2D·

Dealing with spontaneous expenses 🚀

I would be interested to know how you deal with spontaneous or unplanned expenses, especially with regard to personal savings and investment goals.

My goal is to break the €25,000 mark this year. I also have a 57 m² apartment in Poland, which will be rented out from April. The monthly rent is around €540. However, I only get the rent for 3 months, the rest goes to my mother, as she owns the house ( this €540 goes into the $IWDA (-0.51%) to give my mother a better pension)

Before I rent out the house, I have to buy a dishwasher, washing machine and stove. So that my mother doesn't have such high costs. The cost is around €1,500. Over my 3 months of renting, I come to around €1,620, which is enough to cover the costs.

Nevertheless, I have a question for you:

How do you rate such expenses?

Do you consider it a setback in terms of the annual target or rather a necessary investment, even if the return is limited in terms of time and amount?

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31 Comments

Sansebastian@Sansebastian

You should have a nest egg of several months' net salary set aside for spontaneous tasks.
Whether it's a step backwards or not, it's necessary and that's it 🤓

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jkb92@jkb92

@Sansebastian always depends on the amount of the net salary, I think...

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Sansebastian@Sansebastian

@jkb92 well, the more you earn, the higher your standard will be - hence more expenses, more valuable appliances, cars, etc.

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Wiktor_06@Wiktor_06

@Sansebastian I invest the money I have directly. I have a maximum of €1000 lying around in my account. The rest goes into shares. 🙋‍♂️

And depending on your life situation, it's up to you how much you "need". 3 months' salary is too unnecessary for me.

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Sansebastian@Sansebastian

@Wiktor_06 it's up to you how you do it

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jkb92@jkb92

@Sansebastian not the case for me, for example. I earn very well and don't have a car or particularly expensive appliances. I also rent a kitchen (including appliances and washing machine), so no unexpected expenses there either. At times I have less than one month's net salary in liquid assets.

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Sansebastian@Sansebastian

@jkb92 Everyone can do this individually as they see fit. Normally, you put aside several net monthly salaries. As I'm the sole earner and we have two cars, for example, it definitely makes more sense for me than it does for you.

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Paul@paul_finesse_

I also have an emergency buffer for this kind of expenditure (I always have around 10k)

Of course, you have to adjust this individually.

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Musikerie@Musikerie

As a student and for the first 15 years, I had no buffer either. You invest what you can and suffer setbacks. Then at some point you have one and you're happy about it

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Wiktor_06@Wiktor_06

@Musikerie That's exactly how I see it. And when I make impulse purchases like this, I just take my salary.

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Mav83!@Maverick4831

Let me put it to you in the words of André Kostolany:

"You should only speculate with money you don't need:
after the debts have been paid,
the children's education is secured
and you have a financial cushion."

That's how I did it. I always have at least 3 net salaries to hand, with as much interest as possible.

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Wiktor_06@Wiktor_06

@Maverick4831 Thank you for your perspective. For me, it's just that I usually keep my money in TR. And as soon as there's a good opportunity, I go into shares.

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JKB@jkbdagun

I had the goal of end up last year at 30K , but suddenly I had some car expenses, so I had to withdraw 2.5k. Because of that, I didn’t achieve my goal, but at the end of the day, we have to remember, why the fuck are we saving all this money if not to have the freedom of having to worry about expenses? We can always make more money

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barnie.@barniedieCapriSonne

I have 1.5 net salaries in my account and that's quite enough for me as a reserve.

I'm 33 years old and until 6 months ago I didn't have a cent in reserve and I'm still there today.

In my opinion, anything else is completely crazy
In the end, it's just a number

-there are insurances
-if you have 10 net salaries as a buffer then you probably want 11
That shifts further and further upwards anyway then

So much for my nest egg

I hold general surpluses for 1 year and then divide them up again:
1/3 deposit
1/3 additional vacation fund
And from the last 1/3 I just live, buy things that are most likely unnecessary but where I feel like it

Life is not just about paying, or as they say

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Metis@Metis

If necessary, see if you can get appliances cheaper or stretch the purchase out over several months.
In my opinion, a dishwasher, for example, is less relevant than a washing machine for the first time.

Otherwise, you have reserves for exactly that.

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Wiktor_06@Wiktor_06

@Metis Thank you for your answer.

Sure, but I have a maximum of €1000 a month. Because I'm of the opinion that I don't need it. In other words, 3rd month's salary.

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Metis@Metis

@Wiktor_06 Well, if you're a landlord, you should have your own reserve for the rental property and be independent of your own private nest egg.

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GiCi@GiCi

Investment, necessary to rent the house.

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erT@erT

Rental income is a separate "bubble" for me. Everything via separate accounts. What's left over is saved separately. Anything over and above the "rental nest egg" ends up in a separate deposit. That way, I never run the risk of having to postpone important expenses - relating to the apartments - or having to pay them from my private nest egg. The expenses you mentioned are then also an investment. I would recommend this separation to everyone, whether it's you or your mother.

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Wiktor_06@Wiktor_06

@erT of course you can also see it that way. Thank you for your experience.

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erT@erT

@Wiktor_06 I think a cash flow of a few hundred euros always sounds cool and tempting. Especially if the property is already paid off, a lot of it actually remains directly. Nevertheless, you should be aware that you are taking on responsibility and that a new roof, a new heating system (often condominium matters) or a new bathroom (separate property) can quickly mean tens of thousands of euros in one go. And you have to build up the cushion first. The same applies to loss of rent due to renovation or simply a change of tenant or a lack of interested parties, or if you have to dig deep into the toilet and get a messiah out of the apartment with judicial assistance and horrendous costs. Fortunately, I haven't had any really bad surprises yet, but I don't want to have to pay 20k that you can't actually afford or would have to pay out of your vacation or pension fund.

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Wiktor_06@Wiktor_06

@erT The renovation "only" cost €3,000 as we inherited the apartment from my grandmother.
We just don't want the apartment to stand around unnecessarily.
It's different in Poland in terms of landlord law.
That's why the rent is also relatively "low", simply to build up something for the pension. And if my mother wants to move into the apartment in 10-15 years, we would like to completely renovate it (12500€).

That's why we'd like to put aside a couple of € thousands and have a good reserve for my mother.

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erT@erT

@Wiktor_06 the costs in Poland - from a German perspective - are probably also much more bearable. If you hire a specialist company in Germany without undeclared work and your own hands, you can no longer get even a simple bathroom of a few square meters redone for less than 10k.

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Wiktor_06@Wiktor_06

@erT You're right. And for a 57m2 apartment/house, the costs in Poland are really fair.

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Name M.@userc818a6f2df6247c9

I probably don't understand your question. According to the verbal agreement with your mother, it's an (almost) zero-sum game. I don't know how your mother does it for tax purposes in Poland.

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Name M.@userc818a6f2df6247c9

@userc818a6f2df6247c9 you want to break 25k in 2026, not in January 26 but in the full year

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Wiktor_06@Wiktor_06

@userc818a6f2df6247c9 Yes, of course, but at the moment the €1000 I have as a savings installment is gone. And I have to save or invest €1000 a month to break the €25,000 barrier.

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Name M.@userc818a6f2df6247c9

Yes, sure, or not sure. Hopefully you'll manage anyway! Keep your fingers crossed!

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Susanne@Isus01010

I would definitely set up a savings account for short-term expenses. I also rent, and I build up separate reserves for such expenses. After all, the operating costs continue to run if the apartment is vacant

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Wiktor_06@Wiktor_06

@Isus01010 You're right. A savings book is too "old-fashioned" for me.

But everyone as they like.

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Susanne@Isus01010

@Wiktor_06 I also do this at the best possible conditions that you can find online. I would just recommend that you don't put every last cent into your portfolio. But you're right, everyone as they like. 😊

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