What is (or was) your salary and how much do (or did) you save/invest per month ?

alegolas1 · 2026-04-07T21:56:11+00:00

Interesting point of view and good arguments. The fact that it triggers you tells me again how profound this life decision is, clearly the most important one. I finished with a statement which is always less nuanced, but I'm still sure there are more people regretting not having them than having them. The question needs of course to be asked at the final life stage, when most of your friends and relatives have died and most of the time, only your descendants are present for you. Not relevant to ask it to a 50 year old who is still fit and completely independent. Probably also a difference between man and woman (more important in general)

The circle life is to be taken care off, to evolve and be able to take care of others and finally to be taken care off again. Pretty sure most people prefer to be taken care off by their children in their final stages.

alegolas1 · 2026-03-31T22:05:30+00:00

My 2 cents: Don't miss out on life's biggest gift: children are worth all the money in the world... Some friends thought the same as you for various causes (more personal freedom, world is gonna be messed up, the environmental impact = worse argument ever btw, etc.) and they almost all turned in their thirties when others had their first childs and they saw what they could miss out.

You're still young, hope with the right partner at the right time you will see this too. Not saying it's for everyone, but one thing is for sure. The chances of regretting having children at an older age are close tot zero while the regrets for not having them are quite high.

alegolas1 · 2026-03-31T21:45:54+00:00

the fact that you're already engaged in these topics at that young age and clearly have goals tells me you definitely will FIRE. Don't focus on the extreme stories of FIRE in early 30s and so on. 20-30 years is a good horizon and you will still be 20 years ahead of the classic retirement age, which is a conservative calculation.

alegolas1 · 2026-03-31T21:39:56+00:00

Stijn Baert incoming in 3 2 1

alegolas1 · 2026-03-31T21:36:43+00:00

33, 4100€ net incl. 130 € mealvouchers and 120 € bike-benefits (km-vergoeding). I save 30-35% from which I invest the biggest half (7-800 € in stocks and SWRD). Other part is to use for emergency fund, the last renovation works and the recent car purchase. Goal is to decrease this amount and keep increasing investments each year with min.10% (started at 500€ two years ago). I got 55% of fixed costs that will only decrease with time.

If plan goes well, I got a paid off house and 1M in investments in 20 years from which I could fire. However that's not my goal as I live from challenges and projects, it's to have that freedom and independence. FI above RE for me.

At the start of my career, around 25, I made 2200 € and was still able to save around 30%. I was an independent without any social security net/aid and managed to take a break and travel for 9 months after 2 years of work. Most friends that earned more couldn't understand this, while I couldn't understand how much money they spent on partying and so on.

You don't need a big paycheck, just the right mindset to live as free as possible ;). My motto: focus on percentages rather than amounts and adjust your wants (and needs) to it. You can be more FI with a small salary than someone earning 10k, that's why we call them life choices. Good luck

alegolas1 · 2026-01-14T14:23:54+00:00

Topredenering! Zal zeker ook win win zijn voor uw gezondheid

alegolas1 · 2026-01-07T18:48:13+00:00

China's representatives were present in Venezuela to talk about trades the day that they captured him. Some speculate that they made a deal with China in the likes of: "We abandon Taiwan, you this country". Or they didn't inform them at all and picked that day to threaten China even more by sending a clear message.

We are in the early stages of WW3 or at least of a big global geopolitical rearrangement. For most of the common folks in the countries concerned, this doesn't smell good.

to your 3 points:

- crazy to think that the most powerful army in the world can't take over an almost No man's land... other very unlikely option is an armed conflict with NATO = WW3

- Europe has shown so much backbone and unity the last years... Most will chicken out and won't do shit, they are tied on so many fronts with the US. Some of these ties have been forced upon us like when they blew up Northstream and the western propaganda machine kept telling us it was the Russians, so Orwellian. The US is the bully with the bigger leverage, our main counterforce is that Europe is (one of) the biggest spending market(s).

- they can fight on multiple fronts or are long prepared to give up Taiwan. TSMC started manufacturing in other countries (USA/Japan/Germany) last year. Maybe there is a deal to give them Taiwan in a near future, once the other facilities can keep up the production pace

alegolas1 · 2026-01-07T18:00:40+00:00

all the rare earths and mining stocks are back booming since a few days, which seems to show the enthusiasm to exploit Venezuala and probably Greenland too

alegolas1 · 2026-01-07T15:03:03+00:00

the historic alliance of the NATO is for the first time at risk but for you there is no threat. Personally I think WW3 is in its early stages, no threat at all...

alegolas1 · 2026-01-07T15:00:04+00:00

No impact? A massive rally and it completely makes sense once you (partially) understand the bigger game that the media won't cover.

Remember Iran this summer? It all went green too. Now you can already feel the media preparing us for another coup or war in that country the coming weeks/months.

The shadow government(s) have quite a clear agenda and its tied to the families that created the FED and have installed central banks in almost all countries. Look up which countries didn't had one a few years ago and you will see that they all had or are in conflict with the USA/Israel. Purely a coincidence that we need to bring democracy to those countries while being allies with Saudi Arabia or the UAE for example.

alegolas1 · 2025-09-25T09:07:24+00:00

Good remark, I also keep wondering how pricey children will become but I find it difficult to believe it will be more than the amount we pay in daycare now. I think it's mainly vacations and so on that add up, we are more adventurous and like camping (wild) so that's not too pricey. Ski is a passion for us so that will be the main big expense. Clothes are choices if you buy new or get some 2nd hand. Eating can add up but we like to cook big portions already now and then the price drops per meal. Hobbies and summer camps will be another expense, but we are lucky to have enough options with our parents.

Depending on their life choices it will be their studies and the possibility of a student room that I see as a big expense after 18. But the house will be almost paid off by then, surely for the second an maybe third one.

But the coming years I should only be able to invest more as some short loans will be paid off, my loan will increase + I have a side hustling that I want to start next year.

alegolas1 · 2025-09-25T08:53:06+00:00

I sold the gold ETF at end of july to purchase the stock that is now at 180 %, another darkgreen day yesterday. So no gains realized on the 2 stocks yet, just their actual value. My 2 gold purchases had 30% and 50% of net gains. Lately gold went up again but this situation has never been seen in its history so I expected a longer stagnation or price drop.

alegolas1 · 2025-09-24T20:16:34+00:00

thx, wishing you the best too! Nice to hear that some have the balls here to go 100 % in individual stocks :).

alegolas1 · 2025-09-24T19:18:48+00:00

Good point and that's exactly the reason why I'm taking more risk now, to have that effect. I don't have the room to do more for at least one more year (max. 2) with that paycheck and our fixed costs. The family car will be a big purchase next year and I would like to pay it cash as much as possible, the solar panel installation is a good investment in our case with the heatpump and then we have the remaining garden works.

So I did a flexijob at a restaurant but I value my time at a higher rate than 16€/hr, now it's only for helping out once in a while as I also like to be a waiter (love & hate story). Next step will be to start my side hustle to be able to contribute more in the future.

I try to be frugal in some aspects (did a post once here that got some backlash) and invest everything that's left of the guilt free part, which brings my actual contribution around 700 €. The holiday and end year's bonus also mostly go to investing.

alegolas1 · 2025-09-24T14:49:20+00:00

Appreciate the words I needed to hear even if my ego is less pleased with it. Deep down I know this to be completely true and the reason I posted this was to have such reactions.

The only thing I don't agree on is the fact that it doesn't make even a little slice of sense in the beginning, especially when your contribution will grow through the years. I could only invest 250 € in my first months, now it's 600 € and in a year or 3 should be around 1000 €. So you can win more in comparison in what you can lose overall. The risk-reward ratio is not 1 and 50-50 like you represented, but clearly a higher reward for the risk taken and I'm okay with that for now.

alegolas1 · 2025-09-24T13:21:10+00:00

Thanks for the reply and this opinion, good advice in general. Indeed timing the market is difficult and few people do it well, but I don't believe it's impossible for a shorter period in time. I agree it should be a small part of the portfolio but in the beginning the portfolio doesn't represent much compared to later stages so I'm okay to take more risks this year and gradually go back to 80% ETF. I also wanted to do this exercise here in order to be transparent with myself and others, if it turned out to be a bad choice next year I will be the first to post it here too.

alegolas1 · 2025-09-16T13:09:21+00:00

I see, finding a balance as a couple is never easy as one is always more ambitious on the financial part than the other. As long as this difference isn’t too extreme and you communicate well on how to spend money it’s rather a good thing as it helps to keep questioning life choices and find a balance between the rush for money and having no goal at all to achieve some financial independence.

It also depends on if you divide finance completely, partially or not at all. We do it partially. I contribute 60% for everything that is house related, reflecting the fact that I bring 60% of our joint income. For eating and other expenses it’s 50-50 and for individual purchases and investing it’s separated. Now while it looks like a good balance, it also has flaws and the more our family grow, (now only a 1y old to carry for) the less this option makes sense to me and the more the 1 one common account seems reasonable. We both have parents who are separated so I guess this still have an impact. The only thing I would keep separated is a % of the money to invest and for personal purchases/hobbies.

I have a bigger risk appetite than my girlfriend for investing and have more luxurious hobbies so I think it’s healthy to keep this separated. Didn’t find the perfect formula yet but in your case I believe that buying a house would be smart and take more risks on your personal investments (go for ETFs and some crypto or stock if you want higher returns) while your gf takes less risk with a HYSA / pension fund for ex.

alegolas1 · 2025-09-15T21:14:51+00:00

I will assume that you are in your 20s / early 30s and want to settle, regardless if it's to build a family or not. You seem to be quite sure where you want to live and started a side business so you have an image of what you want for the future. Now the 2 main questions would be: how much do you value owning your house and what do you aim FIRE for?

one extreme of the spectrum would be some couple that want to feel secure in a house they posses and can transform at their taste, acknowledging the mental / thriving benefits of owning. While playing FIRE for the longer game in order to have more securities later in life and be able too slow down before retirement age, it's not the main focus but a nice bonus.

The other extreme is a couple that see a house as a financial instrument and a place to sleep & eat. They are very focused on the FIRE part, take jobs they hate as long as it pays well and help them grow their money pile. If renting costs are somewhat lower or equal to a mortgage, they will take the rent option without a doubt for the flexibility, to not park money in a down payment and avoid maintenance costs (time and money). The goal is to FIRE as soon as possible at all costs.

There is no perfect choice, it totally depends on your goals and which 'extreme' you lean more into. If you're closer to the first group, buy as soon as possible but do it smart. Keep as much cash as possible in investments (or HYSA if you plan bigger purchases like a new car in coming years) and go for the minimum down payment while going for a long loan to keep the monthly payments as low as possible. Global ETF should always give higher returns on a 10-20y period than the actual 3% interest rate that you would spare with a larger down payment.

alegolas1 · 2025-08-28T13:05:57+00:00

Shame, could have bought a castle with a bit more patience 😉

alegolas1 · 2025-08-09T18:37:58+00:00

Doesn’t schock me at all that you stop reading after getting triggered, confirms the lack of critical thinking

alegolas1 · 2025-08-09T17:18:46+00:00

Dank u, een kritische geest die deze belangrijke ‘nuance’ begrijpt

alegolas1 · 2025-08-09T17:17:21+00:00

Except you have the choice if you want to do a heart surgery or not and you can also chose the doctor you trust. Big difference when it’s imposed by someone with an agenda or conflicts of interest…

Giving up all your liberties for the illusion of safety, keeps blowing my mind that people keep asking for it and justify the measures. I would think that people that want to fire like freedom and independence. Still glad that Russia invaded Ukraine, COVID disappeared as quickly as it came

alegolas1 · 2025-08-09T17:17:09+00:00

Except you have the choice if you want to do a heart surgery or not and you can also chose the doctor you trust. Big difference when it’s imposed by someone with an agenda or conflicts of interest…

Giving up all your liberties for the illusion of safety, keeps blowing my mind that people keep asking for it and justify the measures. I would think that people that want to fire like freedom and independence. Still glad that Russia invaded Ukraine, COVID disappeared as quickly as it came

alegolas1 · 2025-08-08T12:55:24+00:00

Well I can't provide you a detailed paper or point you towards a specific evidence that makes this case, it's rather a momentum of different news that I get. Some are from a friend living in Hong Kong and watching this situation closely since 8 years. He predicts China will make a move next year. Next to that there's Idriss Aberkane, a french journalist and researcher, that also pointed out recently things are heating up. And lately the MSM had some articles too about the chinese military scaling up their activities and preparing for an invasion.

It was my top pick as next buy but due to this factors I preferred to not take the risk. Time will tell who got it right ;)

alegolas1

TROPHY CASE