The smart way to spend child benefit payments Some families are in the fortunate position of being able to put the State’s double child benefit payment on December 5th to work for the long termWed Nov 29 2023 - 05:30
Brianna Parkins: I saw glimpses of everyday Irish soundness in the chaos and fear of the Dublin riotsWhile some have said the riots made them feel ‘ashamed’ to be Irish, on the ground that night there were things to be proud of tooTue Nov 28 2023 - 15:13
Brianna Parkins: What no one tells you about depression is how boring it isThere are no designer mascara smudges, no lounging in negligee in the afternoon. No, it’s more a case of looking at a wall for hours, simply not hereSat Nov 25 2023 - 05:00
Should you try to buy, or keep renting?The maths say buy a home if you can afford it, but be carefulWed Nov 22 2023 - 06:00
Brianna Parkins: The Irish do an excellent death – and the research proves itWho knew seeing granny’s body laid out in the good room would be good for our mental health?Tue Nov 21 2023 - 15:00
Brianna Parkins: My dearest niece, here are all the mistakes I have made so you don’t have to A birthday card to my niece who won’t listen to any of my advice, because I didn’t at her age eitherSat Nov 18 2023 - 05:00
Roy Keane is a cranky middle-aged man selling things cranky middle-aged men like to cranky middle-aged menAdidas has former footballer modelling weather-appropriate jackets with lots of pockets for carrying random bitsTue Nov 14 2023 - 15:00
Brianna Parkins: Party season is approaching and the fashion police are outI shall dance like no one is watching and dress like nobody is judgingSat Nov 11 2023 - 05:00
Pet insurance could save you a fortune, so know your options to care for your furry friendWithout insurance, some owners can spend more than €2,000 per year on their pet’s healthWed Nov 8 2023 - 06:00
Why do people lose perspective and rational thinking over local issues?Something is comforting in these post-pandemic, possibly pre-recession times in watching low-stakes arguments play outTue Nov 7 2023 - 19:00
Brianna Parkins: At my lowest, I wouldn’t leave the house if I wasn’t ‘presentable’ because ‘what if someone saw?’How we internalise personal ‘rules’ that make our life harder and up with a fridge full of rotting vegetablesSat Nov 4 2023 - 05:00
Brianna Parkins on true crime podcasts: Who gets to tell the stories?The proliferation of ‘amateur’ sleuthing and reporting has raised serious ethical questionsWed Nov 1 2023 - 16:09
How influencers and others convince you to buy things you do not needResearch shows us we tend to value the prospect of reward now over a greater reward in the futureWed Nov 1 2023 - 05:00
Brianna Parkins: Do people who skip queues think they’ve worked out a special life hack?They are the ones who shoulder people out of the way on busy streets, who wield huge umbrellas like shieldsSat Oct 28 2023 - 05:00
Christmas doesn’t have to break the bank so start planning nowIt’s never too late to get your finances ready for the festive seasonWed Oct 25 2023 - 05:45
Britney Spears was treated in a way that seems impossibly gross now. Could it happen again?Horror at what was normal in the 2000s makes us grasp for the comfort of ‘it was a different time back then’ - but we should still question how young women are being treatedTue Oct 24 2023 - 13:37
Brianna Parkins: Lessons I’ve learned from living in Ireland for five yearsIreland is a bit like my mother now, I can slag it all I want, but God help anyone else having a bad word to saySat Oct 21 2023 - 05:00
Financial planners: What are they and why do you need one? Surge in inflation makes it easier to get people to understand why you need to take more risk to get reward with your savingsWed Oct 18 2023 - 05:00
Brianna Parkins: Children tend to be the first to pull parents up on outdated attitudesDirector and writer Richard Curtis says he wishes he was ahead of the curve on social issues. Who doesn’t?Tue Oct 17 2023 - 15:32
Brianna Parkins: Women are taught to achieve marriage, men are ‘tricked’ into itIs marriage really something to be ‘tricked’ into after a years-long audition process?Sat Oct 14 2023 - 05:00
Voice referendum in Australia asks a simple question with no simple answerReferendum has been misunderstood abroad as a straightforward vote on civil rights with all Indigenous people clearly on one sideThu Oct 12 2023 - 06:30
Brianna Parkins: I’m the one who sought a life elsewhere, who am I to feel homesick?It was your decision to leave home, so nobody wants to hear you whinge about how lonely or sad you feelSat Oct 7 2023 - 05:00
How to choose a credit card: Beware free flights and cashback offersMany of us chase credit cards offering optional extras such as airline miles in the hope of cheap flights and lounge access. Is it worth it?Wed Oct 4 2023 - 06:00
Ballet flats are back. Podiatrists everywhere are putting down deposits on cruises and kitchen extensionsBrianna Parkins: There are three fashion trends we should bury forever - and one to keepTue Oct 3 2023 - 16:09
Brianna Parkins: There is virtue to being an absolute pestMy dad once saved €400 by being a bureaucratic, justice-seeking Terminator armed with a trundle wheelSat Sep 30 2023 - 05:00
Submitting your tax returns: What mistakes do you need to avoid?Tax season is approaching for the self-employed and it can become a minefieldWed Sep 27 2023 - 06:00
Brianna Parkins: The Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner divorce has it all – revenge, Taylor Swift and PR SpinIn the age where information is available to almost everyone pretty much all of the time, audiences have become clued-in to a PR sleight of handTue Sep 26 2023 - 19:16
Brianna Parkins: Posh people know I don’t belong in fancy places Maybe one day I will feel posh enough to tip the free sweet bowl into my bagSat Sep 23 2023 - 05:00
Home insurance is vital. Here is how to save money as premiums soarAttention to detail can help you get more for less on home insuranceWed Sep 20 2023 - 06:00
Brianna Parkins: I made the mistake of pretending I liked rugby once. Now I’m trappedRugby World Cup: Spare a thought for those caught in a web of their own liesTue Sep 19 2023 - 15:22
The hidden costs of private schools go well beyond basic feesPrivate schools are more popular than ever, but the cost goes well beyond basic feesWed Sep 13 2023 - 05:00
When switching mortgage, which is cheaper: existing lender or a different provider?Seeking professional advice about interest rates before switching your home loan could save you money in the long runWed Sep 6 2023 - 06:05
‘Don’t box yourself into one industry, because your knowledge can be adapted’Wild Geese: Niamh Keohan, founder of We Love Transformational Travel, is based in DubaiSun Sep 3 2023 - 06:00
Brianna Parkins: The people of Ireland will not let me be in bad formI was having a Bad Ireland Day, but conversations with strangers in Dublin made this impossibleSat Sep 2 2023 - 05:00
A guide to health insurance for first-timers or under 40sThere are certain things you can do to lessen the pain of choosing a planWed Aug 30 2023 - 06:00
Brianna Parkins: If women decided to play constitutional chicken with the State, there’s good chance it might collapseIf the Constitution says mothers shouldn’t be obliged by economic necessity to neglect their duties at home by going to work, then the State should remove it or pay upTue Aug 29 2023 - 15:19
Brianna Parkins: People think I am a ‘weapon’ because I don’t always read social cuesSome of my neurodivergent traits, things I can’t help, can make me look like a bitch to some peopleSat Aug 26 2023 - 05:00
Student finances: The supports that can help reduce the €1,500-a-month costsMaking ends meet as a student is tough so make sure you take full advantage of any perks on offerWed Aug 23 2023 - 05:00
Rose of Tralee 2023: Brianna Parkins on the real winner of this year’s competitionTelevision: Only the strongest can survive the contest’s format of doing a tell-us-about-yourself exercise in Spanx and a ball gown on live televisionWed Aug 23 2023 - 00:56
Brianna Parkins: Is Ireland full of inconsiderate people or afraid of confrontation?This is your invitation to politely point out to someone that their actions might cause harm to someoneTue Aug 22 2023 - 14:42
Brianna Parkins reviews Rose of Tralee’s first night: Firefighters, reattached fingers and – OMG – the first woman hostTelevision: Where else would you get this kind of entertainment except in a sports hall in Kerry?Tue Aug 22 2023 - 00:36
Brianna Parkins: Ireland, you can slag the Rose of Tralee all you like but it’s not really for youThe festival that can look like an annual ‘Irish-off’ between women vying to be the best, good-grand-girleen is more important to the people who don’t live in Ireland at allSat Aug 19 2023 - 05:00
Brianna Parkins: Why should a visible tattoo stop you from becoming a garda?Three trainee gardaí with visible tattoos were sent home from the Garda Training College in Co TipperaryTue Aug 15 2023 - 16:05
Brianna Parkins: I wish I’d been in Ireland for the Celtic Tiger, with its fake tan and real hopeNot every country has experienced that kind of hope, even if it was brief. What a time to have been aliveSat Aug 12 2023 - 05:00
Zoom’s announcement has work-from-home haters rubbing their hands with gleeBrianna Parkins: Video conferencing app group will require staff living within 80km of one of its offices to come in two days a weekWed Aug 9 2023 - 18:14
Brianna Parkins: Anyone can be early. Always being late takes skill ‘Plenty-of-time to spare’ fetishists who arrive at their airport hours before they have to are selfishSat Aug 5 2023 - 05:00
AI can help you save, but don’t rely on it to fix your financesAI and automation help you stay on top of your spending, but not if you aren’t keeping yourself under controlWed Aug 2 2023 - 05:00
‘Being a woman means having an automatic responsibility to other women. There are rules’Brianna Parkins: What do people mean when they say ‘girl’s girl’?Tue Aug 1 2023 - 14:37
Brianna Parkins: Some people want holidays to be enriching rather than relaxing. These people are wrong Some will happily spend evening in hotel watching TV, others warn that touching minibar is gateway to bankruptcySat Jul 29 2023 - 05:00
Moving to Australia? Here’s how to make your finances workIrish migration to Australia is surging once again, but your wallet could be in for a shock if you’re on the moveWed Jul 26 2023 - 06:05