r/BEFire

I’m 32y with a net worth of around 300k:
- 60k own house
- 150k rental apartment
- 90k IWDA

I realize that I’m probably in the top 5% with this net worth for my age and still my unstable income, plans to upgrade our house and just life stresses me out a lot.

Was there a moment for you that really made a shift in the journey and made you feel safe or future proof, or is this rather a mental thing I’ll need to resolve?

Hi everyone,

I’m 26 and currently have around 120k net worth.
About 55% is cash because I want to buy a house within ~3-4 years, and the other 45% is invested in ETFs.

The thing is: I honestly dislike having that much cash sitting around, but with such a short and uncertain timeline for buying real estate, investing more into ETFs also feels too risky.

A few years ago there were some decent 0% government bonds/state notes that actually gave a nice return, but nowadays I feel like those opportunities barely exist anymore.

Besides maxing out the better savings accounts, I kinda feel out of options.

What do you guys personally do with larger amounts of cash meant for medium-term goals?
Just accept the lower returns? Or are there still decent options out there that I’m missing?

Thanks!

Hallo,

Wij hebben via Immotheker Finotheker een aanbod gekregen van VDK bank voor een hypothecaire lening van €309.000. Samen hebben we een netto maandelijks inkomen van €4600 (+500 vanaf juli niet gecommuniceerd naar de bank, wordt geen rekening mee gehouden). Daarbovenop lenen we €60.000 via mijn verbouwlening (rente 1,5%).

Concreet aanbod: accordeon lening 3/3/3 -2/+2 op 30 jaar. Naar schatting van de Immotheker zullen we o.b.v. het historisch gemiddelde op 26 jaar afbetalen (we beseffen goed dat er geen garanties zijn). Brandverzekering vrij te kiezen.

We hebben dit aanbod gekregen om ons maandelijks aflossingsbedrag (€1361 + €240 via mijn verbouwlening) te beperken. Bovendien lijkt een lening op 30 jaar interessant waarbij we het verschil met andere leenformules beleggen.

Onze eerste indruk is dat deze rente hoog ligt voor deze formule. Een marktconform vast tarief zou rond de 3,5% liggen. We zijn flexibel om onze eigen inbreng of de maandlast te verhogen (al willen we zoveel mogelijk geld overhouden om te beleggen). Wat denken jullie?

M40, married, 1 kid.

I own a house bought in 2010, fully paid off, worth around €240k.
My wife and I bought another house in 2025, worth about €450k, with €220k left on the mortgage.

We also have some savings, so no urgent need for cash.

Weak point: frustrating job with no career path or prospects, and the salary is decent but not great.

I’m stuck between two options for the first house:

• Rent it out (~€900/month), but with likely future costs: replacing the oil heating system, possible insulation requirements, maybe some roof work…
• Sell it and invest the money in bonds/ETFs/gold.

It seems stupid to sell a paid‑off house when I don’t need the money, but on the other hand I want a more relaxed life, more time to invest in my health, and I don’t want to deal with annoying tenants.

What would you do? Any advice appreciated.

Is ING's new offer for recurring ETF investments better than Saxo?

I figure not, but I'm only a newbie (and so far only a 'theoretician') so high likelihood I might be wrong. Correct me if so, please!

My plan is to invest in the range of 250-500 EUR a month, one global diversified ETF. I am not an ING client (and will not become one - tied to another bank for mortgage). Preferably joint account.

1. SAXO: 2 EUR "all in" monthly

2. ING: 0,25-0,5 EUR commission, but at least 1,90 EUR or up to 5 EUR current account costs / month (as far as I understood there is no way around this - is this correct?)

Hi, throwaway and also: sorry for the lengthy post.

I’ve (32F) been lurking in this sub for years. Not to FIRE exactly, but more so to gain some insight on how others handle their finances and apply bits and pieces to my own. However, an inheritance I will be receiving of about €1M made me realise I have to actually take action.

Right now, we (my husband and I) have two mortgages (1 that still has the “woonbonus” on it which we kept by using a “pandwissel” at 2,62% and 1 at 3,50% with this one being under “mandaat”). To simplify we’ll add up the oustanding balances which comes to ca €237.000. No other debts. I know the overall opinion is to keep the mortgage and invest it but honestly the peace of mind outweighs the possible gains for me right now.

I want to pay off the mortgage in full. I know I’ll lose the “woonbonus” but cashflow gets a lot bigger and with a dual income of about €4.300 (I work 20hrs parttime) we can actually put a lot more in savings/invest then we do now, including a monthly budget for taxes. We will miss the woonbonus ofcourse if we repay the mortgage but I had my accountant check and the pros outweigh the cons for us.

I’d put about €50k total in an emergency fund, since we want to invest in a heatpump and solar panels etc and then ofcourse for actual emergencies. We also have a daughter, and we’d like to invest for her as well.

For now I’m working parttime because that’s just what fits best into our current lifestyle. If our daughter gets older, I might actually reconsider going fulltime or 4/5. But for now, we’ll just assume I work parttime.

I know I’m very blessed to receive such a big amount of money but also realise that €1M is nowhere near fuck you money and should be handled wisely.

I’m not really interested in real estate right now, at least not for renting out. Seems like a real hassle if you’re unlucky with tenants/upkeep. We would however like to buy a “tweede verblijf”. I own a “tweede verblijf” already but it will be sold and with that money I’d like to look for a new, smaller one. So this then becomes a 0-operation basically, but I will not be selling/buying this immediately.

What do I do? I read the wiki etc but I’m honestly overwhelmed when it comes to ETFs, but I do prefer those instead of stocks for example. Also, do I need to open different bank accounts now? Since you’re only assured for €100k per bank if something happens. When I receive the inheritance, I’d rather have it sit a while until I make up my mind on exactly what I’m going to do with it instead of doing whatever without thinking. So it’ll be necessary I guess?

I’m sorry if this post is all over the place… So is my mind. Sounds nice and all, but the emotional consequences of the passing of my family weigh on me as well.

Thanks for any input and be kind please

Hi all,

I’ve just been approved for Amex Platinum Belgium and I’m trying to understand whether it actually makes sense, or whether it’s mainly something that looks great on paper.

The welcome offer is what pushed me to apply, but now I’m trying to figure out whether the card is genuinely worth keeping beyond the initial excitement.

On the plus side, the package seems strong: lounge access, Fast Lane at Brussels Airport, dining perks, hotel statuses, travel insurance, supplementary card, etc.

But I also see a few obvious downsides:

• the monthly fee is medium-high
• Amex acceptance in Belgium is still not amazing everywhere
• no Apple Pay support for Belgian Amex
• Membership Rewards are flexible, but not ideal if your main focus is Miles & More
• some airport/lounge benefits matter less if you already have airline status

My profile in case it helps: I mostly fly economy, mostly for personal travel, and often with Lufthansa and/or Brussels Airlines. We’re a household of 2, so the supplementary card is relevant too.

What I’d really like to hear from people here is the real-life experience, not the brochure version:

• Which Platinum benefits do you genuinely use in Belgium / Europe?
• Which ones sounded great but turned out to be underwhelming?
• How annoying is Amex acceptance in day-to-day Belgian life?
• Do you see Platinum as a long-term keeper, or mostly a first-year play?
• From a FIRE point of view, how do you justify the cost?

Curious to hear honest opinions from people who actually have it or had it.

I start investing and already have a bank and Rebel account with Belfius Bank.

Is Rebel ok or should I look at other brokers?

My main goal is saving monthly in one or two ETF.

TIA!

Hi everyone,

I'm (M36y) thinking about moving my pension capital (€8,385) from a bank-managed fund to a self-managed portfolio.

The Context: I am still contributing to a legal pension secondary plan through my main bank (Belfius), as this was a mandatory requirement for my recent mortgage refinancing. This left my old Ethias account dormant, so thinking to consolidate and take control.

The Tax Hit: I have confirmed with the bank (Ethias) that the early withdrawal penalty is exactly 33.31%. This leaves me with €5,592 net. It hurts to pay that tax, but the current account only offers a 1.75% interest rate. Over 24 years, I believe a diversified ETF portfolio will vastly outperform this "dead" capital, even with the initial 33% loss.

The Plan (Saxo Bank): I chose Saxo for their AutoInvest feature (zero commission) and automated Belgian tax handling (TOB).

• 80% FRWA (Invesco FTSE All-World Acc) - 0.12% transaction tax / 0.15% TER.
• 20% QDVE (iShares S&P 500 Info Tech Acc) - Growth tilt.
• Contribution: €5,592 initial + €250 monthly.

My Questions:

• Are there better brokers for European/Belgian residents in terms of cost or features in 2026?
• What are your thoughts on the 80/20 split for a 24-year horizon given the low 1.75% alternative?
• Am I missing any crucial points or are there better strategies I should consider?

Newbie looking to start a monthly investment plan. Looking for low cost, simplicity, and global. Can easily go without small-cap. Preferably FTSE for 'ideological' reasons. 250-500 EUR / month recurring.

Looking at VWCE but has a high TOB. Would WEBN be a better alternative? Looks much cheaper (also lower TER), but what's the drawback compared to VWCE? Any other 'basic' option that trumps both?

Appreciate your advice!

UPD: what about FWIA?

I am a 31 year old freelance IT/AI consultant based in Brussels, Belgium.

I just inherited 30k liquid and I want to build a portfolio.

I run my own company (single-person S-comm) that makes roughly €3–4k/month net. My income is variable month to month but I have one client that has been hiring me full time for about a year now. I also have some small "bonus" contract here and there, bumping up monthly income.

I don't have any emergency fund covering.

I am 2500€ in debt from my previous freelance activity (paying monthly), no mortgage, and no dependants. I rent in the Brussels area for 1300€/month, divided by two with my girlfriend.

I own 10k in a crypto blue chip that has been in accumulation phase for years ($QNT)

My goals are long-term wealth building (10+ year horizon), not speculation. I'm comfortable leaving this money untouched.

I love finance and economy but I am still very early in the journey, having no family or internal knowledge whatsoever.

A few questions:

How should I invest the 30k? What is the ideal set-up?

Any Belgian-specific (or EU) tax considerations I should be aware of?

Any carreer advice?

Happy to share more context if helpful. Thanks for reading!

Stel:

• Je bezit 50% van een woning. Je partner bezit de andere 50%.

• Je hebt geen andere eigendom.

• Je koopt 99% van een huis. Je broer of zus koopt de resterende 1% aan 12% registratierechten.

• Je domicilieert je er tijdig, voor minstens een jaar.

Kan je dan aanspraak maken op 2% registratierechten op de aankoop? Bronnen?

I bought this apartment + garage parking spot in 2020 for approximately 228k every expense included with a 1,64% loan of 158k over 20 years (carried over with hypotheekoverdracht to keep woonbonus and the lower interest rate from a house I bought with my ex)

It was meant to be a "temporarily" place while I save up for another house.

In the last 1-2 years it seems like similiar listings from the same building (identical apartments) goes from 209k-225k (+ 20k for garage parking spot).

So the apartment I have 120k equity in has not even kept up with inflation.

I have enough to move to a 350k-400k place, but it would require me to put down a hefty sum of capital (which is currently in ETF/saving account).

In this case, does the slowly appreciating nature (+relatively high monthly cost of 220 eur a month including water and gas) warranty a move as soon as possible? With another hypotheekoverdracht + additional mortgage up to 100k and some personal capital.

Is the Bolero playlist Ucits etf Amundi S&P 500 swap on Euronext paris a good option? I would put an initial sum and put a smaller sum every 2 months

I’m looking for people with experience with a margin loan on interactive brokers. As in taking cash out of your account to finance your house renovations for example.

1. what account type do you have
2. did you use box spreads or another method
3. what rate do you have
4. how much margin in percentage to portfolio value

Thanks for sharing 🙏

I am an employee on the payroll, and I have just taken a look at my taxes I have to pay for 2025. To my surprise I have to pay 300 euro back, which is 240 euro more than the year before. Nothing has really changed since the year before, only that I bought an apartment. My job stayed the same, my life situation as well, no kids, no pension savings.

Is there still anything left for me as tax benefits or should I just accept ever increasing taxes every year? My wage increase barely covers the increase in taxes as is.

First of all this would be an experiment, besides this I’m well diversified and wont need tips on different types of investments, or diversification. I want to try and create an 8 stock long term portfolio, high risk, focussed on 8 single lines. The rationale would be to select only active founders, product focused instead of shareholder focused, china proof, ai proof or amplified.

What i have so far would be

nvidia corp.
Palantir
Veeva systems
Samsara inc
Transmedics
Sartorius AG
Rational AG
Absci corp.

With decending weights in the portfolio of round 15% for the first going to 7% for the last

Do you guys have any other ideas about this?
Thanks for reading

Looking to buy an apartment in the centre of Antwerp, I will first live in it myself a few years and then rent it out. Which type of apartment is the best option to choose purely from an investment standpoint, if you want to rent it out, would a 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom be a smarter investment?

Hallo iedereen,

Dit jaar heb ik al €63.000 ongerealiseerde meerwaarde op mijn aandelenportefeuille. Ik wil op termijn een deel van de opbrengst gebruiken voor de aankoop van een woning, dus zal ik vroeg of laat een deel moeten verkopen.

Wat ik al weet over de nieuwe regels:

Vanaf 1 januari 2026 geldt een meerwaardebelasting van 10% op gerealiseerde winst. Er is een jaarlijkse vrijstelling van €10.000. Gebruik je die vrijstelling niet volledig, dan mag je tot €1.000 meenemen naar het volgende jaar, voor maximaal 5 jaar.

Mijn situatie:

• €63.000 meerwaarde gerealiseerd dit jaar (allemaal vanaf fotomoment 31/12/2025).
• Slechts €3.000 aan minwaarden in mijn portfolio om te compenseren.
• Ik woon feitelijk samen maar wettelijk verandert dit niets aan mijn situatie.
• Ik wil mijn €10.000 vrijstelling dit jaar sowieso volledig benutten.

Mijn vraag: Zijn er legale strategieën om de belastbare meerwaarde verder te beperken, buiten de vrijstelling en het verrekenen van minwaarden?

Alvast bedankt voor de tips!