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TEN FINANCIAL RESOLUTIONS FOR THE RECESSION:JANUARY IS, TYPICALLY, the longest, most depressing month of the year and the gloom is likely to be even more pronounced this year with the worst recession in at least a generation biting hard. People are taking care to spend less and save more, but that doesn't have to mean a drab life. By making a few simple financial resolutions, we reckon you could save yourself a packet.
ON YOUR BIKE: By taking advantages of tax breaks now available to cyclists and their employers, you could easily save yourself €1,000 this year while dramatically improving your health. Under the Government's plan to get us all cycling, employees working for participating companies can choose a bicycle and any associated safety equipment up to a maximum value of €1,000, which the employer will then buy. The purchase will be treated as a tax-exempt benefit-in-kind. A commuter living seven miles from Dublin and working in the city centre will save €900 a year by cycling every day, while someone living in the suburbs of Cork or Galway can expect to have €600 more in their pocket come 2010. And despite what you think, you won't get wet - according to Met Éireann you'll only be rained on one day in every 25.
