Covid-19 has turned our lives upside down. Many lost their jobs, many became ill, schools were closed, and they were free to live life as we knew before. Now, as everyone knows, your health is your wealth. Nevertheless, limiting the economic sacrifice that Covid-19 can give you is one way to make your life easier as the war on the virus continues. Here are some steps to help you do that.
The rules for social distance have led to the use of services such as Skype, Facetime, and Google Hangouts to communicate with the outside world over the Internet. These services are not only a convenient way to communicate with friends and family, but may also allow you and your children to continue music and other lessons and activities throughout the crisis.
Using such services is very cheap-as long as you use them in the right way.
Facetime and Google Hangouts are both free apps with free video and voice calls.
Skype is also a free app that can be used for voice and video calls. These calls are free or paid, depending on how you use them.
Voice and video calls from Skype to Skype are free. So, as long as you and the other party are signed up for Skype, you can make free calls with this service. However, if you make calls from Skype to landlines or mobile phones, you will need to pay for those calls. Landline calls are much cheaper than Skype mobile phones.
Most of us who have a smartphone have already sent messages using WhatsApp. You can also make calls using WhatsApp, which is free. You can also make video calls with WhatsApp.
You need an internet connection to use all of these apps. Most of us have Internet access at home, and many home broadband packages have unlimited data capacity. Therefore, you will not face any additional costs when using these apps over the Internet at home. However, if you access these apps via mobile, be careful not to exceed your mobile data allowance (the amount you need to use the internet on your mobile when you’re not connected to Wi-Fi). Please give me. Huge bill.
Break mortgage
An Irish bank has agreed to offer a three-month mortgage to customers who have suffered financial difficulties due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
Therefore, if mortgage repayment is difficult or expected as a result of the coronavirus crisis, contact your bank to see if you can arrange a payment break. You should also be able to get a break on the personal loan you have.
For example, the AIB has a 60-day payment break, a 6-month moratorium (you repay), or up to 12 months for those who have difficulty repaying personal loans as a result of Covid-19 Interest only (if you repay only the interest on the loan).
Irish banks guarantee their customers that payment interruptions during the current crisis will not affect their credit rating.
Banks may have taken other steps to help address the loss of income in the current emergency. For example, the permanent TSB and Ulster Bank allow individual customers to increase their credit card and overdraft limits.
Keep in mind, however, that you will have to pay back on time, so you will incur additional heavy debt over the coming months.
View current account
The banks here have no plans to exempt current account transaction fees and maintenance costs during the crisis. Some banks can avoid these fees by minimizing your account balance or by putting a fixed amount into your account each month. However, if you have just lost your job and your account is unpaid, this can prove difficult.
Therefore, if you have savings on wings that you do not need to access, you can avoid commissions by moving those savings to your current account and keeping the minimum balance at the required level.
Otherwise, check your current account fees and make sure your account has enough money to clear those fees. You can also see if your current account is exempt from fees. For example, the AIB is exempt from paying a mortgage debit from the AIB checking account with a bank mortgage. Also note the penalty charges for the current account. For example, if your current account does not have enough money to clear a debit or recurring order, the penalty fee may be € 10 or € 12.50 pop. These fees are charged if it is difficult to make regular payments.
If you anticipate difficulties covering your current account fees, transaction fees, and fines, we recommend that you contact your bank. Your bank may accept to come here for an agreement-but some are more flexible than others.
Reduce the cost of home entertainment
Coronaviruses mean that many of us entertain themselves at home for the foreseeable future. For those lucky enough to have enough cash, avoid the temptation to sign up for expensive TV subscriptions or buy the finest home movie kits. (Such a movie projector can cost hundreds of dollars, and in fact, some prices can be thousands or more.)
It’s impossible to know how long the Covid-19 crisis will last, but if it eases after a few months, it’s faster than you think, and you’re a splattered home entertainment kit or TV regular You may go out to purchase. Immediately forgotten. So, if you want to spend money on home entertainment, make it reasonable.
You can get a basic movie projector for hundreds of euros and a projector screen for less than 200 euros. Avoid the temptation to get an expensive TV subscription, as you are usually tied to such a subscription for at least one year.
Please note that if you have a Sky Sports subscription, you can pause your subscription for free. This occurs after a series of sports equipment has been canceled and postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Delve into states
If you lose your job or get sick as a result of a coronavirus pandemic, get qualified state financial support. These include a covid-19 pandemic unemployment salary of € 350 per week (paid to those unemployed as a result of the coronavirus crisis until this emergency occurs). € 350 weekly Covid-19 enhanced sickness benefit (this can be up to two weeks if a person is self-isolated, or the person’s absence from work if diagnosed with Covid-19) Supplementary welfare benefits (if your boss is unable to provide a sickness salary above the level paid by the country); payment of short-term work support (if Covid-19 reduces working hours).
Dismissed workers are also entitled to statutory severance pay-if they meet the requirements of the same plan, including at least two years of continuous employment.
Beware of fraud
Scammers are using the spread of Covid-19 to disclose people personal and financial information. For example, some scammers call people, claim to be from the Ministry of Employment and Social Protection, and ask for financial details.
Be very careful not to disclose financial details to anyone. Never give them details via social media or after receiving unsolicited calls or emails. Otherwise, you can lose a lot of money.
Don’t stress about debt
If you are worried that repayment of your tax liability will be a problem as a result of the current emergency, please contact the Revenue Committee to see if you can make arrangements until the situation changes.
Similarly, if you are expecting to struggle to repay an individual default transaction, contact Irish bankruptcy services or an individual default practitioner, depending on the type of default.
Wedding, community, coronavirus
Wedding, community, coronavirus
Canceled wedding
The virus caused many people to cancel or postpone the wedding. Many would have paid a significant deposit to the venue. So, do you have the right to reclaim your deposit?
“Deposits are not generally refundable under contract law,” said a spokesperson for the Competitive Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). “But first of all, the couple should check the terms of the agreement agreed with the venue, what it shows in relation to the deposit and under what circumstances (if any) can it be refunded? Need to check.
This also applies to deposits paid to other suppliers on the day of the wedding, such as wedding rings, florists and delivery services. If the deposit is non-refundable, the CCPC recommended the couple discuss with the venue about other options (such as alternative dates).
“ Considering the exceptional circumstances, most venues and suppliers are likely to be responding to couples trying to respond to couples under the influence of Covid-19, ” said a CCPC spokeswoman. I said.
“If a relocation takes place and the deposit or payment is discussed over the phone, the couple will need to follow up via email-ask the supplier to confirm the new configuration in writing.”
Couples with wedding insurance may be able to claim loss of deposit and other costs as a result of having to cancel the original date, depending on the terms of the policy.
Community attire
It is unclear if the communion scheduled for May this year will proceed or if the virus will force the postponement of these ceremonies.
Because some parents may already be spending a lot of money on communion costumes, costumes already purchased may not fit their children before the rescheduled communion takes place. So what are your chances to exchange or get a refund?
“Under consumer law, there is no right to return a product unless it is defective,” a CCPC spokeswoman said. “But when consumers change their minds, some companies offer exchanges or refunds.
This is considered a good faith gesture by the business, but is not a legal requirement. Companies also tend to have time restrictions on this. For example, the limit could be within 28 days of purchase. ”
The CCPC will ask parents to check with the shop if they offer a replacement or refund if they change their mood (rather than having a defective item), and if so, the timeframe they will allow this. I advised to give advice.
“If the business does not accept a remorse return or the parent is outside the timeframe for doing this, we recommend that you contact the business and ask them if they want to apply the policy in these exceptional situations. Recommend spokesperson said.
“If the shop does not offer a refund, parents must ask if they can either facilitate a return slip or exchange for a larger size, but there is no obligation on the retailer to facilitate this.”
