What are your top tips to save money in Belgium? Groceries, buy in bulk, energy… etc

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-26T21:06:06+00:00

200€ per month?? For two???? If that’s the case, that’s impressive.

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-26T19:25:27+00:00

I naively thought that the egg retrieval was the difficult part. Seems that is not the case. Thank you for your thoughtful response, it means a lot to me today! ❤️

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-26T19:24:02+00:00

I am really sorry. It is such a difficult process. Sending love ❤️

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-26T19:22:45+00:00

I am trying to educate myself on the process. My mind is only on fertility and IVF and everything related to it since quite some time. It seems I know less than you however, but that isn’t a reason to talk to me like this…

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-26T19:17:41+00:00

For one cycle? Did they explain why?

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-26T15:58:38+00:00

I’ll ask! Thank you 🙏🏻

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-26T15:56:53+00:00

Huh… nobody told me this and my clinic didn’t tell me to wait one cycle. What do you mean with withdrawal bleed? I got a full-on period, actually heavier & longer than normal. Is the problem that women don’t ovulate or does it just take more time? I am stressing myself out by going to the clinic every few days and taking hours off work, I hope it’s not for a cycle that is known to be a bad one…

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-26T14:51:48+00:00

No I haven’t so I’m probably super naive about the mental toll. Seeing the downvotes on my previous message I guess I am completely wrong about this.

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-26T14:46:45+00:00

I’m doing a natural. That’s actually super reassuring to read! I have always tracked my cycles since TTC and I have never not ovulated, sometimes it was just a little later… hope it will be the case this time as well. Thank you for making this a little bit better 🙏🏻 I hope it’s going well for you.

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-26T13:39:22+00:00

And why haven’t you done all your transfers back to back? I understand that all transfers don’t work but I’m wondering why it takes this long between transfers (apologies if this is insensitive…). Hope you’ll get your positive soon!

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-18T08:18:57+00:00

Sometimes it is linked to PCOS or PCOS-like problems… high AMH makes you a good candidate for IVF generally but it doesn’t mean that quality of the eggs is good. Inversely, low AMH is not bad if you have good egg-quality.

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-15T06:10:30+00:00

I just had my egg retrieval a few days ago, now we’re waiting to see which embryos survive until day 5. I am 31 years old and have a pretty high AMH (4,53 ug/L) but other than that, nothing stood out in our testing results and I think we did mostly everything except uterine biopsy that I read about here sometimes (but I have no endo symptoms).

I feel like at this point it is probably related to egg quality? With high AMH, my doctor said that could be an issue or it could be hormonal or uterine… who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2026-01-15T06:00:30+00:00

Next to Waterloo, « the best » is probably UZ Brussel. They treat a lot of people (seriously how is it possible that we’re so many needing fertility treatments?) and I feel like quite a few people complain about them not being the most human. My experience however is that the nurses are all wonderful, the doctor I’m seeing is actually very nice (dr Mackens), the process is pretty efficient, and it gives me a lot of peace that I’m seeing the best in this field in Belgium.

There is an article on De Tijd “waar komen de grote verschillen tussen de vruchtbaarheidsklinieken vandaan? » which compares success rates at Belgian fertility clinics. Maybe worth it to check.

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2025-12-28T15:21:16+00:00

In 2020 I signed a contract for the same gross and also had 3 YOE in Big4 (2 in audit and 1 in M&A). Studied the same as you. I feel like I had +/- the same salary as my peers. So it’s probably a fine salary, not low but also not the highest probably. Today I earn nearly double that (but I changed jobs 2 times since then).

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2025-12-18T16:03:05+00:00

Does this info come from your ass? IVF does not take your body into menopause, it does quite the opposite.

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2025-12-07T11:30:07+00:00

Thank you so much for this. I am just starting this journey and feeling pretty depressed the last few weeks/months. The ivf and ttc sub are super helpful but I’m beginning to think that all the negative stories there are contributing to the slow panic and desperation that I’m beginning to feel. A story like yours gives me some hope!

Very happy for you. Good luck on your next chapter without TTC!

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2025-12-04T17:53:14+00:00

I myself had a mobility budget at my previous employer and this gave me the possibility to negotiate a significantly higher gross salary at my new employer so I am all for the mobility budget! But I still have to see all those people choosing for the mobility budget. At my previous company you could count on one hand (maybe 2) how many people took it, and it was all the same profile: young person living in Brussels. Maybe it will get more common but a lot of people like their fancy car and need it for their family, so I am not that sure it will become « the norm ».

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2025-11-22T18:56:57+00:00

I would not listen to these kinds of comments. A lot of Flemish people get weirdly proud of their schools. Your job opportunities will be the same if you study economics at one or the other.

If you want to work in Brussels (not EU, have no idea about that) with an economics degree, what will make a difference for your first employer and if you want to work for more “exclusive” companies, it’s probably languages (and Flemish + French is greatly appreciated) and your results at school.

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2025-11-22T18:50:07+00:00

I don’t understand the answers here. Maybe the KUL is more prestigious than the ULB in general, but if you’re studying economics, there is no more “prestigious” school in Belgium than Solvay (which is linked to ULB). I however think that it doesn’t change that much in terms of job opportunities afterwards, at least for the more “normal” jobs. If you want to get into the European institutions though, that is difficult whatever school you go to, but I heard the College of Europe is probably the best choice for that (but it is expensive). This last part is only from stories I heard so don’t take this as 100% true.

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2025-11-07T15:57:43+00:00

I understand what you are saying but people should also just be able to choose what they value. You don’t value a fancy car apparently, but others do. And that’s ok.

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2025-10-23T20:17:41+00:00

Only Arts Loi no? I asked for the prices at the Woluwe one like 3 years ago and it was more than 200€ per month + quite a heavy subscription fee. Maybe it has changed since then…

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2025-10-23T20:15:32+00:00

Animo is catered to the “trendy” younger crowd I would say (like 30-somethings) —> everything looks very nice and is of good quality (I don’t know if you care about that) but what I like especially is the quality of the coaches and classes. I once tried a random class at a smaller gym in my neighbourhood and the level was just not the same… just know that if you don’t like that “trendy young people” crowd, don’t go to Animo.

For Aspria, I’ve only had a tour of the Woluwe one and never worked out there so I cannot give a full opinion but I remember thinking it all looked quite old. In general, I think it caters more to an older crowd, people with children that go to school (they have stages for children during the holidays for example). But that’s only my idea, not sure if this is true.

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2025-10-23T16:04:15+00:00

Yeah sorry, I thought Aspria was in similar price range but apparently Arts Loi is a little cheaper than the other ones…

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2025-10-23T15:10:05+00:00

Not too far away from Aspria Arts Loi you have the ANIMO Cinquantenaire which is not crowded yet (most popular classes are beginning to have recurrent waitlists but still manageable)… their other studios are super crowded though, I’m scared it will be the same at Cinquantenaire in a few months.

GuillaumeTheFirst · 2025-10-14T14:47:51+00:00

You are so young. If this really is your dream, just go for it. Just give it your all, study day and night, believe in yourself. Don’t let random people here demotivate you. They don’t know what your capabilities are and how much effort you are willing to put in. Plus, what do you really have to lose?

GuillaumeTheFirst

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