DutchGirl's journal

Where are you and where are you going?
DutchGirl
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

Here's my January report :)

I switched to using YNAB for tracking my expenses. I bought version 4 more than a year ago, and now I have started using it. I'm not using it completely as I should use it.

For one, so far every month it tells me that I'm budgeting with money that I don't have (because I get paid around the 25th of the month, most expenses are planned at the end of the month, but still plan ahead starting on the first of the month; and because I made most of my investment accounts (which hold a lot of money) off-budget). As I earn more income every month than I spend, I slowly am "overspending" less per month, and I hope to reach the situation by March that YNAB is happy with me, because by them my end-of February income will hopefully also cover all of March's expenses, even when I know I won't have to pay most before the salary at the end of March has been paid.

Secondly, I definitely have some irregular expenses. One month I pay the annual contribution to a charity, the next I won't, but I will need to pay a magazine subscription. Stuff like that. At the beginning of the year I've made an annual budget, and have divided each annual budget by twelve to get a monthly budget. This has also led to some red angry marks in YNAB, because I've overstepped the budget for January, for example for my insurances, which are paid quarterly. I guess by the time I get to April it won't be red anymore and then it'll become red yet again as I pay the quarterly fee in April.

Finally, YNAB thinks investing is spending. If I put money away from budgeted accounts (my bank account) to off-budget accounts (like my investment accounts), it believes I'm spending. Luckily at least in the summary I can say that I don't want to take those kind of "expenses" into account when it calculates total spending for the month.

So while YNAB is giving me all kinds of unhappy faces about overspending, actually think I did pretty okay in January. The only category where I really went over was "fun/extra spending", and I went over by 50 euros which I can and will make up for in February. The plan is to spend roughly 1500 euros/month in 2016, when all is said and done. So far, so (almost) good.

I also met my boss a good week ago, to discuss how many hours I'll work in 2016. We've decided to keep it at 28 hours/week, which is the same as I officially worked in 2015. In reality I worked a bit more hours per week in 2015 (luckily I got paid for them too), which we agreed to NOT do anymore in 2016. 28 hours per week and that's it. If I work more in one week, I have to work less in the next couple of weeks to make up for it. For me, this will hopefully help me balance work and private life more. For me, that's necessary and it's wonderful that it's possible. Meanwhile, in the upcoming year I'll definitely also spend some hours every month helping my boyfriend's business grow and thrive, so it's not like I will get bored :-)

My net worth went up just a little bit in January, due to the stock market going down (and due to me putting in more money, otherwise it would have gone down). I think I have been hovering around 30k in investments in one specific investment account since July now; faithfully putting in more money every month, but seeing it being absorbed by the stock market all the time. Hopefully I'll be rewarded at some point for sticking with it and for continuing to buy more shares (at lower prices, which is nice).

Winter isn't my best season of the year. I notice how I am sometimes down, or very tired. I've been ill, too, it was just a cold but it makes life more of a struggle, even when you still manage to get to work et cetera. Today the sun is shining, and that makes a big difference. So I'm glad that I have the afternoon to myself and can bathe in that sunlight (while inside, because it's still cold out). And I also must remember that life's usually a bit more fun, especially when I'm biking through the rain in the dark battling with the wind...

Finally, I saw an article recently that claimed cars and car transport costs the average Dutch person 600-800 euros/month. I'm generally saving 1000-1400 euros/month; and now I think that a lot of that is due to me NOT owning a car. My train tickets and bike will cost me roughly 140 euros/month, instead. Seems like a good decision, then, to stick with public transport! And luckily it's also possible.

@steveo: nice that we're more or less on the same trajectory. I hope we'll both enjoy it.

belgian
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2016 5:44 am

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by belgian »

Hi,

I've been reading and following your posts on regular basis, only now I created an account myself.
Just wondering, why you don't invest in real estate? Property of your own, I assume that also in the Netherlands bank credits are low at the moment.
If you plan to ERE, then you should be able to exclude your monthly rental cost.

I'm living in Antwerp, and my prior is to become debt free, meaning to own at least one property.
And perhaps afterwards buying a second with by renting the first. (If the market allows it)
That way, I would postpone ERE another 15 years, the time needed to cover/pay the second property.

In my opinion paying rent, even the smallest amount, is a waste of money, and time in order to become ERE.

ps: In case you are already owning, then I apologize for not reading your posts more thoroughly :oops:

Kind regards,
Stefan

belgian
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2016 5:44 am

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by belgian »

Hi again,

So, I started doubting, and re-read half your journal :-)
I found that you indeed pay rent, to your boyfriend/partner, but rent indeed.

Would it not be a safer choice to become a partial owner of the property, or invest yourself in an apartment that you can rent.
(the rent you can use to pay the mortgage)

This way, when you become ERE, you never become forced in case of 'disaster' (I think you know what I mean) to use your savings to buy at that point... or worse, to pay even more rent someplace else...

I have difficulties to explain my point of view, but I think you get the picture :-)

Rgds

belgian
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2016 5:44 am

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by belgian »

last note :-)
Regarding pensions in Belgium, the minimum in order to receive anything at all is 30 active years.
To receive the complete minimum pension you require 45 years.

If for example you have worked 40 years, then they calculate 40/45 x minimum pension.

The complete pension has a maximum and minimum according the average payment you received over your entire career.
And trust me when I say, in order to receive the maximum pension your must have a really high salary :-)

This means, if your quit working before the age of (18+30) 48, you will not receive anything at all.
Until recent, unemployment was calculated as active working years, but from now on it is maximum 3 years.
(finally they start understanding the difference)

Regarding medical costs.
As long you pay a yearly contribution to one of the 3 institution (mutaliteit), they will cover or reimburse the main medical costs (remgeld).
Of course it is advised to pay additionally a private insurance company, so in case of hospitalization all costs are covered.
In case of unemployment, you can request social service to cover the very minimum, but also this is changing as we speak during the asylum-crisis.

Hope the above is clear.

DutchGirl
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

Hi, Belgian, thanks for clarifying the Belgian situation on pensions and medical costs. So, things are rather different from the Netherlands. It's coming from the same idea of socially caring for other people (the elderly, and the sick) by making sure everyone pays into the big pot. However, the organization is quite different from here in the Netherlands.

It is true, my boyfriend owns the house and I pay him "rent". So far, he has paid more costs for this house than he would have, if he had rented a similar place. (I've made the calculations: buying costs, mortgage interest, repairs, homeowner's insurance on one side plus house value depreciation unfortunately, versus rent plus renter's insurance on the other side - he would still be ahead many thousands or euros if he had rented). This is partly because the value of the houses went down. He has been underwater on the mortgage for a long time. Only recently he has become "above water" due to the fact that he is slowly paying the mortgage down. So I think he actually threw money away when he bought the house. He should have stayed a renter, at least until the value of houses came crashing down in 2008-2009.

We may buy a new house at some point (and sell this one). At that point, I will probably become the co-owner. I'm not against home-ownership, but right now the situation is absolutely fine as it is. He is the home owner, meaning he takes on the risk of losing value in the house, and in return also has the profit if the house would ever appreciate in value again.

If the relationship would end, I would probably start by renting for a year or so, and then at some point perhaps buy my own place. If the relationship would end when we co-own the next house, that would cause more trouble, actually. It would mean that one of us would have to buy the other one out, if he or she has enough money to do so, and is allowed by the bank to take on the full remaining mortgage. Or it would mean having to sell the place so that we could go separate ways. There are lots of couples in the Netherlands, by the way, who wanted to divorce, but couldn't sell their shared house because it has been underwater since 2008/9, and who are now forced to stay together in the same house (or one of them rents a room somewhere but is still co-owner of the house with the ex-partner).

So I think a house can be a "blok aan je been", an obstacle. Or it can be a good choice. It totally depends on your own personal situation, and also a bit on the situation around you (economy, safety in your general area, etc).

belgian
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2016 5:44 am

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by belgian »

OK. Thanks for the clarification.
Although, I still don't understand that you can become ERE without owning your own house/apartment.
As you are never in control of the property... (maintenance, perhaps the owner sells it, rental price calculated for 2 persons, ...)

singvestor
Posts: 205
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2015 12:48 am

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by singvestor »

Owning a house is no requirement for ERE in my opinion. On the contrary, I feel like renting and having a the money in the market generating passive income is much more attractive than having such a large amount of capital tied up in a property. Renting is safer and more diversified in my opinion.

NickHalden
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2015 3:48 am

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by NickHalden »

singvestor wrote:Owning a house is no requirement for ERE in my opinion. On the contrary, I feel like renting and having a the money in the market generating passive income is much more attractive than having such a large amount of capital tied up in a property. Renting is safer and more diversified in my opinion.
It might not be a requirement, but I feel ERE represents freedom even more than safety. The inability to modify anything to your house, involuntary yearly raises in rent (in The Netherlands often based on your income), and the dependancy on the land lord when it comes to repairs and complaints etc are very important reasons for me to buy a house instead of renting it. Of course renting a place also comes with the freedom to easily end the contract on short term notice and just leave to another place, but that depends a bit on your style of living. I for one love my house and would hate to switch houses every few years.

belgian
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2016 5:44 am

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by belgian »

I'm mostly worried about losing capital. What if you invest in high risks, because a regular saving (deposit) account is not giving more than 0.5% yearly...
If you live off from passive income (interests), and suddenly the passive income is half of what your require to live?

Regular saving accounts changed drastically over the past 3 years in Belgium, and I assume in whole Europe...
4 years ago, you received on a deposit account (saving account) +/- 3% yearly net.
Now, your receive +/- 0.5%

Imagine, you live from the interests, and you have to pay rent... big disadvantage according me :shock:

Therefore, when you are a home owner, you can invest in passive living, solar panels, water recycling, etc...
In case you rent, those investments will not be made by the owner of renter, as the contract can end at all times.
And according to me, it is as exactly those investments that Jacob uses to reduce the monthly costs :idea:

@dutchgirl, are you calculating your ERE deadline with the above?
I've read that you perhaps plan to buy something with your husband, that means using investment money, so less passive income.
(and paying mortgage, so even less passive income to use for daily basis)

Forskaren
Posts: 189
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2015 4:04 pm

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by Forskaren »

I also rent. A big house can be a big liability when it comes to heating, cleaning, repairs and upkeep.

I am totally unintrested in maintaining a house and garden myself.

DutchGirl
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

Just a small update for February? It has been a good month, finances-wise. Income 2700 euros, expenses 1100 euros - this last one is only because nowadays, I'm only counting my health insurance premium in the month where I'm actually paying it, which is once per year in December; and the same goes for the gifts I give to my niblings, next one coming up in April with the birthday of the oldest one. So this year, income will fluctuate more. And so, February was a cheap month without birthdays, health insurance premiums or other irregular big expenses.

I put some money aside in savings, but most I put into the stock market, because wow, are those stocks for sale right now.

Net worth hovers around 85k. I put money in the stock market and in other assets, but then the value of my stocks drops and I'm back to 85k. Well, back in 2011-2012 I've seen how the value of your stocks can grow very quickly, so I'm hoping for another one of those growth spurts sometime in the future. In the meantime, I'm shoveling in as much money as I can.

I prepared my income tax statement. Our accountant will create the final tax paperwork, because of the fact that my boyfriend's company makes things a bit complicated now and then. I think that my boyfriend is going to get a lot of money back, because of his tax deductions for the house and for his retirement investments. I can't invest that much for my retirement, because of the Dutch tax laws and the fact that I'm already forced to save for retirement at my work place (which for most people is a good thing, otherwise they wouldn't save a cent). I will get a little bit of money back due to the charitable gifts that I did.

I've been battling depressive thoughts these last few months, probably mostly due to the fact that it's winter. I'm not really that good with cold, grey, windy days. Maybe when I'm retired, I'll stay in Spain or Portugal for two months every winter... But anyway, I am trying to come up with a list of things that make life awesome, and worthwhile. It is also partially a list of things I should start doing again. Such as singing in a choir, something that I loved doing when I was a teenager, but stopped doing when I went to university. I also want to learn to be able to cook some more meals. I would say I'm a reasonable cook, particularly of vegetarian food. But I think I could focus on making sauces and using herbs to spice up stuff (these days I often buy premixed dry sauce mixes or dry herb mixes; it should be possible to make these things "from scratch", right?). Baking is another thing I could do more often.

I didn't go to the gym at all this month. I was ill for two weeks (only skipped work for half a day and dragged myself to it for the rest of that period), and I don't think one should exercise when ill. Now I'm better, and I think I should go again sometime this week...

NickHalden
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2015 3:48 am

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by NickHalden »

DutchGirl wrote:Just a small update for February? It has been a good month, finances-wise. Income 2700 euros, expenses 1100 euros - this last one is only because nowadays, I'm only counting my health insurance premium in the month where I'm actually paying it, which is once per year in December; and the same goes for the gifts I give to my niblings, next one coming up in April with the birthday of the oldest one. So this year, income will fluctuate more. And so, February was a cheap month without birthdays, health insurance premiums or other irregular big expenses.

I put some money aside in savings, but most I put into the stock market, because wow, are those stocks for sale right now.

Net worth hovers around 85k. I put money in the stock market and in other assets, but then the value of my stocks drops and I'm back to 85k. Well, back in 2011-2012 I've seen how the value of your stocks can grow very quickly, so I'm hoping for another one of those growth spurts sometime in the future. In the meantime, I'm shoveling in as much money as I can.

I prepared my income tax statement. Our accountant will create the final tax paperwork, because of the fact that my boyfriend's company makes things a bit complicated now and then. I think that my boyfriend is going to get a lot of money back, because of his tax deductions for the house and for his retirement investments. I can't invest that much for my retirement, because of the Dutch tax laws and the fact that I'm already forced to save for retirement at my work place (which for most people is a good thing, otherwise they wouldn't save a cent). I will get a little bit of money back due to the charitable gifts that I did.

I've been battling depressive thoughts these last few months, probably mostly due to the fact that it's winter. I'm not really that good with cold, grey, windy days. Maybe when I'm retired, I'll stay in Spain or Portugal for two months every winter... But anyway, I am trying to come up with a list of things that make life awesome, and worthwhile. It is also partially a list of things I should start doing again. Such as singing in a choir, something that I loved doing when I was a teenager, but stopped doing when I went to university. I also want to learn to be able to cook some more meals. I would say I'm a reasonable cook, particularly of vegetarian food. But I think I could focus on making sauces and using herbs to spice up stuff (these days I often buy premixed dry sauce mixes or dry herb mixes; it should be possible to make these things "from scratch", right?). Baking is another thing I could do more often.

I didn't go to the gym at all this month. I was ill for two weeks (only skipped work for half a day and dragged myself to it for the rest of that period), and I don't think one should exercise when ill. Now I'm better, and I think I should go again sometime this week...
Sorry to hear about the depressive thoughts. I have learnt that outsiders probably will never know what it feels like so I won't try to act like I do.

Looking at your financials you seem to do very well though. Perhaps hearing that from someone cheers you up..

Greetings from a fellow dutchie.

DutchGirl
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

This is, by the way, why I labeled it as "depressive thoughts" - I don't want to call it depression, because it isn't that bad. I have had mild depressions in the past, and these past few weeks were not like that. I also believe things are improving now, with my mood.

It certainly helps to have some money. I mean: it's one thing I do not have to worry about. Also having people around who appreciate me, helps. Colleagues and friends. Anyway, things are looking up again.

This year, we'll go travel quite a lot. Paris in April, and Iceland at the end of the summer. (Remember that I'm in Europe, so it's less expensive for me to visit these destinations than it is for an American). It's going to cost quite a bit of money after all, impacting my time-to-retirement slightly, but I'm very much looking forward to both trips, so I think it's worth it for me.

DutchGirl
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

March was a good month. From February onwards I'm working less hours per week, and March was the first paycheck reflecting those hours. I was quite happy to see €100 more than I had tried to predict/calculate. Total income for the month was roughly €2900 (including income from my job-on-the-side), total expenses were €1800 (including €400 on the holiday we'll take at the end of this month).

I visited the doctor and had an iron deficit, so now I'm taking iron pills. It might be helping a bit with energy levels, although I'm sure the fact that the sun shines more and longer helps too.

At work, I tried to do a task that I was suddenly ordered to do by my supervisor, but I failed. It was really frustrating, because I myself was quite happy with how I had written this specific document, but my supervisor didn't like it. I told her then to please let someone else do it, and she was okay with that. So now I no longer have to do it. I probably made a bad impression here, but I think overall I still do (very) well. Performance review coming up at the beginning of May, though, I may hear more about this, then. But there are no real consequences: we don't do bonuses anyway. And maybe I'm less likely to be a candidate for promotion now, but then again, I don't want to be promoted to the next level which is more of that paperwork and less of the interaction with humans. I think I'll work there for five more years, and I'm happy with my current work tasks and paycheck.

My boyfriend's new company is doing fine, they now have the amount of projects that they can manage, they'll have to say no to further requests for a while. Excellent.

And finally, my dad had a health scare last week: sudden lower chest pain. As it happened, we were all at home for a party (and, fun fact, a GP and a cardiologist were present at the party, so the decision to get an ambulance for him was made with professional ease and confidence). It was great to be together during the scary first hours while he was in the emergency room. In the end, he was sent home without a diagnosis, after the pain had subsided. They ruled out acute heart problems. Now we are still waiting on some tests to look at possible gall bladder problems. He'll have an ultrasound on Tuesday for that. I am still a bit worried, and I'll be really happy if the cause of that pain turns out to be benign gall bladder problems. We'll have to see. At the age of 67, he's thinking about selling his farm, which would mean he would retire in a few months to years. I think he deserves a happy and healthy retirement, but of course, there's no guarantees in life.

Noedig
Posts: 191
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 10:15 pm

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by Noedig »

Hey Dutch

Psychological ups and downs, high and low energy : this variation happens and is normal. With the coming of spring in Europe, the positive life force will flow if you give it a chance by getting outside, doing some exercise or planning a trip (as you already did - to Paris no less!). My second daughter and wife were just both tested and also found to be low in iron - this is such a common issue, and as you know can make you feel tired and drains the colour from life. You seem very much like a sensible person, and will take care of it. My wife self medicates for this condition with ice cream: it must be high in iron somehow, do you think? (actually, she is also a sensible person and also a doctor, so I trust her diagnostic ability!)

I hope your father makes a complete recovery and is able to use this close brush with fate, as a trigger for beginning his retirement and planning to use his remaining time for himself and not just to carry on carrying on. A wakeup call can happen at any age, as we people interested in FI know.

Good luck with the continuing journey, and I hope things develop well for you this year.

DutchGirl
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

My father's doing fine, and I'm very glad to be able to say so. He still needs to visit the cardiologist for one extra test, to make absolutely sure he's fine. But all other tests have come back as negative, aka "good". So we're pretty confident that he'll be okay.

We've been to Paris this last week. (Frenchgirl, if you're reading this, sorry that there was no time to come find & visit you :-) ). It was a great week, spent also with my boyfriend's family. We had lots of fun together, went to Euro Disney and to the Louvre, and then it was time to go home :-) . Today was my first day at work again, and it felt like I had been gone for weeks, when it only has been one week of holiday. It was actually pretty hard to go back to work, I didn't want to. And then when I was actually working, it felt pretty good again to be active and to be helping other people by answering their questions, et cetera.

I made a decent salary in April, but I also had to cough up some taxes (due to not having paid enough taxes on the job-on-the-side in 2015 - well, free loan from the government, excellent, too bad you've got to pay it back at some point). All in all, I spent roughly 1850 euros on a salary of 2870 (partly from my job-on-the-side). So that's a pretty low savings rate for me, 36%. I hope to do better in May, as my job pays roughly an extra salary in May as "holiday pay". Still, I'll also have some extra expenses planned in May, so ...

I talked to my boss a few weeks ago, and we discussed the time that I gave up on a specific task. My boss said, that she liked how I told her that I couldn't do it. She said that she liked that better than having an employee who is burnt-out and on sick leave for an indefinite amount of time. Well, she's got a point there. So, good; no bridges burned, at least no important ones :-) Pff.

Time to go sleep! Bye!

Hankaroundtheworld
Posts: 470
Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2014 4:50 am

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by Hankaroundtheworld »

Glad you had fun, with all those ERE ideas, there is a tendency to think too much about the future (when things will be "great" once you hit ERE), but you only have 'now", so enjoying the journey is the real goal, and I am glad your father is allowed to continue his route as well!!

DutchGirl
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

I've made it to 90k euros! And with the current exchange rate, that's still just a little over $100k!! (Hurrah!). A really nice feeling, and onward to 100k euros it goes.

Income in May was quite a lot, due to the holiday money that is given out every year. Unfortunately, it's taxed at 50%-ish, I found out (some of that will return come tax time next year). So the 3200 promised pretax became 1600 posttax or so. But anyway. Total income of 4715 euros, expenses of 2414, and thus a savings rate of 49%. A large chunk of expenses was prepayments for our holiday in September (739 euros, and more expenses will follow), and the annual contribution to a charity close to my heart (500 euros).

The savings rate was better than in April. In May, I worked fewer hours due to some national holidays, which was really nice. I have to keep working on "what to do when I don't work anymore", though! I even got a bit bored here and there. I binge-watched some netflix series, but I don't think that's a worthwhile retirement activity.

My dad is doing fine. He had some cardiology tests and they turned out okay-ish. No reason to suspect coronary disease. His heart is a little bit enlarged, but currently there's no function loss. He has been asked to return in two years time (or five?, can't remember) for a checkup. He's already on blood pressuring lowering medication, which can help with keeping the cardiac hypertrophy under control. So I'm not extremely worried about that. And compared to the first diagnosis of "he has a heart attack" and then the next diagnosis of "he might have had a heart attack in the past", I'm pretty pleased with the final verdict.

Today we're at my parents' to celebrate my mother's birthday. I promise that we'll do a good job on that. It was sunny here, yesterday, and the late May countryside where they live is glorious. We're still in bed now (while downstairs the grandkids are laughing and shrieking - not our problem, ha), and you can hear the birds outside, I think at least five different species are singing. It's nice.

My mood is doing better. I was a bit depressed the other day, and then I remembered that I was PMS-ing. Oh, yeah, right. Hormones, baby, totally rad. So in general, with the occasional down day, it's better. I've started to listen to some meditation recordings. I really like the ones where you have to visualize yourself on a beautiful island or in another serene location. I'm wondering whether that kind of escapism is good for me (I have always liked to flee to fantasy worlds and it doesn't necessarily make your real world better), but on the other hand, I feel quite peaceful and refreshed after the 10-15 minutes of meditating, so I think that that's good. Plus I now have a wonderful fantasy garden which I may try to recreate at some point with any real garden I might get...

My boyfriend's business is doing fine. They've already made enough income to cover their planned salaries (plus taxes) for 2016, so anything extra is gravy. They're both still on a project, my boyfriend for the next two months, his companion for the next four. So it's extremely likely that more money will come in over the next months at least. After that, they'll have to start finding new projects, which isn't their favorite activity, but has to be done anyway, and will probably turn out fine.

It's almost 9 AM here, time to hit the shower. Bye!

Hankaroundtheworld
Posts: 470
Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2014 4:50 am

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by Hankaroundtheworld »

Haha, meditation is good, something I have heard all around the world. Even very religious people that pray a lot, told me that it was the meditation-part that they liked about it. Everyone should find their own way for moments of reflection (or sometimes just nothingness -- clear the mind). I am too rational for meditation practices (and also not religious), but I can find peace in some actions and be one with the moment (and forget everything else). Other than that, good to hear that your father and mother doing fine, and they seem to live on a nice location, more important than anything else (I can know, my parents died young), so enjoy those peaceful moments and do not worry about ERE time spending, that will unfold when the time is there!!

DutchGirl
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

An update for two months in one go? Income was reasonably high. There was a one-time work bonus this month, and I worked a lot of time on my side projects (too much, perhaps?), so for the two months together, income was at 6700 euros. Expenses were pretty high, too, due to the fact that we paid for our holiday (starting 4 weeks from now!). Total expenses were 5470 euros (of which 2300 went to the holiday, so other expenses were 3100ish for the two months).

My parents also gave each of their children a monetary gift this month, 2000 euros. I'm a bit shy about that, as it isn't income that I've earned myself, but on the other hand I'll gladly accept it to increase my net worth (or you could also say, help me pay for my holiday expenses).

So, also thanks to the recovery of the markets, total net worth is now 94,000 euros, which is nice to see. I might be able to get to 100k euros before the end of the year.

I worked a lot of hours in June and July. Already in June, this was discussed with my boss, who then could adapt my schedule for August (the July schedule had already been made at that point). So now I'm looking forward to a reduced workload for the next four weeks, which is nice.

I bought some stuff too, these last months. For example a Fitbit flex, because I wanted to quantify how much I'm moving about. I think it's a reasonable amount (if I walk to the supermarket in the morning, and then work an 8-hour-shift, I get my 10,000 steps in a day easily). Side effect is that I'm also seeing how little I sleep. You tap the fitbit when you intend to go to sleep, and you tap it again when you've woken up - there's hardly ever 8 hours between those two moments for me - and then the fitbit also shows how much time I needed to actually fall asleep. So, a "wake-up call", so to speak...
Now I've also ordered a small voicerecorder for two reasons: a. I want to see whether I can use it to record my food intake quickly during the day (and then in the evening, put it in a calorie-calculating program), and b. To do interviews with family members about our family's history. This is a fun project that I'm doing with a cousin of mine. I could use my phone for that, but unfortunately my phone crashes when I use the recording app.

So I'm quite the consumer these last couple of months :-) . Hopefully that'll become less again, soon.

Final bit of news is that my brother and his wife will have a third child, in early 2017. I've already started saving for its annual gift from me. I hope they stop after three, otherwise this gift giving (for their education later on) can become really expensive. :-)

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