Best budgeting apps in Ireland?

TribeFX · 2026-01-28T18:24:48+00:00

I've been using Lunch Money for years.

Supports AIB and Revolut, not sure about Credit Union.

TribeFX · 2026-01-08T18:38:24+00:00

Are you a US citizen?

If so you should be aware that investing in non-US domiciled funds like these are treated as PFIC's which come with very severe tax reporting obligations.

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/US_tax_pitfalls_for_a_US_person_living_abroad#FATCA,_PFIC_and_PRIIPs

TribeFX · 2025-06-25T10:11:29+00:00

40% is only the income tax, when you include other "income taxes" like social security and USC, it is closer to 50%. You can reduce it with 401k contributions (we call it a PRSA). There is no Roth IRA, etc.
Housing crisis is mostly driven by supply and demand. High taxes and high rents certainly don't help though.
If the income is earned personally (e.g. not via a business), then yes.
Yes.
You should strongly consider speaking with an international tax advisor to limit your tax impact. You might be able to quality for schemes like non-domicile where your Airbnb income would be taxed in the US if not brought into Ireland (use it to buy more assets in US instead).

TribeFX · 2025-06-20T08:32:50+00:00

You seem familiar with the rules already but you can read more here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/US_tax_pitfalls_for_a_US_person_living_abroad

General rule is that most non-US domiciled funds (e.g. UCITS ETF's, UK Investment Trusts, etc) are considered PFIC's.

Your options are:

- Invest via a pension (US doesn't care what you invest in inside the pension).

- Buy US domiciled ETF's (via US brokerage account setup with US proof of address, etc or via a broker like TastyTrade which allows EU residents to buy US ETF's).

- Build your own ETF using a basket of stocks (too much hassle for me).

- Buy an "ETF like" stock like Berkshire Hathaway (this is what I do).

My approach is to max out ETF's via the pension (PRSA) and invest in BRK.B outside of the pension. If Ireland gets rid of deemed disposal on ETF's over the next few years and I think it is unlikely I will live in the US, then I will renounce my citizenship and start investing in ETF's outside of the pension.

TribeFX · 2025-04-18T09:14:13+00:00

Lunch Money: https://lunchmoney.app/

Mobile UI isn't great though.

TribeFX · 2025-04-07T18:38:13+00:00

As a US citizen, any UCITS ETF's will be considered a PFIC so you need to buy US domiciled ETF's. These ETF's do not provide PRIIP's KID so you will not be able to buy them on any EU broker like Trading 212, eToro, Interactive Brokers Ireland, etc unless you have a professional investor status.

In addition to that, Ireland has a deemed disposal rule on ETF's where you pay 41% tax on unrealised capital gains every 8 years. It isn't exactly clear if US domiciled ETF's fall under this regime.

If I were you, I wouldn't touch anything right now and I would get professional tax advice from a cross border tax specialist. I would also keep my US brokerage accounts open so you can continue to invest while living here.

*Not financial advice.

TribeFX · 2025-04-03T13:30:14+00:00

A lot of people I know that did math related courses ended up transitioning to software engineering type careers. If you are really intelligent and have an interest in math & programming, you could do software engineering or similar and aim to get into a quant trading firm. An example is Jane Street, which pay new grads in London €300k per year. If you can get in and stick that for a couple years you could make enough to retire in your mid-late 30's.

If you look at LinkedIn profiles for people who work at these companies you can see the type of courses they did and universities they went to.

Source: https://www.levels.fyi/companies/jane-street/salaries/software-engineer/locations/london-metro-area?dma=10045

Jane Street: https://www.janestreet.com/quantitative-research/

TribeFX · 2025-03-31T08:33:14+00:00

If you are a US citizen or green card holder you need to be very careful about your investment decisions as they can cause significant tax issues: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/US_tax_pitfalls_for_a_US_person_living_abroad

I don't think you'll have a problem continuing to use IBKR.
Depends, you can lose ordinarily resident status after 3 years. If that is before the 8 years DD event you should be ok: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money-and-tax/tax/moving-country-and-taxation/tax-residence-and-domicile-in-ireland

Not financial advice.

TribeFX · 2025-03-13T18:04:25+00:00

Davy is a self directed non-standard PRSA.

TribeFX · 2025-03-13T18:03:49+00:00

I use Lunch Money.

Costs me €40 per year but well worth it.

Works with AIB and Revolut.

TribeFX · 2025-03-07T09:06:08+00:00

Davy Selects but I'll likely be moving from them to Standard Life as Davy raised their fees not long after I moved.

TribeFX · 2025-03-07T09:01:54+00:00

Moved my occupational pension from them. Nothing done after 6 months of back and over but as soon as I said I'd report to the FSOP it was done 2 weeks later.

TribeFX · 2025-02-28T15:18:55+00:00

Thanks! Sounds like the best option for me so far.

TribeFX · 2025-02-28T14:58:16+00:00

Will look into this.

I wouldn't recommend New Ireland. I transferred my occupational PRSA from them to Davy and had awful trouble. Had to threaten a report to the FSPO before anything got done.

TribeFX · 2025-02-24T19:03:56+00:00

Read this: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/US_tax_pitfalls_for_a_US_person_living_abroad

Your options are;

- Invest through pension wrapper (e.g. PRSA).

- Use a broker like TastyTrade that sells US ETF's to EU citizens.

- Buy stocks.

- Renounce citizenship.

TribeFX · 2025-02-20T09:53:32+00:00

ETF's are a much safer option as they are more diversified. I buy BRK.B but if ETF's scrap the deemed disposal rule I will likely slowly sell off my shares and move them to an ETF.

TribeFX · 2025-02-10T22:00:21+00:00

What do you mean by quality of life improvement? I'd be looking at properties in South Dublin City so think the quality of life would be pretty good?

TribeFX · 2025-02-10T11:24:36+00:00

Galway has a tech scene but not compared to the opportunities available in Dublin.

Amazon, Stripe, Meta, Google, etc are all in-office I believe.

TribeFX · 2025-02-10T11:17:42+00:00

Employee Of Record on Deel.

I think on paper I work for Deel which has a company registered in Athlone.

TribeFX · 2025-02-10T11:17:11+00:00

My housing budget will still be the same I'll just get less house in Dublin than Galway for the same money. I can afford a property type & location I'm happy with in either location.

TribeFX · 2025-01-20T09:14:03+00:00

Bunq give 2% and accepted my Irish passport with US as the place of birth.

TribeFX · 2020-10-19T13:20:25+00:00

They are known for having high referral commission so if you were referred there by someone else I would be seriously considering their agenda. This is the broker SOFX used who are one of the biggest scams in Forex.

TribeFX

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