February is over. While there was still snow and temperatures well below zero, I went winter swimming again and used my vacation and weekends for short trips to Dresden, Potsdam and Berlin. Thanks to the Germany Ticket. The investment knew what to do by itself for a while. Time for a look back.
I present the following points for the past month of February 2025:
➡️ SHARES
➡️ ETFS
➡️ DISTRIBUTIONS
➡️ CASHBACK
➡️ AFTER-PURCHASES
➡️ P2P CREDITS
➡️ CRYPTO
➡️ AND OTHER?
➡️ OUTLOOK
➡️ Shares
Things were actually going really well for my shares, but there were some serious headwinds from the other side of the pond: tariffs are coming. And that naturally moved my portfolio too. My giant $AVGO (+5.57%) was now only up +200%, with a clear downward trend. But that still leaves me cold, because technology stocks are of course heavily overvalued. So it's bound to happen that someone lets the air out. I was pleased because my savings plan was executed at a more favorable price.
$NFLX (+1.76%) goes down slightly, the $SAP (+4.06%) remains stable in terms of performance and volume compared to the previous month. With the 2nd place by volume $WMT (+0.88%) not too much has happened either. So as far as the stocks at the front end of the chain are concerned, February was not really eventful. The same applies to the lower areas.
Whereas last month the banking and financial sector moved ahead in terms of volume, I now notice the $RSG (+0.37%) and $SYK (+3.54%) which continue to fight their way to the top of the portfolio. This is exciting, as I have always seen these stocks as good midfield performers, but not candidates for the top positions.
➡️ ETFs
As always, ETFs are doing their thing. What can you say except the typical? Don't rely on the state pension, build your own ETF pension. Anyone who doesn't invest is simply - I can't put it any nicer - stupid and lost. And I think that there have now been enough warnings from every political direction, as well as from various other perspectives and media, that the pension will not be enough. That's why my inner voice tells me that those who don't take care of their old age will only have themselves to blame for their misery and I even think it's unfair if others, who perhaps have little income and are cutting back in order to build up assets, have to be fleeced in order to protect the idle. At least that's what my inner voice tells me. Certainly a controversial opinion, feel free to write yours in the comments.
➡️ Distributions
I was able to collect 19 distributions on 9 payout days in February. I am grateful for this additional income stream. Everyone should build up their additional income this way.
➡️ Cashback
In February there were two reimbursements from the health insurance company, which I treat as "cashback". One was a subsidy for prophylaxis and the other was a payout from the bonus program. As I don't plan either of these as income, there was extra money to distribute. More on this under subsequent purchases.
➡️ Additional purchases
I used the subsidy for the prophylaxis to purchase a one-off savings plan in the $SPYW (-0.07%) plan. I initially put the payout from the bonus program to one side.
➡️ P2P loans
With my last P2P platform, Mintos, there was no interest or redemption payment. I still want to withdraw everything here. I would even accept a complete write-off to get out of the platform. In any case, the remaining amount on the platform is no longer relevant.
➡️ Crypto
Crypto investors experienced book losses in February. $BTC (-0.48%) fell from over USD 103,000 to under USD 80,000, and other cryptocurrencies also fell. $ETH (-0.57%) and other cryptocurrencies.
I remain patient. We are a long way from my exit prices and no improvement is expected in March. We will have to wait and see and possibly add to our position.
➡️ And what else?
I currently see a major threat to the prosperity on which the German welfare state is built. Wokism, cancel culture and, above all, reliance on the state is a huge problem, as is the ever-inflating state. We Germans have far too little awareness of personal responsibility and the wrong mindset.
You are always the average of the people around you. So if you surround yourself with the wrong environment, you will never be able to develop better habits. That's why I think you should always surround yourself with people who are already where you want to be, be it in terms of sport, career, setting up a business or finances.
In February, for example, I met up with people who are also interested in investing and the stock market for a regulars' table in rural Saxony-Anhalt, naturally at the invitation of a Youtuber who I have been following for a long time and who is a frugalist himself. Each of the participants had a different background, different ideas, but the knowledge that you have to do something yourself and the will to get ahead in life united us. The meeting was simply wonderful because I usually only meet people (especially in my day-to-day work) who don't think about the difficult tomorrow. And I'm not just talking about very young people, but also baby boomers. I myself maintain that pensions will no longer be secure for them either. What happens if Germany gets into financial difficulties, for example if government spending continues to rise and income can no longer keep up? The cancel culture certainly means that low-income earners prefer to go on state benefits, or that people who are able to work do not leave the citizen's allowance at all. I don't have a solution for this myself.
But we all know that the state is becoming ever more bloated. On the one hand, it can't prevent this if it has to provide for more and more people (e.g. an increase in the number of baby boomers soon to retire or people who [have to] go into the citizen's allowance). On the other hand, the state doesn't want to prevent this bloating either, as it is deliberately increasing its size through bureaucracy and new official structures. Do we actually need them?
And here comes my assumption. What if this CAP cannot be solved by printing money, as it would become excessive and the welfare state would no longer function? Citizen's income is an entitlement under certain conditions, but having an entitlement does not mean that the entitlement will be enforced. The best example is childcare places. If there aren't enough, you can still be entitled to them. So what happens when social benefits can no longer be financed? No matter how much entitlement there may be. That doesn't help anyone. I deliberately paint a black scenario to get the last person to make their own provisions!
There are 45.6 million people in employment in Germany, 34.8 million of whom are subject to social insurance contributions, 5.3 million of whom are in the public sector. In simplified terms, this means that around 29.5 million keep the economy running through taxes. And thus consequently keep the welfare state alive through social security contributions. Please also remember that 100,000 well-trained skilled workers leave our country every year. Germany has invested in them in the form of general and university education. And entrepreneurs or institutions in the country have invested in them through vocational training, further and advanced training and wages and salaries. I can understand anyone who wants to leave the country and live elsewhere. Instead of condemning these people, we should finally initiate a change in policy so that Germany becomes more attractive again and 100,000 taxpayers don't leave.
As I said, I'm deliberately painting the devil on the wall, but there won't be enough of the 29.5 million taxpayers left to keep things running forever. I haven't even considered the fact that many well-qualified people will retire and won't be replaced by equally well-qualified people. In any case, the risk that the welfare state will cease to function at some point is great enough for me to expect that what we consider normal today will or can no longer be normal at some point. In any case, I have heard the warnings and prefer to build up my own assets and additional income that will cushion me.
So: build up your own assets and income and stay away from government influence/opinion mongering and deceptive promises about a supposedly secure welfare state, as you will end up on your own when things get serious.
➡️ Outlook
Trump's next tariffs are coming into force, sending shockwaves through the markets, and even now, as I write this article in March, my portfolio is noticeably affected. In March, I will receive a reimbursement from my supplementary dental insurance and a bonus from my employer. You can read what I'm going to invest it in in the March review. Until then!
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