FI in Sweden

Where are you and where are you going?
Forskaren
Posts: 189
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2015 4:04 pm

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by Forskaren »

I did not have to pay any capital gains tax, since the stocks I sold was in a special account (tax paid based on the whole capital, four times a year, no matter if you gain or lose).
My SWR is now 2.9%

Global stock index funds 66.1%
Hedge funds 16.3%
Short term bonds funds 8.1%
Single stocks 5.1%
Nordic stock index funds 2.8%
Car and stuff 1.0 %
Gold 0.6%

herp
Posts: 171
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2017 1:11 pm

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by herp »

Looks good!

I'm jealous of the swedish "investeringssparkonton". Our government tried to introduce a weaker version of it, but it ended up with a pitiful 50k DKK cap and a 17% tax rate.

Still better than the 42% marginal rate and I guess every bit helps. Hopefully the cap can be raised with time.

Anyway, sorry about the sidetrack.

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

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by Forskaren »

I had extra expenses in July for my vacation, increasing my food and entertainment costs. It is interesting that I can cashflow extra expenses and still save money each month. The last time I didn’t cashflow a month was over five years ago, when I bought my car.

The company that I work for has lately got a lot of customer orders, basically passing an all-time high. It looks like I will get a bonus at the end of the year. One disadvantage is that it can be hectic when I come back from vacation. The company also experience growing pains as it need to invest heavily in automation, personnel and international expansion.

I have considered it before and is considering it again, to limit screen time. I have ordered some hard- and softcover books from Amazon, so I don’t need to use a screen to read them. I have for about a month severely limited my news consumption and it improves my life. Daily news is just useless noise, unless you have a job that requires you to react to news.



https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/ ... lf-dobelli

http://www.dobelli.com/wp-content/uploa ... 1_TEXT.pdf

http://www.dobelli.com/en/essays/news-diet/



Report US$

Earned income 3377

Expenses

Rent 492

Transport 138

Food 643

Entertainment 430

Other 425

Total 2127

Savings 1250
Savings rate (%) 37

wolf
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:09 pm
Location: Germany

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by wolf »

It is great that you saved money although you did a vacation! How was your vacation? Did you do it "ERE style", like camping, by bike or public transport... Or did you book a standard hotel stay? Looking forward to hear something about that. 😀

Sounds good that your company has a lot of orders. Better too many than too less. Congrats to your bonus!

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

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by Forskaren »

It was a pretty standard hotel stay in a large city. Some eating out at restaurants and tourist stuff.

It can be really expensive to eat out...

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

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by Forskaren »

A bit late August update:
The savings rate for August was at 63%.

Food was the biggest expense, mostly because I stocked up with whiskey. In transport I paid the annual tax for my car.

Report US$

Earned income 3466

Expenses
Rent 475
Transport 166
Food 499
Entertainment 38
Other 102
Total 1280

Savings 2185
Savings rate (%) 63


My investments are not included in the monthly income and expenses. I have sold of my last single stocks and will have to pay taxes on the capital gain in the beginning of next year. The tax money is in a normal savings account for now.

Almost of all of my investments will now be in special tax simplified type of accounts available in Sweden. Doing some research and testing some investment robots, I have come to the conclusion that a 100% stock index fund strategy is best for me.

Current assets (excluding retirement savings):

Global Index funds: 83% (0.1% total annual costs and fees)
Swedish Index funds: 15% (zero total annual costs and fees)
Stuff, car, gold etc.: 2%

herp
Posts: 171
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2017 1:11 pm

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by herp »

Looks great! I think a pure index approach is a great way to go. Yours certianly has rock-bottom costs and very wide diversification. As long as you can stomach the volatility of a full equity approach, it should serve you very well in the long run.

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

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by Forskaren »

The savings rate for September was 64%.

My rent was increased this month, increasing my cost of living some. The rent on the apartment increased only 1%, but the cost for renting garage and other fees/costs increased much more.

The food cost was within control, but was increased some because of eating out.

My income was lower than normal due to expenses for work. I subtract those redeemable expenses from the income figure for each month. On the other hand, I will get that money back next month including some more compensation for traveling. The book keeping for me become easier by calculating in this way. That also means that the work-related stuff does not screw up my expense categories.

Earned income=Money coming into my bank account-redeemable expenses for work

Report US$
Earned income 3052
Expenses
Rent 515
Transport 95
Food 333
Entertainment 36
Other 122
Total
1101

Savings 1951
Savings rate (%) 64

herp
Posts: 171
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2017 1:11 pm

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by herp »

Hi Forskaren,

How are things going? Haven't seen any updates lately. Hope everything is alright.

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

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by Forskaren »

I have not updated my journal in a long time. I have been busy with work related things and furthermore avoided looking too closely at my investments when the stock market has been volatile.

In October and November, I have been less frugal than normal.

In October I shopped quite a bit clothes. My income was low due to work related expenses that I subtracted from the October salary, but will be paid out in November.

In November my salary was increased due to a bonus and refunding of work-related expenses. I ate on restaurants a bit much this month and I bought an expensive Apple product.



October:

Report US$

Earned income 3060

Expenses
Rent 512
Transport 194
Food 368
Entertainment 54
Other 536

Total 1665

Savings 1396
Savings rate (%) 46


November:
Report US$
Earned income 4314

Expenses
Rent 514
Transport 42
Food 415
Entertainment 100
Other 2093
Total 3164

Savings 1150
Savings rate (%) 27

herp
Posts: 171
Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2017 1:11 pm

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by herp »

Still looks like pretty decent months. Merry Christmas to you!

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

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by Forskaren »

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

I am summarizing the year and it look a bit better than what I feared. I will update the journal in the beginning of next year.

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

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by Forskaren »

December
The expenses were quite normal in December. I spent some money on restaurants and bars, so the food category become the second largest after rent. I paid for an annual membership for Audible and bought some movies, thus inflating the entertainment category.

Christmas presents inflated the "other category”.

Report US$

Earned income 3218

Expenses
Rent 516
Transport 43
Food 336
Entertainment 313
Other 209
Total 1418

Savings 1800
Savings rate (%) 56

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

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by Forskaren »

Annual report 2018
The annual savings rate was close to 50%, which was about the same as last year.

My rent increased some, but I don’t have plans to move the coming year.

The transport consisted mainly of repair and service of my car, with minor costs for fuel, insurance and tax.

The food category was inflated by some spending on eating out. Perhaps it would be good to cut some expenses here by cooking more at home and perhaps start brewing as a hobby.

Entertainment costs were not abnormal and can be kept close to this level.

The other category was inflated by a big ticket purchase and major spending on shoes and clothes. I think I will buy less in this category in the next year.

My net worth decreased this year, mainly due to the poor stock market. The decrease was bigger in dollars than in local currency. As a result of the spending and decreased net worth, my SWR is now 3.4%.


Report US$

Rent 5967
Transport 3176
Food 4594
Entertainment 1727
Other 5325

Total 20789

Earned income 41487
Savings rate 49.9%


Net worth US$
Global stock index funds 505580
Swedish stock index funds 102009
Gold 3906
Car and stuff 5580
Total: 617076

SWR 3.4%

biaggio
Posts: 35
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2017 5:31 am

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by biaggio »

Hi,

congratulations on the progress, your expenses are quite impressive.

Given the cost of your rent I assume you either live on the outskirts of a larger city or in a smaller city/town. I do not see home insurance (which for us is ~$160/yr) in your calculations. Also, given the ultra-low interest rates here, how come you're still renting (association fees can be as low as ~$300)?

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

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by Forskaren »

The insurance is included in the other category the month when I pay . I pay about $100 for a year.

I live and work in a small community with less than 1000 population. Renting an apartment is very convenient as a single man compared to owning something. Theoretically, it could be cheaper to buy and live in a house than renting. In practice that may also be true if you have a family and need a larger area. In practice all singles I know at work spend more on housing and utilities than my rent. Furthermore the house consumes their free time.

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

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by Forskaren »

I will not track my spending in detail in 2019.

For Q1 2019 (January to March)

Earned income: $9578

Amount invested: $6237

Savings rate 65%



During Q2 I will get a bonus and a raise at work. Annual insurance premium and some workshop costs expected for my car.

wolf
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:09 pm
Location: Germany

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by wolf »

Hi Forskaren! How do you do? Just wanted to stop by and ask if everything is ok?

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

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by Forskaren »

I have not tracked in detail my spending in 2019. I have looked at my total earned income and compared that to the amount that I have invested. My savings rate was estimated to 56%.

I can estimate that the difference between earned income and investments was the annual spending. My safe withdraw rate was 2.3%. Quite interesting that my money would least 43 years if my return on investment just kept up with my spending level.
Work is still more than ok, so no plans on quitting in the near time. I have little interest in restaurants, bars, alcohol and travel. Not expecting to spend much on that.

My clothes are ok and plentiful, no big expenses expected there.

My TV (46 inch and 1080p) will soon be 7 years old, I would expect to upgrade that within 1-5 years, unless I completely stop using TV. I read that a new xbox that will launch in Christmas 2020 will support 8k gaming. I already own the Xbox one X, so the upgrade may be too small. I am ok with 1080p gaming with the stable frame rate from the one X. Perhaps I buy the second generation of the Xbox supporting 8k gaming when that comes out (2022-2023 ???) with a bigger than 80-inch 8k TV.

I get my phone from work, my iPad is pretty new, no need for upgrades.

I will probably increase my willingness to spend extra on food in the supermarket. I will probably also choose to spend more when I upgrade stuff, to get better working items. I don’t need to buy the cheapest shaving machine when the old fail, I can buy a really good one for example. If I want to read a book, I don’t fret much about the expense of buying it.

wolf
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:09 pm
Location: Germany

Re: FI in Sweden

Post by wolf »

Thanks for the update Forskaren.
You seem to do really good, regarding your swr, investing, spending, etc. Congrats to that! Although I guess, you have already established a system with habits and there is only a little bit of effort involved.
What are your midterm life goals/plans?

Post Reply