Own your future: why I don’t outsource mine to the state
Hayek, state budgets from Berlin to Rome and why I plan my money as if the state won’t show up. Safety net yes, financial planner no.
Read// 14 articles
Brain food, zero fluff.
Everything I’ve written, newest first. Every number has a source, so you can check me instead of trusting me.
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Accumulating or distributing ETFs: same engine, different exhaust
Same index, different cash flow. How both ETF types work, what the German taxman does to them in 2026, and which one suits your temperament.
ReadAI and your money: great intern, terrible oracle
What a chatbot can really do for your money in 2026, where it confidently talks crap, and a checklist before you believe a word of it.
ReadDividend investing, minus the fairy tale
Dividends aren’t free money. What a payout really does to your shares, your tax bill and your risk – and the few cases where dividends still make sense.
ReadETF tax in Germany 2026: what the state takes, on one page
Flat tax, partial exemption, advance lump sum, allowance: German ETF tax in 2026 without the legalese. Two worked examples you can check yourself.
ReadFIRE in Europe – the US playbook doesn’t work here. The maths does.
No 401(k), no Roth, no US ETFs. Here’s what financial independence looks like under European rules, plus the savings rate table.
ReadHow much until you’re financially free? The 4% rule, tested for Europe
The 4% rule was built on US data and a 30-year retirement. Lucky them. What the research says for Europeans, and how you get to your own number.
ReadInvesting in Europe: start here, ignore the American advice
Why your broker blocks US ETFs, what UCITS does for you, how to vet a broker and read an ETF label. Plus a six-step setup for one afternoon.
ReadMSCI World vs FTSE All-World: the fight that barely matters
Four global indices, fact sheets of 31 August 2026. Holdings, US share, emerging markets. And why your costs matter more than the logo on the index.
ReadNobody taught you money. So I built this site.
Three in ten people in the EU can’t pay a surprise bill. Nobody taught them money, and somebody earns well from that. Hence this site.
ReadThe everything bubble: why I think it pops, and a plan for when it does
Shares, property and debt are all too expensive at once, I think. The numbers, the prophets’ track record and a crash plan that works even if I’m wrong.
ReadWhy earning more beats saving more
You can’t save your way below zero. The maths of €100 saved versus €500 earned, and why much of Europe keeps about half of every extra euro.
ReadYour first side business next to a job
Contract, registration, VAT, health insurance, invoices: the no-drama checklist for a first side business in Germany in 2026. Sell first, build later.
ReadYour pension has a bug – and it’s the same bug all over Europe
Pay-as-you-go pensions run on one equation, and ageing breaks it from Lisbon to Warsaw. Seven countries compared, Germany worked through.
ReadNothing here yet. I’m typing as fast as I can.