How to reach your financial goals in 2025

31 Jan, 2025
Share
How to reach your financial goals in 2025

Aiming to save for a big purchase, build a stronger investment portfolio or create a safety net for the future? Having a clear strategy is essential. Here’s how you can set yourself up for financial success this year.

What Are Your Financial Goals?

The first step to reaching any goal is defining it. Ask yourself, what do you want to achieve financially in 2025? Your goals might fall into one or more of the following categories:

 

  • Short-term goals: Saving for a holiday, building an emergency fund or paying off credit card debt.
  • Medium-term goals: Buying a home, funding a child’s education or starting a business.
  • Long-term goals: Planning for retirement, growing your investment portfolio or leaving a legacy.

Write these goals down and make them specific. For instance, instead of saying, “I want to save more,” say, “I want to save €10,000 for a house deposit by December 2025.”

 

Assess Your Current Financial Situation

Once you have outlined your goals, take a step back and evaluate where you currently stand financially. Understanding your starting point is important for developing a realistic plan.

Review Your Income and Expenses

  • Track your income: Include all sources, such as salary, rental income or side hustles.
  • List your expenses: Break them into categories like housing, transportation, groceries and discretionary spending. Budgeting tools like the askpaul finance planner can simplify this process.

Evaluate Your Savings and Investments

  • Do you have an emergency fund? Our founder, Paul Merriman, recommends saving at least three to six months’ worth of expenses.
  • Review your current investment portfolio. Does it align with your goals and risk tolerance?

 

Book a free investment consultation with the askpaul team to understand your options.

 

Check Your Debt

  • Identify high-interest debts: Prioritise paying off loans with high interest rates.
  • Understand your mortgage loan terms: Look for lower interest rates, refinance or make extra payments to reduce the overall cost.

 

Book a free mortgage consultation with the askpaul team to get your options assessed.

Make a Financial Plan

Now that you know your goals and where you stand, it’s time to create a roadmap. A solid financial plan involves setting priorities, creating a budget and investing wisely.

Set Priorities

You may not be able to tackle all your goals at once, so rank them based on urgency and importance. For example, building an emergency fund might take precedence over saving for a holiday.

Create a Budget

A budget is your financial success blueprint. Use the 50/30/20 rule as a guideline:

  • 50% for necessities like renting and utilities.
  • 30% for discretionary spending.
  • 20% for savings and debt repayment.

Create a budget that works for you and find ways to stick to it for the most success.

Plan Your Investments

Investing is key to growing your wealth, but it requires careful planning.

Consider:

  • Diversifying your portfolio across stocks, bonds and real estate.
  • Balancing your risk by factoring in your age, income and financial goals.
  • Exploring retirement savings options like a personal retirement savings account like PRSAs.

 

Know the Rules and Exceptions

Ireland’s financial landscape is complex, with various rules, reliefs and exceptions that can impact your plan.

Pension Contributions

Contributions to approved pension schemes may qualify for tax relief, making them a smart choice for long-term savings. Additionally, Budget 2025 introduced changes that increased tax relief caps, allowing higher contributions to pensions while maximizing tax efficiency.

Estate Planning

You have more flexibility to transfer wealth to family members without triggering capital acquisitions tax (CAT) at the 33% rate with the increase in the CAT threshold introduced during Budget 2025. For many families, especially those with valuable property, this provides a greater buffer before substantial tax liabilities kick in.

Government Schemes

  • Help-to-Buy scheme: First-time buyers in Ireland can avail of tax rebates to help fund a house deposit. Recent updates from Budget 2025 extended this scheme with additional support, ensuring more people can take advantage of it.
  • Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) supports: Business owners can benefit from various grants and tax incentives. Budget 2025 also introduced new funding for sustainability projects and digitalisation initiatives for SMEs.

 

Understanding these rules can significantly boost your financial progress. If navigating them feels overwhelming, consider booking a financial planning consultation and we’ll help you create a personalised plan, provide insights into tax-efficient strategies and recommend investment opportunities based on your goals and risk profile.

 

For business owners, tailored advice can be even more critical. A business owner consultation can address needs ranging from setting up employee pension schemes to business exit planning.

Share

Ready to get started?

Find out more about our Services

Have a Financial Question?

Hello!

Have a question? You can always askpaul!

Connect on social: