Mustachians, introduce yourselves!

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291

Hello everyone,

Very happy to have found this forum!

I’ve have been meaning to figure out what to do with my savings, in what to invest, how to invest… and kept stumbling on what is great in other countries, with other taxes etc. might not be so smart in Switzerland. I didn’t find the answers I was looking for and kept postponing. Until now. I am 40 years old btw.

I have to admit, I am not really interested in retiring early, but I would like more financial independance. Also being frugal is not my strong suit I guess, reading about saving quotes in the high double digits :astonished: But I do care about what I spend money on. I am having a hard time buying furniture e.g. and basically writing it off the minute you walk out the door, and always try to look for something that holds value. Seems obvious, but there is always this voice.

As said, I am not looking for early retirement. I like my job and am extremely flexible at my employer. My boss I am reporting to really doesn’t have a clue what I am doing. If I reach my targets he is happy, no questions asked. 25 to 50% of my work comes from my personal network, so I could always start for myself and make a decent living. For the time being I am happy, with young kids, little stress and a secure job I am sleeping very well.

My net worth looks like this:
House worth 900k - mortgage 530k = approx. 370k own capital
Pillar 3: 110k (my wife + me)
Pillar 2: really quite embarrassing but no idea how much in my 2 :neutral_face: But I do know my wife’s because she had to move it after the quit her last job. She looks after the kids and household, so she has no income, but pillar 2 is 50k from parttime jobs.
Cash: 135k
Bitcoin: 22k (bought some a few years ago when btc was at 3k :slightly_smiling_face:)
Sports car, watches: 110k (holding value, see above :point_up:
Income is around 140k, but saving quote is not realy high; 6.5k in pillar 3 plus 10-15k a year maybe? Surely there is potential here.

The plan is now to decide how to invest my 135k cash, turning my existing pillar 3 into part stocks and opening a VIAC account. I already have a Swissquote trading account, I don’t know if this is a good solution for infrequent trades? Want to keep it simple and long term only.
I am looking at my 110k of stuff (low estimate) as my cash for emergencies. Most of you will probably shake their heads if I said I have atleast another 10k in sellable automotive parts lying around in the garage alone :joy:

So happy to be here and starting a new path… :chart_with_upwards_trend:

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292

Hi @Blaine, welcome

:thinking: strange, you should receive a statement from your Pensionskasse at the beginning of every year…

:thinking: :thinking: are you sure ? Had a coupe of those in my pre-mustachian life and always sold at a huge loss…

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293

@weirded Thanks!
Yes probably, but I just didn’t really looked at it then, goes to show my retirement has not been my concern at all.
An older 911 and a few Rolex. Holding value pretty well.

294

Hi Everyone!

I’ve been reading the Mustachian Post for a few years now and thought it’s about time I make an intro as well. I’m impressed at how the community has grown over the years and equally excited that there are so many other FI fans here in Switzerland!

About me, well I’m rather lazy and probably could’ve already retired if I had been more diligent but oh well :slight_smile: I studied Finance and Accounting in the USA finished in 2014 then moved here to CH. I only started investing for myself in 2017, haven’t been very consistent, but all in all I am happy with my results. I’ve had a high income relative to costs so I am probably 3 years away from full retirement if I start taking it seriously. I figured I love working so much more than sitting down to invest or do my taxes, so just keep working :slight_smile:

But now I stopped enjoying my work, so I quit my job, and will have time to invest and save more consistently now, let’s see how it goes! :smiley:

Cheers,
Paka

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295

Welcome paka!

How does this work - what do you save “from” if you have no income? :smiley:
Or just saving in general as in not spending as much?
Or you mean from the new job you would find?

296

Good point! Though cleaning up my portfolio and organizing my investing habits is going to pay off in the long run.

So far I made about 30k income from the clean up, selling just before the big dip (sooo lucky), and I also had about 110k just lying around uninvested. So i’ll put that money to work.

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297

Welcome to the forum, @paka :slight_smile:
Congrats for the tough decision of quitting your job, I guess we’re facing similar challenges :slight_smile:
Are you single/married/with kids?
What’s you plan for the next months?

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298

Thanks MrRIP!

Quitting has been just wonderful! Spending time on all those other important things in life like family, fun, personal development, and now finances! I will get some freelance work inbetween that goes in the direction of what I want to do longer term (career pivot). I’m single with one child.

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299

Hello Mustachians!
Italian, 28 years old, just finished my master and started working as a marketing manager in Switzerland. I am now starting my independece journey, wish me luck :grin:

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300

+39 years young Finance and Accounting professional with MBA from Top50 B.school, certified project manager (PMP). Deep knowledge in life science value chain.
+family with a toddler.
+An expat from Belarus now residing in CH.
+enjoying RAV generosity and actively looking for a job after big pharma restructuring.
+Couldn’t trust myself before very recent time to make 1st investment transaction.

Dear MP,
great website! thank you!
ironically I came to the same conclusion and 1st thing in my life I invested into was IE00B3RBWM25. Just be aware that on Degiro it is no longer free. 2 CHF +0.3% per transaction.

Stay safe!
Freundlichen Grüßen
AA (2xA)

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301

Hello everyone,

I have discovered the MP blog very recently when I was looking about free credit cards. I’m far from being a mustachian right now, but I plan to become one in the long run :slight_smile:

  • Swiss Family of 2 kids in Geneva
  • Work as a consultant for some international organisations
  • Owner of an flat which I rent and of my house (shared with my husband and mainly with the banks :frowning: )
  • Money and investments (and mortgage) in one of the big Swiss bank. I already have a mustachian strategy there (meaning I buy and let it stay there), but with all the inferred costs.

My next moves: change my actual credit cards (at the Swiss bank) with free ones. Revolut account already opened, neon under way. Wondering which one to choose between Supercard, Cumulus and Amex cashback (I want Apple Pay) for Swiss payments.

Then look at VIAC for 3rd pillar and also start investing directly (Degiro or True Wealth as I don’t plan to invest much at the beginning). Later I’ll probably rethink what to do about the funds that are in the Swiss bank’s custody or just leave them there.

In the past I’ve already optimised the phone bills (Qoqa smartphone offer). Unfortunately I cannot go with the full 4G solution because the signal is very weak in my area. I think I will also change my health insurance (still insured as semi-private, much too expensive), check all insurances.

So I am just starting my journey now. My objective is mainly to think about my retirement and ensure some growth for the next 13-15 years (depending on when the legal age will be at the time). At retirement age, I don’t know what the strategy will be. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep my expensive house, but I have a few years to plan for that.

I didn’t read all the blog yet but I found it very instructive and interesting. I certainly learned a lot and will continue to learn from this community!

Cheers!

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303

Great to find the blog. I am an American consultant (30s) living in Stuttgart, Germany but next year I plan to move to Switzerland to join my swiss fiance.

I have just created an American Real Estate LLC and hopefully will have two investment properties this year. Therefore, if anyone want to know about LLC formation in the states let me know. Also, I invest in stocks and recently started in bullion (gold/silver) to diversify my portfolio.

Since developing my LLC, I am invested in seeking out more information on assets protection is CH, specifically family foundations and trusts in order to lower my tax rate.

Would love to meet like minded people in Zurich, as I travel there every other weekend.

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304

Hello guys!

I just discovered this blog and after reading some very useful posts I subscribed! Thanks for creating it MP!
I was redirected here from @MrRIP blog, that I’ve been following for at least 1 year now.

I’m 27 and I work in the artificial intelligence/software domain in Lausanne. Not really sure what to do with my life, but FIRE is definitely an option and I want to know more.

Cheers :slight_smile:

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Hello all!

Thanks to MP for the articles and all of you for the great discussions on here. Have been on MMM for a while and happy to find a Swiss community. A brief introduction:

-31, US/German citizen
-Living and working in Zurich since 2018
-Goal is FIRE by 40
-US portfolio fully invested in Vanguard (Index funds and 401k (like Pillar 2))
-Looking to set up a similar plan w CHF income here (hopefully Vanguard via IB?)

  • Enjoy hiking, running, climbing

Looking forward to discussions with all of you! Anyone else “burdened” with US citizenship who has figured out investing /double taxation… let me know! ; )

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Hi @Evan. Welcome to the forum! I’d love to hear more about “FIRE by 40” if you’d be willing to share the details.

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Hi @Mustachioed! Of course, happy to. Please forgive the lack of super detailed numbers for now… There was a MMM interview where he spoke about "“Walking around in your monetary underwear” and let’s just say I’m not there yet haha.

  1. Using about 32k per year currently, expecting that to be 35k or so in the future
  2. Rounding the fire number up to 1M to be safe
  3. Rather frugal, 9 years into career, slightly above Swiss average income but nothing crazy

In the States you can get your cost of living down much lower than here, as you all know haha. Super happy to be in this wonderful country, but still trying to figure out some of the financial instruments ; )

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308

Welcome!

Expenses or savings?

309

Hi @Ed_Waadt, thank you

Sorry for the unclear wording: Expenses. Rent, food, transport, health insurance, etc

310

Could work … assuming you remain single and have no kids :slight_smile:
And not in Switzerland - I guess you plan to RE back in the US?

311

Congrats then. Just 35k (+taxes I’m guessing) in that department is great. I’m not being a good mustachian lately. In fact I’ve been so bad in 2019 that I haven’t updated my numbers since 2018.

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