Opportunity knocks: make the most of life post-budget

SO the Government tried to make you feel bad for squandering your Celtic Tiger riches on maple flooring, widescreen TV and a passionate relationship with hardwood decking?

Well, shame on them and good on you. Your forward thinking was inspired. For now that you can never afford to leave home for social purposes again — assuming you still have a job to provide any reason to leave home at all — you’ll truly appreciate your investments even as they depreciate around you.

Unless you’re a debt collector or insolvency expert, in which case your backside won’t touch a sofa cushion for months, life post-budget will be akin to The Truman Show, with you living within closely constructed confines, filling in time creating things to do in your own tiny corner of civilisation.