Hi everyone,
So as you know I made the big decision to take a Career Break this coming September. The last few years have been busy with completing my Masters, moving to 5th & 6th class, working with Science Foundation Ireland and more. I am so lucky to have had these opportunities and I wanted to take a breather and see what other options lay ahead for me. But deciding to take a career break did involve planning for different areas and most of all it was making a budget and trying to save.
As part of planning for my career break earlier in the year I had to really stick to a budget to allow for the reduction in wages come September. I have been a member of the Comhar Linn INTO Credit Union since my early days as a teacher, I have always found the service excellent and the staff are always helpful, so I wanted to share my experiences with you and how it has helped me plan for my career break. I have decided to collaborate with Comhar Linn INTO CU for this post and they have given me an amazing prize for followers of Aistear Muinteoir which will be announced later in the week so watch this space.
I started using the Comhar Linn INTO Credit Union for my Car Loan, having shopped around it was the best rate and continues to have very competitive rates, with a rate especially for Primary School Teachers for different loans now. As part of the Loan, I had to create a Savings Account too. This was a great incentive as a Newly Qualified Teacher so I didn’t get carried away. I really liked how the payments for my Car Loan and Savings Account come out at source, so they are paid directly from my pay each fortnight. This was great, because I didn’t have to budget for loans and savings each time I got paid. I still use this deduction at source for my Savings Account with the Credit Union now.
Since I joined as a member, they have introduced the Comhar Linn App which I have on my phone. It allows me to check my balance and if necessary to transfer some of my savings to my current account. It has been handy at times to access money this way, but I have tried to avoid using my savings over the last few months to build up my savings for the Career Break. I’m avoiding using the App too to check my balance so I won’t be tempted to fund another Staycation in the next few weeks.
What I am hoping to use in the next few months is the Budget Account Feature within the Comhar Linn INTO CU. This feature allows you to calculate what your yearly outgoings will be for bills etc and then decide on an amount to lodge into the account each fortnight. All your bills can be paid out of this account which will spread the cost of all your bills over the course of the year rather than having a particular month where you have a lot of expenditure and bills due. This will be really helpful when I am on career break but it would also be helpful for teachers who are saving for a mortgage or who have finally got on the property ladder and want to budget for new bills.
The newest feature of the Comhar Linn INTO CU is the introduction of their Current Account Feature. Another feature I am going to begin using myself. As I am currently a member of the Comhar Linn INTO Credit Union I can apply online to create my own current account which is separate from my savings accounts. As a current account holder you get a debit card and you also have the App and an Online Portal so you can access your money anywhere and anytime. You can still avail of the contactless payments up to €50 which at the moment I wouldn’t live without and it’s worth noting the fees for the current accounts are cheaper than most leading banks. For more information on the Comhar Linn Current Account click here.
Having been a member of Comhar Linn INTO CU for over 10 years, I am happy to share my own experiences with my followers. I will always share what has worked well for me. Comhar Linn has made it easy to become a member, apply and get loans, plan for savings and access my money when I need to. Now it will help me with budgeting for my career break.
Are you a member of Comhar Linn INTO CU? Visit their Facebook page here.
Check out posts later in the week for the amazing competition as part of this collaboration.
Aistear Muinteoir.
Aistear Múinteoir 