Advice First Financial

Advice First Financial If you need advice on Life Insurance, Mortgages, Pensions, Savings or Investments, give us a call

Advice First Financial Letterkenny provide a full suite of financial advice & Mortgage solutions – all in one place. The team you call when you have questions about Life Insurance, Pensions, Mortgages or to get investment advice

🔑 Two schemes. One goal.Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme both aim to make home ownership more achievable for first-...
23/06/2026

🔑 Two schemes. One goal.

Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme both aim to make home ownership more achievable for first-time buyers.

But they work differently and what suits one buyer may not suit another.

Before you start viewing properties or applying for a mortgage, it is worth understanding how each scheme works.

Read more👉
https://advicefirst.ie/blog/help-to-buy-first-home-scheme-donegal/



For information purposes only. This is not personal financial advice.
WARNING: Your home is at risk if you do not keep up payments on a mortgage or any other loan secured on it.
WARNING: If you do not meet the repayments on your loan your account will go into arrears. This may affect your credit rating which may limit your ability to access credit in the future.
Advice First Financial Services Ltd trading as Advice First Financial and Find a Mortgage is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

10/06/2026

Estate planning is probably one of the most postponed financial decisions.

And in Ireland, we’re not great at this conversation.

One of the biggest reasons is very human:

“I don’t want to tempt fate.”

But planning for something does not make it happen sooner.

It’s a bit like saying you don’t want to speak to your dentist in case they find a problem.

Avoiding the conversation doesn’t protect you.

It just means that if something does happen, there may be less clarity, less control, and more stress for the people left behind.

Estate planning is not about bringing anything closer.

It’s about making sure your wishes are clear.

Because without proper planning, the decisions may not happen the way you would have wanted.

They may be shaped by the Succession Act, delays, tax issues, or family confusion instead.

The point is simple:

Planning ahead doesn’t tempt fate.

It protects the people you care about.



For information purposes only. This is not personal financial advice and does not take account of your individual circumstances. You should seek advice tailored to your own situation before making financial decisions.



Advice First Financial Services Ltd trading as Advice First Financial and Find a Mortgage is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

💶 How much should you put into your pension?Most people are either putting in too little or not sure if what they are pu...
09/06/2026

💶 How much should you put into your pension?
Most people are either putting in too little or not sure if what they are putting in is enough.
The answer depends on your age, income, when you want to retire and how long you have left to build up your fund. Revenue also sets age-related limits on how much you can contribute tax free each year so the earlier you start, the more flexibility you have.
A pension calculator gives you a useful starting point. But the numbers only make sense when you understand what they mean for your own situation.
We have a short section on this in our blog that breaks it down simply.
👉 https://advicefirst.ie/blog/starting-your-pension-late-donegal-ireland/


For information purposes only. This is not personal financial advice. The value of pensions can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invest. Tax relief depends on individual circumstances and may change. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance.
Advice First Financial Services Ltd trading as Advice First Financial and Find a Mortgage is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

08/06/2026

Think of your mortgage application like a job application.

You wouldn’t send in a messy CV with missing details and hope for the best.

You’d make sure everything is clear, complete, and easy to understand.

Your mortgage application is the same.

The goal is to make it as easy as possible for the lender to say yes.

Because if you just throw in a pile of paperwork, anything unusual will get flagged.

That means questions.
Questions mean delays.
And delays can slow down the whole application.

A clean, well-packaged mortgage application should tell the story of your finances over the last six months.

It should show:

Where your income comes from.
How you manage your spending.
What your savings habits look like.
Whether you’re likely to be a reliable borrower.

That’s what lenders are assessing.

And yes, I know I’m biased, but this is one of the reasons I always recommend using a broker.

A good broker will go through your paperwork, spot the gaps, ask the right questions, and present your application in the strongest possible light.

Because with a mortgage application, presentation matters.



For information purposes only. This is not personal financial advice.

WARNING: Your home is at risk if you do not keep up payments on a mortgage or any other loan secured on it.

WARNING: If you do not meet the repayments on your loan, your account will go into arrears. This may affect your credit rating, which may limit your ability to access credit in the future.

Advice First Financial Services Ltd trading as Advice First Financial and Find a Mortgage is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

05/06/2026

If you own a house in Ireland, you have an estate.

A lot of people hear “estate planning” or “inheritance tax planning” and think:

“That’s only for wealthy people.”

But that’s not true.

If you own a home, you have an estate.
If you have death-in-service benefits, you have an estate.
If your employer would pay out a lump sum if something happened to you, that also forms part of your estate.

Estate planning is not just about death.

It’s about control.

It’s about deciding what should happen to the wealth, assets, and benefits you’ve worked hard to build when you’re no longer here to make those decisions yourself.

And the earlier you start that conversation, the better.

Because leaving it too late can create confusion, delays, unnecessary tax issues, and stress for the people you care about most.

If you have questions about estate planning or inheritance tax planning, reach out.

I’m happy to help you understand where you stand and what steps you may need to take.



For information purposes only. This is not personal financial advice and does not take account of your individual circumstances. You should seek advice tailored to your own situation before making financial decisions.



Advice First Financial Services Ltd trading as Advice First Financial and Find a Mortgage is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

03/06/2026

Lenders don’t just “check your bank statements.”

They investigate them.

When you apply for a mortgage, lenders usually look at the six months before your application and go through your accounts line by line.

Every transfer.
Every lodgement.
Every unusual transaction.

And one thing that often raises questions is cash lodgements.

If your salary is paid into your account by EFT every week or month, but suddenly there’s cash being lodged, the lender will want to know:

Where did that money come from?

It might be birthday money.
Christmas money.
Money you were saving elsewhere.
A repayment from a family member.

The actual answer may be perfectly fine.

But the key thing is this:

Have the answer ready.

Name it.
Explain it.
Clean it up before you apply.

Because when it comes to mortgage approval, unclear transactions can slow everything down.

The cleaner your bank statements are, the easier your application becomes.



For information purposes only. This is not personal financial advice.
WARNING: Your home is at risk if you do not keep up payments on a mortgage or any other
loan secured on it.
WARNING: If you do not meet the repayments on your loan, your account will go into
arrears. This may affect your credit rating, which may limit your ability to access credit in the
future.
Advice First Financial Services Ltd trading as Advice First Financial and Find a Mortgage is
regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Starting your pension late does not mean you have missed your chance.Many people across Donegal only begin focusing on r...
29/05/2026

Starting your pension late does not mean you have missed your chance.
Many people across Donegal only begin focusing on retirement planning later in life, often after mortgages, family costs or business commitments settle down.
The important thing is understanding the options available now and making a plan that fits where you are today.
This guide explains practical pension options if you are getting started later than expected.
Read more👉 https://advicefirst.ie/blog/starting-your-pension-late-donegal-ireland/ /

For information purposes only. This is not personal financial advice. The value of pensions can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invest. Tax relief depends on individual circumstances and may change. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance.
Advice First Financial Services Ltd trading as Advice First Financial and Find a Mortgage is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Buying your first home in Donegal? Two government schemes can help bridge the gap between your savings and the price of ...
21/05/2026

Buying your first home in Donegal? Two government schemes can help bridge the gap between your savings and the price of a property but they work very differently.
Our latest blog covers Help to Buy vs the First Home Scheme side by side, how each works, the deposit rules and where Donegal property prices stand right now.
Donegal remains the most affordable county in Ireland (CSO Feb 2026), with a median price of €198,000 so the numbers are worth knowing before you approach a lender.
Read the full blog → https://advicefirst.ie/blog/help-to-buy-first-home-scheme-donegal/
Contact us→https://advicefirst.ie/contact-advice-first/



For information purposes only. This is not personal financial advice.

WARNING: Your home is at risk if you do not keep up payments on a mortgage or any other loan secured on it.
WARNING: If you do not meet the repayments on your loan, your account will go into arrears. This may affect your credit rating, which may limit your ability to access credit in the future.

Advice First Financial Services Ltd trading as Advice First Financial and Find a Mortgage is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

👥 Starting a pension late can feel uncomfortable, especially when you are already in your 40s or 50s and wondering wheth...
15/05/2026

👥 Starting a pension late can feel uncomfortable, especially when you are already in your 40s or 50s and wondering whether you have left it too long.

The good news is that late does not mean too late.

Many people across Donegal and the north west reach this point after years of focusing on mortgages, family, business or day-to-day costs. What matters now is getting clear about your options, including pension contributions, tax relief, AVCs, retirement income planning and how your State Pension may fit into the bigger picture.

Pascal Curran explains the practical steps you can still take in this new blog from Advice First Financial.
Read the blog here:
https://advicefirst.ie/blog/starting-your-pension-late-donegal-ireland/

For information purposes only. This is not personal financial advice. The value of pensions can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invest. Tax relief depends on individual circumstances and may change. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance. Advice First Financial Services Ltd trading as Advice First Financial and Find a Mortgage is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.


👥 🏡Some people in Donegal have been paying their mortgage for over two decades. Their home has gone up in value. Their b...
14/05/2026

👥 🏡Some people in Donegal have been paying their mortgage for over two decades. Their home has gone up in value. Their balance is almost cleared. Their repayment record is spotless.
And they are still stuck on a rate above 6% with a credit servicer who cannot offer them anything better.
If that sounds familiar or if someone in your family is in that position, the situation may not be as fixed as it seems.
New later life lending options have opened up in Ireland that many older borrowers simply do not know about. We have written a detailed piece on the blog this week covering who these options are for, how they work and what to look for when getting advice.
No hard sell. Just a clear explanation of what is now possible.
https://advicefirst.ie/blog/new-lending-options-for-older-borrowers-mortgage-donegal/
Feel free to share with anyone who might find this useful.

For information purposes only. This is not personal financial advice.
WARNING: Your home is at risk if you do not keep up payments on a mortgage or any other loan secured on it.
WARNING: If you do not meet the repayments on your loan, your account will go into arrears. This may affect your credit rating, which may limit your ability to access credit in the future.
Advice First Financial Services Ltd trading as Advice First Financial and Find a Mortgage is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

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2 Port Road
Letterkenny
F92F99F

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