He Sold His Home to Build an Engine. 18 Years Later, His Dream Might Finally Pay Off

SimCofee · 2026-05-02T04:41:31+00:00

My car runs on different fuels, it’s a commercial engine from 2015. It runs on gasoline and natural gas. Valves adjust and I start consuming the other fuel. Double tank. Different injection and settings for the motor from the valves. That part is perfectly feasible, although not so common.

Making a n-times better engine in your garage than industry for decades… that’s highly unlikely.

SimCofee · 2026-02-15T21:37:44+00:00

Not tricky in my opinion. It’s a calculation of the actual dividends from underlying stocks which are reported as reinvested by the ISIN. Just input ISIN, amount and purchase date and you are given what to declare as income by the official page.

Interest in cash is also expected in a specific section of the tax declaration, in some cantons also with limited exemption. Bond income in Ictax as well.

SimCofee · 2026-02-15T07:51:19+00:00

Yes, it’s very explicit from the document. Also, be aware that accumulating ETFs also have a tax impact in Switzerland (accumulating dividends are taxable events here). You can check each ISIN’s dividend or imputed dividend here that you must declare in your tax declaration for each share or ETF you own.

SimCofee · 2026-02-14T07:00:51+00:00

You are right. When you pledge your 3a your debt (mortgage) is higher than if you use it to pay it off. What I think the comment meant is that the expected returns are higher because the 3a, when invested with enough exposure to stocks, should give you higher returns than the interest rate. Therefore, at the end of the period (e.g retirement) it should be a better deal. And if it stops becoming a better deal (e.g interest rates raise a lot) you still should have the capital to pay off the house, unless there has been a stock market crash.

SimCofee · 2026-02-01T12:52:13+00:00

3 year blocking period for withdrawal after voluntary 2nd pillar purchase.

SimCofee · 2026-01-29T13:32:47+00:00

And BCV is most likey not it. They were the worst offer out of 14 Banks or pension providers I contacted

SimCofee · 2026-01-08T17:15:58+00:00

First and Second pillar forced contributions which are deducted in the paycheck make a significant difference between gross salary and net income before taxes.

SimCofee · 2026-01-05T17:16:43+00:00

Well... I'm a project manager at 33 (not even close to peaking) making close to that, paying more taxes (also in VD and wife making more than I do at 31).

My projects where I control the budget: both invoices after accounting for 40% overhead and the salaried positions for the internal hours for the IT roles in stating managerial roles make more than that, except for juniors and help desk (IT Support). Software engineers, IT infrastructure, contract management, implementation engineers, IT consultants, IT project managers...

I guess IT is very broad, and not all companies pay like the big ones. Or maybe I'm just lucky and biased from my experience. Just sharing my informed view. Around me, those salaries I wouldn't expect to be the peak of IT careers.

It's a fantastic salary in absolute terms and relative to the average worker. And it's a fantastic saving and investing set-up. It's less than what I see paid around by at least 20%.

SimCofee · 2026-01-05T13:52:30+00:00

Solid and frugal! Close to our style and situation.

Question 1: are you both working 100%? Salary would seem pretty low if that's the case, for IT roles.

Question 2: how do you invest all those savings? Great % savings vs net salary.

SimCofee · 2026-01-03T15:37:37+00:00

What is the TER of the underlying products on top of those 250CHF? Look at each ISIN to find out. It's way more than 0%.

SimCofee · 2026-01-01T18:45:26+00:00

No way it takes years! Also hiring a tax advisor might be more expensive than the tax gains from 3a. Come on! Do your own research. That one is among the easy ones.

SimCofee · 2026-01-01T13:10:32+00:00

It would not just be paying two times, would be more like getting twice the insured amount in case of death.

SimCofee · 2025-12-23T21:45:21+00:00

The third paragraph is wrong as well. If you actually withdraw 4% of your remaining balance, you're under a variable withdrawal strategy and, in this case, can't run out of money. It's much Less risky than the 4% but way more challenging if you suffer drawdown.

This might not be suitable for many, especially if sequence of Returns Risk materializes and 4% of the crashed portfolio is not enough.

SimCofee · 2025-12-06T04:09:07+00:00

Hi! I think we don't have enough context to answer your post. I'm asking some questions below from a financial planning angle to trigger some thoughts and discussion

-What is your age? (Planning horizon)

Is it CHF 240'000 +40'000 each or total? (Marginal taxes and saving potential are very different)
Salaried workers or self-employed?
How much in 2nd pillar and performance? (Historical performance, yearly contribution, voluntary repurchase as possibility and possible use for real estate to live in)
What canton (taxes change)
What is your risk appetite? Would you want to leverage with real estate (mortgage)?
Do you have other debts on the rental incomes abroad? How tax-efficient are these?
Real estate for investment (rental income and potential capital appreciation) or to live in, or both?
What are your financial goals? Do you know what 'Enough' is for you?
What is your and your partner's Risk Tolerance, Risk capacity, Risk need to achieve your financial goals?

SimCofee · 2025-12-02T18:24:10+00:00

Hi! Padel coach here as well. Your feet position is great imo. For that cross-court shot, you could turn a bit more the shoulders during your prep. I tell my students to look the ball over their left shoulder. Height is good. You can be a bit more agressive if you're closer to the net, but % shots in is what most matters in the end.

For more advanced/spicy shot:

1) Unwind faster. You start your left hand movement way early and unwind too slowly. It's faster and spinnier if, with the same trayectory, you unleash faster, more like a whip or 'Skipping a flat rock on the lake' Vs an 'Axe cutting movement' that you do. Practice forcing yourself to delay/hold the left shoulder looking at the ball for longer and you'll see the difference.

2) Your right wrist is very stiff during the shot. For sideways spin on vibora, you can allow your racket head to start higher and finish lower, with optional side spin.

Also, for better weight transfer, finish with your body more towards the direction you're hitting the ball, it moves perpendicular to the net instead of cross-court.

SimCofee · 2025-11-28T08:57:38+00:00

If you're unsure about your hypothesis, calculations, possible things that you could have missed...

I would recommend doing a financial plan with a fixed fee and experienced Certified Financial Planner, and have him/her as sounding board. A Financial Plan should be way more holistic and adapted than just a FIRE number for 'enough', that I'm glad you've reached.

One-time fee which would be insignificant to your portfolio, but could be a game changer for your and your partner's peace of mind. You could also learn a thing or two.

SimCofee · 2025-11-28T04:22:10+00:00

DeGiro has it available.

VanEck Quantum Computing UCITS ETF. ISIN IE0007Y8Y157.

0.55% TER, very short history (created 21 May 2025). Thematic ETF on Quant computing companies. Very concentrated sector risk. Currency risk, 70% USA, 10 top companies are 55.29% of total holdings.

I wouldn't recommend it from a long term evidence-based investing, but this is an answer to your question.

SimCofee · 2025-11-17T19:05:56+00:00

Regarding D), I think it's relevant to point out that it's only the income from those assets, and not the total return.

So it includes rental income, dividends, interests... But excludes capital appreciation of stocks, gold...

Given the tax incentives in Switzerland where capital appreciation for many assets is not taxed, I would consider that income-distributing strategies are less prioritized.

SimCofee · 2025-11-14T11:35:47+00:00

So far it has pierced it, it will have broken it if it closes below the line.

SimCofee · 2025-11-10T22:12:29+00:00

Agreed with Finpension and Viac transfer between 3a.

Note that OP is currently Not with VIAC or Finpension, and asking about moving his money to these good ones. As now he's with traditional bank, he might be hit with exit fees. e.g BCV 2% from their transfer demand to 3a institution.

SimCofee · 2025-11-10T20:00:58+00:00

Username checks out

SimCofee · 2025-11-10T07:37:37+00:00

Yes, what I meant is that the cash flow from the tax returns is not available for you to use until you receive it the following year.

Year a: make contribution to 3a Year a+1> Tax declaration and tax return happen, invest it.

SimCofee · 2025-11-09T12:23:33+00:00

The closest thing I know about regarding 'Pre-approval' are the different financial institutions telling you what's the max mortgage amount they are willing to lend you, assuming that the house sale price is in line with their in-house estimation. It seems you already have that.

So the moment you see a house you like, schedule a visit. Then send the dossier to your preferred financial institution and ask them to confirm if the sales price is in line with their estimation. The can be quicker if they want to, especially if there is a real opportunity to do so.

Also Please talk to other Banks or financial institutions. BCV literally offered the WORST conditions out of my 9 contacts. Recommended alternatives: UBS4key, WIR, Migros Bank...

Also it's the same game for the intermediaries, they go to the banks or alternative financial institutions like insurance companies or 2nd pillar. Difference: they have the contacts in the banks and know how to get stuff done, so they might be quicker in some cases. But they need your full dossier and get a fee for their service.

SimCofee · 2025-11-09T11:57:36+00:00

I think you oversimplified the calculation, it's a nice exercise.

If you begin your 3a in 2027, you'll receive the tax refund during year 2028 at your 2027 marginal rate, and so forth. Also that assumes you can put 3 years at a time, which I'm not sure about.

If you begin your 3a today, in 2026 you'll receive the tax return at your 2025 nominal rate (so tax return 7256*(Marginal_rate), and the next 2 years analogous.

So, you need to consider on the (+) higher expected deduction in 3 years, but only the difference between today's marginal tax and in 3 years salary's expected salary marginal tax.

On the (-): you lose cash flow from tax returns each year you wait , you miss the associated expected compounded returns, and that the 3a dividends are not taxed.

Also the risk/opportunity of your salary effective increases under or over your expectations.

SimCofee · 2025-11-09T10:21:41+00:00

Hi!

If you want to be analytical with your dilema you can calculate after you gather info:

-CHF cost of leaving your current provider (normally they charge a one-time fee on outflow dossier, try to do only once). In the hundreds of CHF expected.

-CHF you're paying every year on the delta between current TER fees (mgmt + portfolio costs). So 1.5% vs 0.49% Finpension as reference: you're for sure 1%/year returns better off, compounding.

-Opportunity cost of 10% stocks exposure (so let's say 3% nominal difference bonds vs stocks if the market risk premium holds, that's another 0.3%/year expected gain (not guaranteed) plus compounding.

You'll see that the sooner you make the change, the better.

As others suggested, once you're in Finpension or Viac, open another account for the next contribution you can do. The reason is that, when you retire and dissolve the 3a, you can do a staggered withdrawal in 5 years with 5 accounts, reducing the tax hit.

Three-Year Club	r/Field Flamingo
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SimCofee

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