Happy Halloween one and all! The dreaded winter chill is starting to creep in and the evenings are getting longer but hey, at least from tomorrow we’re allowed to start looking forward to Christmas!
Here’s your October bulletin; a quick monthly round-up of the latest news and savings tips from the worlds of energy, broadband, mortgages and more.
Let’s get to it!
As we head into the winter season, we’re seeing quite a bit of movement in the energy sector, and the news is both good and bad.
On the good side, back at the beginning of the month, the PSO Levy (an obligatory charge all electricity customers must pay) decreased by 56% for the 2018/2019 period. For the 2017/2018 period, the total charge came to €92.28 (ex VAT) and it falls to just €41.76 for 2018/2019.
Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ends! After 8 out of Ireland’s 10 energy suppliers hiked prices over the summer, it seems that we’re currently in the middle of a second wave of hikes. Flogas kicked off the trend at the end of September and this month we saw Pinergy and Panda Power follow suit with increase announcements of their own. All three suppliers’ increases will come into effect in November.
With imminent price increases, now is the perfect time to switch suppliers if you haven’t done so within the last year. It’s still the quickest and easiest way to make an average saving of close to €300.
Bonkers.ie has now been accredited by the CRU as an accurate and impartial price comparison service for the sixth year in a row, so you can rest assured that you’ll find the best value energy deal with us!
Curious about how you can save even more money on your bills this winter? Check out this quick guide we put together earlier this month.
This month we saw Permanent TSB cut its mortgage rates for the second time this year. It’s a good sign, but is it good enough?
New figures from the Central Bank show that Ireland’s average mortgage rates are still significantly higher than many of our European counterparts and a new survey carried out on behalf of protection specialist Royal London found that there’s quite a large gap between the public’s expectations of the age at which they should buy their first homes versus the age at which that is financially realistic.
This month we saw Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe announce the details for Budget 2019. If you missed out on any of the finer points, you can check them out here in our comprehensive guide to Budget 2019.
It includes a handy income tax calculator from taxback.com, to easily show just how much your pocket will be directly affected in the coming year.
Pockets feeling a little lighter than you’d like or need? Maybe it’s time to look into taking out a personal loan. Check out this quick run-through of the best personal loan rates currently on the market.
Earlier this month, Pure Telecom became the new top dog for cheapest broadband offer out of all of the operators. It is offering unlimited 100Mb broadband for just €30 per month!
Shortly after launching this deal, Pure Telecom announced a new multi-million telecoms deal with BT Ireland, which will give it access to 1.8 million potential customers through BT’s nationwide infrastructure.
This is great news, as the new deal will enable Pure Telecom to deliver, fast, reliable broadband to hard to reach and rural premises.
This month, our Head of Communications, Daragh Cassidy featured on C103 talking about rising energy costs. He also featured on Newstalk and Drivetime discussing mortgage interest rates in Ireland.
This month SSE Airtricity launched its Smart Home Bundles which represent great value to anyone interested in Smart home technology. Sign up to its 10% discounted dual fuel or electricity-only bundle and get a FREE Climote, Amazon Echo and an Amazon Echo Dot or Spot!
Interested in Smart home thermostats? Check out this comparison of Climote vs Hive vs Nest vs Netatmo.
That's all folks!
We hope you enjoyed Your October Bulletin. If there are any topics you’d like us to cover on our blog, just tweet us your suggestions.
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