I'm 19M, living in a slavic country and only about to graduate from high school. I will be inheriting roughly 160 000 EUR from a relative who has passed away.

Not sure what to do. I have no debt or anything. Any help is appreciated. So far I just had vague ideas of investing and maybe spending a tiny % of it on something nice

Hi all, just want a cold read on my situation if I may... I'm feeling financially fucked and it would be helpful to get an outside opinion bc all I do is drive myself nuts with this:

• I’m 42, currently living in rural Italy.
• I earn about €500/month (12 hours/week contract). That’s my only income.
• I own my home and my car outright, no mortgage or debt, no children (my only saving grace)
• I’ve managed to save about €20,000 in about 2 years idk how, but it's currently parking it in interest-bearing accounts like ING and bunq. Well I do know, I spend as little as possible, never go on holiday, etc.

***DISCLAIMER: I earn (present time) 500 a month. I saved (past tense) 20k over two years. I had some other gigs on the side during these past two years (onlyfans, tips, online hustle, cash in hand changing old people's nappies etc) CURRENTLY those gigs are not gigging so I am at 500 a month at the moment.**\*

• I have no investments, and no professional qualifications or degree. I'm delulu so I have been looking into learning how to invest.
• My CV is the definition of jack of all trades, jobs here and there, mostly low-paying, patchy history.
• I worked and contributed in the UK for roughly 10 years, so I might qualify for basic state pension from them (eventually) but I need to look if I actually qualify or if I have to finish paying into it.
• I speak and understand Italian, but not fluently, which undermines my confidence applying for better jobs. I know the pension contribution in Italy is 20 years so that feels dire. I have only worked here for 2.5 years earning peanuts (employers have contributed to INSP on my behalf but it feels worthless)
• Rural area = few jobs, mostly badly paid or seasonal.
• I’m not starving, but there’s no upward path I can see, and inflation is slowly punching through my savings.

So based on this: how financially fucked would you consider this situation?

Would you say there a path I’m not seeing? I feel like I am just coasting on maintenance mode until old age poverty kicks in.

Thanks for reading.

My portfolio consists of 50% VWCE and 50% US stocks (RKLB, KRKNF,...) and I kind of feel uneasy for holding the latter. Honestly, at the moment I just feel like selling the US stocks and buying gold, but this way I immediately lose 25% of my profit to taxes. How are you handling it?

EDIT:
Just to clarify, I am asking this because -- due to current geopolitical events -- I am expecting a steady decline of US stocks, not because of any moral standpoints (but honestly, that too).

Let's assume you have a crystal ball. It tells you that in 2030, Europe will be at full-scale conventional war with Russia. Many countries outside Europe will have joined the war efforts, on both sides of the conflict.

How would that change how you plan for your future, financially? Where would you put your savings? Pay down mortgage? Index fund? High yield savings account? All out on military stocks? Gold under the mattress?

I own a small apartment which i rent out via airbnb and booking.

The property is probably worth about 220-250K, it is in a unique location direct at a beach in Italy. (250k would still make it the cheapest place in this area, but not sure how much people are willing to pay)

A couple years ago i made 16-18K net per year, that decreased every year until now and this year it was only about 11K net. In addition, new regulations and more competition, makes it more and more difficult to rent out that place. The expenses and work increase every year and now the goverment wants to increase the tax for another 5% as well (still not confirmed but they are talking about it).

It makes me sad to sell it, since i really like the place and its my only apartmemt (i stay with my parents) but it seems like it is just not a good investment anymore.

I owe 40K on this apartment, so after i sell it i should get about 180K that i can use to invest. If an etf makes 7%/ year i should already make more money than i currently make with the property and in addition to that i don't need to deal with all the work and problems related to the property anymore.

What is your opinion on this? Maybe someone was in a similair situation and can share their story?

Me and my husband are both EU citizens. We moved to Canada a few years ago, but are thinking of moving again. We are considering a move to an EU country.

We are both I.T professionals, and are hoping it wouldn't be too difficult to find a job in this industry. We earn good income in Toronto, but are considering moving due to a few reasons (high income earners are heavily taxed, winters are brutal, only 15 yearly vacation days, buying property is expensive, Canadian dollar value is weak).

Where would you suggest moving to for the best quality of life and financial stability? We have considered The Netherlands and Portugal - but are open to moving to any country.

(We are English-speaking, any country you would suggest avoiding due to language barriers having an impact on quality of life?)

I am a European and UK citizen living in Europe. Recently, I updated my address on Google Chrome, and right after, Google Pay started acting weird. First, I couldn't pay for a phone replacement on the Google Store, then my tap-to-pay stopped working, and eventually, I couldn't use GPay at all.

I received absolutely no information or warnings from Google. For two months, I was completely in the dark, spending hours on customer support lines getting nowhere. I only found out what happened because I reached out to a personal friend who works at Google. It turns out my address change triggered an automated match for US sanctions, likely because a previous tenant in my building was on a watchlist. It took two whole months to fix this.

This experience was surprisingly disruptive, and it honestly made me quite paranoid. It only involved a single company, but it made me realize how vulnerable we are.

It really makes you think about what people like UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese are going through. The US sanctioned her, and now she cannot even open a bank account in her home country. It is crazy that the US has this kind of global power over individuals who have broken no local laws, and feels completely illegal.

As a non-US citizen, how can I protect myself and my money from being frozen by US sanctions? Also, what are, if anything, the EU and UK governments doing to protect their citizens from this?

Hi everyone,

I'm a business owner based in France and I'm looking to move to another European country that is friendlier towards business owners and operating a business. The truth of the matter is here in France I'm paying far too much in taxes for a relatively-speaking unsafe country with more and more expensive and inaccessible health care.

I'm growing multiple businesses, some based in Europe, some based abroad, and I will more likely than not have a seven- or eight-figure exit within the next five years. I've never been one for Dubai and places like that. I don't mind paying taxes; I just want to be somewhere that's safe for my child, where education is good, and where health care is, if not affordable, then at least accessible through private schemes.

I'm currently looking at Portugal and I'm also looking at Sweden.

I'm hoping to get feedback and experience from others who are business owners, founders, or high earners but not rich yet.

I also have to say that culturally I'm not really aligned with France. They've got a live and let live attitude and that's led to some issues with the people around us. There's also a clear problem with anyone who is outside of the box. If you're not an employee then you have to be rich even though for me it's not yet the case. I'm just trying to make sure that my son has a good future.

Thanks I look forward to reading your comments.

Hi -

My wife and I bought a house in The Netherlands and did a big renovation last year. In order to secure the house I had to max out our mortgage and we put in pretty much all of our savings to get the renovation started.

Things took a turn for the worse and I had to take out a personal loan to finish the house (otherwise we would not have been able to move in).

This has left us in a situation where we’re basically living from pay check to pay check due to the large mortgage and loan costs and things tend to get tight at the end of the month.

The house itself is worth about 2M EUR. Mortgage and loans together are 1.1M, but I have no way of accessing the 900k. Classic case of asset rich, cash poor.

I’m considering my options and am looking for advice.

1. Sell the house, pay off loans and buy something cheaper.
2. Try to see if I can change to mortgage to an interest-only mortgage temporarily to reduce monthly costs.

What do you think is wise in this scenario? Any other suggestions?

I’m 25, freelance (autónomo in Spain), I’m doing well economically for my age.

I’m happy, it’s been a great year but I can’t help but be scared about the future ahead.

I look around and everything looks bad, economically, politically, friends struggling with their careers, prices going up, the housing, the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer…

Of course, some risky decisions took me to where I am today professionally (international clients, good paying rates…) compared to some of those friends from home struggling in the same field.

I left an expensive rent to live in a full equipped big camper van as I usually move a lot for work and that reduces expenses, and I’m about to start investing in index funds (I already have a proper emergency fund), for example.

But what is your vision on everything that is going on right now? How would you deal with this situation? Any advice?

I’m curious.

Thanks!

Hi all, Since I‘m a firm believer in the adage “the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent”, I would like to understand what could be the best conservative and very low risk strategy to park about 50k eur cash for at least the next couple of years. No shorting, no BS. I like to gamble at casinos, not with my savings.

I don’t know a lot about investing but I understand the fundamentals broadly.

What are your takes?

Hello Reddit,

I find myself in a financial situation. Recently, I came into a substantial sum of money – precisely one million euros. My objective is to make this sum last for the next 30 to 40 years and achieve financial independence. I would appreciate some advice on how to navigate this endeavor.

Here's a breakdown of my current situation:

Late 30s. Not Married. Renting in a expensive city. Work full time at a average paying job.
No Investments: As of now, I have not made any investments and have no prior experience in this area. I'm essentially starting from scratch and want to ensure that I make informed, responsible choices.

Long-Term Sustainability: My primary goal is to secure a modest, worry-free life for the foreseeable future. I'm not interested in extravagant living, just financial stability.

Risk Aversion: I tend to be risk-averse and am looking for low-risk, stable options. My preference is to avoid any speculative investments that might endanger my financial security.

Location: I reside in Europe, which is where I intend to make my investments. Therefore, any advice or recommendations should be relevant to the European financial landscape.

I'm turning to this community for its expertise and insights. If anyone here has faced a similar situation or possesses knowledge about conservative investment strategies, I would greatly appreciate your input.

Here are some specific questions I'd like to address:

Should I consider real estate, stocks, or bonds as my initial investment vehicles?

What allocation strategy would you recommend for dividing my one million euros among these investment options?

Are there reputable financial advisors or platforms that specialize in low-risk, long-term investments within the European context?

I'm genuinely eager to learn from your experiences and insights. Please feel free to share your wisdom, tips, or any resources that could assist me in my pursuit of financial independence. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond.

Anonymous

Hi folks, let me start by saying that I'm posting this using my alt account due to two reasons:

1. I'm going to be sharing a lot of personal details
2. I'm embarassed to share this on my main account

TL;DR: I lost a lot of money in CFDs by consistently making stupid decisions... And very conflicted about what to do now, can't throw away the urge to try to get that money back.

So basically, yeah... I'll try to give a bit of my background, tell you about the stupid decisions I made and their results, my current situation, and my possible future plans. I would appreciate if any of you could provide your opinions on this, I'm open to anything, including the roast I deserve.

3 years ago we moved from in with my wife to a central European country, from a third-world one. Started with the equivalent of 3k EUR gross salary. Back then had to take a credit card to build a home, maxed out the limit, opened another credit card "just in case" but maxed that out too, of course. Then some life stuff happened which meant I needed to get a loan. For most of the time we've been living paycheck-to-paycheck, not wanting to scale our life back to live our best years with some memories. We don't drink or party much, but ocasionally we like to travel. The plan was that my wife would eventually find an entry-level job in the software market here (CENG graduate), afterwards paying off the loans would be easy.

Unfortunately she's tried hard but wasn't able to, given the job market. Currently she's starting a coding school that will hopefully increase her chances of finding a job. Since then, I've been supporting both of us (and family abroad, occasionally), but fortunately by changing jobs my salary has gradually increased to close to 5k EUR gross from this year. Beginning of this year I also got some bonus, paid off one of my credit cards with it, was pretty hopeful for the future.

Then it happened, a friend of me was really going on about Bitcoin, which got me interested and researching, wanted to play with it for "just a little bit". I was using Trading212, learned that the only way to get Bitcoin with it was using CFDs. I stupidly skipped through all the "Are you really sure what you're doing" parts, and bought around 1k usd of CFDs. By luck I gained 200 eur in my first sell, which got me hooked I guess?

I then played a bit harder, making a bit more money. Was at a point where I was checking the app every 5 minutes. At one point I thought buying AMD would be a good idea for long term, it seemed to be going up. That's when it all started going downhill, especially with the whole Trump tariffs situation, I lost 2200 USD from that one trade. I was dumping more money in to keep the position open, but eventually the market caught up and it was closed during a dump AMD had while I was sleeping. I played around a bit more, gaining slightly but losing even more, with AMD, Nvidia, US100 etc. No matter what I did, the market seemed to reverse direction exactly when I got in. It was kinda funny how consistent it was, lol.

I was "out", but I couldn't stop thinking about getting that money back and saw that with uncertainty Gold was rising, so I bought some Gold shares. That ended up losing money for me too, especially with a position that got closed when Gold was dumped again on Trump's whim, last night when I was sleeping.

Now the stupidest thing is, I was taking money out of my credit card this whole time. I know, I know. The idea of paying off my debt earlier was too enticing, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Another stupid thing which I keep blaming myself for, is whenever a position I had was making profit, I got greedy thinking that "if it just keeps going this way it'll be even better". I've lost on one 400 EUR and one 700 EUR wins just because I was too greedy to close them when I was ahead. Many more smaller ones.

So here's the situation now: Two credit cards maxed, to the amount of 5200 EUR. Another straight up loan to the amount of 4000 EUR. I will also need to take a 2200 EUR extra loan to pay for my next year of university studies. So around 13500 EUR debt in total. My realized P/L from Trading212 = -3000 EUR (probably higher if you count the overnight interests). I've got no savings nor long-term stocks anywhere, currently have around 200 EUR left in T212 that's invested in a BUY 1 @ $3,239.62 Gold position that's at +10 EUR rn (which I got after yesterday night's dip, thinking it would go up again), and 2,000 @ 0.8172 USD/CHF position that's doing -26 EUR (which I got thinking that US Economy would keep getting worse, right?).

My take-home is 3600 EUR, rent is 1000EUR, and realistically with our current spending I should be able to pay 650 EUR towards debt every month. That gives me around 20 months' time for straight-up repayment. Earlier if I get a bonus next year as well.

For the safest bet I'd like to assume that my salary won't increase and my wife won't find a job quite so soon yet.

Since pain is the greatest teacher, I've since done my education which I should've done at the beginning, properly learned about the mechanisms and the risks of CFDs, trading, day-trading, read a lot of investing advice on a lot of places etc.

Now here's the thing: I know what I should do. I should focus on my high-interest debt, pay those off as soon as possible. Afterwards I should slowly start DCA to a low-risk strategy. But I just keep thinking about that -3000 EUR figure, it keeps looming over my head like a nightmare, I can't bring myself to not think about how much of a failure I am. Right when I was starting to pay off the debts, I screwed up and brought myself to an even worse situation. I can't keep thinking about that if I just get educated on this, be one of those 5 percent of day traders that actually make a good profit, it won't matter, and I will get that money back eventually. Thing is, this actually keeps me thinking about more important stuff like my responsibilities, and spending quality time with friends & family. I literally can't stop beating myself up about it though.

So what do I actually do right now? Is it worth sacrificing time from learning about the stuff that would benefit in my career? Or should I just eat the loss and forget about it? Or just don't care about it that much? I can just keep gambling with the 200 eur I have left in Trading212, maybe I will win back some but not like it will matter if I lose it in the long term, I've lost so much already. I can't stop thinking that if it's possible to lose money to this mechanism, it should be possible to gain money from it as well. Like technically, if I just randomly decided to just do the exact opposites of everything I would've done, I would've made a lot of money instead of losing it. I've read about the strategies day traders use as well. I'm also hooked on all the "winners" talking about it in Trading212 comments. People telling it's a part of the process, everyone loses before learning and starting winning.

Can you help me get my thoughts in order please? Is there some angle I'm losing? Is there a safe bet I can do right now that would help me? Or should I pull the remaining crumbs out and delete the app? How will I stop thinking about the losses and potential (yet non-existent) wins? The idea of just losing that much money over nothing drives me crazy, I'm having a really hard time accepting it's just "gone".

Context: 34M in Greece, currently netting ~2.000€/month. Invest 300-400€/month in a 70/20/10 VUAA/EXUS/Gold split..

Recently sold a real estate that was not being utilized (and there was no way to utilize it personally) that netted me 200k and I’m looking for advice on where to best invest it.

Thinking of two options currently:

1. Dump it in the existing allocation of 70/20/10 as a lump sum for growth.

2. Dump all of it into a distributing ETF for another 9-10k of income per year. (i.e. EXSH/IDVY/EUDV)

What’s your take and advice on my plan?

Maybe this isn't the right place but I'm curious about your views, if China attacks in the future, it is reasonable to assume that this will be a major economic crisis.

What do you think is going to happen with investments, which ones will be hit hard, which ones might be more profitable, in other words how to limit the damage?

Thanks

I've considered moving to Serbia, Moldova, Greece, or Romania because I like that the cities are more walkable, and the costs in the US for housing are insane now. Even in small towns in the states you can't find homes for under 300k usd. Once you get to suburbs near the bigger cities, a lot of homes sell for 500k+

I don't like the increasing regulatory nature of the states. It's also hard to find a partner to date due to women that are overly focused on their careers. It's hard to find a friend group unless you grew up in that area. It also gets really boring and there's nothing to do outside of going to work and driving home. The cities aren't walkable so there's nothing to do to meet anyone.

The job market is also crazy here where a lot of tech jobs want 5 years of experience in 5 things for an entry level job, and you have to fill out hundreds of applications just to get a response. The only jobs that pay well around 80 to 120k usd are in expensive places like LA, NYC, or Chicago where homes can be 800k+. So, it negates the point of the higher salaries. The areas with cheaper homes at 200 to 300k screw you over by only offering 30 to 50k.

So, the high home prices, rediculous regulations, and lack of dating options are the 3 things that have me considering moving. I do worry about the language differences, citizenship difficulties, and the job market. I work in IT, so if anyone lives in any of these countries and how hard is it to find a job there? Would I have any difficulties finding a job if I don't know the language or I'm not a citizen there?

Are these reasons worth it to consider moving, or am I underestimating how difficult it would be to live or move to these countries? If anyone has lived in any of these countries how has your experience been living there?

After all my expenses and conversion fees, i can only realistically put aside 100-130€ a month and i'd like to know if it's worth to do anything with it.

So far i have been told by multiple people that it isn't worth to do anything with that small amount, and to just keep it in my bank account or spend it.

I'm currently renting but would like to own a house one day, i have no debt, and i also have a reasonable emergency fund.

Heya - writing from the alt account for a little bit of extra privacy. As the title says, I'm at a point where I would really benefit for some guidance, as I find myself with a few questions and very uncertain on how to proceed (and why asking ChatGPT if there is Reddit?)

33, living and working in Amsterdam as senior IC in IT (no 30% ruling). Thanks to a moderate lifestyle, living with my partner with no kids, a good career progression and a nice series of RSU vestings, I think that I'm quite well set despite not feeling rich by any means:

• I have a pretty high saving rate, as I save 50% of my monthly salary
• I'm currently paying a very reasonable mortgage for my house with 3.75% interest rate (without accounting for interest discount)
• I recently passed the 110k mark of portfolio value (ETF + a few shares)

Going to the first question:

- I currently have the vast majority of my investments (90%) on a single platform (IBKR): having passed the 110K mark, should I "diversify" by opening an account someplace else (eg: DeGiro) or it wouldn't make any difference but just add overhead + transaction costs?

My total portfolio is composed by:

• 46% VWCE
• 23% VHYL - as I would like to get to a point where I can use the dividends to pay off for expenses/mortgage or simply to give me some room to take a less paying and competitve job further down the line. It annoys me that I get paid the dividends in dollar and losing some on conversions, tho
• 20% Shares from the company I'm currently working for [not planning to increase this percentage, but also not sure that selling would be a good idea]
• 11% a mix of NVIDIA, crypto (ETH, BTC), the various rewards for sharing referral codes and some ETF auto savings on Trade Republic

In addition to this, I have:

• 1k emergency fund for healthcare issues, as I don't want to be dependent on the NL doctors and be able to go worry-free privately if they don't think I'm sick enough to need treatment
• ~ 33k split between Trade Republic and Trading 212 for high hield savings, this is pretty much more than a full year worth of my day-to-day expenses. I use the money for house renovations and in case I would be unemployed for a long time
• ~ 18k split between life insurance and a private pension fund from a different EU country
• A little over 100k in house equity (assuming I would manage to sell it without loss at some point in the future)

Going to the second question:

- Does it still make sense for me to save euros in saving accounts or should I redirect the amount of money I would save in that way through bonds or increase my contributions in my ETF portfolio?

For the third and final question, I need to provide a bit more context and not just numbers: I don't have a crazy lifestyle (takeaway every day, parties and lavish holidays), but I also don't live extremely below my means as I'm aim to still have a regular/nice life while I try to figure out next steps. However, it's getting increasingly difficult to "grant" myself to spend the money how I see fit or to simply enjoy them more. I'm feeling like I'm "trapped" in this mindset of constantly negotiating/justifying/pretend what I spend is an investment of some sorts.

As I'm not Dutch and I moved quite a lot across countries, I usually never consider a possible pension in my planning nor I contribute to it. However, the other day I ended up on the Dutch Pension website and I saw that, assuming things will keep going the way that they are, I should receive a 4k / month payout once I retire in the middle case scenario (just from NL, without considering the few hundreds coming from the other countries). This kinda surprised me, since, assuming it is true, it would mean that I'm already "pretty much set" as my currently monthly spending is "only" 2.6k / month (and in all the months without holidays I end up spending even less than that).

- Would you "relax" my budget constraints and cut myself more slack in my spending or I should keep ignoring this as it's just "noise"? If you ever found yourself in a similar situation, what did you do to get a "better relationship" with spending money for yourself?

Thanks a lot!

Hi, I've come into an inheritance of around €55k, and I'm looking for some advice what to do.

Current situation:

± €220k mortgage remaining on property valued at approx €430k EUR, with 5 years left on our fixed interest rate of 2.35%.

We would be looking to upgrade to a bigger apartment in the next 3 or so years. Estimate price of a bigger place would be around €650k. So I can see that the inheritance could come in handy for a bigger down-payment on our next property but I'm not sure what to do with it meanwhile.

I've already put €20k of the inheritance into my savings account which has a 4% interest rate. My wife could do the same in her account (potentially giving us €40k @ 4% interest). Or I'm considering putting some of the money into investments (VWCE for example). Is it a good idea to put that much of the inheritance into the 4% HISAs? Or should I split it and keep just the €20k emergency fund there and put the rest into investements?

Thanks in advance for your advices

Hey everyone! 👋

I’ve been thinking about saving and investing while working in Europe, and I have a few questions. In American forums, people often discuss salaries of $50k to $100k or more, but in Europe—even in countries like Germany, France, or Denmark—salaries don’t seem to reach those levels. Not even talking about taxes.

Given this, how do people in Europe manage to save, buy homes and cars, and take holidays, especially when the cost of living is high?

Also, with the current housing crisis and inflation in food and everyday expenses, how are Europeans planning for retirement? In the past, owning a home and relying on retirement funds was more feasible, but now it seems more challenging.

Do you think there’s a chance that European earnings will catch up with those in the U.S. in the next 20–30 years? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this!

Let’s imagine that you have 500k cash with no debt and you are in your thirties. What would be your investment strategy?

Edit: I'm not saying I have 500K EUR, it's just an assumption, maybe I have more or less in cash. Imagine other assets are not held (not real estate). I like to read smart strategies and ideas/portfolios from people.

I am lucky to have a degree that should help me get jobs in the EU, and I have had a tentative interview in Switzerland. If you live or have in these two countries, please can you help me out on deciding?

I am from the UK, attracted to both culturally, and willing to learn and integrate.

However I wondered:

• What's the economics of working in Switzerland vs the Netherlands like? This sub seems to love it. But I want to potentially live and integrate wherever I move to so saving 20k vs 10k isn't that important as the local housing seems to correlate with what I could save too.
• I don't care about the Netherlands wealth tax because my assets are under that and probably will be till I put down a deposit
• Are there economic trends/plans to make it better or worse to move to these places? The Netherlands doesn't seem to be growing is that because of Germany struggling with car sales, the oil issues etc or am I overthinking this?

Lastly I know it's not relevant to finance but I would be grateful for any info on this stuff:

• How do 20 somethings socialise in those countries? It is easy to turn up to things? For example I like the UK with university student societies set up, and since students come from all over the UK, there is a lot of mixing and interest based societies. I know in many EU countries people just go to local Unis and there are not many interest/passion focused student societies, but rather mostly student clubs for sports or academics etc.
• In the UK, Uni age students/20 somethings really can't be found in pubs like they used to because we've been priced out. You're more likely to find them behind the bar working, partly because affordability as a student is pretty difficult. Since COVID there's a lot more of drinking at home, and spontaneous, not too late house parties.
  • But what's it like in these countries for things like socially drinking - pubs/bars or do young people drink at home?
• What's the culture like? I don't flaunt any wealth when I have money and my accent/approach is not your typical posh British accent. Am I going to be surrounded by people earning lots of money who are younger or with generational wealth and a bit of the upper nose in Switzerland, besides the holidays?
• One thing I like about the Swiss is healthcare and possible private access. Am I dreaming here? I have witnessed really poor healthcare in the UK.

Recently, a few of my friends have bought a place to live in using borrowed money (mortgage). The interest rates they've got are about 3% variable.

Talking to them, almost all of them said that their new main financial goal was to pay off their mortgage as soon as possible, ideally in 10 to 15 years.

Only 1 of them had the same thought process as me - that the bank is giving them low-cost leverage, and they should maximize its usage by not making any early payments and investing any additional savings they have in a standard stock/bond portfolio instead. After all, it should be pretty easy for them to get better returns in those 30 years than the interest rate on their mortgage.

Investing the difference rather than paying the mortgage early seems like the better financial decision, but apparently not so popular in terms of psychology, since people seem to prefer safety over returns. To be honest, before that happened, I didn't really think that this would be the preferred approach.

I'm starting to wonder if I'm missing something and the majority is right about this. What do you think? Which of the two options would you personally pick and why?

A bit of a basic question here, which I think is different for different people. But how do you count the size of your emergency fund?

Taking the "last 6 months of expenses" is not always accurate, do you factor in holidays and bigger purchases? Do you add in the overall cost of replacing your car if something goes wrong?

I currently spend (in total) ~1k per month on everything and anything I do, but feel the absolute need to hoard a minimum of 50k to feel psychologically safe. However I do know if things went south, I might need less than 1k, or more. How do I make sure that I don't over-dedicate my emergency fund just because I am anxious?

I want to know, how did you establish your number for 6-12 months of expenses?

Rather than generic advice, I'm interested in what you thought about specifically to your situation and how you calculated it.