Independent investors writing in English about funds, FIRE, saving and markets across Europe.
I have a Car from Toyota and I used their finance option for PCP The final settlement for the car will be £11,500 I spoke to the settlement team and they don't accept credit cards for the final payment, not sure why even after I had asked why not, but my initial plan was to get a 0% credit card and…
Hi all, I have inherited my grandparent’s house (worth close to £1mil). It’s a huge asset and would provide substantial security to my life if I stay there. However, there is a lifetime mortgage attached to the estate. It needs to be paid off before the title deeds can be changed to my name.
Hi all, Graphs I wanted to celebrate hitting 100K invested and hitting 180K NW after exactly 4 years or 48 months. I also love making graphs, so I wanted to share it with you. Maybe this will inspire people to start tracking it.
I have been looking into fixed-term annuities for a possible bridge to state pension age as an alternative to drawdown. I have noticed that annuities are normally only ever quoted in terms of annuity rate.
Is there anything wrong with keeping hardly any cash in a current account? Suppose someone is taking home £7k per month, is an additional rate taxpayer (i.e., no tax free savings), and their monthly budgeting is as follows: Mortgage and other bills: £3.5k General spending (food, transport…
I feel really embarrassed about this but I 21F have £12k Amex debt. I have autism and ADHD and struggle with money management a lot this debt accumulated literally in the 11 months of having a credit card I know it’s really bad I can’t even say I had any sort of urgent necessities I work in central…
Just a moan from me - apologies. I am giving my daughter money towards a house purchase. Enough to buy a regular family car. I will have no interest in the house, this is a gift.
Hi everyone, I'm 36, no kids right now, but might have some in the next 4 years, and would appreciate some advice on how best to approach financial independence over the next 10 - 15 years.
I am self-employed and having a hard time understanding how the minimum income floor is and how it works after I was put on it after the 12-month trial period. Ever since then my monthly payments dropped to zero.
Pocas fechas son más propicias para las compras compulsivas como la Navidad y ninguna semana del año incentiva más el consumo que la del Black Friday . Es donde la mayoría de españoles concentra la compra de regalos, siguiendo así la tradición americana.
I have a job which pays roughly £200 a year and the tax code is 1257L. I recently started another job 2 months ago which pays me £84 a week and I declared that I have another job.
Hey all this is not a grief post, there are better places for that. This is the practical bit that i wish someone had told me in week one. Tell us once covers the government side and it is genuinely good. one call, and dwp, hmrc, dvla, the passport office and the council all get it.
The table lists the loan originations of p2p lending marketplaces for last month. Mintos* leads ahead of Bondora* and Robocash*. The total volume for the reported companies in the table adds up to 158 million Euro. I track the development of p2p lending volumes for many markets.
Well just when I thought things can’t get harder, they have. I am the sole income earner for my household. My wife is a full time student for a healthcare role she should qualify for in 2027. Because she’s a student, we’re not entitled to the 30 hour free childcare credits per week.
I'm starting to accumulate a lot of subscriptions and thinking about upgrading to a paid packaged bank account to bundle these subscriptions. Some of them seem abit too good to be true - e.g.
My wife was fined by HMRC ten years ago for not completing a Self Assessment form. She successfully challenged this and HMRC eventually conceded that there was indeed no requirement for her to have completed the form, and the fine was cancelled.
As part of my job I get company shares where I pay in monthly over 3 years and then at the end they mature and you can withdraw them as a lump sum in a stocks and shares ISA etc. I should be getting around £13k once transferred.
I'm still a bit in awe to be honest, won a 1.25m home through a well known ticket site draw. Been offered 950k cash, own the property valued at 1.25 (they've said rental value marked at 3,500-4,000/month) I'm 26, currently renting. 5k in a LISA and £5k in a easy access ISA and £8k in Vanguard.
Hey everyone, Like many of you here, my core strategy is pretty much "VWCE and chill". However, one thing that always bugged me about standard factsheets and sites like JustETF is that they only show you the Top 10 holdings .
Hello, I have lost a substantial sum through an investment in Godwin Capital 8. Has anyone else suffered from there scam? Looking for people that we can join with in order to look for compensation. I was proposed that investment from Holborn Spain.
Hey everyone, Like many of you here, my core strategy is pretty much "VWCE and chill". However, one thing that always bugged me about standard factsheets and sites like JustETF is that they only show you the Top 10 holdings .
Me and my partner both work and try to be sensible with money. We don’t go on many holidays, eat out often or spend much on unnecessary things, but somehow we still struggle to save more than £1,500 a month. I’m curious, how do other couples manage their money?
Long-time lurker looking for some perspective and advice. I’ve been on the FIRE journey for around seven years, after a friend recommended Reset by David Sawyer. It was a bit of a lightbulb moment and made me get my financial house in order.
Hi Just want to give some background about myself below.. Age: 35 Occupation: Senior Computer Technologist (Network And Security) Salary: £65K (Base) + £7K (Overtime) + £3K (Bonus) Student Debt: None.
Does Wise still offer the best fx rate (midmarket rate) if you wanna pay in local currency when you're travelling outside the Euro zone? I read a while ago that Trade Republic had an even better rate, but can't find anything about it anymore.
Through a series of fortunate events at the age of 27, 11% flat income tax (for now). Annual income approx. 65K flat, 125K with OT and bonuses. Ever since I got my raise I’ve been slaving away 90–110 hour weeks. Started investing late and now throwing myself away to catch up asap.
My employer (a very small firm) is amenable to this, I want to make it as easy as possible. There are forms etc, to post off, but I also see you can send an email and make a bank transfer? I wanted some advice and guidance from someone who has actually done it?
I'm 38 and started looking at FIRE only within the last few years as my salary increased significantly. My ideal FIRE target age is 50 - 55 (mortgage will be paid off age 50).
El día 30 amanecimos con una noticia bomba espectacular que ha causado revuelo en las esferas del ambiente cripto y en el mundo de las inversiones en general. Parece que han robado a Binance: el robo de criptos que acaba de sufrir es probablemente el mayor robo de la historia.
Hi Reddit, follower of this community and interested in advice I can get from you all. My wife and I (both 35) have just started a family and have a newborn. We like work. Both successful in different fields (London) but also have found ourselves pondering on the long term plan.
All Insights | Strategy BoW Premium: How Our Pricing And Timelines Work, And Why A Small Team Does It This Way </sec
T he internet can swamp the best of intentions. When you want to know how to do something, there’s nothing like 274 million Google hits to make you think that you’re never going to find the time. And now AI has ‘entered the chat’.
I am looking for comments and advice regarding a withdrawal strategy for my wife's SIPP, particularly in light of the Inheritance Tax (IHT) changes for pensions taking effect in April 2027. My proposal is to spend the SIPP to avoid IHT.
¿Me va a llegar con la pensión? Es una pregunta que casi todo el mundo se hace en algún momento. Y suele venir con miedo. Que si cada vez hay más jubilados y menos gente trabajando. Que si cuando nos toque a nosotros no quedará nada. Te digo lo que pienso: sí vamos a cobrar una pensión .
Hi all, Trying to setup my investment flow so I don’t ever second guess myself but 37M, HENRY, married with 2 kids, want to FIRE by 50-55, and want £60k p.a in today’s money.
I'm an Australian resident. As part of diversification and backup strategies, I want to hold some cash (e.g. EUR, CHF) and financial assets (e.g. ETFs) in an EU domicile. I'm looking for specifically EU here, not UK, Canada or US. Is it possible as an Australian to do this?
October 2026 was a good month. We had quite a few (but not too many) events with friends and families, including our traditional Bénichon. It was nice to have some with everybody. But it was also nice not to have too much on our plates. Financially, we had a few more bills to pay for the house.
I have only 50€ monthly to put in so I want to buy just one ETF.
I am living in Portugal, and thinking about buying an apartment here, specifically near Porto (in case that is relevant). Am thinking it would be a good long term investment, and I'll no longer be "throwing money away" paying rent. I would be purchasing with a mortgage.
The same names to get reach FIRE frequently get thrown around like Luxembourg Switzerland Singapore, Hong Kong and of course the Middle East. i’m based in Berlin right now, I have a good CV French passport, basically trilingual, and graduated from a top university in the UK.
My partner and I are in our mid-20s, living in Norway with around €165k in savings and a combined gross income of €145k/year. We’re planning to have kids in a few years and are considering three options: 1.
I’ve been trying to figure out how the new EU customs rules could affect my monthly shopping budget, especially for smaller orders from outside the EU. The part I’m trying to add now is the €2 Union handling fee due from 1 November.
Im currently in Poland and it’s worst place to build wealth, low salaries, high prices, unstable goverement etc. I’m looking for country with good salaries, and best for long term investments in ETF, stocks and where I can do small business and side hustles and country must beenjoyable for that…
Please feel free to use this space to discuss anything on your mind related to FIRE - newbie questions, small bits of advice, or anything else that you feel doesn't belong in a separate thread.
What caught my eye this week. Weekend Reading – featuring the week’s best money and investing articles from around the web – can be read by any logged-in Monevator member . Alternatively please subscribe to our free email newsletter to get future editions direct to your inbox.
Hi, does anyone know if the exit tax really applies to a medium length work stay? An example similar to my situation just with easy numbers and comfortable dissociation: A Slovak citizen with 500k in S&P acc ETF enters Austria to do 2 years of work(as a regular employee) thus becoming a tax…
Celebrating a milestone of hitting EUR 10k net worth after two-years of full-time work. It is not a lot but it is far from where I started. Had to stop at a few ports along the way (travel, medical expenses, family support), but psyched to be here!
M29 Salary 92k+ 12K Bonus Salary progression up to 102k + 14k Bonus Savings rate 3-4k (should possibly be reduced by more travel) Net worth 210k: 30k MSTR 160k ETFS(80/20) 50k Crypto (95% of which is BTV) 30k company stocks (partly locked for 3 years) -60k lombard (scalable) I appreciate any…
Brokers | All Insights Interactive Brokers Plans – Fixed vs Tiered: Which Is The Best For ETFs? (Updated With Late
En enero de este año me subí a un avión rumbo a Asunción, la capital de Paraguay. Sin grandes expectativas. Iba a ver, a escuchar y a hacer preguntas. Como había ido a varios países a ver cómo funcionaba el mercado inmobiliairo. Pues bien, volví habiendo comprado varios pisos.
Tips on what to pay attention to STEPS TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT Phase 1 – Quite standard process: Press the open button, create an account and verify your email. Even though you may be based in France and land on interactivebrokers.co.uk or another IBKR site it doesn’t matter much.
[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy . ]
Well, that’s it, I’ve sent my resignation letter. I’m FI. I’m F inancially I ndependent. Wow, it feels strange to write it. Especially here, on this blog where it all started. I don’t even know which emoji to put at the end of that sentence, that’s how dazed I am.
Ahorrar en Navidad es una quimera para muchas familias . Entre regalos, comidas, celebraciones y viajes, el gasto se dispara fácilmente durante estas fiestas. Según los datos de la OCU, los españoles tenían previsto gastar una media de 796 euros por persona en la Navidad de 2025 .
Elegir entre invertir con Indexa Capital o Trade Republic puede parecer una comparación de lo más normal. Ambas son plataformas sencillas, con costes bajos y puedes invertir sin tener que ser un experto en finanzas. Pero cuando profundizas un poco te das cuenta de que son para perfiles diferentes.
Comprar bonos individuales es la forma más directa de invertir en renta fija y de saber cuánto vas a ganar exactamente desde el principio. La operación es simple: compras el bono, lo mantienes hasta vencimiento y mientras vas cobrando los cupones.
The blog is officially nine years old. When I started it in October 2017 as a small online journal, I would never have thought it could turn into a long-lasting project. But here we are! Like last year, I was not very active on the blog with new projects, so the blog was not changed much.
Escucha este audio generado por NotebookLM en donde se hacen comentarios sobre el artículo en una interacción a dos voces. ¿Tú también estás perdido en el lenguaje de los feligreses pertenecientes a los credos de las criptomonedas?
Von Dr. Zineb Nouns, Financial Advisory Lead bei Madame Moneypenny · Zuletzt aktualisiert: 23.10.2026 Du hast gehört, dass dein Kind zehn Euro im Monat vom Staat bekommt, und fragst dich, ob du dafür jetzt etwas tun musst.
For a few months now, I’ve felt that my eldest was ready to tackle the topic of investing in the stock market. But hey, like any self-respecting teenager, she has her moments of “Yeah, well, what you’re saying is boring.
Apologies for the delay – I meant to post last week but it has taken me ages to recover from the flu. Still not quite right but getting there. Just quickly then, my numbers: I saved 29.2% of my net … Continue reading →
We have used Migros Bank for many years as our main bank account. Recently, we have switched to Bank WIR Bankpaket top as our main banking package. Both are great banks, but there are some differences.
Von Dr. Zineb Nouns, Financial Advisory Lead bei Madame Moneypenny · Zuletzt aktualisiert: 19.10.2026 Du bist selbstständig und hast beim Thema staatlich geförderte Altersvorsorge schon oft gehört: „Riester?
Von Dr. Zineb Nouns, Financial Advisory Lead bei Madame Moneypenny · Zuletzt aktualisiert: 19.10.2026 Du hast einen Riester-Vertrag und fragst dich, was ab Januar 2027 damit passiert? Läuft er einfach weiter? Solltest du wechseln, und wenn ja, wohin?
Strategia Coprire il portafoglio con le opzioni: quanto costa e quando conviene Il confronto che quasi nessuno fa non e’ fra coprirsi e non coprirsi: e’ fra pagare un premio ogni anno e ridurre semplicemente la quota azionaria, che non costa nulla.
It’s time again to compare premiums of the compulsory health insurance plans to see if we’ll change insurance companies or not this year to maximize our frugal spending.
Mercati Scadenze tecniche dei derivati: cosa succede ai prezzi Per chi investe a lungo termine non cambia nulla. Per chi inserisce un ordine si’: e’ la seduta in cui un ordine al meglio rischia il prezzo peggiore della giornata.
Private markets Minibond: perche il rendimento alto non basta Il confronto giusto non e’ con il BTP ma con un fondo high yield diversificato, piu’ un premio per l’illiquidita’. Se il rendimento non lo batte, non e’ proporzionato al rischio.
Last month saw “La rentree” – the return to the real world, after an enjoyable summer. Very much so for me, as it happens – but with plenty of enjoyment still to be found.
I quit YNAB in 2021 because it barely talked to Belgian banks. In 2026 I'm back, with two kids, a freelance income and a homemade tool for my credit cards.
Click here to see all of my past Savings Reports and view my interactive net worth chart Go to How To Track Your Savings to check out the Saving Ninja Super Spreadsheet. I’ve been feeling frustrated lately.
Quiero disculparme porque este audio está fatal, fue mi intención grabar un texto con mi propia voz, pero al parecer me falta mucho por aprender para grabar audios. Lo dejo así de mal y se aceptan tips y recomendaciones para mejorar las grabaciones futuras.
The table lists the loan originations of p2p lending marketplaces for last month. Mintos* leads ahead of Bondora* and Loanch*. The total volume for the reported companies in the table adds up to 189 million Euro. I track the development of p2p lending volumes for many markets.
The INASTI catch-up, the month you get sick, and the tax timing gap. Three bills every new Belgian freelancer meets eventually. This is what they actually feel like when they arrive.
At Investing Hero, I aim to provide the best investing platform reviews. To support this, some of the providers featured in reviews will generate an affiliate commission which helps pay to run this website. However, this doesn’t influence my reviews. My opinions are my own .
At Investing Hero, I aim to provide the best investing platform reviews. To support this, some of the providers featured in reviews will generate an affiliate commission which helps pay to run this website. However, this doesn’t influence my reviews. My opinions are my own .
At Investing Hero, I aim to provide the best investing platform reviews. To support this, some of the providers featured in reviews will generate an affiliate commission which helps pay to run this website. However, this doesn’t influence my reviews. My opinions are my own .
August was another fabulous summer month in the UK. The lack of rain became a nasty drought, with hosepipe bans across much of the country – including my Coastal Folly’s Wessex Water supplier (for the first time in over 50 years). But lawns aside it made for an enjoyable month.
Freelancer market volatility hits differently when your pipeline is also uncertain. An honest look at how I handle both as a Belgian IT freelancer.
Click here to see all of my past Savings Reports and view my interactive net worth chart Go to How To Track Your Savings to check out the Saving Ninja Super Spreadsheet. Stock market is still going up.
A delayed update as I was on annual leave at the beginning of the month and didn’t even open my laptop. Compared to previous months, August was ‘action-packed’! During the month, I… – Attended various social events with friends and … Continue reading →
The table lists the loan originations of p2p lending marketplaces for last month. Mintos* leads ahead of Bondora* and Loanch*. The total volume for the reported companies in the table adds up to 194 million Euro. I track the development of p2p lending volumes for many markets.
Apologies for the lateness of this update, just not been able to get round to it. July was a blur, where I continued to enjoy a great summer of sport, pottering around my garden when I could, watched the epic … Continue reading →
It feels as if the World Cup was ages ago, already. Yet only a few weeks ago, I was gripped. And for once I thought England had a world-class side…. but hey ho, football hasn’t come home for another four years. I had a road trip through France in July, which was lovely.
Click here to see all of my past Savings Reports and view my interactive net worth chart Go to How To Track Your Savings to check out the Saving Ninja Super Spreadsheet. I’m late to this Savings Report and I’m rushing it so it will be a quick one!
Hola Familia! (We’ve recently returned from our now annual trip to Gran Canarias, so naturally I’m now semi-fluent in Spanish again – not ) Anyway, it’s been a few moons since I’ve given you guys an update, so I figured WHY NOT make another one of these rambling pathetic attempts to convince myself…
Hi there! (I know I’m due for a real life update, but unfortunately that will have to wait ) For today, we’re going to be looking at how we can help our kids become (more) aware about how they spend their money, and hopefully develop some good money habits.
Kuflink Review ** Kuflink review updated Jan 13, 2026** In August and November 2025, the FCA posted restriction notices on Kuflink Ltd. 1. Kuflink must not without the prior written consent of the FCA, on board any new clients. 2.
Who would benefit from this post? Share here: Join my Financial Transformation Program, registration open now Learn everything you need to know to plan, save and invest by yourself with confidence, so you can take control of your personal finances and accelerate your time to Financial Independence.
Who would benefit from this post? Share here: Join my Financial Transformation Program, registration open now Learn everything you need to know to plan, save and invest by yourself with confidence, so you can take control of your personal finances and accelerate your time to Financial Independence.
Hi, I didn’t found a specific review about Income Marketplace on your site, so I comment here. I just want to say that while it seems an interesting platform because of high interest rates, and additional protection with junior shares and cash flow buffer.
Hello, what is the current state in Kuetzal bankruptcy process? Is it finished?
I think i will take legal action against Lendermarket (Creditstar), because for more than a year a 5-digit amount has not been repaid. They just declare it as “pending payments”.
Good read from one year ago. Invesco’s All-World (acc) ETF has since grown into a 306 M size and spread (according to JustETF) seems to be 0.01|0.16% (vs. Vanguard’s 0.02|0.02%).
Hello, thank you for the great value content. I would like to ask you, about the fact, that VWCE on interactivebrokers can by buy from IBIS2 DE. And when I am buying them each month I get the notification pop up, which says that prices are delayed and therefore there could be some limitation for me…
Today we’re discussing an important topic you keep asking me about on a regular basis. What is better: Lump sum investing (investing everything at once) or cost averaging into the stock market, more specifically ETFs?
Lately it feels like the internet is full of passive income videos. Most popular finance YouTubers seem to constantly talk about their best passive income ideas and how they make (enter random ridiculously high amount of € or $) every week. Is it all a scam or is any of it real? After all, I...
Since my last European broker comparison was over two years ago, an update is long overdue. This time I’m comparing a total of 12 brokers for stocks and ETFs in Europe, way more than last time. After all, quite a bit changed since then and you’ve asked me about my opinion on several other options...
Nvidia (NYSE: NVDA) which was anyway the best-performing S&P 500 stock in 2023 is up sharply in US premarket price action today and looks set to hit a new record high as markets give a thumbs up to its fiscal second quarter 2023 earnings.
Chinese EV company Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV) which posted a record net loss of 2.8 billion yuan in Q2 2023 has said that its partnership with auto giant Volkswagen and continued cost cuts would help it narrow losses.
Chinese EV company Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV) which posted a record net loss of 2.8 billion yuan in Q2 2023 has said that its partnership with auto giant Volkswagen and continued cost cuts would help it narrow losses.
Since the stock market has been getting closer to its all-time-high again in 2023, you’re probably wondering if investing into your favorite ETF or company is a good idea right now or if you should hold onto your cash and wait for lower prices before buying.
While summer months are usually relatively boring in financial markets, this one has been pretty eventful so far. We have both good and bad news to talk about this time. The good news is, the stock market continued its rally through July.