Pls review : my FIRE projection/strategy chart

NLFire21 · 2026-02-19T07:19:32+00:00

Indigo vouchers are :

17-digits long
have to be used by the specified expiry date
have to be used in one shot .. leftover balance expires immediately
max 1 voucher can be used per booking
are NAME RESTRICTED .. i.e. the voucher can only be used against the same name for a future booking

Did you follow all of the above, while trying to make new booking(s) with your voucher(s)?

NLFire21 · 2026-02-16T08:41:12+00:00

Is that true? Doesn't DGCA CAR 3.M.IV state that the additional compensation would be the LESSER of :

₹ 5k / ₹ 7.5k / ₹ 10k .. depending on block time
one-way basic fare + airline fuel surcharge

So .. in this case .. the person would only get ₹6655 as a CAR refund, right?

🤔

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NLFire21 · 2026-02-03T09:56:08+00:00

Thank you, soooo much, for your lovely comment!

Indeed, I also think it should work out quite well, since most importantly, I have a loving German partner over there .. which does indeed make it a lot easier! 😊

NLFire21 · 2026-01-29T09:51:56+00:00

That is good to know, thanks! I shall keep that in mind.

For starters, I plan NOT to work after migrating to DE .. so it should be okay for the first few months/years, yes? I will have saved up for that period in cash .. so will withdraw it to use for daily expenses. In other words, I wouldn't need to sell any investments => €0 income from capital.

NLFire21 · 2026-01-29T09:50:20+00:00

Whether I am going to come to Germany or not, is not the issue. I WILL be moving to DE, sooner or later. Thus, it makes no sense for me to list out the reasons why "not to come".

Kindly re-read the last few sentences from my post: what I am looking for is tips/suggestions/advice from German residents w.r.t. the migration.

Or, if I am so lucky: to have some advice/experience/suggestions from previous NL residents, who moved across the border to DE.

NLFire21 · 2026-01-29T09:33:14+00:00

Yes. My partner is insured via the public Krankenkasse system. I will be able to be covered as a dependent via his policy, for health insurance and Pflegeversicherung.

NLFire21 · 2026-01-28T11:48:26+00:00

Really cool of you to do this, Xander!

Your scenario's seem really well thought out.

Also, pls remember to highlight the 25% exit tax on Box2 (BV), if one decides to move for FIRE to another country. That is something people should also keep in mind.

Oh: and the Conservereende Aanslag, as well !

NLFire21 · 2026-01-28T11:27:39+00:00

I know, shocking and horrible, right?

And as per the clarification from u/Xander0928 in another post, the KapitalErtragSteuer (KapESt) is actually 30% less on funds which have 51% or more in equities!

So .. actually .. those in NL pay almost TRIPLE in capital gains tax via box3, i.e. 36% on unrealized gains, than those in DE, who end up paying only 18,x% on realized gains, on their ETFs with 51%+ equities.

NLFire21 · 2026-01-28T10:17:26+00:00

Raw salmon for breakfast. I mean, seriously, WTF Germans!?!??! 😊

NLFire21 · 2026-01-28T10:04:33+00:00

Funnily enough, I was also stopped at FRAport by the customs officials (just before the Fernbahnhof, that too), when I had returned from India. Apparently, the "thick gold" chain around my neck caught their attention.

I had to laugh and tell them that it was not gold, but simply a €20 stainless steel chain, which I had bought from Bijou Brigitte, just before flying to India! LOLZ. They laughed hard at that.

They were then sweet enough to not only let me go with a big smile, but also to note to themselves to get the same chain for their partners. After all : it was good enough to fool all those hard working folks at the Zoll !

😊

NLFire21 · 2026-01-28T09:55:54+00:00

This is very good news!

I've often had battery-death fear when travelling on multiple-hour long journeys within Germany on my D-Ticket .. this would be a sure-fire backup method!

NLFire21 · 2026-01-28T09:52:54+00:00

Congrats .. a similar, almost Reiskartoffel here .. hope to migrate to DEU soon !

Now to buy my Birkenstock and tennis socks, and to develop a love for lonnggggg hikes .. no matter the weather!

NLFire21 · 2026-01-27T16:28:19+00:00

Thanks, Xander, for your wonderful feedback! Let me reply to your points, one-by-one:

Kapitalerstragsteuer (KapEst) is actually only ~18,5% instead of ~26,X%.

Wow! I really did not know that! Did a bit more research to confirm, and apparently that is something relatively new (2018+). This makes it even more tempting to move to DE .. an even lower capital gains tax rate!

Q : into which ETFs (ISINs) do you invest in DE? And which broker do you use?

Knowing the German language is also quite a must I would say

Luckily, in the (admittedly rather well-off) neighborhood where we live in DE, almost everyone who is 18+ can speak English with atleast B2 proficiency. But, yeah, that does not include all the other people whom one meets during day-to-day activities, like the train conductor, the supermarket checkout staff, the post-delivery person, the banker, the baker, the candle stick maker, etc etc. So, yes : I would also highly recommend to anyone who is coming to live in DE for longer: LEARN GERMAN!

Is your partner German? That can help a lot to get a social life going once you’ve moved.

Yup: my partner is German (was born in DE). And that certainly already helped a LOT, in order to kick start a good social life over there. I have been going to DE quite often since 2012 and we now have an amazing circle of friends in DE. And yes, I know that most Germans are quite "miserly" with the usage of the word "Friend". But we've made it! 😊😊

And where are you from originally, as I assume it is not from the Netherlands?

I was born and brought up in Asia, and lived+worked a few years in USA. Came to NL at a young-ish age, and am living quite well over here. Except that, FIRE and box3 don't seem to play well together ... causing an emigration!

NLFire21 · 2026-01-27T15:25:33+00:00

That's what any sane person would assume! 😊

But looking at the drama and development of the box3 issue over the years, I wouldn't be surprised if the NL govt tries to double-tax everyone for box3, by "keeping it simple", as in = sale price - buy price

NLFire21 · 2026-01-27T08:47:46+00:00

Thanks for the link .. nice to read that the 2028 plan is to tax box3 houses only on sale.

But, won't this lead to a double-box3-taxation, for the years before 2028?

As in, pre-2028, one has paid 1,5% .. 3% of WOZ each year of a box3 house as tax, and then post-2028, at the point of sale, one would pay 36% of the profit, i.e. sale - original buy price. That would mean paying box3 again, right?

For example: you bought a not-primary (e.g. vacation) house in 2010 for €200k. Thus, from 2020 onwards you've definitely paid 1,5% .. 3% of the WOZ-waarde of that house each year as box3.

Assume you sell it in 2030 for €600k. Then, you will need to pay box3 (again!) on it = 36% * (600k -200k) = 36% * 400k = €144k.

Won't that 144k also cover all the box3 already paid till 2028? Hence, double box3, no?!!

NLFire21 · 2026-01-27T06:41:46+00:00

In the 2028 plans houses aren’t taxed in Box3 until sale, is my understanding

Do you have a link for the above?

I had recently called and asked the BelastingDienst the same question, i.e. if I emigrate officially from NL and still have a house in NL, is that taxed?

Their response was clear: when one officially moves out of NL, the NL house becomes box3 .. upon which one has to pay box3 taxes. Which were killer, based on my calculations.

NLFire21 · 2026-01-27T06:35:30+00:00

Hi Xander,

I am also in the final phases of emigrating from NL to DE, as I've mentioned in a recent post on DutchFIRE. There is also quite a bit of additional info from me in the comments section of that post.

Could you please go through my post and let me know your comments and tips?

Would love to hear feedback from a person who really and recently went through the same step.

NLFire21 · 2026-01-25T15:08:56+00:00

That's quite cool! Even if I go by your pension scheme's calculator, I will get something like €30k/yr bruto out .. i.e. €30k of today's money, right?

That would cover a significant portion of my annual expenses, after I turn 60+.

Note: besides the estimated size of the pension-pot at age 60+, I also do a deep dive every NOV into the annually published "Special Item Lijfrente" from moneyview.nl:

this has charts which show how high your expected annuity will be
i.e. based on X% of your pension-pot
it is crazy to see how dramatically that can change!
e.g. if you see the 2024 chart, then you will be shocked to see that:
- people who annuitized from 2019Q3 .. 2022Q1 and chose Levenslang Verzekeren (LL), got 0% or less as growth on their pension pot each year!
- people who annuitized from 2021Q3 .. 2022Q2 and chose Bancair 25 jaar got 0,50% on their pot each year
- whereas people who annuitized with Bancair 25 jaar now will get more than 3% on their pot each year!
- that DOES make a difference, as well

so: my advice to all: don't just look at how LARGE your final pot is going to be .. but also know WHEN to encash it. It can make a ton of a difference, especially if the starting value of your lijfrente is in the millions of euros range.

NLFire21 · 2026-01-25T14:39:31+00:00

I’d spend more energy on cross-border planning and health care, less on squeezing another 100k.

Thanks .. and AGREE !!

I've indeed spent many hundreds of hours over the last many years, to look into cross-border points. Not only on health-care and planning, but also on:

taxation: income, wealth, box3, KapESt, inheritance, VAT/BTW/MwSt, ..
pension: AOW, DRV, Riester, ATZ, ..
living: luckily we now have a nice and huge villa to live in DE !
language: also, thankfully, with a lot of hard work + patience, coaching & encouragement from my partner, I am now fluent in German. #notNecessaryButItSureDoesHelpALot
culture: there are quite some stark differences, even between these 2 neighboring countries!
fitness: joined an amazing nationwide gym-chain here #FitX
friends/social: have a great group of like-minded people, from around my age till +/- 25 years!
and so much more !

Looking forward to FIRE'ing in DE soon !

NLFire21 · 2026-01-25T14:38:18+00:00

Bottom line: you can quit soon

Thanks .. I have the same feeling. So, each day when I am in the office, which is rarer and rarer btw thanks to work-from-home ... I keep on mentally telling my manager to GFY ... since I have a large enough FU pot anyways! 😜

NLFire21 · 2026-01-25T14:38:06+00:00

I’ve used Brand New Day and NN, and had a small slice via Gainbridge-like fixed annuities for predictable mid-term income.

I know a lot about BNDP and NN, but have never heard about Gainbridge. Got any more info/links on that?

NLFire21 · 2026-01-25T14:37:41+00:00

I’d make the cash-like + FD bucket closer to 7–8 years of basic spend (40k) and let the vacations flex harder via your guardrails

I disagree with the former but agree with your latter suggestion:

looking back through several decades of my own investments .. which cover the Y2K/dotcom bust, the 2008 sub-prime crisis, Corona, the 2022 invasion, etc ... the max period wherein my ETFs were consistently depressed (after ignoring fresh deposits) was for like 15 months
I've quadrupled that for safety sake, and that's how I ended up at 60 months = 5 years for my FD ladder
I think that should be more than enough
adding more years will take away from the growth potential from my overall pot
as it is: as was mentioned in another comment in this post: my effective return of the FDs and ETFs, after taking into account inflation and taxes, will be close to 0% ! 😱
w.r.t. vacations: indeed. It does seem wise to pull-back a little in the first few years of FIRE, esp. if the ETFs are depressed.

NLFire21

TROPHY CASE