Money Hacks

Today we’re going to talk about money hacks, what they are, and how they can help you. Money hacks are ways for you to reduce the amount of money you spend. Finding money hacks is perfect for helping you to save save save.

Do it yourself

One great money hack is doing it yourself. When things break, we are quick to call others to fix them because hey, that’s what they are there for right? Instead of calling someone to fix them, look it up to see if it is something that you can fix yourself. Not only is this good for saving money but you can also turn this into a hobby. If you find yourself with some downtime in the evenings or weekends, why not figure out a way to make some extra money? Do it yourself crafts are a fun way to make some extra money. If you’re a crafty person, you can look up pretty much any type of craft. Homemade jewelry, soap, and even custom furniture can be done right from the comfort of your …

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Sunshine 106.8fm personal finance show

Click here to hear our personal finance slot on Sunshine 106.8fm which is on every Tuesday evening at 18:30.

This week we looked at the following topics

1. The government push to reverse the lacuna or ‘loophole’ that has made it virtually impossible for banks to repossess houses since July 2011. 2. Property tax, how Revenue are the collectors and the tax authority who will supervise it. 3. Taking back Tax Relief at Source from homeowners who are not paying their mortgage. 4. Finding ‘hidden money’ in your own personal finances. 5. How there is a trend towards reducing wealth transfer between generations via changes to inheritance and the changes in thresholds that affect this.

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The Economic Naturalist, Robert H. Frank (book review)

Robert H. Frank of Cornell University wrote a great book called ‘The Economic Naturalist, why economics explains almost everything‘, it has been an absolute winner of a read, and kindly Robert (Bob) took a phone call from me to talk about his book (more on that later).

Regarding the book, it is excellent if you are not actually into economics, because it takes everyday things and tries to use economic foundations for explaining them, the questions are simple every day occurrences and the answers are often surprising!

Here are a few simple examples, ‘why are cans of fizzy drinks round and milk bottles are square’, ‘why do animal rights activists throw paint at women in fur but not bikers in leather’, ‘why do taxi drivers stop working early on rainy days’, ‘why are plane tickets purchased at the last minute more expensive’, and many …

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‘Are we there yet?’…. when will the bottom of the housing market be reached?

The most popular question I am asked as of late is whether or not we are at the bottom of the housing market, and the answer is ‘no…. but perhaps closer than we think’. Today we will consider a few of the things we will need to see in order for ‘recovery’ to occur.

First of all we need to see a reduction in the massive overhang of housing stock, even if the number reduces, they all need to be sold and a degree of scarcity will need to develop in order to make prices go up again, currently supply is swamping demand and that dynamic will leave uncertainty in its wake.

However (and here is part of the ‘perhaps closer’ bit), NAMA will likely take a lot of housing off the market, in particular it will take it off the market and drip feed it back in, if this happens then it will avoid devastating fire sales, it might also lead to stagnation …

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