(Image: Metro/Pexels)
How much money is in your savings account? We ask a different Dutch person that every week. Because although we talk more and more about money, we never talk about exactly how much we earn and save. This week: 40-year-old Tim, who has dreamed of income from real estate since he was young.
Profession: truck driver
Net income: 3100 euro
Living situation: owner-occupied home together with his wife and children
Tim’s Savings Account
How much money is in your savings account?
“Currently 45,000 euros.”
What do you think of that amount?
“Ça va,” responds the Flemish Tim. “I think it’s too little. Three months ago I paid off the mortgage on the apartment I rent. Then I paid off 30,000 euros in one go. The rental of the apartment brings in 730 euros per month.”
Renting the apartment brings in 730 euros per month.
“I bought that apartment in 2007. I lived there for the first six years, then we bought the house where we live now. We have now also demolished the house and completely rebuilt it. We always kept that first apartment and we now rent it out. Coincidentally, yesterday I viewed another apartment for rental. Maybe I will make an offer.”
Where do the real estate investments come from?
“It provides passive income. We still have a mortgage on our own home. Part of this is tax deductible.
Investing in real estate has always been a goal and dream of mine. I previously thought about student housing, but I decided against that. Those rules are more complex, so now I’m going for apartments.”
You are now renting out an apartment. How did the road get there?
“I bought my first apartment alone. From day one I have always worked very hard and had multiple jobs. I started in a factory and I would garden before or after work.
I tackled everything that could make money. I collect every euro and I have often worked 7 days a week.
When I bought my first apartment in 2007, I had saved 25,000 euros. The apartment cost 125,000 euros, so I took out a mortgage of 100,000 euros. I received the buyer’s costs from my parents. Later I met my wife and she moved in with me.
One day my father called that a house had become available in their street. That was a very old house and that woman had died. There was bickering in the family about the house. We used that family feud a bit.”
We used that family quarrel a bit.
“They asked 150,000 euros for the house and in the end I was able to purchase it for 100,000 euros. I first rented it out for 450 euros per month. Later we demolished it and built a new house there. We moved there ourselves in 2016. We have been renting out the other apartment ever since.”
Do you want to stop being a truck driver?
“I like to work. But I don’t want to have to work. I see that many colleagues who are approaching retirement age still have to work.
I don’t want that later. I want to work because I like to work. I still work a lot now and friends sometimes wonder why. Financially things are going well. Yet I still work long hours. I leave at three o’clock in the morning and then I get home somewhere between 5 and 6 o’clock in the evening.
Now that the apartment has been paid off, we can often save around 2,000 euros per month.”
What does the savings strategy look like?
“I manage everything regarding the money. My wife doesn’t interfere with that. I have 12 accounts and all the money is divided between them. I know exactly how it works.
My most important rule for the current account is as follows: 1000 euros is 0 euros. I see those 1000 euros as the 0 line. This means you never end up in negative territory. Sometimes the bill may go to 800 euros, but the next month it must be 1,000 euros again.”
What about all those other savings accounts?
“I cycle to work every day. Thanks to an arrangement with work, this yields 200 euros per month. I always put that in a separate account called bicycle allowance. In the meantime I have already raised 9,000 euros.
Then my wife and I both have a separate checking account. I give us both a free budget of 530 euros per month. Then I have a separate current account where I transfer the surpluses of my own 530 euros.”
I give us both a free budget of 530 euros per month.
“Then we have a joint savings account with 12,000 euros in it. Then I have a pension pot, actually imposed by the bank. I can’t reach that. There are 5,000 euros in it, but the stones are my pension.
Then there is a pot called extra, which contains 8,246 euros. I have been very strict with myself and can easily deny myself things in order to save. I like to bite the bullet to achieve goals. That’s what this jar is for. If I want something, I can get it from here.
Then there is an account for the rental income, a holiday pot and two new savings accounts because the interest rate is higher there. You can deposit a maximum of 500 euros into it every month, so I first opened one in my name, later another in my wife’s name. I also have an investment fund, but there isn’t much in it either.
How do you arrange the expenses further?
“My wife gets 140 euros a week for groceries. In addition, in Belgium you also receive food vouchers from your employer. That is worth 168 euros, which is what she gets. It should be possible with that budget. In that respect, I am also a bit of an autistic with money. It can’t be caviar every day, I sometimes say.”
Would you like to change something about your financial situation?
“I have good financial insight and that started at an early age. My parents actually made me very scared when it came to money. That may not be really positive, but it has also brought me something.”
My parents actually made me very scared when it came to money.
“I later left home, because living on your own costs money. When I started living alone, I knew: life is expensive. That’s why I started writing down every issue. The first thing I bought was a notebook and a pen.
When I met my wife later, it naturally led to an argument. If we went to the seaside for a day, I would keep track of everything and start writing in the evening. I now keep track of it in general terms in an app.”
What is your best financial tip?
“With financial insight, people feel that they are no longer allowed to do anything. As far as I’m concerned, it just depends on how you look at it. I recently went to the forest with the children and we had something to eat afterwards. I lost 14 euros for the whole day.
If I leave that to my wife, they go to an indoor playground, buy food and drinks and at the end of the day they spend 60 to 70 euros. While those children in the forest are also having a super good day. You save a lot with such choices.”
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2023-12-25 19:59:06
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