mortgage every month whle you are still saving money in Qatar

DulchieLaois

DulchieLaois wrote: »

A good thing is to invest the money in buying a good quality apartment in Dublin where you will have

1) a record with the banks as to when you do want to buy a house
2) somewhere to live when you get back
3) something that is guranteed to almost cover your mortgage every month whle you are still saving money in Qatar

I'd disagree

1. presumably you have a bank out there. Bank loyalty counts for little these days.
2. would take months to get back posession and the property might not be in the best location for your future needs. It would be simpler to rent a place if you need one on your return.
3. Why go for a taxable investment in ireland (as a non resident you dont even get income tax personal allowances) than exploit the real benefits of what you have in Quatar?
4. Expenses to buy and sell your property are hefty compared to other investments and time to do so is slow, maybe six months or more to get at your money. You will also be liable for capital gains tax in Ireland if the transaction makes a profit.
5. As a non resident landlord, your tenants are obliged to withhold a % of the rent for the tax authorities here. You can get around this by hiring an agency but this is an additional cost too.

Undercover

speedboatchase wrote: »

I'm editor of a magazine over here. The magazine is part of an enormous government institution, though I work as a contractor. I'm doing well for myself, but I have friends in the media here directly employed by oil and gas companies or govt institutions who earn absolutely staggering sums.

Any jobs going??

FRI Investments

speedboatchase wrote: »

Long story short, I want to make my savings go further. Right now they're just sitting in a regular bank account, with a couple of grand in my credit union. If I have 50k by Christmas - when I will return to Ireland on holiday - what would you all recommend I do with it? Bonds? A managed fund?

A good friend of mine is in Abu Dhabi and his living expenses are sky high. So well done to you. He does have a family and spending alot on schools. Although he is in the Financial Markets, so he's earning a lot.

Tax could be an issue for you. I would suggest a Tax-free managed investment. This would allow you to control the risk, cost's and have instant access and visibility of you funds at all times. Regulation is also a must.

PM me and I can send you some details.

FURET

FRI Investments wrote: »

A good friend of mine is in Abu Dhabi and his living expenses are sky high. So well done to you. He does have a family and spending alot on schools. Although he is in the Financial Markets, so he's earning a lot.

Tax could be an issue for you. I would suggest a Tax-free managed investment. This would allow you to control the risk, cost's and have instant access and visibility of you funds at all times. Regulation is also a must.

PM me and I can send you some details.

Stay clear of the above poster - he's selling pure shight.

jezzer

speedboatchase wrote: »

I'm 30 and have been living abroad for three years. I have savings of 45k - from a starting point of 8k this time three years ago. - and a savings goal of hitting 50k by Christmas. I have no debt, dependants, mortgage, and I live in rented accommodation abroad.

Unless I lose my job over here and have to move back home, I'll continue trying to save 15-20k per year for the next few years. I work in the media so if I moved back home with a 50k housing deposit it actually wouldn't do much for me if I want to live in a place that costs between 200-250k - the best I could probably hope for from a salary in Ireland would be 35-45. The new lending rule of 3.5x your salary wouldn't help me to get a great place, so I'll need to keep saving. If I want a place for around 250k and I come home to a 45k salary, I'll need a deposit of 93k (correct me if I'm wrong).

Long story short, I want to make my savings go further. Right now they're just sitting in a regular bank account, with a couple of grand in my credit union. If I have 50k by Christmas - when I will return to Ireland on holiday - what would you all recommend I do with it? Bonds? A managed fund?

Be very very careful, that hard earned cash can be whipped from you very quickly if your not careful, if i were you i would hang on to the 50k then make another 10k at least and use that to invest but be extremely careful in what you invest it in, go see a professional investment person and whatever they tell you go get a second and third opinion then make your decision

FRI Investments

FURET wrote: »

Stay clear of the above poster - he's selling pure shight.

Well that's very ignorant. I didn't think we knew each other. I know I'm very new here but I'd take a look at some of my other post's before coming to that judgement.

Thargor

What does your username mean?

Mahogany Gaspipe

I'm in a similar position OP.
Self education not professional advice is key IMO.

I plan on reading a few well regarded books many of which you will find recommended in this forum.

At the minute I'm having a read of Millionaire Teacher by Andrew Hallam

topper_harley2

FRI Investments wrote: »

Well that's very ignorant. I didn't think we knew each other. I know I'm very new here but I'd take a look at some of my other post's before coming to that judgement.

Well to be fair you did suggest a user above PM you for details of some fund. You must appreciate that screams "scam"

Brussels Sprout

speedboatchase wrote: »

what would you all recommend I do with it? Bonds? A managed fund?

Historically the stock market tends to outperform other asset types in the long run. The only problem is that in the short term it can swing wildly. So it's ideal for investing money for your retirement but not for something that's only a few years away.

For that reason I think you need something that's going to be more stable in the short term. Unfortunately with interest rates so low it's not a great time for deposits in banks here in Euroland. However, since you're in Qatar, where the base interest rate appears to 4.5%, there must be a lot better offers for fixed term depositing over there (if this is possible for a non-citizen such as yourself).

Azrel

Don't want to hijack the thread but, are people generally of the opinion that money put aside for an Irish house purchase deposit (say if you plan to buy in 2 - 3 years) is best left in a savings account in the bank? What are the best low-risk financial products available? Even the 3 year state bonds only return (AER 0.83%)

topper_harley2

Azrel wrote: »

Don't want to hijack the thread but, are people generally of the opinion that money put aside for an Irish house purchase deposit (say if you plan to buy in 2 - 3 years) is best left in a savings account in the bank? What are the best low-risk financial products available? Even the 3 year state bonds only return (AER 0.83%)

House deposit=deposit account. No question. You can't risk ups and downs of markets. Askaboutmoney maintains a good "best buys" thread.

Whipping Boy

I'm in a similar position but am based here in Ireland.

I've just started looking at investment options but it's all a bit daunting.

Is there a particular broker that is generally accepted as the best to go with?

star_spotter

we are early on in this bear market , no need to buy stocks for another year at least , stocks were down in 2015 in the usa and the european equity market has never performed well while the american market was floundering , stocks dont look good for the next year

topper_harley2

Whipping Boy wrote: »

Is there a particular broker that is generally accepted as the best to go with?

Degiro.....search function is your friend......

Wanderer78

well done op. spread it around! remember now, eggs in one basket and all that jazz! i hear gold and silver are a good investment. best of luck with it