DutchGirl's journal

[DutchGirl]

The Dutch Consumentenbond (consumers union) had the "Batavus Stream" as best performing bike for 2017. So the brand you have is still doing some good stuff.

They recommended a Stella bike as "highest value to money ratio" - so that's what I bought.

And so far so good, but of course I only bought it a few weeks ago, and have been sick this last week, so have not been biking at all. I'm hardly an expert

I did get a three-year guarantee on the battery; if it fails before the three years are up, I'll get a new one. If it fails after, I'll probably buy a new one, myself. Who knows how much improvement we'll see in batteries over the next three years, again.

[DutchGirl]

Income February: 4300, expenses 2500. So that's a pretty nice savings rate of 42%, even though the expenses are still pretty high.

The income was high due to some work I did in 2017 that got paid only now; that's roughly 1300 of the total income. It won't happen every month...

The expenses in January and February are actually a bit inflated due to me now paying a mortgage, but not yet receiving the tax compensation for paying mortgage interest. So I expect a nice tax refund every year from now on due to this. I could ask for a monthly prepayment of this refund, but I also have other income and other expenses that make the estimation of the total tax refund hard, so to play it safe I'm not going to ask for this monthly prepayment, and instead will take the refund once per year.

Due to the stock market taking a small tumble, networth is actually slightly below January's, but yeah, that happens...

[Suzanne]

Haven't read in a while, but wow you've made nice progress in the last years!

[DutchGirl]

Thanks, Suzanne. Always nice to know that people read this

Income March: 2900, expenses 2150. So a savings rate of 26% for the month, which is low. However, I spent almost 700 euros on an annual contribution to a charity (and will get a refund for 40% of that at tax time), the mortgage interest compensation hasn't arrived yet, plus I heard we're going to get a small raise at work which will mean recalculations of our salaries from January 1st.
I guess I'll have to calculate a "true" savings rate for 2018 at the end of the year, when all the tax refunds etc are known.

The old house has finally sold - including the transfer of money and keys and what-have-you. So it's done. Which is a wonderful, wonderful feeling. No more trips to the old house to make sure nothing's leaking, the central heating is still working, the flowering plants near the window look healthy, etc. That's really a load of my mind, so I'm very happy with that. The proceeds will go to my boyfriend as it was his house. And I do hope the new owner will enjoy it as much as we did (or more).

At our new house, I'd say the first two floors are starting to look nice, now. Things are settling down in designated areas, most boxes are unpacked. And after a bit of confusion, we now also know of most items where we put them. The third floor is still a bit chaotic, but we're working on that. So I feel like I'm settling down, too. Less tasks on the to do-list, and the tasks on the list aren't urgent or important. We can live well with the house as it is now.

This week I had the week off, but I spent most of it on administrative tasks, so it wasn't a lot of fun. On the other hand, better to do them now than to have to do them in between work, right? Also, some of the administrative tasks I'll be paid for, so I can't complain about that. Yesterday and today I've been working on the income tax paperwork for 2017. It looks like I'll get a small refund for 2017. I hadn't prepaid taxes for my side-income (this is allowed in the NL as long as you don't owe large amounts come tax time), but then again I also had deductible charitable expenses and the mortgage interest that I paid in the last quarter of 2017. So I think it'll total up to a small refund for 2017 of 500 euros or so.

My net worth is around 145k euros now. In three years time, this could be around 240k euros (me adding 20k/year plus some gains) - on top of that I have a pension plan that would start paying out at age 70 for more than what I'd need (even taking some cuts into account). So when I have 240k euros or so, I could quit my current job and withdraw 10k/year plus supplement with side income of roughly 5k/year or so. Alternatively, I could at that point go "extremely" parttime at my current workplace, work 20 hours per week for a few years, which would mean I'd still earn more than what I'd spend, allowing for an undisturbed further increase of my net worth.

I'm thinking about these options. I'm also, again, realizing that doing "nothing" won't really be my thing. I think I'd go crazy if I didn't talk to other people and didn't feel useful and appreciated in some way. Then again, right now I don't have the right work/life balance just yet, so I'll definitely work less when I have reached that 240k (ish). I still have plenty of time to think about these plans and also perhaps to start working on some of them.

I also realize that I'm already very fortunate to have this much in savings and investments. Most people here don't. Most of my colleagues don't, and thus I see some of them struggling with health problems and general exhaustion to make it to age 68, which is the official retirement age here right now. They were born in 1950 and are thus part of the babyboom generation - and the "early" babyboomers from 1945 to 1947 or so were allowed to retire at age 63 or so, or sometimes even years earlier with some "early retirement" offer, but the later ones aren't allowed to do so by the government. (If you retire earlier, it's on your own dime). I'm happy that this won't be me; and I'm always happy when one of these colleagues does reach age 68 and can leave. It helps them (and they're dear colleagues), but it also helps with productivity at work...

[DutchGirl]

Income April: 3100 euros, expenses 3400 ... so a negative savings rate. 1000 euros went to charities, 1000 euros went to paying down the mortgage. I somehow spent roughly 100 euros cash that I can't think of anymore what I spent it on. That's why personally I like paying by card better - I can at least see WHERE I spent something, which might give a hint as to what I spent it on.

I've clustered the charitable expenses during the first half of each year. I've committed to these over the years and I'm happy to contribute to these causes. Plus, I'm getting roughly 40% back at tax time - at least, I'm getting 40% of 2017's charitable expenses back come tax time 2018, so in a few weeks... But it does have an impact on my savings rate during the first six months of the year.

Total income after taxes for 2018 so far 13,700. Total expenses so far 10,640, so a savings rate of 22%...

I'm looking forward to May's paycheck, as it will almost be the double amount due to the "vacation money" that we always get in May. This is of course part of my total compensation, so I'm glad to report that from 2019 onwards I can choose to have this "vacation money" paid to me in 12 equal shares over the months. Currently the company keeps it all until May. I'd rather have it right away! Same willl be true for the extra Christmas paycheck, which you can then also choose to have paid to you in 12 equal payments over the years. I think I can handle that responsibility...

[NickHalden]

I love how you never seem to cut on charitable givings. I personally try to do to the same thing but nowhere near the numbers that you do.

The 240k goal seems quite low but reasonable if you can live off 10k a year. But don't you feel some sort of dependency on your boyfriend that way? Maybe I do not understand it correctly but you cannot live in that new house by yourself off that 10k right? Not judging in any way, but for me I would never retire if my wife wouldnt be able to do so at the same time. If you want please share your thoughts on this.

[DutchGirl]

You're right, Nick, I couldn't live in this house on my own with an annual income of 15k euros, but I can afford half of the housing costs on 15k/year. However, if we were ever to break up, it would be possible & fun for me to move to another part of the country where houses are 30-40% cheaper, and I would probably buy a smaller and thus even cheaper house there, too. So that would be affordable on 15k of annual income.

My boyfriend wants to live in this specific area of the country. He would prefer a more expensive house than what we have now. So we compromised on this house, and for now in this area of the country. What's next? Well, we've just moved into this house and we are probably going to stay here for quite some time, so we'll see by then. Lots of things can change in a decade or more.

[DutchGirl]

Income in May: 5200 euros (lots of vacation money), expenses 2700 euros.
Total income after taxes for 2018 so far 18,900. Total expenses so far 13,340, so a savings rate of 30%.

Charitable expenses of 700 euros, mortgage payment of 1000 euros roughly. June is going to be the last month with high expenses on charities for 2018, after that my expenses should go down - meaning I'll hopefully be able to see that savings rate rise a bit more.

I've "designed" an asset allocation for myself a few years ago, with a specific ratio of bonds, stocks and savings. I also at that point decided what I wanted my actual components to be in the end, so if which specific fund I'd like to have how much before pulling the plug. I'm not giving details here, because my asset allocation and my choices are good for me personally in my situation, and others will have other ideas for their situation - I don't think it's worth discussing. But this month I reached the desired amount for one of my funds, so that's a milestone. Of all seven of my desired funds, I now have three down, and four more to go.

A colleague of mine is reducing her work hours, so our boss asked us who wanted to work more hours. So from July onwards, I'll be working 32 hours per week instead of 28 hours per week at my main job. Still way less hours than many other people, but my schedule is irregular, and it will probably mean working three 8 hour- and two 4 hour-days per week, including lots of evenings. In return I'm planning to "let go" of one of my side income streams that pays way less per hour than my main job (its benefit was that it was more flexible and the work-from-home type of thing). Hopefully this will help me to keep a nice balance in my life, as I'm prone to burnout/depression if I don't get enough time to unwind.

We still need to get some stuff done at the house, like changing the garden, isolating the walls and changing the windows to more energy-efficient ones. This will cost money, but at least some of these things will also need to be done only once and will then produce ongoing savings, as well. However, it's been hard to set things in motion over the last month or so. So these things will be on my to do list for June...

[Seppia]

It's so great that you contribute this much to charities.
I love to read/hear from people like you (or my little sister, who does the same) because it keeps me humble. I also contribute to charities in larger amounts than the average, but less than you are doing.
Keep being awesome.

p.s. I was just in Amsterdam for work this last weekend, got back to Italy yesterday. I remembered it was a beautiful city but not that it was THAT beautiful.
Without all the junkie tourists that flock to the city because of the weed it would be amazing

[wolf]

But this month I reached the desired amount for one of my funds, so that's a milestone. Of all seven of my desired funds, I now have three down, and four more to go.

Well done DutchGirl!

I learned myself that having a few milestones along the way to FI is very motivating. I recently defined a milestone for my journey. I'd like to reach a certain amount of money by the end of 2019. That is shortterm and motivates me to reach it.

Also congrats to you total income in 2018. And with your increased working hours you could even earn and save more. Momentum is on your side I guess. Keep on "riding that wave" But also take care for yourself in order to avoid a burnout.

[DutchGirl]

p.s. I was just in Amsterdam for work this last weekend, got back to Italy yesterday. I remembered it was a beautiful city but not that it was THAT beautiful.
Without all the junkie tourists that flock to the city because of the weed it would be amazing

May I suggest you take a train to Leiden, Delft and/or Gouda the next time that you're in the area? Same type of city style, less junkies. Maybe you like it even more...


PS. I logged in again to share one "win" from May. My boyfriend's not very enthusiastic about (my plans for) early retirement. He wonders what I'll be doing when I'm retired. However, I've started tracking his networth once per month, and I've seen it grow a lot over the last few years. He recently started on a work project that'll probably last for three years and give a reasonably high income during that time. I told him that by my estimate, with his current assets plus three more years of investing, he could very well be financially "set for life" by that time. The win: he really did like that thought! Perhaps he won't stop working right then, but it seems like at least he wants to reach this milestone.

[Seppia]

Will definitely Italy try to take a day to travel next time I'm there, thanks for the recommendations

[Eureka]

Great to read about your progress, but hard to read that you think that not working equals "doing nothing". There are so many better and more fullfilling things to do than to be employed. You can study and gain new knowledge about whatever you desire, make smaller and bigger projects of your own, have more time to spend in nature and with people of your own choice (and not those who by chance happen to be employed at the same place as you), time to read and get fully absorbed, time to take better care of yourself, time to let things happen when you want them to and not having to postpone until weekend/vacation/old age.

Even without a job, I have so many things I'd like to do that I have to prioritize my time.

[thegreatvoid]

You are not your job, you're not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You are not your fucking khakis.

[DutchGirl]

The funny thing is, Eureka and thegreatvoid, that I actually believe that my job has some meaning. I work for the blood bank. I make sure that the people who come to donate their blood are safe and well (1). And I make sure that the blood they donate is safe for the patients (1). I believe that making sure that safe blood is present in the hospitals for the patients is something that is valuable. Zooming out twenty steps, I think that helping to save people's life is generally a good thing (2).

So... to me it's relatively easy to see the benefits and value of my job and that someone does it. Me, in this case. I think by the time that I'm FIRE I'll gladly retire and let someone else do it (and earn the income from it), but I like the idea of it, and I will probably have to create new meaning for my life if I quit this job (3). And new challenges. And new structure.
Sometimes the work invigorates me and gives me energy. Sometimes it's tiring.
I'll definitely have to adapt to a life without this job, and that's okay.



(1) Very rarely this doesn't completely come true and a donor faints or gets a big bruise, or a patient gets a fever, but all in all my job adds more safety.

(2) In general ... we can discuss about whether saving a life is always worthwhile, say for example giving a specific terminally ill patient blood just means he lives one more week in pain and discomfort, or one more week in an unconscious state of mind, and then dies anyway. Worthwhile?

(3) I used to really really need to see what value my life could create for others, or else I didn't see a point at all. Talked to a psychologist who pointed out that that's just one way to see things. It probably has to do something with my past. I am a bit more relaxed about this now, but I'm guessing others still have less trouble with this "life's meaning" stuff.

[chenda]

The funny thing is, Eureka and thegreatvoid, that I actually believe that my job has some meaning. I work for the blood bank.

I think it has a lot of meaning and that's something to treasure.

Unfortunately, I'm one of those who always faints during a blood test. Every single time...

[herp]

That's definitely a meaningful job in my book, DutchGirl.

My last job was working in a small business that made software solutions for publishers. While the product was reasonably meaningful, I just didn't have great hopes for the future of the business, as I didn't think the quality of the products and services was all that great, and the infrastructure made it very hard to improve upon (not something a single employee can meaningfully do, anyway).

Now I work in the public sector with personnel administration (as a developer). While it may sound boring at first, it at least has some meaning as many thousand people are dependent on it.

[DutchGirl]

Unfortunately, I'm one of those who always faints during a blood test. Every single time...

Aww, poor you. Yes, Chenda, some people just have that. So I guess we won't be seeing you at the blood bank, and that's okay. Others can do that without breaking a sweat. And you're probably really good at doing some other things that other people can't do.

[chenda]

@Dutchgirl - thanks! maybe

[DutchGirl]

June results: income 3700, expenses 3000 euros.
Total income after taxes for 2018 so far 22,600. Total expenses so far 16,340, so a savings rate for the year of 28%.

We bought furniture this month, my share was slightly over 500 euros which is ouch & sigh. But the upside is that we now have real clothing cabinets and a nice guest bedroom. Especially the cabinets were something that was irking me, as our clothes so far had been on wooden shelves out in the open, which brings a lot of dust and a chaotic touch to a room... My boyfriend on the other hand was super glad with the new guest bedroom, as he has always felt uncomfortable inviting people over before, when they had to sleep on the couch (or, if we wanted, we would have to sleep on the couch). We have already used it to host my parents, and his parents are probably next in a few weeks.

All in all we are getting close to "the perfect house", where the kitchen, sitting room, bathroom, bedroom and guest room now are fully functional and furnished. I might want to knock on wood here, because who knows when the next leak springs or whatever. But okay, hopefully we're getting closer to the situation where we'll only have the regular expenses for housing.

There was also another charitable donation during June, the last big one for 2018, of 600 euros.

I already worked some extra hours this month, and was just informed that they will be paid to me in the next month (instead of being carried forward as already-worked hours for the next month or so), so I'll see a reasonably nice uptick in salary in July (roughly 400 euros more than normal). From the first of July I'll officially work more hours per month, so in August there should be a sustained increased salary of roughly 10% or so more than before.