Consumer Corner: Taking a green approach to your finances

"Some of the cheapest mortgages out there are green mortgages, particularly if fixing your mortgage."

Pic: iStock

There’s more to going green than recycling and cutting back on plastic. Going green on your finances can help you save a lot of money and there are a lot of ways you can do this. There are products ranging from green mortgages to green investments to green loans to getting an insurance discount for being green.

Trevor Grant, chairman of the Association of Irish Mortgage Advisors (AIMA) said that if buying or building an energy-efficient home, apply for a green mortgage if it’s the cheapest mortgage available to you as you could save thousands in the first few years of your mortgage by doing so. Green mortgages are currently available from AIB, Bank of Ireland, EBS, Haven, and Permanent TSB.