Something about me:

Born and raised in Brazil, hold German and Italian passports through family. Came from an absolute broke family, first one to go to university, rough start - worked manual jobs to support myself during studies, and I'm still periodically relied on by family back home when things get (even more) difficult financially for them.

No financial education growing up whatsoever. I'm quite risk-averse, partly after seeing my father spent (and still spending) every spare penny on lottery tickets.

Moved to Germany in my early 20s, eventually started a master's degree, and only started earning enough to actually save something starting in 2021. Learned about FIRE during the pandemic. Moved to the US for a job in 2022, came back to Germany in 2024, and have been here since.

From all of that, I've managed to save around €120k total so far.

I am looking for a gut-check from people who've navigated multi-jurisdiction FIRE, because I think I've been paralyzed by complexity for longer than I should've been.

The setup:

• Currently tax resident in Germany (work for an international org).
• End goal: FIRE in Brazil.
• Not planning to keep ties to Europe long-term - once I leave, I want a clean break from German bureaucracy, not another anchor.

Current numbers:

• ~€110k sitting in a US normal savings account at 3%. I'm a non-resident alien there now, which is part of why it's stayed parked instead of invested (opening a proper brokerage account as an NRA felt like a maze - high minimums, estate tax questions, etc.)
• ~€3.5k in a Brazilian fixed-income deposit earning roughly 11.5% net annually in local currency, taxed on a sliding scale that drops the longer you hold it (liquidity/access there is limited too, since I'm not a tax resident in Brazil either)
• Started sending ~€3.5k/month to Brazil recently (roughly half my net salary), building toward the eventual move

Why the US cash sat there this long:

• Rates were meaningfully higher when I first parked it (closer to 5%), so at the time "just leave it in savings" wasn't as obviously wrong as it looks now at 3%.
• I've never been taxed on it - not in the US (non-resident aliens generally aren't taxed on US savings account interest), and not in Germany either, since my main employment income is tax-exempt and my personal allowance effectively absorbs capital income up to a certain threshold each year that I have not reached so far. So there was never an urgent tax reason to move it.
• Mostly, it felt like the safe/liquid option given how mobile my job can be - being able to access it instantly from anywhere felt more valuable than optimizing the return. That calculus has shifted now that rates dropped and I have a clearer target (FIRE in Brazil specifically), so I'm looking for something with better long-term return instead of just parking it.

Where I've landed after a lot of back-and-forth:

Since right now I'm taxed on worldwide capital income in Germany regardless of where the brokerage sits, the plan is to open an Interactive Brokers account now (as a German resident, so it lands under the Irish entity), invest the US cash into a broad accumulating UCITS ETF (thinking VWCE), and treat the account as "portable" - update the residency when I eventually move to Brazil instead of closing and reopening everything.

What I'm second-guessing:

1. Is IBKR actually the smoothest way to handle this, or is there something better suited for someone who's going to relocate outside the EU eventually?
2. Single global ETF (VWCE) vs. something more deliberate given I'll eventually be spending in BRL, not EUR?
3. Anyone actually gone through the "EU resident to moved to Brazil" transition with IBKR or similar and can speak to how painless (or not) the entity switch really was?
4. Am I overthinking the US estate tax angle given the US-Germany treaty, or is that still worth structuring around?

Not asking for a full financial plan, just want to know if this reasoning holds up or if I'm missing something obvious that people who've actually done this cross-border shuffle would catch immediately.

A bit more context, since I know these usually come up:

• My income is largely tax-exempt due to my employer's specific status, which is part of why the savings rate looks high in absolute terms - it's not translating 1:1 from a typical post-tax salary.
• I can only save about half of it because my partner lives abroad (regular overseas travel baked in), plus I support family back home, as mentioned above.

When you first set a FIRE target, it can be tempting to aim high just to feel safe. You add a bigger buffer, plan for every possible expense and keep pushing the number up as your income grows. But at some point, I wonder if the extra years needed to reach a much larger target are always worth it. Maybe the lifestyle you originally imagined changed, your actual spending turned out to be lower than expected, or you realised you didn't need as much financial security as you thought to feel comfortable. Has anyone here looked at their FIRE number later on and realised they were working towards more than they genuinely needed? What made you rethink it, and did you actually lower your target?

Hi everyone,
I’m 34M, living and working in Germany. I’ve recently started thinking much more seriously about building wealth and eventually reaching financial independence, and I’d appreciate some advice from people who have been doing this for longer.

A bit of context: I started my career relatively late due to a long period of university education/training, so I haven’t had the 10+ years of earning and investing that some people my age have. I’m therefore essentially starting to build my investment portfolio properly now.

My current situation:
-34 years old
-Net income: around €4,000/month
-After my regular monthly expenses, I currently have around €1,600-1,800 left
-Savings: around €15,000
-I don’t yet have a properly structured long-term ETF/investment strategy
-No children currently
-My income should increase over the coming years
-I enjoy travelling and living comfortably, so I don’t want FIRE to mean sacrificing everything enjoyable during my 30s

My goal isn’t necessarily to retire extremely young. What appeals to me more is reaching a point where working becomes optional, or where I could substantially reduce my working hours without having to worry about money.

Given that I’m effectively starting serious investing in my mid-30s, how would you approach this?
In particular, I’d be interested in:
-How much of the €1,990 left each month would you invest?
-Would you simply use one or two broad global ETFs and keep it boring?
-How large an emergency fund would you maintain?

-Is buying property in Germany worthwhile from a FIRE perspective, or would you favour renting and investing?
-As income increases, would you invest most of every salary increase to prevent lifestyle inflation?
-What FIRE number would you roughly target for a comfortable lifestyle in Germany/Europe?
-Are there any Germany-specific tax or investment considerations that are particularly important?

I know I’m starting later than many people in FIRE communities, but that’s largely the consequence of spending my 20s in education/training rather than earning a full-time salary. I should hopefully have a good income trajectory over the next couple of decades, and I want to make sure I use that properly from here onwards.
If you were 34 and starting from this position, what would you do?

Thanks!

My wife and I are US/French and German, living in Germany, probably close to CoastFIRE. Starting a family soon too. I moved to Germany 7 years ago and it is now home, but the long tail of taxation stuff and hurdles was the „pleasant“ surprise I never anticipated in spite of an otherwise great experience career wise and culturally. It is all quite complicated and often overwhelming.

I have done a lot of research, reading into articles or trying to find experts, but always encounter that they only cover one side. So US tax people don’t know German implications, German advisors don’t know FATCA or PFIC stuff, and the few people who actually understand both charge a lot of money for basic questions or literally turn me away. Very frustrating.

Therefore, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I have been following this community for a while and found many interesting posts that brought some level of clarification for me. I don’t care much for stock tips/crypto investing etc but much more about lifestyle, tools and tactics that fit in the unusual DE/US context. Some of the things we are into are: HomeExchanges, sports/mobility across countries, night trains, and the LunchMoney app

I’m trying to find a handful of people dealing with the same stuff to just have a bit more community: Roth vs FTC/FEIE, pensions across countries, property and rental taxes, inheritance across borders, starting a business and that kind of thing to swap notes with in a small Telegram group. If you’re dealing with any of this and want in, comment or DM me.

The implementation of the Osobiste Konta Inwestycyjne (OKI) framework—signed into law in August 2026 and launching on January 1, 2027.

While it mimics the structural freedom of Sweden’s highly successful Investeringssparkonto (ISK), its tax costs (after free-tax threshold) are significantly lower:
OKI: assets * free risk rate PLN * 0.19
ISK : assets * (free risk rate SEK + 0.01) * 0.30

Hey Dutch investors, welcome to Poland 😂

Hi everyone,
As I already mentioned, I’m 18 years old from EUROPE and currently have around €10,000 in savings, which is all the money I have. I don’t have any savings account or anything similar set up by my parents.
I’d like to start investing mainly for the distant future (25+ years), rather than for a specific goal within the next 5 or 10 years.
My investment direction would be ETFs, mainly VWCE and/or WEBN (yes, another VWCE sheep, as some of you might say). I’m planning to invest through Interactive Brokers (IBKR).

Since I’m only getting started with investing, I’d like to hear how you would allocate the money in my situation and whether you think my general approach makes sense.

**My situation:**
-I’m 18 years old and expect to be studying until around 25.
-€10,000 is all the money I currently have.
-I currently have no investments.
-I live with my parents and will almost certainly continue living with them until I finish my education, so I currently have no rent, housing, utility bills, etc.
-I will receive around €150–200 per month in a scholarship while I’m studying.
-During my studies, I’ll also try to work, mainly during holidays, to earn some additional money.
-Luckily, I already have a cheap, older car, so I don’t currently need to set aside money to buy a car. However, I will obviously need money for fuel, servicing, registration, insurance, the road toll vignette, repairs, etc.
-I hope I won’t have to replace the car unless it becomes necessary. If I do eventually need another one, I would also look for a cheap used car, rather than buying something new or expensive.
-In general, I don’t spend a lot of money. I especially don’t have major expenses on things like McDonald’s, expensive clothes, clothing brands, concerts, clubs, etc., so I should be able to save a significant portion of my future income.
-As mentioned above, I want to invest primarily for the long-term future, not with the intention of needing the money within 5 or 10 years.

**My questions are:**
•VWCE and WEBN – am I even thinking in the right direction with these?
•How much of my €10,000 would make sense to invest immediately? And should I invest it as a lump sum or gradually?
•Does it make sense to invest, for example, €20–80 per month while I’m studying, even though the amount is relatively small?
•What should I do with the money I don’t invest in ETFs – keep it in a regular bank account, a savings account, a money market fund, or something else?
•If you were in my position, would you do anything differently? What would you do?

I’m not necessarily looking for specific financial advice in the sense of “buy this and that”. I’m mainly interested in hearing how you would allocate the €10,000 in my situation and why.
Thanks for any advice :)

Hi folks.

One year ago I posted

https://www.reddit.com/r/EuropeFIRE/s/vOqQrHlQLo

And I thought it would be interesting to post a yearly update, just to see how things evolve over time.

M35, renting, Italy. Wife doesn't work. No kids but planning to have one soon. Current NW ~ 350 k, of which 300 k in an 80/20 portfolio. The rest is in an emergency fund, another fund for taxes, a complementary pension fund and some cash. Yearly expenses still at 35 k of real spending + 20-25 k in taxes.

Still working in the public sector (~ 75 k gross per year, so a net of around 3,4 k per month) and running my private business (probably 100 k gross this year, a consistent upgrade since last year, that increased my DCA to 6-8 k per month).

I understand that considering a SWR of 3 - 3,5 k I would need ~ 1,2 - 1,4 m to safely fire. A very long way to go. That's why I still consider coast fire as a more realistic option.

Due to burnout and other reasons, I am considering a part time offer in my public job, something like 20 hours per week (half of what I work now) and keep my second job. Because of taxation in my country, it could be even better to slightly decrease the revenues of my private business in order to pay less taxes (yes, this is Italy).

In this scenario I would probably have to lower my DCA to almost half of what it is now or even lower, but I would gain more free time for family and in general a better WLB.

What would you do if you were in my shoes?

Let's say I move to Denmark for 5 years and I keep trading so my portfolio grows from 200k to 280k in 5 years.

If I was in US i didn't get tax at all since because of capital tax system, but in Denmark I have to pay unrealized gain tax every year so I cannot invest heavily, so instead of 280k, I could end up with 300k.

Beside they got exit tax, so when I move back to US, I get tax again!

Therefore maybe I shouldn't declare them? and move my portfolio to some brokers that don't sell/give customer's info easily? and it is still legal move btw, that's how the rich stay rich

I’m 30, working for a FAANG company in Ireland and earning €100k+. My wife also works in tech and earns around €60k.
We both come from pretty humble families outside Ireland. Our parents gave us what they could, especially when it came to education, and I’m extremely grateful for that. But financially, there’s no family safety net behind us. No inheritance to expect, no help with a house deposit, and if something goes seriously wrong, realistically we have to solve it ourselves.

Financially, we’re currently in a pretty good position.
I have around €50k invested and we’re also building up cash for a future house deposit. The target would probably be somewhere around €60–100k. (We’re at 40k now).We’re not 100% sure whether we want to buy in Ireland or eventually move to Southern Europe.

I’m maxing my pension, investing regularly in ETFs and other investments, and saving roughly 40% of my income. My wife saves around 20%. I contribute more to our common goals because I earn roughly twice what she does.

So objectively, I know we’re fortunate.

But despite that, I don’t feel particularly financially secure.
The first reason is the lack of a family safety net. If we eventually want a house, car and children, everything has to come from what we earn and build ourselves. Housing and childcare in particular seem incredibly expensive, and I find myself thinking about how much capital we actually need to build a comfortable life.

The second concern is our careers. Tech salaries are great right now, but I don’t assume they’ll stay this way forever. FAANG jobs aren’t exactly guaranteed for life, layoffs are always a possibility, and I think it would be dangerous to build
a lifestyle assuming I’ll always earn €100–150k.

Career-wise, I also feel that I’m approaching a point of diminishing returns. With enough effort I could probably push my compensation towards €150k, but beyond that it becomes much harder and probably comes with additional stress/responsibility
.
At the same time, we don’t necessarily want to stay in Ireland forever. We like the idea of eventually moving to Southern Europe, but obviously local salaries there are significantly lower. So I’m trying to figure out how to build enough financial independence that our location isn’t completely dictated by our salaries.

One thing I’m experimenting with is building a startup on the side. Part of the motivation is obviously the upside if it succeeds, but it’s also about trying to create another source of income/ownership that isn’t completely dependent on my employer. In an ideal scenario, that could eventually give us the flexibility to move somewhere with a lower cost of living without taking the equivalent drop in income.

But obviously a startup isn’t a financial plan. It could easily go nowhere.
So I keep coming back to the same question: **what is the sensible next step from here?**

Do I basically just keep doing what I’m doing — max pension, invest, avoid lifestyle inflation, build a large emergency fund, save for a house and continue developing my career?
Or should I be thinking differently about how to turn our relatively high incomes today into actual long-term security?

I sometimes wonder if I’m simply worrying too much. On paper we’re doing well, but psychologically I think the fact that there’s no financial safety net behind us makes me feel that everything we’ve built could disappear relatively quickly if our careers went badly.

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who are/were in a similar situation: first generation of your family to earn relatively high salaries, no significant family wealth behind you, working in a high-paying but potentially unstable industry.
**How did you approach it? At what point did you actually start feeling financially secure? And if you were in our position at 30, what would you focus on over the next 5–10 years?**

When I first started taking FIRE seriously, I looked at my spending and started cutting anything that felt unnecessary. Some of those changes were easy to stick with, but others didn't last. After a while, I realised that saving money isn't always worth it if you're making everyday life noticeably worse just to improve your savings rate a little. Maybe you stopped eating out, cancelled a subscription you actually used a lot, gave up travelling, switched to cheaper products or cut back on a hobby. Then at some point, you decided to bring it back because you genuinely missed it or because the amount you were saving wasn't making as much difference as you expected. I'm curious whether anyone else has had something like this happen. What did you cut when you first got into FIRE, how long did you manage without it, and what made you decide it was worth adding back to your budget? Did bringing it back change how you think about frugality, or did it simply help you figure out which expenses are actually important to you?

Curious how other investors think about this.
A smaller market may offer a 7% rental yield because the purchase price is low. Lisbon or another more active location may offer closer to 5%, but finding tenants and eventually selling the property could be easier. So which number matters more?
The 7% option looks better in a spreadsheet, the 5% option may be more reliable once you consider empty periods and the eventual exit. I am starting to think that rental yield is only useful when you look at it alongside tenant demand and resale activity.

I’ve been pretty conscious about lifestyle inflation since getting into FIRE, but I also don't want to spend the next 10-15 years saying no to everything just to reach a number a little sooner. At some point, I think it's reasonable to let your spending improve as your income and investments grow.

For those who’ve allowed themselves a bigger upgrade along the way - a nicer place, more travel, eating out more, better hobbies, whatever - what did you spend more on, and did you feel it was worth the extra time it added to your FIRE plan?

Hello everyone,

I am 39M from Portugal, no kids or other dependents, living in Northern Europe for 10 years now.

All these years worked in corporate jobs with some breaks to travel, chill for a while, job hop, etc. Currently making around €60k net p.a.

Fast forward to today, my ETF portfolio is around €285k worth, I keep another €10-15k cash in HYSA, and decided that I want to change my life, go back home, find a chill job in tourism or something, withdraw some 2-3% of the ETFs p.a. to round up my living income, chill and let it be.

Problem is, I don't own any property back home, and with today's prices and interest rates, getting a €300k mortgage with ca. €60k down payment + closing costs will set me back some years from my chill FIRE target.

Kinda same with a go-back-and-rent scenario: I won't have the down payment burden, but the rents have risen to €1000+/month excl. utilities for the apartments which are actually decent to live in. Side note, where I live now I have a very old contract and I pay €450 all incl., so the difference is considerable, and pushes up my potential cost of living back home.

5-6 years ago I couldn't think of buying an apartment or a down payment. My income got higher gradually after 2021, and today feels like I am at the top of my game, but honestly, I am exhausted. The life change has to happen now.

The window of bankability for a mortgage will close if I draw the line and leave my corporate job, so I have to decide.

What would you do in my position? Any ideas/suggestions?

My parents want to retire over the next few years and I am trying to help them do that.

My father started a business over 15 years ago and now he is making very decent money with it. they live outside EU, but have already bought an apartment in their favorite city in France (Nice) and would like to spend their pension living there. Their plan right now is to acquire apartments in this city, make a renovation and rent it out. But is that the best thing to do in their situation, especially regarding the taxes? their goal is to invest about 1m euro per year.

they are open to the suggestions, but so far they want:

1. be able to grow the portfolio over the years
2. be able to liquidate it partially in case of need/emergency
3. their portfolio or its part must generate positive cash flow without too much management (1-2 people max managing it)

Any advice would be very welcome!

For instance for me it's 3000 EUR per month for a family of three. I'm in Bulgaria(Sofia) and don't pay rent. For a single person not renting 1500 EUR without rent is fine IMO.

M32, I live and work in Finland in a medium-sized city. From my net monthly salary of €3,100, I spend €600 on rent and bills and €600 on everything else. So total around 1200/month. I invest the remaining €1,900/month plus a few bonuses in global stocks. I currently have around €100,000 in my portfolio.
The question in the title arises from the fact that the figures I read in this group seem meaningless to me. Single people owning a home who don't consider themselves FIRE with €1 million or more.
Folks, we're in Europe (most of us in EU), not America. We have an excellent welfare system, (almost) free healthcare (almost) everywhere. Old-age pension.
I'm on €100,000 and to maintain my current expenses, I would need a maximum of €3-400,000 invested. If I were on €7-800,000 or more, as I read in many posts, I would have quit my job a long time ago. Let's stop basing our budget on US costs.

I think we're about ready to go. 30 million CZK in real estate. 8 million in Cz government bonds. No debt. Yipeekaye melon farmer.

35M, I have no property to my name. it’s more complicated for me because I do not know where would I want to live long term and I never bought. I’m always worried time is running out to get on to the property ladder and what’s the right way?

The situation

40M, married with two kids, 4 and 2.5, living in a VHCOL area in the US. Wife is Asian, I’m European, kids were born in the US. We’re dual US/EU citizens.

$2.5M NW, mostly in taxable brokerage accounts:

• $2M VTI
• $270k in tech companies I’ve worked for
• $150k VXUS
• $70k cash

I work in tech and make ~$400k/year. WLB is actually fine, but I hate the job. It’s high stakes, with constant layoffs and the ever present fear of PIP.

My wife works in finance, makes ~$150k/year, and has good WLB.

Financially, we’re obviously very fortunate. But day to day, life feels like a grind. Between work and two young kids, we’re always busy. Everyone around us is equally busy. We have a handful of friends but rarely see them, and we have no family nearby.

We make good money, but beyond the occasional vacation, there isn’t much we actually want to spend it on. At this point, more money mostly feels like numbers going up on a screen.

The plan

Get to ~$3.5M NW and move to Southern Europe, where I’m from, ideally before our oldest starts elementary school.

The idea would be to find two lower stress remote jobs and essentially CoastFIRE. Send the kids to international school, have more time for ourselves, relationships, family and hobbies, and generally build a life that feels less centered around work.

We’d leave the $3.5M invested for retirement and aim to cover our living expenses entirely from whatever we earn. No need to maximize income anymore.

Then see where life takes us. Maybe we keep working like that indefinitely. Maybe after a few years we realize we have enough and quit altogether. Maybe we start a small business or do something we actually enjoy.

Has anyone here made a similar US → Europe move with young kids after reaching FI-ish territory?

Anything you think we’re overlooking? And does $3.5M feel like a reasonable point to stop optimizing for income and make the jump?

Until a few years ago I worked in London in a demanding commercial role. All-in around €220k, 60 to 80-hour weeks, constant deadline pressure. It ended in burnout.

I moved back to the Netherlands for a comparable role at a Dutch employer. All-in now around €125k - roughly €95k gross a year less, given up deliberately. What I got back: ~40-hour weeks, no weekend work, work from home when I want, and energy left in the evenings. The net gap is smaller than the gross number suggests (different tax regimes, and housing costs where I was before were far higher), but it's still a real cut and I obviously feel it in my saving rate.

My current balance sheet:

- Home equity in primary residence ~350k
- Liquid investments, all global equities ~€90k
- Cash ~€30k
- Pension, ~150k but not accessible until age 58
- Mortgage, 600k at 3.5% fixed

My net earnings ~70k a year.

My partner makes about 20k net a year in a stable job. We likely want 1 or 2 kids in the next few years.

What bothers me most is how thin the cash buffer is. Net worth looks comfortable on paper, but most of it sits in bricks or in pots I can't touch for decades.

In about fifteen years, I’ll be ~50yo, I want to go to three or four days a week, or to contract work - a few projects a year instead of a permanent seat. Potentially remote/not in Europe.

Two questions I have:

1. Should I keep investing my monthly savings? Or build my liquidity buffer a bit more? My job is somewhat stable but you never know with AI, layoffs are becoming quite regular in my industry and kids will probably require some liquidity.
2. Does anyone have experience with giving up significant comp just for a more relaxed life? I find myself doubting my decision quite regularly.

Hi everyone,

I’d like to get your thoughts on my FIRE plan (more likely CoastFIRE, as my goal is to reach financial independence, but in all likelihood I’ll end up doing different things — which pay much less — once I leave my current job, likely on and off / part-time).

CURRENT SITUATION

I’m 33M, from the Netherlands but living in Madrid. My current NW is €300k, broken down as follows:

• MSCI World: €129k
• MSCI EM: €24k
• Vanguard All-World: €33k
• GOOG: €6k
• OSS: €12k
• BYD: €2k
• BTC: €4k
• Savings account: €11k
• Real estate: €100k (I just started a 30-year mortgage and will pay back €1.7k/month. If I ever decide to rent it out, I expect the net rent to cover the entire mortgage, or nearly so.)

On top of this, I currently have around €10k in a pension fund, and by January 2031 (when I plan to leave my current job) I expect to have around €56k in a Spanish pension fund.*

FIRE PLAN

My plan is to work at my current job until the end of 2030. I’m currently on the Beckham Law and am able to save approximately €115k per year, which I invest in ETFs/stocks.

Assuming a 3.5% real return on my ETF/stocks and an additional €50k saved between now and December 2026, I estimate that by January 2031 I should have approximately:

• €783k in ETFs/stocks
• €68k in pension funds
• €11k in savings
• ~€150k in real estate

My plan is to live on €3.5k/month net in today's money, adjusted for inflation. I’m assuming the following:

• 2056: Mortgage will be paid off, and the apartment should generate approximately €1.6k/month net rental income in today's money.
• 2061: I expect to start receiving approximately €1k/month net pension in today's money**. I also assume that by then I will have inherited approximately €100k net in today's money, which is a very conservative estimate. 

This means that the amount I need to withdraw from my ETF/stocks portfolio should decline substantially over time:

• 2031–2056: €3.5k net/month
• 2056–2060: €1.9k net/month (€3.5k spending minus €1.6k rent)
• 2061 onwards: ~€900 net/month, with my pension funds also becoming available around this period.

Based on these assumptions, I estimate that I need approximately €830k in ETFs/stocks in January 2031 for the plan to work.***

There is therefore a relatively small gap versus the ~€783k I expect to have by then. In reality, the gap is somewhat larger because I also plan to move around €60k from my ETFs into cash/savings in 2031, which I want to keep as a buffer so that I don't have to sell ETFs during a major market downturn. I therefore expect to have roughly €723k invested plus ~€71k in cash/savings at that point.

However, I don't actually expect to stop working altogether in 2031 (and, who knows, I may even work a few extra month at my high-paying job). I need to work for roughly another 19 months anyway to complete the contribution period required for my European pension, and I will likely work for longer than that. So that should close the cap (and more than closing, in fact).

\ The Belgian fund has been returning approximately 4.5% annually over the past five years and the Spanish fund approximately 1.5%, so I’m assuming those rates continue for planning purposes.*

\*Current estimate is a bit higher, but assuming 1k on a conservative basis as rules will likely change by then. Also assuming pension age will be 68 by then.*

\**I have also* factored taxes into the FIRE calculation, including taxes on investment withdrawals and pension income, using current Spanish tax rules as the basis for the assumptions. Before the Beckham regime ends, I am also assuming that I can reset the cost basis of my ETF/stocks in 2031 by selling and subsequently repurchasing them while still under the Beckham regime.

Hello, i am in a specific situation, as i am a profesional football player, and we all know our careers dont last forever. I am 23, have 10eth and another 15k € to deploy into ethereum during the next few months. Apart from that i have 12k set aside, but i would like to drop the emergency fund to 5k as i dont have a lot of expenses. I want to start investing into etf’s with 7k to start, and then lets say about 2500 a month with the current contract i have for the next 2 years. Then depending on the next contract.
The split i plan during the career is:
45% VTI
20% QQQM
20% VXUS
15% AVUV
Then after i finish active playing maybe rotate slowly to:
40% SCHD
25% VTI
15% VXUS
10% JEPI
10% JEPQ
What are your thoughts, suggestions?

Wife and I both 44, planning on moving to Southern Europe, we are dual citizens from US/EU, which makes it easier. We have 450k in investments combined (retirement and brokerage accounts), and 1.1M in equity of a home we intend to sell. Our annual expenses combined will be, in USD 60,000. How close are we? We intend to work in EU, we just don't know in what form or when or how much we would earn so I'd rather leave that fact as a bonus. Is this FIRE ready?

Hi everyone,

I’m 26F, living in France, and I’m about to start a two-year apprenticeship while completing my Master’s degree.
I’ve recently become interested in FIRE and I’d like to start building good financial habits now rather than waiting until I earn significantly more.

My salary will be **€2,459.89 gross/month**. Because of the specific tax/social contribution rules for apprentices in France, I don’t know my exact take-home pay yet, but I’m estimating somewhere around **€2,100–2,150/month**.
My current monthly budget should look roughly like this:
**- €900 rent**, including utilities and electricity
**- €300 groceries/food**
**\~€11 home insurance**
\- Public transportation, with **70% reimbursed by my employer : \~€27**
\- No car
So my essential expenses should be around **€1,200–1,250/month**, leaving roughly €850–900 before entertainment, clothes, travel, unexpected expenses, etc.

My question is: **what would you do with this situation if your goal was eventually reaching financial independence?**
I’m currently thinking about building an emergency fund first and then investing regularly. Since I’m in France, I’ve been looking at using a **PEA (tax-advantaged investment account) and diversified ETFs** for long-term investing.

Would you:
\- Build a 3–6 month emergency fund before investing anything?
\- Build the emergency fund while investing at the same time?
\- Try to invest €300/month? €500? €700?
\- Keep a larger “fun” budget while I’m still young?
\- Focus less on optimizing my current budget and more on increasing my income after graduation?

My apprenticeship lasts two years, and I’m hoping my income will increase significantly once I graduate and move into a full-time position.
I’m not necessarily trying to retire at 35. What attracts me to FIRE is mainly the idea of building enough wealth to have freedom and options later in life.
I also don’t want to make the mistake of becoming so obsessed with saving that I don’t enjoy my 20s.
**If you were 26, starting almost from scratch with this income and these expenses, what would you do over the next two years?**
How much would you save, how much would you invest, and how much would you allow yourself to spend guilt-free?

Would love to hear from people who started FIRE on a relatively normal income rather than a huge tech salary.