Advice First Financial

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.

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.

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.

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.

05/05/2026

The rate you're on might not be the best one available to you now. If you took out your mortgage even a few years ago, today's market is completely different.

Pascal Curran — financial broker with 30+ years of experience — is running a free live webinar on Wednesday 13th May at 7pm to walk you through the questions homeowners are actually asking about mortgage switching.

In 45 minutes, Pascal will cover:

• Can I switch if I'm on a fixed rate?
• What costs are involved in switching?
• Am I likely to be eligible?
• How does a broker approach this differently to going direct to a bank?

No jargon. No sales pitch. Just a clear picture of how it works and what to look at.

Wednesday 13th May · 7PM · Live on Zoom

Sign up using the link in the first comment.

⚠️ Your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or any other loan secured on it. The cost of your monthly repayments may increase. This webinar provides general information only — not personal advice. Advice First Financial Services Ltd trading as Advice First Financial and Find a Mortgage is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

01/05/2026

If you have any questions about later life finance, give us a shout.

Tom & Charlotte’s Story – “We wanted to help now, while we’re here to see the difference it makes”.

As they were enjoying their retirement, Tom & Charlotte wanted to help their daughter buy her first home. With a Spry Lifetime Mortgage, they released equity in their home to help her get on the property ladder.

Read their full story here: https://www.spryfinance.ie/think-it-through/customer-case-studies/customer-case-history-tom-and-charlotte/

30/04/2026

She had a good pension. Or so she thought.

Mary is a secondary school teacher — 32 years' service, a solid Department of Education scheme, and an assumption that her retirement was already sorted.

Then she sat down with an Advice First financial adviser.

Two things stood out straight away.

She had 8 years of unused pensionable service she didn't know she could buy back. And her tax-free lump sum of €100,601 was well below the Revenue lifetime limit of €200,000 — that gap would disappear the day she retired. Gone forever.

So, she put an AVC in place. €500 a month in contributions. But with 40% income tax relief, the actual cost to her was €300 a month.

Revenue was co-funding her retirement.

At retirement: an extra €14,875 tax-free in her pocket on day one. Plus, an ARF of €44,625

— flexible additional income on top of her pension.

And one more thing most people miss: as a Class D PRSI contributor, Mary has no entitlement to the State Contributory Pension. Her occupational pension is it. The AVC was never optional — it was the safety net she didn't know she was missing.

This is what financial planning actually looks like. Not complex. Just getting the full picture before it's too late.

💬 Want to see what your retirement could look like?
Comment PENSION below and I'll send you our Irish Pension & Retirement Calculator — it'll help you get a better picture of how much you need to put away to hit your number.

[Disclaimer]
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.

30/04/2026

Retirement Planning + Mortgages | April Newsletter | Advice First Financial -

In this video, we break down what you should be doing in each decade of your life, so you can build the retirement you actually want.

29/04/2026

Later Life Finance in Donegal🏡
Your home has likely taken decades to build up in value. For many people in Donegal, it is also one of the most significant financial assets they hold going into retirement. Yet it often sits untouched when planning for later life.
If you are wondering how your property could work harder for you in the years ahead, it is worth understanding what options are available before making any decisions. Read more to know your options.📌https://advicefirst.ie/later-life-finance-mortgage-products-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.

24/04/2026

👥Retirement does not happen by accident. It happens by design.

Whether you work near Glenveagh National Park or commute daily from Letterkenny into the wider Donegal business corridor, the question is always the same. Will you have enough when the time comes?

A pension plan built around your income, your goals and your timeline gives you real choices. A tax free lump sum, a regular income and the freedom to decide what retirement actually looks like for you.📈

Advice First will help you find retirement planning options that fit your situation.👉https://advicefirst.ie/retirement-planning-donegal/

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 is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.