The FIRE Belgium Show

Check out the free investing workshop: https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop/
If you’re putting off investing because you think it takes hours, this episode is for you. 

Once you set up a simple, passive system, maintaining your ETF portfolio can take less than five minutes per month. In this live demo, the whole process of doing my monthly transactions took under two minutes (1 min and 26 sec). 
In this video, you’ll see the exact steps, why they work, and the few things you need and don’t need to care about as a Belgian passive index ETF investor.
Chapters
0:00 The Truth About Monthly Investing Time Commitments
1:51 Live Demonstration: Executing Your Monthly Trades
5:31 Breaking Down the Mechanics of Autopilot Investing
10:00 Defining Your Asset Allocation Strategy
14:15 Streamlining Your Path to Financial Independence 

🎓  Interested in simple, practical investing, optimized for Belgian taxes?
→ Free Interactive Workshop: How to Build Wealth on Autopilot, evidence-based index ETF investing, optimized for Belgian taxes:  https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop/

🧑🏽‍🤝‍🧑 Join the Belgium Financial Independence Community:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/FIREBelgium

Template: https://firebelgium.com/investing-for-kids-template-demo/

If you're saving money for your children, nieces or nephews, where you put that money can make a huge difference over 10 or 20 years.
Leaving it in a savings account means letting it die to inflation and losing purchasing power.
Investing via bank funds or insurance products means paying excessively high fees (entry and ongoing) and giving up on the majority of the returns! 
So what can you do instead?
In this episode, I show you the simple system I use to invest for multiple children, and let them benefit from full market returns:
One low-cost, globally diversified stock-market ETF + one simple spreadsheet to track each child's investment.
No complicated investment products.No separate portfolio for every child.No unnecessary high fees.
And I've made my Google Spreadsheet template available for you to copy and use for your own kids, nieces or nephews, right away.
- Why I don't use traditional savings accounts for long-term investing for kids (disaster no. 1)
- What's wrong with many of the investment products offered by Belgian banks (disaster no. 2)
- How to invest for multiple children using a single portfolio
- How to get broad stock-market exposure while keeping costs low
- How I selected the ETF for this strategy
- How to track each child's contributions and investment performance
- How to turn investing into an educational tool for your children
- What to think about before eventually giving the investment to the child
- How to use the spreadsheet to create an annual investment statement for each child
+ EXACT STEP-BY-STEP DEMO for you to use the template and start investing for your kids, optimized for Belgian taxes.

You can copy it to your own Google Drive and use it to track investments for up to 10 children.
👉 Get the template here:
https://firebelgium.com/investing-for-kids-template-demo/

Watch the episode, get the full understanding of how to use the tool and get started.
If you're going to invest for your kids for years or decades, keeping the strategy simple, diversified and low-cost matters enormously. 
In the case of my 7 year old son, investing in this way has made 60% more gains than going with a bank product, for a total of 2766 €.
And I want to make sure your kids get the same benefits.

This episode reflects my personal approach and is for educational purposes only. It is not individual investment, tax or legal advice.

And if you’re new to index investing, then I recommend you watch the free interactive workshop on Index Investing for Beginners in Belgium: create passive income from the stock market, without paying high fees to banks or advisors, taking unnecessary risks or spending all day analyzing the markets. Free Workshop → https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop
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Download the FIRE Belgium Beginner's Guide to Index Investing: https://bit.ly/FIREBGuide
Learn about Financial Independence in Belgium: https://firebelgium.com
Subscribe to the newsletter: https://firebelgium.com/#Subscribe
Join the community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FIREBelgium

🎓 Free Interactive Workshop: https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop
📊 Free Financial Independence Calculator: https://firebelgium.com/ficalculator
The 4% rule is one of the most famous concepts in the world of financial independence.It is simple: build a portfolio worth 25 times your annual expenses, withdraw 4% per year, and you should be able to retire without running out of money.
But the problem is that the 4% rule could make you retire too early… or too late.
Too early, because you might underestimate the risks and misunderstand the assumptions behind the rule and believe you are financially independent when you’re not.For example I’ve seen people say: well the 4% rule works because on average the stock market returns 7 to 9% per year.
So taking 4% is safe. This is, of course, completely wrong.
But also too late, because you might be saving and investing for years longer than necessary because you are using a rule that does not fully match your situation as an investor living in Belgium.
So what is the truth?Is the 4% rule still useful?How much money do you actually need to retire or supplement your pension in Belgium?
And how should you adapt this famous rule to your own investment plan?
In this episode, I am joined once again by Toon Cuypers. We are going to break down the research behind the 4% rule and show you how to adapt it to your own situation.Here is what you'll learn:- how much money you really need to achieve financial freedom,- why the 4% rule is only a starting point and not a complete retirement plan,- the hidden assumptions that can change your answer by hundreds of thousands of euros,- how Belgian investors should think about their portfolio, pension, and withdrawal strategy,- and how to build a simple, evidence-based plan that gives you confidence about your financial future.
By the end of this episode, you will have a much clearer framework to calculate your own freedom number and build a realistic investment plan based on evidence — not just a simple rule of thumb.

By the way, if you’re new to index investing and you would like to get my blueprint on how to build wealth on autopilot, using evidence-based investing optimized for Belgian taxes, make sure to watch the free workshop on the FIRE Belgium website. It’s the best way to start and it’s my gift to you.

🎓 Free Interactive Workshop: https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop
Also, towards the end of the episode, we use the Financial Independence Calculator, to help you estimate your time to FI, including Belgian taxes, such as the new tax on capital gains. You can find it here:
📊 FI Calculator (free): https://firebelgium.com/ficalculator

Other important links:
📖 Beginner's Guide: https://bit.ly/FIREBGuide
🌐 FIRE Belgium: https://firebelgium.com
👥 Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FIREBelgium
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pn2Gu1kSM5xtOgH3osjU7
🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fire-belgium-show/id1632972120

Music: Tobu, Wholm & Blume - Coolhttps://www.youtube.com/tobuofficial

=> Get the Broker Comparison Table here for free: firebelgium.com/brokers

What are the best brokers for ETF investors in Belgium?
What is the best broker for you?
In this episode, we do a deep dive and compare 12 brokers, across 35 criteria so that you can select the best broker for your situation and your needs.
I am joined by Toon Cuypers, financial coach at FIRE Belgium for this episode as he just spent 2 months updating the FIRE Belgium Comparison Table.
And you can download it for free here: firebelgium.com/brokers.
In this episode, you will learn about:
The cheapest broker for Belgian investors,

The most convenient brokers

And the new automatic investments plans offered by the various brokers.

If you’re looking to find the best broker to start investing with or to move your portfolio to, then this episode is for you.

And if you’re new to index investing, then I recommend you watch the free interactive workshop on Index Investing for Beginners in Belgium: create passive income from the stock market, without paying high fees to banks or advisors, taking unnecessary risks or spending all day analyzing the markets. Free Workshop → https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop
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Download the FIRE Belgium Beginner's Guide to Index Investing: https://bit.ly/FIREBGuide
Learn about Financial Independence in Belgium: https://firebelgium.com
Subscribe to the newsletter: https://firebelgium.com/#Subscribe
Join the community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FIREBelgium

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Music: Tobu, Wholm & Blume - Cool
https://www.youtube.com/tobuofficial

If you keep doing what you're doing today, when will you become financially independent?
In 10 years? 25 years? Or never?
Most people have no idea. But after watching this video, you will know your financial independence number and exactly how long it will take you to get there.
Most financial independence calculators are wrong for investors living in Belgium, because they ignore Belgian-specific taxes and investment fees. This one doesn't.
I built this tool based on evidence-based investing principles and my experience teaching over 500 professionals in Belgium how to start investing.
What we cover:
→ How to calculate your financial independence number
→ How long it will take you to get there at your current savings rate
→ What you can do to get there faster
→ The real cost of investing with a robo advisor or bank funds vs index ETFs
→ What happens if you don't invest at all
→ How fees can cost you years, if not a decade
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:14 When will you become financially independent?
01:44 Why most FI calculators are wrong for Belgium
03:38 What this calculator shows you
04:28 Robo advisors and bank funds vs index ETFs
05:36 The real impact of fees
05:54 The cost of not investing
06:28 About this tool
07:00 How to download the FI Calculator
Free tools mentioned:
📊 FI Calculator (free): https://firebelgium.com/ficalculator
🎓 Free Workshop: https://firebelgium.com/investingworkshop
📖 Beginner's Guide: https://bit.ly/FIREBGuide
🌐 FIRE Belgium: https://firebelgium.com
👥 Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FIREBelgium
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pn2Gu1kSM5xtOgH3osjU7
🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fire-belgium-show/id1632972120
Music: Tobu, Wholm & Blume - Cool
https://www.youtube.com/tobuofficial