August

06

2010

In Ireland there’s a government department called the Legal Metrology Service or LMS. If you’re not in trade or retail you may not have heard of them, but they have offices throughout the country, they inspect businesses and they make sure that we get what we pay for.

The main role of the LMS is to test and approve measuring instruments. Chances are that the petrol pump you used to fill you car or the scales that weighed your bananas was recently checked by an inspector from the LMS.

July

29

2010

Last week Dermot Ahern said that we Irish citizens should get out there and get spending and stop being such a bunch of scrooges squirreling away our cash in pesky savings accounts...

Well, not exactly, but he did say we should stop saving and start spending, and Dermot Ahern certainly hasn’t been the first Irish politician to say it. Every now and then, they cast their hairy eyeballs over the vast amount of cash we’ve stashed away and I’m sure they sigh to themselves and think that if they could just somehow encourage a no-holds-barred spending frenzy then all our problems would be solved. If it could be done with real cash and not that borrowed stuff, then all the better!

July

23

2010

bonkers.ie has been lucky enough to feature a few times in the press and on the radio this week. We worked out that Irish savers are missing out on over €1bln (yes, that’s really one billion euros) in interest that they could be earning by leaving their money in low interest accounts. We sent this info to the press, and some journalists and radio stations thought it was interesting enough to go with.

July

16

2010

My credit card rates just went up and yours probably did too.

Last month, very quietly, with little press and certainly no fanfare, Irish banks cranked up their credit card rates. I knew about it because we watch these things, we get notifications from some of the banks and we do regular checks anyway. But after we'd changed the credit card rates on bonkers.ie, I realized that as a customer I hadn't been told by my own bank. I thought maybe I'd missed it, checked my unopened post at home and still nothing. No letter that said "due to market conditions... charging you more interest... new rate from next week... etc etc".

July

09

2010

Is free really free?

During this past week, an Irish national newspaper announced it's new competition, offering entrants the chance to win a shiny new iPad from Apple. A fine prize for a competition you might think - and so do I.

July

02

2010

"Expenditures rise to meet income"

Or no matter how much you make you'll find a way to spend it. So said the English author Cyril Northcote Parkinson in his famous second law. His first - "work expands to fill the time available for its completion" - is a canny observation on how a five minute job can take an hour if you let it.

June

25

2010

All Postbank accounts are to be closed by 30th September with current account holders the first to go. 170,000 customers have been affected by Postbank's withdrawal from the market.

Postbank, a joint venture between An Post and BNP Paribas quietly set the date for closure with an announcement on their website this week. Customers have also started receiving letters with details and information on closing their accounts.

June

17

2010

Irish banks are open for business. Some are advertising the number of mortgages they approve each day. Others ask you to talk to them right away about getting your first home. But the shocking state of the Irish mortgage and property market is a long way from the image of happy couples smiling on the threshold of their new homes.

In late May, the truth about the home loan market was laid bare by the Irish Banking Federation and PWC. In their latest quarterly report, they showed that mortgage lending has essentially fallen off a cliff. In the first quarter of this year, there was less money approved and funded for mortgages than at any other time since the beginning of 2005 (which is as far back as the PWC/IBF numbers go).

June

04

2010

Halifax isn't going bust, it says it's reshaping its business to reflect the difficult economic times. To Irish customers, this means it's withdrawing, shutting all its branches, closing accounts and pulling out of Ireland. By June 18th, credit cards will stop working, current accounts will bounce and finally by June 23rd, all branches will be closed.

If you're a Halifax customer we're sure you know this and you've probably made arrangements to move your accounts. But for those who haven't, there's still time and we hope this list will help.

May

24

2010

Last week, a new monthly savings index was published by Nationwide UK and the ERSI. Their plan is to release new figures every month that will act as a sort of barometer of how Irish people feel about saving.

The first figures got some good press. They told us that the index has dropped by 7 points since the start of the year. The drop means that sentiment towards saving has gone down and we Irish just aren't as gung-ho about socking away the cash anymore.

May

18

2010

Today Airtricity announced their plans to enter the domestic natural gas market, bringing with it the creation of over 200 jobs. The job creation is newsworthy in itself and very welcome to our economy; Airtricity should be applauded for this alone.

Airtricity's entry into the gas market will also have a huge impact on Irish consumers' energy choices and the purpose of this post is to explore how the market may develop in the months ahead.

May

17

2010

If you're a Halifax credit card customer, you probably know by now that your card will stop working on Friday June 18th. Halifax have been sending out letters to customers suggesting that they pay off their balances and find a new credit card provider before then.

The thing is, if you have a balance that you don't want to pay off before June 18th, Halifax is offering a deal that seems pretty decent. They'll cut your interest rate from over 13% to 10% and the repayment amount will be fixed to 3% of your balance on June 18th. So, make that 3% payment every month until you're paid off, and that's that.

May

07

2010

Deposits are now the Holy Grail for Irish banks because they are under such pressure to reduce their loan-to-deposit ratios. In plain terms, they lent out way too much money and badly need deposits to balance out their loans. The result is a scramble to get as many deposits in as possible, and of course the best way to do this is with high interest rates.

Some pundits are saying that these deposit interest rates are artificially high because of the pressure on the banks - and last week the Irish Independent^* went as far as to say that many households would be better off saving any extra cash instead of using it to pay down their mortgages. Why? Because the rate on a tracker mortgage is so low that you'd be better off putting that extra money into a deposit account! Who'd have ever thought...?

April

21

2010

The ESB will be able to set its own prices as soon as it sheds another 300,000 customers. Starting next year, consumers could expect cheaper electricity from all suppliers.

In a statement released today, the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) said that competition in the domestic energy market had developed strongly with 1 in 5 customers switching in 2009.

April

16

2010

This week I decided to go for a totally unscientific top ten list. Well, when I say unscientific, I mean the order of the list. There's perfectly good science behind these ideas but if you think number 10 is a better idea than number 1, I won't argue. And of course, if you have any of your own to add, please let me know through the comments below.

So on to the top ten ways to use less electricity and save money in your home...

April

07

2010

Morning coffee. I love everything about it. Which café to go to? The smell of fresh espresso; latte or americano; whether or not to get the muffin deal?

The idea of giving up my morning ritual to save a few euros seems absurd when I get so much out of it, but that's what the Latte Factor is all about. Not necessarily sacrifice we're told, but taking a look at the little things we spend our money on every day and redirecting that cash to our futures and ourselves instead.

March

31

2010

On Monday British Gas said it's going to put a million smart meters into British homes this year... and then another million next year, and they're hiring on 2500 new staff to get it done. This is good news for British householders because apparently with smart meters they can expect to save hundreds every year on their energy bills.

Smart meters are digital and replace old gas and electricity meters. They monitor energy as it's used and send the information wirelessly to suppliers over the mobile network. Householders can watch their consumption in real time with an indoor monitor and use it to decide which gadgets and appliances to turn off or leave on.

March

23

2010

With the Halifax due to start closing branches in May and Postbank ceasing operations by the end of the year, more than 200,000 customers will soon be hitting the streets in search of new current accounts.

Over 200,000 customers switching in one year is an extraordinary number when you consider that only 70,000 people have switched accounts in the past five years.

March

19

2010

Getting the best electricity price comparison in Ireland - ESB, Bord Gáis & Airtricity.

If you haven't switched electricity supplier yet, chances are you're thinking about it now. The launch of Bord Gáis' Big Switch campaign last year and additional competition from Airtricity has seen nearly half a million customers leave the ESB for cheaper home electricity.

So many Irish households have switched that even Bord Gáis was surprised at their own success. Having gained nearly 300,000 customers since the start of the Big Switch campaign, Bord Gáis has massively exceeded their first year target of 100,000 customers.

March

12

2010

Could you withstand extreme levels of stress?

That's the question ratings agencies ask when they're deciding whether to award their highest Triple A status to a business.

An extreme level of stress is a rather clinical way of describing economic mayhem. The ratings agency Standard and Poor's say that for stress to be extreme, it should be something along the lines of World War II in France or the Great Depression in the US.

March

05

2010

It's been a turbulent couple of weeks for the Irish banking sector. Two of our best-known financial institutions announced eye-watering losses and two more announced that they will cease to operate this year.

One of those on the way out is Postbank, which described itself as providing "simple, straightforward financial products and services that are good value for money". An Post's readymade network of 1,200 branches gave the venture enviable reach, and excellent demand deposit rates attracted 170,000 customers in less than 3 years. In 2008 Postbank was opening 400 new accounts a day. Postbank seemed destined for success.

March

01

2010

Postbank, the joint venture between An Post and BNP Paribas announced on Friday that it will close at the end of the year. Jobs for the 260 people employed by Postbank are at risk.

Postbank became the second retail bank to announce closure in as many weeks following the decision by Bank of Scotland to close Halifax with an expected loss of 750 jobs.

February

24

2010

The UK Treasury announced this morning that it will end the 100% deposit guarantee for Northern Rock Savers in three months time.

The Northern Rock guarantee, which was put in place by the British government in September 2007, will be scaled back to £50,000 per person. This is the same level of protection offered by British Financial Services Compensation Scheme to all other UK bank deposits.

February

19

2010

When outlining this piece I was going to start with: "In January the Central Bank issued its 2009 consumer financial statistics..." but after running the first few lines by the good folks at the office I changed my mind. They were kind enough to mutter "fascinating" and "m-hmm" in all the right places, but the looks they gave me told a very different story.

Fact is, most people won't willingly read through "Harmonised Competitiveness Indicators" or "Aggregate Balance Sheets", and normally I wouldn't either. The Central Bank Statistics report that I've been leafing through this week was written by bankers for bankers, and although it's freely available, it's tough reading for the untrained layman.

February

15

2010

Irish savers with nationalized British bank Northern Rock will soon lose their 100% deposit guarantee. An announcement from Northern Rock about the lifting of the unlimited guarantee is expected in the coming weeks.

Northern Rock will provide three months' notice to customers before removing the guarantee. Irish savers can then expect their deposits to be covered up to a value of £50,000 by the UK Treasury.

February

09

2010

Bank of Scotland announced today that it is to close its Halifax operations in Ireland with the loss of 750 jobs across the country.

The decision which was announced at 3pm, will affect the customer service centre in Dundalk and all Halifax branches across the country. The staff were told by Bank of Scotland chief executive Joe Higgins this afternoon during a conference call.

January

21

2010

Across the country, 5700 gutsy Irish households embarked upon a landmark trial that could herald the future for all Irish energy customers. On January 1st, these volunteers became the first large group in Ireland to go live with Smart Electricity Meters.

The Smart Meters, which were installed during the first part of 2009, measure electricity consumption in real time and electronically report usage back to the ESB every 30 minutes. What's revolutionary about Smart Metering is that it allows householders and suppliers to map usage patterns, easily identify high consumption periods and help consumers to save energy and money through awareness.

January

18

2010

The last 18 months in Ireland have been incredibly turbulent. We have seen the near-collapse of the banking system, scandals have rocked the highest echelons of the business world, and the economy has been rapped by two crises - the credit crunch and the recession.

Interest rates for mortgages are the lowest they have been for years - good news if you have a mortgage, not such good news if you want to earn interest on your savings.

January

06

2010

Ireland's 600,000 gas customers will soon see an 8% price cut which should save the average household over €50 per year. Bord Gáis announced the price cut today following approval from the energy regulator. The lower unit prices will take effect from February 1st.

Today's announcement marks the third price cut from Bord Gáis in less than a year bringing gas unit rates down by 25% since May 2009.