{"id":252704,"date":"2026-01-19T16:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T16:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/252704\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T16:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T16:22:08","slug":"i-bought-a-boat-a-few-years-back-it-cost-roughly-what-a-deposit-for-a-small-house-would-have-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/252704\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I bought a boat a few years back. It cost roughly what a deposit for a small house would have\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul Murphy is chief executive of Climeaction. Launched in 2021, the company provides specialised energy audits for microbusinesses and SMEs. The company won the Small Firms Association<\/a>\u2019s outstanding small business award in 2022.<\/p>\n

Are you a saver or a spender?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m mostly a spender by nature. I enjoy life, good food, cars, toys and the odd adventure. But I do save every month and, when I need to, I can flip into full saver mode and become extremely disciplined. That switch has served me well over the years.<\/p>\n

What was the first job you received money for, and how much were you paid?<\/p>\n

I worked in a butcher\u2019s shop in Kilkenny as a teenager and it\u2019s still one of the best jobs I\u2019ve ever had. I was paid \u00a32 an hour at the start, then \u20ac2.54 after the euro changeover, which was rounded up to \u20ac2.75. Eventually I worked my way up to \u20ac3.80 an hour by the time I was 15. I took every hour I could get. In the summers, I\u2019d earn 50 per cent more than the weekly social welfare payment at the time \u2013 not bad for a young fella.<\/p>\n

Do you shop around for better value?<\/p>\n

Absolutely. If you don\u2019t check, you don\u2019t know, and if you don\u2019t ask, the answer is always no.<\/p>\n

What has been your most extravagant purchase, and how much did it cost?<\/p>\n

I bought a boat a few years back. Between buying it and rebuilding the engine, it cost roughly what a deposit for a small house would have been. I love the water, and the time I get from it is worth every cent. Boats don\u2019t fall off a cliff in value, either, so I still count it as a good decision.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018I\u2019m definitely not a gambler. I have a family and responsibilities\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

What purchase have you made that you consider the best value for money?<\/p>\n

My first car, when I was 18. I bought it off my dad for \u20ac1,000. He made me buy it (at a significant discount) to teach me the value of saving. I drove it for five years, put 110,000 miles on it, and sold it again for \u20ac1,000. Hard to beat that for value!<\/p>\n

Is there anything you regret spending money on?<\/p>\n

A camper van I bought with more rust on the chassis than I realised. I put money and time into fixing it up, but never got the real value back. I eventually traded it for something we still have at home, so at least it didn\u2019t end up a total loss.<\/p>\n

Do you haggle over prices?<\/p>\n

Nearly everything is negotiable. If someone won\u2019t budge at all, I\u2019m likely to walk away, as there\u2019s always another option.<\/p>\n

Do you invest in shares and\/or cryptocurrency?<\/p>\n

My main investment is in my own business. Beyond that I have standard pension-linked investments in shares. Crypto-wise, I\u2019ve a small, purely speculative amount in XRP. I don\u2019t expect anything from it but if it ever grows, I\u2019ll buy an old vintage truck or a Jeep Wrangler for weekend adventures in the US. And if it doesn\u2019t, it won\u2019t break my bank.<\/p>\n

Do you have a retirement or pension plan?<\/p>\n

Yes, of course. As a PAYE worker and company director, it makes absolute sense from a tax perspective. My optimism in business makes me feel I might never truly retire or won\u2019t need a pension plan, but I still contribute properly. Future-proofing is never a bad idea.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Camille O\u2019Sullivan: \u2018I\u2019m terrified of being out of money\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

What was the last thing you bought, and was it good value for money?<\/p>\n

Over the summer, I bought a fishing kayak. When I\u2019m in the US, I\u2019m close to the water so I can drag it down to the beach and get some quiet head space. It cost about $1,700 with all the gear, but I\u2019ll have it for years, so yes, it\u2019s great value.<\/p>\n

Have you ever successfully saved up for a relatively big purchase? <\/p>\n

Yes, for cars or big holidays over the years. When I set my mind to it, I can save quite aggressively. I hate personal debt so if there\u2019s something important coming up, I\u2019ll knuckle down, cut back and get there quickly. It\u2019s not glamorous but it works. I once cleared a three-year loan over three months of summer to pay college fees \u2013 that\u2019s how much I hate debt.<\/p>\n

Have you ever lost money?<\/p>\n

Yes. After finishing college I opened a small restaurant because I couldn\u2019t find a local job. I put in my savings, worked extremely hard, doing 14-hour days, seven days a week. Ultimately, it didn\u2019t succeed. I didn\u2019t owe anyone anything, but every cent I\u2019d saved was gone. It was a tough lesson, but I\u2019m grateful for it now.<\/p>\n

Are you a gambler, and if so, have you ever had a big win?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t gamble at all. Money is hard enough to earn without handing it away. In college I briefly convinced myself I was great at blackjack and the maths of basic strategy. I won a few grand, then lost more. That was the end of my gambling career \u2013 and in hindsight, a cheap education.<\/p>\n

What is your best habit when it comes to money? And your worst?<\/p>\n

My best habit is that I\u2019m good at making money. Whatever job or sector I\u2019ve worked in, I\u2019ve thrown myself into it, worked hard and done well. My worst habit is grocery shopping. I go into a shop for a few minor items, and I always buy too much. I enjoy cooking and eating well, so I can walk out having spent 50 per cent more than planned. Online shopping can also be dangerous.<\/p>\n

How much money do you have on you now?<\/p>\n

\u20ac20 and $20 in cash \u2013 just in case! I have to hedge my reserves when spending so much time on both sides of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n

In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paul Murphy is chief executive of Climeaction. Launched in 2021, the company provides specialised energy audits for microbusinesses…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60,27998,126406],"class_list":["post-252704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-me-my-money","tag-small-firms-association"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}