Hello there, anyone want to give 2024 newbie advice?

Share your story
1

Hello Everyone,
I am from BE/NL, 22yrs, going to start my MA in Geneva from Sept, currently on an unpaid UN internship. I am new in CH (July) and just found out about the FIRE movement, a total newbie! Looking for advice/guidance/mentorship. while I catch up with all the FIRE nuances in CH.

My FINANCIAL SITUATION:

EXPENSES:_________________________________________

  1. Housing in Geneva: CHF 150/m (host family, pay utilities)
    in exchange for a few hrs of housework/week (very lucky!)
  2. 3rd party insurance: CHF 25/m
  3. Public transport card: CHF 45/m
    (hoping it will be free in Geneva from Jan 2025)
  4. Food: 300-350/m (mainly Lidl),
    will come down once I know better
  5. Telecom: Eur 10/m
    still using my NL post-paid plan number
    1GB Lebara calls/data free in CH (lucky!)
    free wifi (work/home)
  6. Healthcare/insurances: none so far
  7. Going out: CHF 150-200. (CH is expensive!)
    will come down once I know better
    TOTAL: ≈ CHF 750

INCOME:_________________________________________

  1. Eur 800/m from parents
  2. Eur 600/m from student loan (until I am 25)
    TOTAL: ≈ 1400/m
    TOTAL SAVINGS: CHF 650/month (for now)

ASSETS:_________________________________________
Savings in Bank: ≈ Eur 5,500
Outstanding Student Debt: Eur ≈ 20,800
This amount is in my Bank, never used the money.
I took the student loan because it was available.
Hoping they will give students debt-relief some day.
The amount is in my Wise account, 2.1% net cashback.
I pay 2.25% interest on the debt, but I like the liquidity.
Would like to invest this amount.
Bicycle: CHF 165 (2nd hand)

LIABILITIES: _________________________________________
Tuition expenses: CHF 26,000 (forecast for next 2-yrs)
Dental: ≈ Eur 2500

NEED GUIDANCE ON CURRENT ISSUES TO RESOLVE

  1. Swiss Bank Account
    tried NEON, but I need clarification
    Do I have tax status abroad? I don’t know.
    My parents receive child allowance until I am 25
    I get tax papers in NL, but I submit nil tax
    Do I need a Swiss mobile# to receive activation code
    I can’t see where I can use the Mustachian code!

  2. Student job (15hrs/week, (≈ CHF 20-25/hr) - in the loop
    A. Any guidance about the contract that I can ask to modify?
    B. How to file tax, tax liabilities, which deductions & eligibility
    C. Whats 1st, 2nd & 3rd pillars: totally confused
    D. I plan to use the money to finance my tuition expenses
    E. Don’t know if I can combine work, study, housework and manage my time efficiently and still have time to network and relax.

  3. Which Health Insurance?
    Full health insurance in BE incl. Hospitalization (Thanks Dad!)
    I will need to get CH Health Insurance soon, esp. if I take the job
    No health issues forseen, except Dental (onetime), for which I saved
    Which insurance plan should I choose? So many options!

4.Investment
Plan to open a IBKR account soon and try to save every month
What should be my asset allocation/fund selection options?
Plan to stay on in CH for a few years.

Thank you in advance to all of you, esp Mr. MP to host this site and forum. Any advice is welcome. I will buy the MP book. Is there a student discount?

Still haven’t seen much here, but my feet is itching to explore. CH is lovely, I adore Lake Geneva. Busy but great experience in th UN everyday. Ciao for now!
Rain

2

Don’t focus too much on FIRE beyond basic budgeting until you’re fully in the workforce it’s much more meaningful to invest in yourself (you’ll never get those years back and whatever you safe at this point is likely a drop in the bucket compared to when you’ll a full time job and a degree).

You should at least put it in a EUR money market or similar (probably 3-4% return matching risk free rate).

3 Likes
3

Welcome and good that you are trying to learn at an early stage.

My first advise would be

  • clear all your debts if you need to pay interest on the debt. It might sound lucrative but borrowing money to invest is not a good idea in my view. It makes sense in Real estate but otherwise would recommend against that.
  • To open bank accounts in Switzerland , you need Swiss residence permit. If you have it, you can open an account. Normally most banks have cheaper student accounts options.
  • It might sound counter intuitive but please do not get into a mode of cost cutting to invest. Enjoying life in younger days is also important.
  • For investments, if you have something left at month end and want to invest, perhaps best to start with one ETF approach. Since it’s not clear if you would remain in CH for long period, best would be to use UCITS funds for example
  • FWRA (traded in CHF), accumulative
  • SPYI (traded in Euros), accumulative
  • WEBG (traded in Euros) , distributing
3 Likes
4

You should check with your university, if they have any discounted health insurance recommendations. Sometimes you can get a group discount

5
  • 2nd pillar is automatic , so nothing to do
  • 3rd pillar is choice and only makes sense if you file tax returns. In your case, you would not need to file obligatory tax returns and hence there won’t be any benefit in terms of tax
  • Most likely you will be on B permit, if so, you will be taxed at source. Not much to do in terms of tax returns.
6

Just a quick question (might have more time to go through later). But as I understand you will need this money to pay tuition in the next 2 years, is that correct? If yes I would definitely not invest it and keep it in a savings account or something similarly safe as you do have now.

Time will come where you will earn more, so I would first and foremost make sure you cover all the necessities (including tax, tuition and also some leisure) until you start investing for the future.

Your current spending is already super low (congrats for managing this in Geneva!), so there is not much room to save more. If you get enough income from your student job, then it could make sense to start the investing journey slowly to get accommodated. But make sure it doesn’t eat too much in how you can enjoy your life. 200 CHF/month is a lot in your current situation and you could use it for many great things. In a few years you’ll likely be able to save 10x this per month and it wouldnt hurt you too much.

1 Like
7

Study well, party hard. Don’t waste money, but also don’t try to be super frugal. Build up an emergency fund. Think about repaying of the debt or put money away for a future repayment.

If everything goes well, invest excess cash to one all-world ETF (at Degiro.nl ?).

5 Likes
8

Nit for mandatory health care, only for additional health insurance. And make sure to compare if the deal with the discout is really the best offer on the market.

9

I think you might be right.
I mixed up the discounted over with employer paying part of insurance.

10

Hey, I’m also in search of newbie advice so it’s nice to see I’m not the only one!
I unfortunately have the “priviledge” of owning a US-citizenship while being a swiss resident
 It makes understanding my personal finances and responsibilities as an 18 year old INCREDIBLY difficult to wrap my head around.
I have many questions regarding military service, double taxation and optimisation, Investing and also general advice and discourse about money. (It’s sort of a taboo subject in my family, so I am really glad to have stumbled on this forum.)

I hope to be able to make my own posts soon, so I can properly introduce myself and adress the topics individually


I look forward to further discussions on this forum!

5 Likes
11

This will be the most expensive travel insurance you will ever hold. If you don’t plan to move back to the USA, any chance you will be able to drop this abusive relationship? The earlier the better, once you have anything, they want exit taxes.

2 Likes