My Net Worth Exposed!

This month's net worth update!

It’s been a long time coming, but finally my net worth is out there for all you readers to see! The more astute ones among you probably have already spotted the portfolio tab on top where I will update my portfolio and net worth every month.

When considering other bloggers’ net worth it isn’t much, but I’m still very proud of my nest egg: I have €42,850.77 to my name! And no debt whatsoever!

While I’ve left out some other small investments – windmills, baby! – and random cash like a rent guarantee to keep things simple, you’ll find a break-down of my stash below.

 

Exchange-traded funds

My actual investments are tied up in ETFs, which I’ve written about before. After last week’s market decline they’re not doing too great anymore, but I’m confident they’ll go up in the end eventually.

Ticker ETF Cost basis Mkt. value Gain
IWDA iShares Core MSCI World 4,982.96 4,960.44 -0.45%
IEMA iShares MSCI Emerging Markets 1,214.59 1,261.98 +3.90%
IMAE iShares MSCI Europe 3,561.94 3,429.36 -3.72%
Total 9,759.49 9,651.78 -1.10%

 

Other

My other holdings include a tax-advantaged pension fund, a savings account through an insurance firm with a guaranteed yearly return of 3.15% and an emergency fund.

The pension fund is rather small because the tax-advantaged yearly contribution is only €950 at the moment. Of that amount every employed Belgian citizen can deduct 30% from next year’s taxes, which basically is an instant 30% return. The downside is that the state will tax the entire fund at 10% when you turn 60 and that you won’t be able to access the money until you’re 65.

The savings account is a TAK 21 insurance product, which probably only means something to Belgians. Basically, the money can’t be withdrawn without a penaly for a certain period of time. Moreover, the interest rate is fixed. The big difference with other savings accounts is that this account is contract-based and needs the approval of both parties to be dissolved. As a result, I’m still getting a nice return even though new contracts of the same type offer guaranteed interest rates of only 1.5% at most.

Last but not least, there’s my emergency fund. Currently it’s way too big considering the highest unexpected expense I can run into is only about €500. That’s why I plan to reduce it by €10,000 in the next couple of months whenever I find a great dividend growth stock on the cheap.

Name Cost basis Current value Gain
Pension fund 475.00 464.54 -2.20% and 30% tax break
Savings account N/A 17,612.75 +3.15% guaranteed yearly
Emergency fund N/A 15,000 N/A
Total N/A 33,091.28 N/A

 

Going forward

One of my goals for 2014 is to have at least €20,000 in the stock market, so I still have some investing to do this year!

I expect to use at least €1,000 of my paycheck every month to buy ETF shares, which means I’ll have about €15,000 invested in them by the end of the year. That’s still €5,000 short of course. Consequently, I’ll use at least €5,000 of the emergency fund to try my hand at dividend growth investing.

I’m currently working on some stock analyses that you can expect soon. Contrary to most other dividend growth investors in the blogosphere I’ll focus more on European companies. Turns out there are quite a few of excellent dividend growers in ol’ Europe!

Exciting times ahead, for sure!

 

While I sincerely hope that this post was insightful and interesting to you, I must admit it’s still quite scary to publish my net worth online even though it’s anonymous. So you better enjoy all of the above and my future progress! Enjoy it! Did you?

Thanks for reading.

29 Comments

    1. I basically own a small part of two windmills our municipality put up to provide electricity to one area of the city. Every inhabitant was allowed to buy into the programme for a set amount of money.

      The electricity generated by the windmills is sold to the highest bidder. That income is then used to pay back the town investors with a big bonus on top. I believe currently I’m at an average 8% yearly interest coupon!

      It’s basically a crowd-sourced initiative by the government, which is pretty cool! 🙂 A lot of municipalities are doing the same with solar energy.

    1. If you’re committed the only way is up, Brandy! I hope you’ll join me soon in being happy about your net worth!

    1. Ha, I wish I owned an entire windmill farm! Like I explained to Will, I only own a small part of two windmills. They’re a crowd-funded initiative by the government and provide a big interest coupon every year.

      Environmentally friendly, good for the community and profit for me, what’s not to love?

  1. fantastic NMW, I wanted to invest in wind-turbines, but ther was no similar option here. there is a good payment system on solar, but my spouse won’t agree to it! that is also paying 8% per year and is guaranteed to rise with inflation

    1. Solar and windmills often are a really good investment because the government subsidizes those projects a lot. My parents even have solar panels at home and they hardly cost anything after the tax breaks and the lower electricity bill. I believe it only took them four years to regain the initially invested capital, so the next sixteen years are pure profit!

      Maybe run the numbers by your spouse again? It’s probably worthwhile to invest in solar!

        1. Eight years is still great and definitely worth it!

          To me the fact that it’s environmentally friendly also plays a big factor. If there’s anything I can do to help the environment, especially when it hardly takes any effort, I’m glad to do so.

          Let me know what you decide to do!
          NMW

  2. A nice start. Not many people from our age do have such net worth. I’m looking forward to see your list of european dividendpayers.

    Cheers,
    G

    1. Thanks, Geblin!

      I think you’re right; very few people in Belgium have saved two times their yearly net salary by the time they’re 25.

      The list of dividend growers will take some more time. It’s quite time consuming checking out all these companies… I plan on regularly writing a stock analysis and go from there. Another issue I run into when evaluating companies is the different tax structures depending on the country they’re located in.

      If you look at Royal Dutch Shell, for example, they have six stocks listed, but only one is efficient from a tax perspective for Belgians. I believe it’s the B-class stock listed in London, but then you have to deal with currency risk. So many things to consider!

      Have a great weekend,
      NMW

    1. Thank you, Tawcan!

      Owning part of a windmill is quite fun! Whenever I step outside I can see my investment in the far distance making me money! 😀

    1. Thanks for the suggestion, I will! Although I’m not sure the political situation in Ukraine and a possible trade war between Russia and the EU makes Gazprom a smart investment at this time.

      Nice to have you here, way too few Europeans active in the financial independence and dividend growth investing game!

    1. No problem, hope it was a fun read!

      And I feel your pain on the currency exchange… Wait until I start buying individual stocks in Euros, US or Canadian Dollars, Pounds, Swiss Franks or even Swedish Kronor! If you have any idea on how to make the overview more clear currency-wise, I’m all ears.

      Thanks for stopping by,
      NMW

    1. They are! Especially when they provide you with a big check very year! 🙂

      I really like reading other people’s portfolio’s and net worth, especially the growth and change over time. I hope to read yours soon!

    1. Thanks, Steven! I have been wondering if I should post my net worth or not, but in the end I believe the value to the community is higher than my personal – anonymous – privacy.

      Thanks for visiting,
      NMW

    1. Thanks, man! Much appreciated! Let’s see if we can climb the ranks.

      I’m the only one listed in Euros, so there’s at least one area where I’m ahead of everyone else! 🙂

    1. Awesome, right? Some folks have an even higher guaranteed return because they signed up before me. I think the highest yielding accounts are at 4.5% or something like that. Insane interest rate to have at the moment for money which is 100% safe.

      Thanks for visiting and have a great day!
      NMW

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