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
Is it really possible you ask? And the answer is - YES. As you might have guessed, it is that time of year, where I am on 24 hour Dad duty, aka the much awaited family vacation. This yearly blessing, where I get to unwind, and spend some quality time with my 3 boys, is … Continue reading A low cost – eco friendly – and analog vacation activity !
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!
Everyday life is slowly returning here in Copenhagen. The whole family is now back in the rat 🐀 race. Still keeping distance, not taking public, and still haven't been out for dinner 🥘. Tomorrow, we are invited over to a couple of friends though, so we'll see how that goes. More importantly thought, summer time … Continue reading The Germans are coming…and other Covid-19 related PF news
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.
So Minimal5 Dad, how are you these days? How are you coping with the social distancing policies, working from home 🏡 and homeschooling your Kids in the age of Corona? Well thank you very much for that question dear curator. So far I am 23 days in, and I have to say there have been … Continue reading Minimalism in the age of Corona
Another week over. Another 5 days of companionship with my dear colleagues and coworkers at work. Another 37 hours of corporate managerial positioning, collegial power plays and subtle “delegation” of shitty assignments to the student employees. My personal highlight of this weeks corporate bullshit shenanigans came today, when the lead dogs 🐕 little pet 🐶 … Continue reading Corporate shenanigans
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
Well, that’s obviously 🙄 not a very S E O friendly headline that will be bringing in a whole lot of algorithmic google traffic. It will be some creepy dudes googling nose hair. Thing is, it turned out to be just one of those days. Had to bring the car 🚗 to the auto repair … Continue reading I would rather pull my own nose hair
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
We had an "action packed" weekend coming up this weekend. The oldest had a soccer match saturday, we had a house warming Saturday at my sister in law, and the the Grand Finale, a romantic getaway from Sunday to Monday. Immediately my mind spins into a cost controlling state. A present 🎁 for the hosts … Continue reading How to choose experiences over consumption of stuff
Everybody who is embarking on a journey towards financial independence find themselves pondering three things; ✅How much do I spend? ✅How much do I make? ✅Is the differential enough to make me financially independent - and when? Usually, if the difference between how much you earn and spend is positive, then at some point a … Continue reading How to bring cost down, improve Free Cash Flow and build lasting wealth
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
Obviously, the headline is not possible - not even on a long shot. Sorry 😐 about that. But it is just what I would really like. To have a huge vegetables garden, where I could grow all necessities for my household. Hence, I would have liked to name this post - How to...but as I … Continue reading Self-sufficiency on a sqm?
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
Christmas 🎄 is just around the corner, and between all the time spend at work, corporate Christmas dinners, Christmas breakfast and socializing in 5 grade, 3 grade and kindergarten and private "gluhwein" get togethers, the Minimal5 Mom and Dad have to find time trying to do some Christmas shopping 🛍 for presents. While all of … Continue reading Christmas gifts planning and execution at Minimal5
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
Starting of my blogging career a little over half a year ago, never quite knew where it would take me. Writing in a financial independence/minimalistic/sustainable niche - anonymously I have started to read/follow a lot of different blogs from around the world in this space. It has actually been quite interesting and insightful. Facebook groups … Continue reading Family/Dad work-life balance – in an international context.
It's funny how you sometimes get an idea 💡 for a blog post that you don't quite know where will end up when you are done. I recon this post will be such one. My chain of thoughts were actually triggered this morning, where I was woken up by my wife and two oldest, as … Continue reading Family minimalism – How to?
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…
October is turning into November. Days are getting shorter here on the northern latitudes of Copenhagen. It is now dark when we wake up, and darkness comes sooner and sooner in the evenings. Even though we try to trick reality by arbitrarily turning the time an hour, we cannot escape the turn of time. Only … Continue reading Savings “fatigue” – does it happen to you as well?
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
Finally - I've finished a book. I've finally done ✅ it. I've finished one of the great classics that I have wanted to finish for so long now. 🎉🎉🎉 ~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 make … Continue reading Book Review – The Grapes of Wrath – by Minimal5
Almost thought about naming this blog post - how to swallow your pride, in order to save a few bucks. But as you have guessed by now then, from the title and follow up, I am going on vacation with the in-laws. Only 7 days away now. Sigh. 😔 I am not an ungrateful middle-aged … Continue reading Vacating with the in-laws (MiL,FiL +++)
How excellent is that, just when you thought the Airbnb renting season for our vacation home had faded away, then I managed to get a mid October request, from a young German couple 🇩🇪 who wants to visit the northern part of Denmark 🇩🇰. Total for the 7 nights is around 500 USD 💵💵💵 I … Continue reading Yihaa…a new renter…passive income rules!
Well, obviously not by doing what I am doing, and doing it within a personal finance/minimalistic blogging niche. 😉 But hey, now you are here, so please do read on. Even though there is progress, I have to say that I am still not where I want to be; namely as the most cited, most … Continue reading How to become a full time, stay at home, influential blogger in 2019.
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
Having worked in the energy industry basically ever since I left the university, I really can't help it, when a lot of my thinking revolves around energy. That turns out to be the case also today, as I have just finished reading a small blog piece about the coming break up between big oil and … Continue reading The long and slow demise of big oil…
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.
Vacation time is long gone, and I am slowly adopting back into the normal 9-17 corporate grind, feeding my kids, and then some left hand blogging. I have to say, that I took a deliberate pause from blogging in July due to vacation, and it has actually been kinda hard to get back at it. … Continue reading The secrets of blogging – #5 month update…
I have been wanting to do this post for quite some time now, but never really got around to do it, but here goes... In the spirit of this blog, and the fact that I happen to be a Copenhagen dad, I guess it is only obvious that a blog post about last mile transportation … Continue reading Last mile transportation
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
So about that FIRE thing, Minimal5 dad, how are we progressing on that. - "well, the short answer is that I actually don't know." That is not entirely accurate, but OMG, with a full time parental thing for 3 boys going on, and a full time job on the side, a full time working mom … Continue reading Behold my new invention – the zero (0) cost ($) day!
Back from vacation and I can't help thinking about the one topic we have been debating a bit in our small Minimal5 family. The car 🚗 situation. A bit of background information for all of you new comers to the Minimal5 blog; we have a Citroen grand C4 Picasso, with the smallest gasoline engine - … Continue reading Car considerations – I so want that Tesla …
Summer vacation is officially over, and then Minimal5 family is slowly getting back into the normal rhythm of what ever work-life balance we have. Slow start up at work, did one day of working from home, in order to take the top of the realities. Sitting here in the first weekend after a week of … Continue reading Zero cost (0$) activities for any vacation
I have to admit up front, that this is a blog piece I had not anticipated doing when I started out blogging about three months ago. My chain of thoughts started this morning, 2 1/2 week into our vacation, with me getting up as the first one in the family at around 8. I made … Continue reading On consumerism, sustainability and doing your laundry.
So we have arrived at Lazise at Lake Garda in Italy. The 34 sqm mobile home at camping Lido is just perfect. Weather is good, around 30 degrees, and sunny with a bit of clouds. Camp site very well equipped, with pool area, pool bar, sports facilities, mini marked and restaurant. Nothing more can really … Continue reading On excessive needs and vacation in the south.
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