DEGIRO vs Interactive Brokers for European Portfolio: Who is cheaper in 2020?

Author Mr. The Poor SwissPosted on 8 Comments on DEGIRO vs Interactive Brokers for European Portfolio: Who is cheaper in 2020?

I already compared Interactive Brokers and DEGIRO for different cases. However, I have only considered portfolio weighted towards U.S. ETF. However, for many investors in Europe, it is currently not possible to invest in such ETFs because of PRIIPs. This set of investment regulations went into action in 2018.

Currently, Swiss investors can still invest in the U.S. ETF with IB. But this may not last. Once this changes, we will face the same issue as European investors. The alternative is to invest in European ETFs.

The two cheapest brokers in Europe are DEGIRO and Interactive Brokers. So, if you cannot invest in U.S. ETFs, should you use DEGIRO vs Interactive Brokers?

Let’s find out by comparing both using a portfolio of European ETFs. We are only going to compare the costs of both brokers, not the features and usability, for instance.

Investing involves risks of losses. Make sure you are aware of that before you start investing.

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Does the 4 percent rule work in recent years?

Author Mr. The Poor SwissPosted on 7 Comments on Does the 4 percent rule work in recent years?

Typically, when we do retirement simulations, we want to take as many years back as possible. For my previous Retirement simulations, this meant using about 150 years of data to do the simulation.

However, there is potentially an issue with that simulation. What if we are not in the same situation now anymore? What if the chances of success in recent years are significantly different from before?

I thought it would be an interesting analysis to focus on the last 50 years instead of taking the full 150 years of data. For instance, this would mean there would be no Great Depression in the analysis.

So, let’s see if the 4 percent rule would have worked in the last 50 years. And of course, we are going to test many more withdrawal rates!

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25 Personal Finance Statistics about Switzerland

Author Mr. The Poor SwissPosted on 14 Comments on 25 Personal Finance Statistics about Switzerland

I know you like personal finance. But I hope you like statistics and numbers! Because today I am bringing you a bunch of them!

For this article, I have collected many personal finance statistics about Switzerland. I have only gathered the most interesting statistics for you!

At the end of the article, you will also find my sources. There are many more statistics available if you want to do some extra research. Each of my statistics can be traced back to these sources. And for each personal finance statistic, I have also noted the year of the statistic.

If you think I missed an important statistic, let me know in the comments below. And I will try to add it to the list!

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How to raise a baby frugally in Switzerland with Mama Bear Finance

Author Mr. The Poor SwissPosted on 11 Comments on How to raise a baby frugally in Switzerland with Mama Bear Finance

Everybody will tell you that raising children is very expensive. In fact, in the United States, it is supposed to cost a quarter of a million dollars. And, in Switzerland, statistics say that it will cost you over 200’000 CHF!

But is raising a baby really that expensive? And is there something we can do to raise a baby frugally and reduce our expenses? Yes, there is!

Today, I talk with Mama Bear Finance, who is a first-time mom. During these ten months, she managed to spend less than 4000 CHF! And she kept track of all her baby expenses!

And now, she is sharing her experience with us! Keep on reading to learn how you can raise a baby frugally in Switzerland!

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Review of DEGIRO as a Broker for Swiss Investor

Author Mr. The Poor SwissPosted on 4 Comments on Review of DEGIRO as a Broker for Swiss Investor

I have now been using DEGIRO for about four months. I think It is now time for a review of this great broker.

In this post, I am going to go about all the things I liked about this broker. And of course, I am also going to talk about the things I did not like.

I decided to use DEGIRO four months ago based on costs. Currently, my portfolio is quite small. So, you may have a different experience if you have a significantly more extensive portfolio. But it should be the same for most people.

Investing involves risks of losses. Make sure you are aware of that before you start investing.

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N26 vs Revolut: Which is best for you?

Author Mr. The Poor SwissPosted on 28 Comments on N26 vs Revolut: Which is best for you?

N26 and Revolut are digital banks with a focus on low currency exchange fees. They are both doing that well and are well established. So, how can you choose between the two?

Which is best for you will ultimately depend on your needs.

But we can still compare their individual features and characteristics. In this article, I am going to compare in detail N26 vs Revolut.

I will start by introducing the two companies. And then I will go and compare them based on many different aspects: fees, limits, security… At the end of the article, you will be able to know which of N26 or Revolut is best for you!

If you want to know which of N26 or Revolut is better for you, keep on reading!

I am going to focus on the free accounts of both N26 and Revolut. They also have premium options. But they are out of the scope of this article!

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January 2020 – China, Dowry and Coronavirus

Author Mr. The Poor SwissPosted on 10 Comments on January 2020 – China, Dowry and Coronavirus

It is already time for the first monthly update of 2020!

And January 2020 was relatively quiet. We had a nice party for the new year. Finally, I have been to China in the last week of the month. And I will still be there a few days of February as well.

From a financial point of view, it is not a good month. But this was expected.

We went to China for about ten days. We went there with Mrs. The Poor Swiss to visit her family. And we celebrated the Chinese new year. Normally, this is the best time for us to visit since the family is all together.

However, given the current state of China because of the new virus, this was not the most exciting vacation we ever had. People were afraid of going out, and most things were closed. And some of the members of her family did not come in fear of the virus. And since most of the internet is completely blocked, there was not a lot I could do. But it would have been challenging to plan for this.

Let’s see in detail what happened to us in January 2020.

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11 Simple Tips to Find Cheap Kindle Ebooks in 2020

Author Mr. The Poor SwissPosted on 17 Comments on 11 Simple Tips to Find Cheap Kindle Ebooks in 2020

I bought my Amazon Kindle more than six years ago. First, I purchased the original Kindle. A few years later, I bought the Kindle Paperwhite. I have been delighted with both. It is such a fantastic thing to travel with all my ebooks in my pocket and not have five or more heavy books in my luggage.

Over the years, I bought and read well over 120 books on my Kindle. At the time, I thought it was very cheap. And indeed, I was saving money compared to print books. I realize now that this may not have been the case.

For frugal people, there is one big issue with Kindle books: You cannot buy used books. In the last two years, I almost have not purchased any Kindle ebook. Instead, I bought many used books. There is a second-hand shop near my current job. I probably bought over 40 books during this time. I bought them for less than 2 CHF each on average. And I only bought books in a great state.

The problem is the room second-hand books take! My bookshelf is full, and books are piling up! I am going to build a new one. But after some time, the new one will be full too. The other problem is traveling. If I need several books, it is a pain to carry them.

So I only bought Kindle ebooks for traveling. But there are still so many advantages to my Kindle. Therefore, I have been looking for ways to find cheap Kindle books. Here are nine simple tricks to find cheap ebooks for Kindle.

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How to get started with investing in the stock market in 2020?

Author Mr. The Poor SwissPosted on 16 Comments on How to get started with investing in the stock market in 2020?

Do you feel overwhelmed with investing? And you do not know where to start with investing? Do you want a simple guide on how to get started with investing?

Then, this guide is exactly what you need! It will guide you through the steps of starting to invest.

I have written many articles about investing on this blog. But I have recently been reminded that I did not have an article on how to get started! I should have started with this article.

First, I am going to cover the things you should know before you start investing. And then, I am going to cover how you could get started with investing.

And what better time to start investing than with the start of a new year?

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Our 2020 Goals – Path to Financial Independence

Author Mr. The Poor SwissPosted on 7 Comments on Our 2020 Goals – Path to Financial Independence

2019 is now well over! It means it is time to set ourselves new goals for 2020. I liked having yearly goals since we started. So, it is now time to set our 2020 Goals.

Earlier, we reviewed our 2019 Goals. We checked every goal to see what could be improved. Some of the goals were not perfect. But some of the goals were great. On some of the goals, we did not do enough to reach them.

Our 2019 goals were already much better than our 2018 goals. I am going to try to make our 2020 goals even better. Of course, I will not know how good they are until the end of the year. But I am confident this is the best set of goals yet.

So, we are going to build on that to make even better goals for 2020. Without further ado, let’s go over all the goals we set ourselves for 2020.

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