You approach the banklink full of hope and, yes, also full of fear. You insert your card and swiftly type in your pin. Then? Why then you playing the waiting game. Will you, in spite of everything, be gifted with a magic €50 note?

Lo! The noise you’ve been waiting for arrives: the sweet, welcomed mechanical rumbling of an ATM that’s about to disperse the necessary funds for your night-out. Victory!

In the process, you’ve also managed to reassure yourself that (gulp) ‘managing your finances’ is over-rated. Or is it?

Sure, we’re all occasionally (or indeed, regularly) guilty of burying our heads in the sand when it comes to knowing exactly how much cash we have, and exactly how much we have to spend.

And that applies even after we move out, get a job, and acquire great responsibilities such as managing the Sky TV account, and paying off the car.

 

Case in point? More than a quarter of us who have a car loan have no idea what interest rate we’re paying.

Yup, according to research released this week and compiled by the good folk at Volkswagen, 25-44 year olds are most likely (20 per cent) to indulge in a spot of motoring finance. Meanwhile, 12 per cent of 18-24 year olds also borrowed to acquire their vehicle.

Although, when it came to shopping around for the best deal, 18-24 year olds are top-notch at finding competitive rates: 64 per cent are paying less than 5 per cent interest on their loan (you can tell that one to your mam).

“As the leading car brand in Ireland we understand how consumers feel about motoring,” Volkswagen said in response. “It is important that consumers are aware of what their car finance is costing them so that they can make the best purchasing decisions.”

Volkswagen will be offering customers more for their money on 152 orders with a range of additional extras including free styling and technology packs and competitive finance offers including PCP from 1.9 per cent  from Volkswagen Bank. See volkswagen.ie.