Is everybody broke?

That's why Dual-life Serious illness cover exists. It's one of the most important insurances I pay imho. It be wreckless not to have it, dealing with a serious illness is enough to deal with on it's own let alone worrying about finances too.

its great to hear such products exist, but not everyone can possible avail of, or may not even be aware exists, long term debt can get very very messy, especially when serious illness and relationship breakdown occurs

Comfortable but not loaded here. I will be going part time in the next couple of years, young family so things will be getting higher. At the moment I'm trying to bump up pension and we are lucky our fixed rate with AIB allows us to pay off an extra 5k per year. Now we don't reach the 5k but we throw in a bit every now and then to try have lower monthly repayments when I go parttime

There is definitely a case for paying off the mortgage early if you can afford to do so but personally I would prioritise pension contributions first. With the tax relief available it is far better value in the long run IMO

If people can do both then better again

Totally! Just so I'm clear, I'm not saying it's a bad idea to pay off early, depending on current circumstances there can be better things to do.

It'd be much more satisfying to me to put 200 a month away in a 60:40 investment account and watch it grow over 5-10 years and be left with a decent chunk to decide what to do with it in 5-10 years versus putting 200 extra off the mortgage and see the lump sum of the mortgage move from 300k to 295k. Doing it the former means the decision is still yours. If you pay off 200 last month but then you need that this month cause the car broke you can't go back to your mortgage people and say "please can I have that money back", they'd laugh in your face.

There's no doubt there's a great emotional benefit to putting a lump sum off but doing it month to month you don't get same emotional high but only you as an individual can make the right choice for you. Don't take the advice of some randomer on called "Creamy Goodness" on boards as fact. I share my advice so that some might see a different way of managing money and might pick one or two things from it to help their scenario.

I know a family both parents are doctors they won’t go for Tyler swift concert for their children but some kid living in social welfare house got 2 tickets. So I don’t believe people going to concert means they have a lot of money. Just people have different hobbies and the way they prioritize their spend is different. The doctors family would go for skiing trip or expensive holidays. Kid in social welfare house the furthest country they go maybe is UK.

…some of it is eventually caught in legitimate transactions and taxes paid through consumption, so at least theres that….

Many people in their 20s and 30s feel they have no hope of buying a home, even if they are earning a good wage, so they spend on experiences. They might also be living at home if rent is out of the question, which also leaves them with more disposable income.

I think back to my first proper job in 2005/2006. I was on 20,000 a year, and I could rent a small room (a box room now) for 295 per month, plus about 50 quid a month for bills. I walked to work and was frugal with lunches and dinners during the week, but I was still out from Thursday to Saturday! I couldn't afford that now, and I pay 4.5 times as much, and my partner has a pretty good wage, too.

I find it hard to understand where my money goes, but renting and saving for a house leaves us pretty stretched.

Lets be honest, nobody, especially no Irish people, will tell you that they are flush with cash. I know people who will tell you how annoyed they are at the cost of loo roll in Dunnes Stores but minutes later they'll tell you about the solid stone bathtub that the builders could not get up the stairs that they use to wash the dog in, as they only have time for showers themselves.

Get yourself some good quality ready meals, even the pricer ones will still save you a heap of money and keep them in the freezer.

yea theres disparity across demographics, some are doing great in ireland of today, especially those whos mortgages are well on the way, or better, even fully paid, but if you re a young couple, and a young couple with young kids, and/or renting, forget about it…

…many on welfare are also not doing amazingly well either, contrary to some opinions on the matter…..

…many simply cannot survive without the car, try maintain a job, run a house and have a life without one, yes some might be able to, but most simply cannot, ireland is far from ready for life without the car, we require substantial public transport investment before that….

That's where you'd be wrong, I run a house, maintain a job and 2 side businesses without a car. Most people assign emotional value to a car, they associate it with freedom (basically they've had a lifetime brainwashing from the movies). Most households if they actually looked at the books would be vastly better off without it. Again, vast majority of commutes are under 10km, easily cycleable for an average fitness level, about 70% of the population are living in an urban area.

If households honestly accounted for the cost of their cars, the majority of the ones that do long commutes (more than 10km one way) would actually be financially better off scraping the car and getting a lower paid job closer to their home, that is how outrageously expensive car ownership is. But again, that is too honest a thought for people who are assigning emotional value to the car, its just a poverty trap, people need to think more outside the box rather than just maintaining the behaviours that they are used to if they want to do well.