Both local and more far-reaching statistics tell us that the financial advice system here in Ireland, and replicated across the western world, is failing most of us. There are many reasons for this, but the four major ones are: -

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1. Biased Advice – The majority of those that carry business cards describing themselves as Financial Advisers are not advisers at all, as they are simply paid to sell a range of pre-packaged financial products (Pensions, Mortgages, Savings Plans, Life & Health Insurance…etc). Such products are manufactured by giant financial institutions, with their and their salespeople’s profits already enshrined in the terms and conditions, placing the end user’s profit in necessarily no better than third place.
2. Silo Based Advice – Most of us are taking “advice” from multiple sources and so our planning lacks any joined up thinking. This often means we take one financial action based on one person’s advice and fail to consider all the options, robbing ourselves of substantial income and capital throughout our working lives.
3. Overpayment of Taxation – There are many legitimate tax concessions available and yet few, if any, take advantage, effectively choosing to pay more tax than is necessary. The most lucrative are designed to promote long-term savings/wealth retention and include Retirement Allowances, Employment & Incentive Initiative Schemes (EIIS) & Entrepreneurial Relief to name but a few. It’s somewhat obvious, but the less tax you pay, the more income you get to keep and the wealthier you can become.
4. No Plan – If you do not decide what it is you are trying to achieve, it is all but impossible to reach any financial objective. The goal of financial planning is to achieve Personal Financial Freedom, defined as “getting to a stage when your assets can recreate your income without the necessity to continue working”. Most have not defined their financial goal in this manner, but few argue that it would be an excellent financial outcome. It can be clearly defined in Euro & Cent terms, and without knowing that “number” few plan to achieve it.

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Here at Ask About Wealth, we can be truly impartial, as we are not selling any financial products whatsoever. Our goal is to impart knowledge and information so that our members and subscribers can make better financial decisions for themselves and so create the very best financial outcome their circumstances will allow. As the adage goes: “give a man a fish and you feed him today, teach a man to fish and you feed him for life”, our goal is to “teach you to fish”.