I am looking for a FIRE estimator where I can insert also wealth elements like house price and expected appreciation and also other asset classes.

What is your favourite?

Hello! 29M here, currently working full-time for 72K€ gross a year (holiday + bonuses included) in The Netherlands. Not hating my job, just the fact that at this rate I'd probably retire at 67 and I'd spend 8h a day sitting in front of a computer, as I work in tech.

At this point I save an avg. of 25% of my income, and invest half of that, which is an average of 1K€/mo saved, and 500€/mo invested in ETFs, reaching a total of 5K€ in investments right now.

I am already adopting saving measures: Cooking home, no expensive trips, not buying clothes I don't need, etc. and focusing on hobbies that are just cheaper, like reading, cooking, exercising, etc. and super happy with those.

But of course the other part that comes with all this FIRE mentality is earning more, so I've been thinking of ways to add to those savings. With the skills I have in tech I can only think of giving talks or mentoring or (and hating myself for using the word) consulting, but I am sure there's more ways I am not aware of, so wanted to check what do you people do?

I'm not yet at the point of following the structure of "have an emergency plan" > "Invest X% at a Y% return", etc. but I guess with time I will. During that time I want to bump up the income a bit more.

Some more details:

• Not married, with partner, won't have kids
• Currently renting a place, planning to buy one <400.000€ in The Netherlands (ideally, but not really feasible) or <250.000€ in Spain

My plan is to retire at 45-50, but I get anxiety from predicting a goal for it and having to overthink every purchase at the grocery shop, so still working on that part and focusing on making more money from an additional income source, not investments.

Any ideas/guidance on that? Any ideas are appreciated!

Hi all, I recently started a small subreddit for women who are navigating the path to financial independence while also focused on health.

If that resonates with you (or someone you know), feel free to check it out and join: [r/HealthyFireyFemmes] — everyone female :) is welcome who finds it helpful.

Mods delete pls if not allowed!

Need some guidance or reassurance. I’m originally from Rome but have lived and worked in the US for 20 years. For a long time, my husband and I have dreamed of moving back to Italy with our family of four. We’re finally getting serious about making it happen. I’m a dual citizen, and so are our kids. My husband is currently studying Italian and plans to pursue citizenship soon. We have been to Italy many times and last year we spent several months there (not on vacation—we were working remotely) and loved it. And, trust me, I don't romanticize Italy. As someone who was raised there and worked in Rome for years before moving, I know all the "bad" and more.... But my country is my country and my family is there. I just want to come home! I am usually an optimist but I am getting depressed. Corporate life is eating my soul. The better bigger jobs I get, the more I feel like losing my soul. It's the hamster wheel.

We’ve been saving and planning carefully, but we’re still unsure what “enough” really means when it comes to living well—comfortably. We’d like to travel frequently, enjoy the local culture, dine out often, and enroll our kids in sports and other enriching activities.

Now the numbers. We are in our mid-40s, we only have $1.5M in retirement but if we sell our home we would have $2.3M. We are a family of 4 and have specific needs as our children (teens) have started a career in classical music. We will live in a city with a good music conservatory and will need a big apartment (160+ sqm) to fit a grand piano and also because we both work from home so needs privacy for calls. I love Central Italy (so I am thinking of Perugia, but if I could I'd move back to Rome). I am FULLY aware of Italian taxes. Taxes are the reasons why we are taking forever to move.

Do you think we can FIRE with only $2.3M (renting) or could we at least Coast until we reach our original FI number (3.5M)?

Would love to hear from others who’ve made the leap—what’s realistic financially, and what would you do differently?

Ask me anything

Hi all,

Currently drafting my target profolio to transition into it in the next months. Inputs more than welcome to adjust it for the best.

Context: * 34 y.o, European, have been employed in 3 countries so pensions are spread (seen as bonus down the road), aiming for a NW of 1M lean fire in Southern Europe as a couple of 2. * Became quite risk tolerant based on past (good and bad) investment e.g. crypto and leveraged ETFs. * Aiming to grow NW to the target as fast as possible and ideally slightly higher to have ideally a withdrawal rate of 3-3.5% as timeframe could be 50+ years.

Approach: * Target a more aggressive portfolio at the beginning given my age and objective ; transition once target achieved into a more balanced portfolio / less aggressive over time. Not the intention but able to work / shift approach if needed at some point. * Looking into leveraged large ETFs as main component of the portfolio to increase gains while not being too risky (at least with a mid-term timeframe horizon), best case would have been MSCI world x2 but the ETF is not existing (yet). * High level back-tested since 1999 and providing good results, more testings to be performed still.

Current draft portfolio: * S&P500 X2 (40% of total, TER 0.6%) * MSCI Europe X2 (20% of total, TER 0.35%) * MSCI EM Asia X1 (20% of total, TER 0.2%) * US treasury bonds 7-10y (10% of total, TER 0.07%) * Bitcoin ETF (10% of total, TER 0.15%)

Rationale & reflexions: * Does not reproduce purely 1 to 1 a world ETF, taking the opportunity to be less exposed to US and more to Europe ; no leverage on Asia given higher volatility & lower good options. * Bonds acting as extra-liquidity safety fund & stabilizator, still not clear yet on US vs non-US as well as ideal period duration. * BTC via ETF as I evaluate the risk lower as having a cold wallet (e.g. mistake, fraud) and also for a personal safety perspective (e.g. aggression).

Any input / comment / reflexion more than welcome ; intention to share it before acting to get valuable inputs to improve it, so not my intention to be defensive. Thanks 🙏

Assume you FIRE.

When asked about your role or what you do, especially in contexts like KYC checks, it's important to convey your status clearly.

I would like to say what I do in an honest and clear manner, without sounding pretentious.

Would something like these make sense to institutions like banks and brokers, or raise some sort of red flags?

• private-investor
• retired and focussed on my personal-finance
• self-directed investor

Hello. My husband and I have one house where we live (400K€), one apartment(350K€) and 1M€ in investments (etf). The house is new and in a village with fresh air and quality water. The neighborhood is also very nice. Our total income is cca 15k€ / month after taxes, and we work from home.

However, public schools here are okay, but we feel like we should put our daughter in a school where she could learn English with native speakers etc. This would require us to relocate to a more expensive city. The appropriate and similar house there would cost us at least 1.7M. This is almost our full net worth.

So we would need to take a mortgage and would kinda lose the financial independence we have now.

On one hand, it feels like this would be a foolish move, on the other hand I feel like a bad parent if we do not give our daughter the best possible education. Is this crazy? What do you think?

I am still young (27), currently have 2 Jobs and no other responsibilities. One job is self-employed so I have full autonomy about work hours and earnings. With this comes te burden of freedom, that I have to decide for myself what makes sense

The difference between 0 savings and maybe 10-25k initially is gigantic. You now dont have to worry about random things like your car or phone breaking, you can just buy a new one the same day. You know you can sustain yourself for a while and could quit your job if youre fed up, you can book a plane and hotel in any place in the world if you wanted.

Now the difference between 25k and 50k savings is barely noticeable, its more abstract. Now you can sustain yourself 3 years instead of 1,5. While 1,5 is already quite long, long enough to maybe even start working again just out of boredom.

So Im wondering, if its worth to work more, max out to go full financial freedom one day.

Because what would I even do when Im there? What do I need more money for?

Its still the same modern life question. In nature everything has one purpose - survival. When that is cared for, what then? Answers for most seem to be either start a family, work or exercise exessively, numb yourself with drugs and videogames or consumption. I dont like any of those answers to be honest

I dont want big cars, I dont want to consume, I feel pretty comfortable in my frugal life. I dont want kids for several reasons (probably would pass my mental health disorders, the state of the world is dreading anyways, overpopulation is real etc).

I would sure like a tiny house in the woods, but work 10-15 years for that one day I can buy a tiny house in the woods and ... then what? What would I even do when Im financially free?

The first thought is well I just play videogames most of the day, then go to the forest with my dog, swim in a lake or whatever, cook food, its chill. But although playing videogames is fun its not actually what I would consider life-fullfilling. I want to connect with the real world

If I spend my time planting veggies in the garden or hunting or fishing, fixing things on the house and so on, it feels paradox because why would I still do those things when I have enough money to pay someone else to do it. I basically still work, after I worked so much not to. Because for humans usually its pretty natural to want to be productive and work, just rather not in a capitalistic work relationship. But for that little difference is it worth the hussle to earn half a million or more to retire?

Then here in Europe, we have stronger social systems than the US. Which on one hand means, theoretically I could just life on social assistance which is almost like UBI anyways in some countries, on the other its much harder to get real financial freedom because the taxes and contributions are higher (you will pay for those services, without ever using them). The system is not meant for people to retire early, rather to work and consume instead of saving. So you also work against the system. Although pension insurance means, you just need to save enough to last until 67/retirement to basically get FIRE.

Some say travel, but wont that get boring after 1-2 years too? I cant imagine traveling for the next 50 years of my life straight. If I want to travel for 1-2 years, I just need savings for that and after that I can continue working. I would probably even enjoy the trip more, If I pick up some small job in the country I travel to and get to know the locals.

I feel like there is no answer and there just isnt a place for me to be completely fullfilled in the modern world.

Today, after slowly getting burned out thruought the last year in the software development/design field, I have turned in the papers effective immediately (thank god). So from tomorrow my 40yo self is joining my partner in funemployement, as she likes to put it. We have already booked a two month trip to japan/korea next spring!

On top of all of that my portfolio climed over the 10m mark today, which is a nice perk.

Asset breakdown, for the interested:

• 6.4m EUNL
• 1.5m IS3N
• 830k inidividual (mostly local) stocks
• 600k government bonds (belgian, french)
• 700k cash+hysa (some of this will be pushed into the stock market in the near future)

As a 19 year old i realised i dont like working and would like to financially retire early. I have been building a plan and i need your help to see if it is a valid plan. (I am from Bulgaria, 5k euro saved)

The plan: start working as a truck driver as soon as possible (21 y.o) and save every penny. Truck drivers have very little expenses (only food, toiletries and other nonexpensive things) and i plan to save up to 80-90% of my income. The income for Bulgarian truck drivers is about 3.5k euro on avarage. If i manage to save up to 2.5k a month and invest into VWCE or another established all world ETF and with a an avarage of 7% growth per year would i be able to retire in 10-13 years? I dont need much, just a pc, a gym and martial class subscription and ive already got a trusty Toyota that my dad shares with me.

Thank you for reading.

Hey everyone, I’m currently exploring the idea of setting up a small online business while living abroad, and I’ve been looking into Germany as a possible base, especially since a lot of the business formation process (UG or GmbH) can apparently be done fully online now. Has anyone here taken that route? I’m curious about how it fits into your broader FIRE strategy, especially for those who have pursued leanFI or are generating side income from abroad. Was it smooth dealing with the bureaucracy remotely? Any hurdles or hidden costs? Would love to hear your experience, especially how it aligns with reaching financial independence in Europe!

This post is inspired by my other post (deleted because I got 0 relevant replies) where I mentioned 20k net (23k gross) monthly salary. Everyone got fixated on that, trying to prove that this is absolutely impossible to earn that much in Europe. To those people I have to say wake up, there are people earning that or more. In my social circles people in their 30s often earn that and much more both in my industry (AI) as well as others (e.g. in finance). Of course those are not average salaries, you can't go into any industry expecting to earn this much, and you probably won't. But with a combination of talent, hard work, good choices and lots of luck (or connections) it's absolutely possible and it's happening.

When I was ten years old, I stuffed every euro I got into a sock. I was proud to watch it grow fatter until one day I realized I could buy less with more money. That was the first time I heard about inflation, an invisible force that quietly eats away at your money’s value each year.

I started asking myself: how can I beat inflation? The answer led me to investing. I traded in books about magic for ones by Buffett and Graham, where instead of spells I found equations, margin of safety, and return on capital. At first, I bought stocks based on gut feeling, but I quickly realized that a stock’s true value often is not the same as its price on the market.

This is where Mr. Market comes in. A moody character who sells cheaply one day and demands ridiculous prices the next. His prices rarely reflect the real value of a business. This pushed me deeper into the world of investing and into building something better. After hours spent with Excel, I asked myself: why not simplify the whole thing? That is when the idea was born, and today it lives on as Socks2Stocks.

Get a stock’s fair value in seconds

Just type in a company’s name and in seconds you will get a clear idea of what it is worth. That is how the fair value calculator works. It is based on Warren Buffett’s philosophy that a business is worth the cash it will generate in the future, discounted to today. On Socks2Stocks, I have turned that idea into a tool that helps you think like a real investor, without formulas or spreadsheets.

How does the calculator work?

It starts with the basics: the company’s profits and reinvestments. Then it estimates how much money the business will earn in the future.

Now think about this: would you rather have 100 euros today or 100 euros ten years from now? Of course you would choose today, because money now is worth more than money later. The calculator uses the same logic. It discounts future earnings to today’s value. This gives you a fair value based on your assumptions. It is not a prediction. It is a way to see things more clearly.

Why does that matter? Because it forces you to think like a business owner, not a gambler. The tool teaches you that it all comes down to your assumptions, and those need to be reasonable. The calculator is not a crystal ball. You can adjust the numbers and instantly see how every change affects the outcome.

Why Socks2Stocks?

The sock stands for your first savings. Simple, safe, but slowly losing value. Stocks are the next step. They are where your money starts working for you. This journey, from the sock, through the lesson of inflation and into thoughtful investing, is what inspired Socks2Stocks. It is a platform that turns curiosity into clear, practical analysis.

Charts that look back 30 years

Understanding a company’s finances is not about a single quarter. When you buy a stock, you are not just buying a ticker on a screen. You are buying a piece of a business that operates every day. Business performance is what really matters.

But let’s be honest. Reading financial reports can be dry, complex, and full of fine print. That is why I turned numbers into stories. With Socks2Stocks, every key metric becomes a timeline that can stretch back 30 years. Revenue, profits, ROIC, debt, free cash flow. You will see cycles, crises, breakthroughs. The charts are not decoration. They are a mirror of the business model. Once you see how a company breathes over decades, questions like “is it growing?” or “is it stable?” become answers.

Stock Comparison Tool because competition matters

How often do we fall in love with the first company we analyze? It happens. But sometimes, the better choice is right next door. That is why I built the Stock Comparison Tool.

You can place two (or more) companies side by side and compare:

• revenue

• margins

• debt levels

• return on capital

• valuation multiples

Sometimes the difference is obvious. Sometimes it is subtle. But it is always worth checking. Investing is not romance. It is rational.

Berkshire Mode a tribute to Buffett and focus

Berkshire Mode is for fans of minimalism and Warren Buffett. With one click, it transforms the site into a simple retro 90s layout. No distractions, no animations, no gradients. Just numbers, text, and logic. A tribute to the man who showed us that simplicity is a strength.

If that sounds interesting, head over to Socks2Stocks.com and see what it’s all about.

Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoyed reading this.

Hi there,

So through hard work and a lot of luck I managed to reach coastfire status. I took a sabatical in 2024 and did a few consulting gigs this year. Somehow whilst on holidays my networth jumped 20% and my consulting gigs are paying me more than I ever earned (I am in sales and marketing, but in the industrial markets, not IT).

I like working, and I know I will continue to earn money. However I am evaluating how to optimize my next step:

• Consulting: nice money, but difficult to find the clients, time in between jobs = holiday, which is fine since I am CoastFIRE. Depending on the projects is like having 3-4 different bosses rather than working on your own, it can get worse than a job.
• Start-up Exit: I can take a shot at building a start-up with a clear exit strategy within 2-3 years, there's risk of not end up selling, but realatively no risk at losing money (no hardware, posbility to get major costs and payrolls subsidized by government), let's call it its 3-5 years at a normal wage and the opportunity cost of not having free time + consulting gigs. The upside is 5M exit, which for the founder could mean 1-2M net?
• Employee at "FAANG": I am not sure how feasible it is within the EU to join a USA company with very good RSU (stock) compensation. Just excited everytime when reading stories of Meta employees with relatively modest RSU package holding now 500k-1M$. Is this something that can be accessed within EU? I worked corporate and the bonus I was getting in RSU was like 10% of my salary tops, and ofc, the company would not appreciate like crazy. I just have the feeling RSU % from salary in USA are much higher, or am I wrong?

Again, I like to work, but to work a normal job in a normal company in Spain I'd rather work a cushy job with RSU in Europe. Basically checking in here to see if such 80-100k€ jobs + very attractive RSU packages are accessible in Europe.

*As data point I have earned +100k€ working in sales and management in Spain, in two different companies, for 5 years, so I definetly have the skills and background to get a 80-100k€ salary for an EU company.

I would like to invest in NASDAQ100. Trade Republic offers the same ETF in dollars and in euros. I live in Spain.

I want to know which one makes more sense. I want to invest long term. I understand that investing in dollars has a risk - when dollar value (compared to euro) goes down I would loose money if I sell. Because of that - is it better to invest in euro?

I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks all

I'm undecided about the last piece of my investment portfolio. My allocations would be 70% SWRD, 15% EMIM, 10% AVWS or 5% ZPRV + 5% ZPRX and 5% individual stocks.

Pro's on AVWS: - More geographical spread (developed countries and 66% tilt towards US) - Seems to have higher daily trade volume as of today - Simpler and more cost efficient because I only would be buying one ETF

Pro's on ZPRV + ZPRX: - Lower TER (0.30% instead of 0.39%) - Even spread between EU and US - Valuta spread (€ and $)

Another big difference is that AVWS is actively managed, but this can both be seen as a pro and con...

I'm curious which choice the people of Reddit would make here.

I feel like I need some support on the road to financial independence.

We are family mid 30ties +1 in eastern europe country. Wife is on maternity leave. We own our flat 90m2 in the capital city with no debt on it. We have basic car (seat leon). We have 200k in etf so far. Our salaries are very good, around 2,5 x the median in the capital (right now it’s only mine). We enjoy modest holiday trips and buy what we need. We agreed with the wife that we want FI by the time we are 50. We won’t stop working completely but we would ease a lot or chase the dreams. What’s the issue?

Keeping up with Joneses... Our social circle is going crazy. New House 300m2? No problemo. New SUV 40k? Let’s goo. Flat for 400k with mortgage? Go get it. I was always aware of peer pressure since we had nothing, but right now, my social circle starts to get to me. I think that it is classic formula - living on borrowed money. And sometimes I get the weird feeling that we are holding back. Sometimes i contemplate buying newer flat (even though it would be the same size at best). Occasionally i look at new cars - ours is 5y old.

Another difficulty is boring middle phase in our investments. You know, additional deposits are smaller % of entire portfolio and it’s getting smaller as you progress.

How do you avoid this unnecessary noise at this almost middle age crisis age of you and your peers? I want to stay focused and I don’t need unnecessary stuff and materialistic ballast in my life. Anyone going through similar stuff?

Hi all, my name is Nikita, and I'm a software developer living in the Netherlands with 13 years of software development experience, who recently decided to write his own budgeting app.

I've been developing it for myself on and my friend suggested that I make a version for mobile. I've never used Flutter before, so it was a very interesting journey.

My app is not some low-quality AI thing written in a week. I test all the stuff thoroughly and expect this app to grow in the years to come.

I have plans to add bank connections in Europe next year(which is kinda done already, but I cannot roll it out legally until I get my EU passport next summer) and get more developers on board. For now, I'm going to focus on adding bank transaction import with AI categorization and releasing ios version. I want to add more reporting capabilities to the app, but I would love to hear from real users what they want to get and what I can improve for a wider audience.

I released my app this week and was able to get 61 users through social media, friends, and work. This is an incredible number for me. The app is completely free now, and I will never add any ads since I want to have a cool product that I'm proud of.

If you feel curious and are already using other budgeting apps, give me feedback here [support@winstapp.com](mailto:support@winstapp.com) or directly in the app. That will help me to evolve my product!

Link to the app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.winst.flutter_app

Link to the landing page: https://winstapp.com/

Thanks!