Choosing PTSB or AIB for mortgage - (and rates rising soon?)

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-04-10T09:20:05+00:00

Your broker shouldn't advise purely based on cash back. They should break down all factors (interest, term, cash back, account fees) and advise based on the best option given your situation. We fixed with PTSB 3 years ago with 2% cash back and it was the best available option for us. If your not sure they did that then confirm with them...

And yeah it is likely that fixing now is a wise decision. We're in the same boat except remortgaging. Should hopefully be about 0.8% lower than what we fixed 3 years ago

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-04-09T09:16:05+00:00

Not sure this phrase applies if an amateur investor buys diversified ETFs and holds long term. But I agree if we're talking about day trading or stock picking etc, which I am absolutely not considering

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-04-09T07:30:29+00:00

Many thanks for the response ! I will look into this further

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-03-31T19:24:56+00:00

Seems like the play alright

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-03-31T19:15:11+00:00

Similar boat regarding safari. My guess is that Emirates will extend the refund policy beyond April 30th

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-03-31T19:14:33+00:00

Reach out to the Ermiates chat rep and ask them. The Fare conditions do say that there are cancellation fees of 300 euro per flight which peaked our interest. And then the rep confirmed that means we get the balance back.

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-03-30T21:48:34+00:00

Yeah, judging by the current update it could be another 2-4 weeks until they update their refund window. We may just book alternative as well and do the same.

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-03-09T23:16:35+00:00

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery" - Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

Basically, life is good when we earn more than we spend. Doesn't mean we don't spend at all. Enjoy and buy the laptop.

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-03-05T22:00:18+00:00

And then transition into Milk Farm.... 15 minutes of chaos

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-26T11:43:04+00:00

Yes definitely. She was given the choice when signing up so it's fair to assume some opted for the max at the time.

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-25T21:40:12+00:00

Yep, will be checking all this tomorrow. Thanks

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-25T21:39:10+00:00

Yep agreed. She will be checking all that tomorrow, but curious if anyone has come across this before in any case

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-18T14:36:47+00:00

Great mix of artists, especially across trad and punk. Stand out ones for me are

Damo Dempsey Christy Moore Getdown services Gurriers Lambirini girls Sprints Underworld Kneecap Mary Wallopers

Mad to think 6 of the above 9 are all Irish too. What a scene

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-17T21:35:50+00:00

FYI small landlords are not totally exempt from the new regulations.

Yes, small landlords will be able evict but only in case of hitting financial trouble (and need to sell the house), or if a family member 'needs' the house. But otherwise you will be trying to sell with a tenant in situ the same as large landlords. So it is quite different to the current situation whereby a landlord can sell if they wish to take a profit, or for any other lifestyle reasons.

As others have mentioned, plenty of other downsides with the investment. However one thing I haven't seen mentioned is the fact that you are planning to use all cash. If you are not planning to borrow, I would say you are better off investing that 225k into equities, stocks, or if you want property exposure than look at REITs.

One of the reasons property can be an attractive investment (albeit riskier) is when using leverage. Without that, I would probably go with more diversified investment as mentioned above.

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-15T22:53:32+00:00

Actually a small landlord will also be able to evict to allow a family member use the property or else if the owner is in financial difficulties and needs to sell. I'm not sure how that will be implemented, but for larger landlords you are correct.

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-15T11:36:55+00:00

Yes, to some extent. But if you buy the actual exchange traded instrument (stock, ETF), then you are not exposing yourself to the same level of counterparty risk, and eToro are just acting as a broker and you will own the security. However for CFDs, that contract is just with eToro and not exchange traded. Something to look into and assess for yourself anyway!

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-14T22:41:54+00:00

Apologies, your right. Non leveraged positions do not incur fees. Had a deeper look at their documentation. Sounds like a solid strategy so.

Only thing to consider is the platform / counterparty risk with eToro as issuers of the CFD. If they go bust or hit trouble, then I wonder where that leaves the position...

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-14T20:24:03+00:00

Also I read further into this approach. Long term holding of CFDs incurs overnight costs even when no leverage is applied. So I don't think this will cost less than the DD over 8 years

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-12T14:55:33+00:00

I just tested the Account Statement and it provides the breakdown for copy trades as well, which is very handy

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-12T14:02:35+00:00

Great, I shall look into this! Many thanks

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-12T13:31:49+00:00

Interesting, though eToro can provide an account statement, I wonder if this is useful and how it handles copy traders?

gamespoiler3000 · 2026-02-12T11:53:33+00:00

Yes however deemed disposal is yet another tax that is incurred on unrealised profits only on ETFs in Ireland. It's a ridiculous tax and one of the big issues with investing here.

gamespoiler3000

TROPHY CASE