Middle aged father of 3 boys from Copenhagen blogging about financial independence, minimalism and reducing my family’s carbon footprint. Spoiler alert – it’s not an easy task.
These are unprecedented times. Unprecedented indeed. Stocks are dropping, bonds are dropping, bitcoin is dropping, various fx against the dollar 💵 is dropping. Not even gold is holding up 🆙, and at the same time inflation is coming back hard, eating away at your nest egg. What are you doing. How are you positioning yourself? … Continue reading My views on the market
Corona came and went, and I completely lost interest in updating my blog. Sad though. However, I am still here, Minimal5 mom is also still here, and the kids are getting bigger. On a personal note, I decided to start my own consulting / advisory company roughly a year and a half ago. It’s been … Continue reading Long time no see…
Its been a while since my last update, I know, but finally found some time to sit down and do a proper Net Worth update at end of July. Not really that hard or anything, it just requires a bit of data collection across all of our family's various collections of wealth. Looking at the … Continue reading Mid Year balance sheet reflections
A quiet Sunday spend celebrating my father-in-law, followed a quiet 🤫 Saturday, where I was mainly home alone with the boys because wifey was at shift work, usually gets my mind wandering. Think 🤔 it started with the realization that our combined pensions, and free portfolio 💼 is actually almost about to cross 1 MILLION … Continue reading A philosophical wealth moment…the cross roads!
Lean back everybody, and hold on, cause we are about to embark on a bumpy ride. Trying to build that perpetual money machine that will allow you to reap the yields of the capitalist markets has not been that easy so far this year. What started out, as just a continuation of last years calm … Continue reading Personal finance decisions during COVID-19
What an absolutely stellar year 2020 🎉 has turned out to be so far. Well at least in one aspect, namely the SAVINGS RATE 💯 for the Minimal5 family. I just sat down, and did an overview of the first 4 months of 2020, in order to sanity check if we are still trending on … Continue reading 2020 Savings rate update; 67% achieved so far.
With my net worth pushing incrementally higher and higher for every month that passes and the resulting transfer of wage slave money 💰 to the stock market, a new set of reflections are starting to set in. What will I eventually use my soon to be financial independence for? What is it that I am … Continue reading 6 reasons why it is so hard to choose Early Retirement
I recently did a post on the long and slow demise of the fossil fuel ⛽️ industry The long and slow demise of big oil... but as we are now writing 2020 in the calendar 📅 it does seem like the mass adoption is coming closer and closer. Sparked by new and tightened emission standards … Continue reading The EV transformation is accelerating
There are so many cool things on the internet. One of my latest additions to the backlog of saved links is; networthshare.com I fell over it by accident, after reading a fellow bloggers post, and it turns out to be an amazing site where you can log, update and share your net worth with everyone … Continue reading Started from the bottom now we’re here….and a bit of FIRE blues
I have recently seen the notion of "Delayed Gratification" mentioned in various FIRE 🔥 related posts. Delayed Gratification, what a brilliant concept. It does not come more FIRE like then that. I first noticed it in one twitter/Pinterest/Insta post some time back, and snipped it out offcourse... I think 🤔 it was some time before … Continue reading Delayed gratification
The vision is clear 💯- financial independence and potential early retirement. Or at least having the choice of an early retirement. The strategy is clear 🎯- trim costs, keep savings rate high and invest, invest, invest. The tactics is clear 💡- conservative dividend paying stocks (listed and unlisted), activating assets to yield additional income. The … Continue reading My financial goals for 2020
Portfolio status for 2019, outlook for 2020 and evaluation of strategy. 2019 is coming to an end, and what is better then to look back and evaluate and then look forward and confirm/renew your strategy. The Minimal5 portfolio - which is the one that will bring me to FIRE - is currently standing at 2.837.211 … Continue reading Dividend Portfolio – Ultimo year status and 2020 outlook
There is an old saying that goes something like "when the tide comes we'll know who has been swimming naked". We are currently writing anno 2019, and it seems like a long time ago, that the tide was here. That is in a lot of senses good, as we are currently enjoying the economic benefits … Continue reading When the tide comes…why we might need a new recession…
If you are a recurrent reader of this blog, you would have run in to one of my monthly blogging updates where I try to share some insights and learnings from my newbie/rookie blogging endeavors. Historically, ...well the last 5 updates or so...I have focused a lot on all my blogging/SoMe activities I have run … Continue reading “Passive” income from blogging – I’m killing it !
There is so much cool stuff on the internet, and recently I found one of those things that I just have to share with my crowd. It's the campfirefinance blog/website. Not only is it a really cool FIRE blog, but it also sports a very comprehensive list of all the FIRE blogs that can be … Continue reading Am I there yet – The FIRE calculator
WTF - I got into my first blogging fight the other day. On twitter. Over optimal retirement withdrawal rates. Zzz 😴. Background story: I saw a tweet from someone saying something in the likes of; "why you might need to save more then 25 years of net worth even if applying 4% withdrawal". Off course … Continue reading Girl on girl cat fight on twitter – Grrr. Topic; 4% withdrawal rule.
Aarh finally a bit of computer alone time. 💻 What a great opportunity to update my dividend portfolio overview with the latest additions and developments. 💰🤔💰 Since the last update, I have actually done two additions. ✅ First, I purchased 100 shares in the danish farmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. ✅ Second, I purchased 100 shares … Continue reading Dividend portfolio update – Tops and Bottoms are for Fools and Liers..
Who would have thought that being benched for 3 1/2 hour on an airplane seat would lead to a minimalistic/financial independent blog post. Nonetheless that is what happened yesterday. I was in the middle seat, with my oldest on the right and middle one on the left. It got pretty boring, so at one point … Continue reading High asset prices and the effect on our kids?
If you are a regular follower of this blog, then you will know that I have just spent a week vacating with the in-laws in beautiful Cyprus. You can read more on that here. So what is the most natural thing to do when you are on vacating ... well thinking 🤔 off course. I … Continue reading The negative side effects of having debt
To consume or not to consume, that is the question. If you, like the author of this blog, is pursuing a route towards financial independence, the answer to the question will increasingly be not to consume. How low you can bring your monthly expenses down will be very individualistic, and how much is left when … Continue reading How to stay the course towards financial independence…
There is no getting around it, the very reason some of us devote our life to a FIRE way of life is the ultimate Financial Independence part, so that we have the option to Retire Early. The Financial Independence part is basically driven be capital income as opposed to labour income. So the goal is … Continue reading How to escape the rat race…
Choices, choices...choices They are everywhere, at every time, ever present. They are present in our daily lives, at work, at home, everywhere. We are constantly bombarded with choices in every aspect of life. Choices that require our attention, decision making and ultimately - A Decision. That is, unless you deliberately ignore them. See that is … Continue reading Reflections on Dividend yields vs. capital gains.
So the ECB lowered their interest rate today, in a move that saw the interest level drop to a staggering -0.5% ...(yes that is a minus sign). Shortly after, the head of the national bank of denmark followed up, with a move down in the danish lending rate to -0.75. (Again, yes a minus sign). … Continue reading Save us Ogier…
If you have been following this blog on a recurrent basis you will have learned by now, that I am actively trying to pursue a financial independence strategy. I did my first post on my portfolio of listed and unlisted shareholdings some time back, which you can find here; How my DGI portfolio performed in … Continue reading How I am building my DGI portfolio – Update #2
Once in a while you have to remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing. Why have I insisted in trimming down our fixed and variable cost in our household, why are we targeting a 50% savings rate, why are we actively plowing all of our proceeds into active investments. Why are we … Continue reading The F*ck you account – net worth update #2.
It's a big world out there, and currently we are not anywhere near normal economic circumstances. Every day that goes by, and I keep reading more and more extreme economic and financial stories. Lately read, that the 100 year Austrian bond that was recently issued had gone parabolic, due to the ever falling interest level. … Continue reading The death of animal spirit
Back from vacation and I can't help thinking about the one topic we have been debating a bit in our small Minimal5 family. The car 🚗 situation. A bit of background information for all of you new comers to the Minimal5 blog; we have a Citroen grand C4 Picasso, with the smallest gasoline engine - … Continue reading Car considerations – I so want that Tesla …
Don't worry, we don't have a homeless guy living on our balcony now or anything, but this story is kind of a weird one. It does involve money though, which by some completely random events have found its way back into my wallet. Which is why I will be writing about it. Because hey, any … Continue reading We sold our balcony – I know – weird?
I am not out of a wealthy family. So no inherited capital here, as Mr. Thomas Piketty concludes is the easiest way to a worry free financial life in the 21st century. No money at all, or lots of money, we cannot escape the topic of how we go about teaching our kids about wealth, … Continue reading Saving for the next generation – why and how much?
Actively pursuing a financially independent lifestyle will require you to understand your financial situation in detail. You need to understand your personal balance sheet and financial net worth. I have written a blog post about that here; Family Net Worth Update #1. Additionally you will need to understand your income statement, and especially the cost … Continue reading My 19 steps to sanitize the family budget.
Earning season is coming to an end in Denmark. Most companies in Denmark only pay out dividends once a year in combination with the publication of the annual reports and the general assembly. Hence most dividends will be arriving at investors accounts between March and May. This means it is time for a summary of … Continue reading How my DGI portfolio performed in 2019
As May turns to June, it is once more time for a blogging update in order to evaluate progress towards that utopian status as a Global Minimalistic Influencer. One thing that happened early in the second month of blogging, was an e-mail from WordPress, informing of my first 100 Likes. Almost simultaneously the word from … Continue reading 2 months of blogging – status Updated
Finally found the time to sit down and do a proper calculation of the net worth. I will be aiming to update it monthly going forward in order to properly track the progress of this financial independence barometer. It's actually quite a healthy exercise, to be so specific about your own personal net worth, and … Continue reading Family Net Worth Update #1
Following the various debate and posts on financial independence - early retirement here in Denmark, there is a lot of focus on real estate investments. I am a strong believer in real estate in any dividend portfolio, and I have been thinking/dreaming/planning my own journey into real estate for years. I have always known/wished that … Continue reading How I ended up with my first real estate investment
Passive income - the holy grail of F.IR.E. Lean back, kick your feet up, and enjoy that steady stream of income hitting your PayPal account while zipping Pina Coladas at the pool bar. Sounds intriguing right. Well, news flash - get ready to work hard for that steady stream of income. Admitted, I could have … Continue reading How I made 1$ blogging
Solar power, wind farms, I love thee. If you are a regular follower of this blog , you will know that I am a current investor in two photovoltaic solar power projects. Sensible investments in renewable energy So naturally I am also very interested in investing in wind power. How? Why? What? You ask! Ask … Continue reading How to invest in German windfarms
I know what you are thinking - this guy is a hoax, right. How can any one with a full time job, a wife and 3 kids, an apartment and a vacation home, find time to also run a blog? Finding time in a packed calendar can be a difficult task, and building out a … Continue reading How I manage to blog with 3 kids and a full-time job
Lifestyle inflation, I think we have all experienced that concept in one shape or form. It is rather hard not to when you go through the various cycles of life. ~This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through an affiliate link and make a purchase, I may … Continue reading How to counter lifestyle inflation
Hi my name is xxx...and I am a shopaholic. I'll tell you, trying to combine a minimalistic approach to life with being a husband and father of three is not easy. Today I had to buy something, as tomorrow is our anniversary (12.5 year - big thing in Denmark) and half way to the silver … Continue reading Confessions of a shopaholic
It is only natural, as an economist, that I have a reasonable interest in capital. In understanding capital; how it is accumulated, shared, gained, won, put to active use, running idle, inherited, and eventually lost (by either you or your heirs). ~This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you … Continue reading My best reads on capital, investment, risk and uncertainty
No financial blog with out an update on the financial portfolios performance, so let's dwell with the numbers a bit. And what better day to do this then the day where the portfolio for the first time hit a magical number - at least if you are a Dane. 2m DKK. Thank you. This will … Continue reading Portfolio Update #1
Continuing from my last blog post about me and my family's income levels, and the tax rate in Denmark, let's use this update to dive into the current state of wealth for the little Minimal5 family. We currently live in a flat in downtown Copenhagen. It is a cooperative housing flat, which basically just means … Continue reading The financial status – part 2
No reason to have a blog about financial independence with out providing some sort of financial overview of the blogger - right, so we might as well get to it. First a bit of background information about this blogger, so you have some sort of context to put it into. Basically, being "middle-aged" means that … Continue reading The financial status – part 1
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