Deal of the week

Amazon's decision to introduce free shipping to Ireland on orders over £25 is welcome news and comes not long after the company decided to recommence selling electronic goods here. The move means that anyone buying a big-ticket item can not only avail of better sterling pricing (and with the euro growing stronger, this is set to improve) but doesn't have to factor in postage when working out whether or not it's worth the effort. The company is also introducing the Amazon Currency Converter which allows you pay in euro at the checkout, but proceed with caution here as it often works out cheaper to pay in sterling and let the market decide the exchange rate.

Tip of the week

During the boom years, throwing perfectly good possessions into the bin because they had outlived their usefulness was a national sport. However, in these times of financial austerity, we are clinging onto our possessions for dear life. There is a compromise: swap them. Take a cue from the women who updated their wardrobes last year at 'swop' meets by applying their logic to your bulkier items. New website www.swapbunny.com aims to connect people who have goods to swap (or in some cases sell) for free. As usual, apply common sense when online.

Bad value of the week

One Sunday Tribune reader was fuming recently after he found himself out of pocket when buying €25 worth of postal orders from An Post, thanks to a bizarre quirk in its pricing structure. Buying a single postal order for €25 cost him €2.10. Had he opted instead to buy two postal orders, one for €10 and the other for €15, they would have come in at 80 cent each, saving him 50 cent. So it costs less to buy two postal orders even though it presumably involves twice the work. As fee structures go, that's extremely odd.

Recession Rates

Pensions

Half as much, for twice as long, can deliver twice the fund at retirement.

If a person aged 25 contributes €200 a month into a PRSA until the usual retirement age of 65, they could acquire a retirement fund of €450,000.

If they waited until they were 45 to start paying into their pension, they would have to pay €400 a month into a PRSA until retirement at 65, just to achieve a fund of €206,000.

www.mortgagebrokers.ie