DutchGirl's journal

Where are you and where are you going?
Eureka
Posts: 340
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2016 11:03 am

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by Eureka »

240 euros for a full course to become a personal financial planner?
This sounds crazy cheap to me. Or is it on top of something else? I guess for this amount there is no room for learning about the psychological aspects of dealing with clients which I would suppose is the most central aspect of being a personal planner of anything.

Good luck with your studies!

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

Hi Eureka,

You're right. There's another 240 euro fee for a practical class on how to talk to clients. This is just the theory. Oh, and then I can pay 200 euros more for practice tests. And I would have to pay even more euros for the real exam. I just figured I would start with the theory and then do the rest later, if I wanted to.

@halfmoon, thanks for all the information :-) . I'll really have to think about it, I guess!

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

The room full of boxes is now an organized room full of boxes. Wew. I've found a staple or two of old books, so now I need to sort those, and probably sell some, too. Oh, and I put all tools (screwdrivers, saws etc) into one corner of the room. They still need to be sorted & organized. (This is apparently my 999th post, what to do for the 1000th one?)

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by NickHalden »

DutchGirl wrote: (This is apparently my 999th post, what to do for the 1000th one?)
Apologize for saying 'staple of books' (stapel boeken? maar een staple is een nietje uit een nietapparaat) ;)

Anyways, good job on working on your DYI list. It gives a sense of peace when you can tick off something of the list. A room full of boxes are however maybe an indicator that you have to much stuff? Not saying I do not have any boxes but when I moved here I did get rid of most of the unneccesary ones.

1Vikinggirl
Posts: 40
Joined: Fri Dec 03, 2010 11:38 pm
Location: Europe

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by 1Vikinggirl »

I'd love to take some Dutch financial advice from you in a couple of months.

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

I've done two out of the three DIY tasks last month. Here's the work on the area around the fireplace:


Image Image
Before ... and ....... After

So it's looking a lot better, and I'm pleased with the result. Just one coat of paint was needed. I also changed the bottom part (beneath the fireplace, you can see it in the bottom right corner of the pictures) from dark to light gray and I'm happy with that result as well.

I also finished organizing the room full of boxes and the bookcases. So that's two out of three done, but number three hasn't been done, yet.

For the other projects I mentioned, I did sort out the pots and pans, and I did go on holiday with the family (it was very nice), and I am working on seeing all those dvds (so far saw two). But I didn't do any reading/learning of financial information just yet. Must do that at some point in the future, but ... haven't taken the time just yet.

As for finances, in March I had a regular income of roughly 2600 euros, but also had side income of 400 euros. So total income roughly 3000 euros. Expenses were high at 2013 euros, but included in that figure is 820 euros of donations to charities (and I will get some of that back come tax time 2018). I've decided to simplify my charity spending and that's why I'm spending a lot in the beginning of the year, in a few big payments, and then only very little during the rest of the year.

I also had high travel costs (well, 143 euros) which are mostly work-related and will be reimbursed next month. And I also still spent too much on fun stuff (like books and candy and presents etc) for 207 euros, where I had hoped to keep that under 100 euros for the month.

At the beginning of March, I gave the bookkeeper all information for our tax return. However, he then always sends us his proposal for the return, and I haven't seen that yet (more than a month later). It's a busy time for bookkeepers, I guess. I will probably owe a few hundred euros because I had side income last year that I hadn't paid taxes on, yet. So I'm not in a rush to have this return finished up :-) . By the way, we have a bookkeeper do this, because he also does my boyfriend's books from his business.

So that's a relatively short update for March.
Last edited by DutchGirl on Fri Apr 14, 2017 3:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

Eureka
Posts: 340
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2016 11:03 am

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by Eureka »

Nice job on the fireplace!

Do you plan to keep on paying to charity after you retire? Maybe you could donate time instead of money?

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

Hi Eureka, it's possible that I'll do that instead. My plans aren't completely fixed, yet.

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

We finally got the tax info from the accountant. For me it was a relief to see that I only owe 113 euros. I thought it would be more like 300 euros. And yes, I made sure that the numbers that the accountant filled in are correct; my estimate apparently was a bit off. I owed 113 euros because I worked a small job on the side in 2016, for which I hadn't paid taxes yet.

April was a reasonable month financially. Income was just the regular income at 2600 euros (the amount varies a bit depending on the travel allowance and how many hours I worked after 6 PM during that month). Expenses were 2500 euros, of which almost 900 euros went to charity, 250 euros to a niece for her study fund, 100 euros to traveling (we were in London for a long weekend, it was fun!). I spent over 200 euros on transport for the month, roughly 110 euros of that were bike repair costs (new saddle, new chain, etc). I feel like the bike is now ready for the spring/summer/autumn during which I'll use it more often.

I'm looking forward to May, during which I'll have more money to put towards investments, as I get my vacation money in May, which should be another 1400 euros or so on top of my regular salary.

In very recent developments: we've talked to a realtor about selling our house. He also came and checked the house. We prepared for that by cleaning the whole place. The fact that I had already painted the fireplace and sorted the boxes really helped speed that up! The realtor also advised my boyfriend to have some more painting done. Mostly areas that were painted bright red or bright blue before my boyfriend even bought the house. The realtor thinks it's a bit off-putting (which was my suspicion all along as well). We've also seen a possible new house to buy that looks promising. It came on the market this Saturday, and we'll hear more about that today. The boyfriend is casually optimistic about this one, which is quite something. But we'll see.

Cornerman
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun May 17, 2015 1:46 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by Cornerman »

Good luck on the house hunt, it can be a tricky time for buying a house. But coming from a good financial position it can actually save you money at the moment. We ended up moving to a slightly bigger place and now pay less for housing and energy than before.

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

May income was 4160 euros, due to getting the vacation money. I've spent roughly 1700 euros in May, of which 800 to rent&food, almost 600 euros on charity (the contribution for one full year to one charity, plus a few other small monthly donations - amounts will be lower for the rest of the year), 130 euros to travel/transport, close to a 100 euros for the annual fee for a term life insurance, and 70 euros or so on fun.

My total savings rate for this year isn't were I want it to be, yet: 10,300 euros spent of 15,100 euros of income, so a savings rate of only 32%. However, these numbers should go up in the rest of the year as I've done most of my planned charitable giving for this year.

I'm happy with "only" spending 70 euros of fun/unexpected expenses, as it will help me get my average budget on that below 200 euros/month. I'm trying to keep spending down again in June, so far so good.

My mother-in-law is recovering nicely at home. She has always loved the summer and sitting outside in the shade, and the last 10 days or so she had recovered enough to be able to do that again. She'll have to build up some stamina to walk to closeby shops and stuff like that, but it'll come. We have a bit more worries about my boyfriend's father and mother these days, but it is true, they are really getting older and you know that things can happen then. I'm glad that my father and mother (still in their late 60s) have been doing fine these last couple of months. We've been visiting the in-laws a couple of times these lasts months, and will do so again tomorrow. Last week we were there on a Monday to go to the doctor's appointment with my mother-in-law; it's really nice that my parttime work (28 hours/week) and my boyfriend's business allowed us to be flexible like that.

We have been looking at possible houses to live in. But the boyfriend won't budge on his long list of requirements, and the housing market is growing more and more expensive every month. So for the time being we'll just stay where we are and I'm definitely enjoying living here and having relatively low housing costs (400 euros/month including utilities). Maybe we can buy during the next house market crash :lol: . By that time the boyfriend and I will be able to pay for a house in cash :roll: .

Cornerman
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Location: The Netherlands
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Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by Cornerman »

400 euro's including utilities a month is very cheap , considering social housing nowadays starts around 650 - max 710 euro's a month without utilities.
Funny how our society works. Hopefully your in laws keep their health. After all that's the most important.

Any luck on the career change ?

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

We found a new house! And signed the buying contract! The house is NOT in the countryside, but does have easy access to public transport, a small garden, and a garage for the BF's car. It costs 300k euros, and I'll be responsible for half of that. It looks like housing costs will actually only increase a little bit for me, due to the very low interest rates these days. (My estimate: per month 200 euros of mortgage interest (after tax cuts and going down over time as I pay down the mortgage), 150 euros of potential repair costs on average, 75 euros of utilities, 40 euros of home insurance + life insurance, 50 euros of local taxes (for each of these that would be my half). That would be 515 euros/month compared to 425 euros now.

Right now, there are a lot of one-time costs as well, such as for the paperwork, the buying tax, and the necessary repairs. Of course, I should add those to the costs as well (my share would be roughly 5000 euros), but if you do spread them out over many years to come, it won't add too much to the average monthly costs.

The house will actually be transferred to us at the beginning of October, and we hope to move in in November or so. The boyfriend is going to sell our current house in September/October probably, with a move-out date of November or December. Busy times, but fun (mostly).

One thing that worries me a little is that the boyfriend wants to buy a lot of new furniture, while we still have furniture that isn't falling apart yet. (Also, he wants to leave behind the two tables that I just repainted this year - my blood, sweat and tears are in those tables!). However, over the last 9 years that I've lived with him, we have only bought one piece of furniture: one office chair, so my guess is that we will buy some new stuff now and then keep it for many years to come.

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by Noedig »

Super news, Dutch!

I have slowly learned from making budgets, is that there is often a big difference between all the things you can anticipate, and what happens in reality.

Life is full of one-off costs, unexpected events and opportunities. Roofs must be fixed, weddings attended, medical expenses found, family members and friends helped, it goes on.

You seem to have factored that in, and still be saving at ERE levels. Good for you!

Glad you will have a garden. Exciting times ahead, an adventure in making a home. Best wishes with all that, and with selling your current home.

rube
Posts: 883
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:54 pm
Location: Europe (NL)

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by rube »

Congrats DG!
300K might sound a lot for ERE style but I think for the current situation in the netherlands and your situation it is pretty good.
Is it in the region where you are living now?

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

Hi Rube, it's indeed only a few miles from where I live now. These last few days have been a whirlwind of making sure all the different parts will fall into place: money/mortgage, renting a bigger car to move stuff, finding people who will come and work on the roof of the new house, a photographer to make pictures of the old house, etc. Even though we can't start moving before the end of September, lots of stuff already needs to start happening. I hope we won't forget anything major, but I guess we can just do our best and we'll see.

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

Today I transferred 29.800 euros to the notary as a 10% downpayment on the house. I think it is the largest transaction that I ever made in one go, and I let my boyfriend check all the details before I pressed "send" on the order.

Things are progressing nicely with the house. We'll meet the notary next week to discuss all the details. We are cleaning our current house, donating stuff, packing up stuff, etc. My boyfriend wants the old house on the market by half September, so it needs to be clean and minimalistic by then. My collection of elephants has to be packed away for example, and the realtor also suggested that we should get rid of some of the books. Blasphemy!

But anyway...

Moneywise, July was a pretty good month. Income was quite reasonable at 3000 euros posttax, and expenses were 1670 euros, of which a bit over 300 euros is the new annual term life insurance premium that I already got to cover the risks while I have a mortgage. (If I were to die, this money could completely pay off my half of the mortgage, and then some). 400 euros went to charitable donations, but that's the last time this year that this amount is so high. I spent very little on "fun", and now finally I'm back in the green there for this year; I overspent a lot at the beginning of the year. Also my travel costs went down sharply, with only 40 euros spent on public transport. The one-week holiday and the nice weather (biking!) helped me. Hopefully August will be the same.

So a nice savings rate of 44% this month, and the average total for the year is 37% so far...

Rouva
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 3:13 pm

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by Rouva »

Congratulations on finding a house!

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

Geez, it's been a while. We have spent lots of money on renovating the new house. It's going to cost roughly 25k euros by the time we're finished. I think it has also improved the value of the house a bit, but probably not by 25k. The rest of the expenses will count as "fun" money, ha. I've seriously battled with my boyfriend and with myself about the money that we have spent. It's hard to let go of frugal habits. I hate to see the money leave my purse. But this is what it is, for now. I'm looking forward to the less spendy years that will also come.

We still haven't moved ( I see now that my original prediction was October... Nope. Our winter clothes are in boxes somewhere because of this, too). Unfortunately. The 1st floor still needs a floor. It's going to arrive on Dec 13. After that, we can move.

There may be a buyer for the old house, but the deal hasn't been sealed, yet.

Renovating & moving is an exhausting thing to do, to us. It makes us a bit unhappy, too. But I hope the result will be worth it. So far, my boyfriend has been very happy on several occassions with the fact that we now have a garden. It's definitely not a big one (8 meters by 5 or so), but it is frequented by birds and that is fun. We are planning to make it a bit greener, too. Right now, most of it is paved. This is a project for spring, by the way, not for right now :-)

The savings rate for 2017 will be slightly negative because of this move. Again, I hope that 2018 etc will be better.

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

Re: DutchGirl's journal

Post by DutchGirl »

2018 ... We've moved into the new house, and that's a very nice development. At the moment, we're unpacking. Bed room and kitchen are already done by the way; the most important areas. It feels more and more like a functional house, and that's nice after so long that we weren't fully living at the old address, nor already at the new one.

The old house hasn't sold yet. The deal fell through, which was really annoying at the time. But now it's easier for us, as we're not living in the house anymore, so now if there's a potential buyer who wants to see the place, it doesn't mean anymore that we're running around the old house like crazy to tidy it up. It's tidy. We just have to go there every now and then to vacuum and mop.

Moneywise, I'm halfway to how much I need to consider myself FI . The second half generally is faster, due to the fact that you've got some money already which gives dividends, gains, interest. And also often (and also in my case) because you have developed your career and have a bit higher salary. So I hope that I'm over half of my journey, timewise. I hope to arrive within the next five years or so.

At my work, I feel more free to speak my mind. After all, I've got quite the safety net. If they were to fire me (unlikely), I could get whatever job that would bring in like 1000 euros per month posttax and it would be more than enough to cover expenses and to let my stash grow until I can even stop earning that 1k euros/month. That's a really nice feeling and it does make me feel safer to just give my opinion on some issue, at work. Perhaps truly courageous people also give their opinion when they don't have that safety net, but yeah, that's just not me.

I used to get depressed if I had a lot of stress. Moving has been a lot of stress, but I'm not depressed. I think that that has to do with the fact that the new house is so nice (mind you, it's nothing special, really). There is a reward for all of this stress. Or maybe I've grown a bit older and wiser, and just know that sometimes I have to stop pushing myself and relax for a day or so... or else...

So, that's it for now. I've created my budget for 2018. Due to a very nice mortgage interest rate, my expenses per month could be lower than what they were before (although we spent a lot of money to get the house updated and upgraded). I hope to get a savings rate of 40% on average for 2018, at least. Let's see what happens.

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