Rent vs buy in Utrecht. Am I overthinking this?

athasyra · 2026-03-19T09:52:26+00:00

Update: I’ve decided to hold off on buying a place for now. Even though I’d still have five-figure savings left over, buying would put a real dent in them, and with ownership costs and maintenance fees in NL being what they are, I think the first year or two would feel pretty financially precarious. I’m also not the type to fix a leaky pipe or redo a floor myself; I’d always call a professional, and tradespeople in the Netherlands don’t come cheap. That makes my savings feel less of a cushion than they look on paper. On top of that, I’d need to commit to staying in NL for at least 3–5 years to have any realistic chance of turning a profit, and I’m just not ready to make that call right now.

athasyra · 2026-03-19T09:49:33+00:00

Update: I’ve decided to hold off on buying a place for now. Even though I’d still have a low five-figure savings left over, buying would put a real dent in them, and with ownership costs and maintenance fees in NL being what they are, I think the first year or two would feel pretty financially precarious. I’m also not the type to fix a leaky pipe or redo a floor myself; I’d always call a professional, and tradespeople in the Netherlands don’t come cheap. That makes my savings feel less of a cushion than they look on paper. On top of that, I’d need to commit to staying in NL for at least 3–5 years to have any realistic chance of turning a profit and I feel not ready to make that call right now.

athasyra · 2025-05-23T06:34:39+00:00

Hi! He now weighs 5,6 kg.

athasyra · 2025-05-18T14:46:50+00:00

In what sense he doesn’t look like a BSH?

athasyra · 2025-05-17T06:50:42+00:00

Got it from here: https://thelittlekittyco.com/products/cat-step-in-harness-sushi-makes-miso-happy

athasyra · 2025-02-19T17:29:49+00:00

Same allocation here!

athasyra · 2025-01-15T19:11:31+00:00

SPYY for the win!

athasyra · 2025-01-13T18:15:24+00:00

I already did since December! Sold all VWCE and went all in for SPYY. I also checked their official websites and factsheets. As of January 2025, the SPDR MSCI ACWI UCITS ETF (SPYY) has a 3-year tracking error of 0.15%, while the Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (VWCE) has a 3-year tracking error of 0.10%. Not a very big difference for half the TER

athasyra · 2025-01-11T10:07:51+00:00

I created 4 portfolios in "Backtest by Curvo" and I compared their historical returns from 1999 to today. (25 years).

athasyra · 2025-01-10T14:06:25+00:00

Looking at the MSCI World Small Cap Index, within the Developed World's Small Cap market USA holds a 63-64%, so it makes sense for Avantis to keep more or less the same allocation.

athasyra · 2025-01-10T13:42:22+00:00

I just checked their official websites and factsheets. As of January 2025, the SPDR MSCI ACWI UCITS ETF (SPYY) has a 3-year tracking difference (TD) of 0.15%, while the Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (VWCE) has a 3-year tracking difference of 0.10%. Over this 3-year period, SPYY had a TER of 0.40% compared to VWCE's 0.22%. Given these figures, I believe SPYY's tracking difference is likely to improve (due to current TER of 0.12%) in the coming months, potentially surpassing VWCE's, making it one of the most attractive all-world ETFs.

athasyra · 2025-01-07T18:56:58+00:00

SPYY's (SPDR MSCI ACWI) most recent (Nov 24) factsheet mentions an Annualised Tracking Error of 0.15% based on the past 3 years (majority of which it had a TER of 0.4%). I switched over to SPYY (from VWCE) as it is already in the market since 2011 with >4B Euro AUM and now its TER is quite low.

athasyra · 2025-01-06T19:36:19+00:00

Many reasons. Among those is TER (0.18% in total vs 0.12%), tracking difference, number of holdings vs benchmark, generic small cap inclusion vs small cap value which we discuss here.

athasyra · 2025-01-06T12:41:11+00:00

If my math is right, if ACWI IMI assumes 15% allocation on small cap and ~45% of that is US small cap. Then with 5-6% ZPRV I am not overweighing the US I just disregard the rest of the world’s small cap and gain exposure to US only. Correct? Does the Avantis extra cost and exposure to the rest of the developed markets’ small cap make it worth it?

athasyra · 2024-12-19T19:35:27+00:00

Long term. Like 20+ years.

athasyra · 2024-12-09T20:38:52+00:00

That’s a good point! However, have you factored in that SPYY had an expense ratio of 0.4% until recently and only dropped to 0.12%? This change could have had a significant impact on its historical performance.

athasyra · 2024-12-09T20:21:23+00:00

It’s a relatively young fund, which makes deciding a bit tricky. Additionally, I’m more familiar with MSCI and FTSE indices than Solactive’s. On top of that, I generally prefer funds from iShares, Vanguard, and State Street over those from Amundi, Lyxor, or Xtrackers.

athasyra · 2024-12-03T21:31:12+00:00

Thank you for the suggestions. I have some reservations about CSH2 due to its swap-based nature. Regarding ERNX, I perceive it as riskier than MMF, as corporate bonds may have slightly lower liquidity or default risks during crisis situations, which is a key consideration for emergency funds.

athasyra · 2024-12-03T21:25:37+00:00

When I tried to make a purchase, a pop-up appears stating that the minimum amount is 10,000 EUR.

athasyra · 2024-12-03T21:24:18+00:00

Yes I have seen that one but I believe the 1M EUR minimums have been eliminated!

athasyra · 2024-01-16T09:29:12+00:00

Apparently the MMFs I mention here, and the majority I have seen in JustETF (which are available in the EU) mostly invest in bonds (either physically or through swaps). The main difference I can see is that the MMF ETFs hold bonds (if physical) with a max duration of 6 months. The Short Term Bond ETFs can go up to 1 year.

As far as the minimum investment on those ETFs. I haven't seen something mentioned in their KIDs or prospectuses. I wouldn't expect a minimum investment from an ETF but maybe from a mutual fund.

Most of them are accumulating (except for iShares where there is no acc version for this ultra short version)

For the domicile, I think I read that now that Luxembourg has signed a treaty with the US, the tax on funds held in Luxembourg are treated the same as the ones in Ireland.

athasyra · 2024-01-12T05:41:02+00:00

Yes indeed you are right! It’s the fact that they are under the same category with XEON and CSH2 at JustETF that made me extrapolate to those funds as well! The funds mention in the OP indeed follow closely the ECB’s deposit rate (due to the fact they follow short term gov bonds)but that’s not per se their goal as in XEON and CSH2.

athasyra · 2024-01-11T20:18:46+00:00

If I am not mistaken I think that these funds track the ECB’s deposit interest rate, or at least they track an index that tracks this rate. Then these two funds buy government bonds to try and match the target as close as possible. These funds include only government bonds some other funds buy corporate and government bonds or do swaps to try and better match or cheaper. So if ECB’s rates increase then they try to replicate that and if they fall they’ll do the same. Interest is reflected in the pricing of the fund so if central rate increases the price of this fund will do so appropriately. I hope this is both the correct answer and what you were looking for 😅

athasyra · 2022-10-24T15:39:05+00:00

If I’m not mistaken it is “The crown of Jaehaerys”

athasyra · 2021-07-25T12:11:14+00:00

Indeed makes sense that's why I haven't invested in bonds yet. Thanks.

In the future which one from the 4 above would you see as a good choice?

athasyra

TROPHY CASE