From Deck to Desk

A Different Perspective on Money Matters: from my accountant brother in Amsterdam.

Dear readers,

Due to Charl taking a break in the African bush with his Cali-girl, his better-stronger-faster-richer (the latter I wish) brother has decided to steal over this weekly newsletter. This covers my experience on moving abroad, along with some lessons learnt and also where I invest my hard-earned cash. Let’s go!

About Me

Born and raised in the sunny town of Pretoria, we had a great childhood (yeah okay some wiggles and wobbles). We were raised in a standard middle class upbringing and I always knew that we would need to do something meaningful. Both adventurous and extroverted, we just needed to find a way.

I am a Chartered Management Accountant with a degree from the University of Pretoria and an Honours degree from Stellenbosch University. I started my career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, which provided a strong foundation for considering a move abroad. It was a challenging journey but definitely worth it, even though its quite the opposite from my previous paragraph-end.

I was on the verge of signing a contract in Bermuda, with a good balance between island lifestyle and a great tax-relief (also something to consider). However, my gut said this would be a short-term stint and that I would see a life (passport is an extra) in Europe more fitting.

Further taking other factors into account such as time zone differences , I decided to take the ‘’easier’’ route up north to Amsterdam.

The Move

If you have moved to another country, never mind province/regions, you would know that it comes with challenges- but I enjoy life here at the moment (weather aside) and experienced an immense amount of growth spiritually, relationship wise and of course financially.

Career wise, I have built a good foundation and gained some great experience, but still yet to find something more enjoyable – hopefully the next role provides this, but if not we re-evaluate. Also, let’s be real, there is no perfect job (speaking for corporate).

What is the most important lesson during this period?

I need to point out here, and this might vary between individuals and perhaps reason for moving, but when relocating abroad, do try to integrate with the culture . It opened doors for me that I didn’t know existed and it is a fucking superpower once you how to leverage your personality and build a network.

This, I unfortunately see with most expats, including Saffas who are inherently outgoing, who fail to attempt this and forms these cliques, perhaps as a sense community. It is not wrong whatsoever, but I truly believe it limits growth and opportunities.

Get on with it Stefan.. Give me your ‘lekker’ finance tips?

The word of the day: Interest , RENTE!

I’m sure you have heard of the term compounding and I’m convinced most of the readers try and harvest from this principle, but what is better than your money working for you? Once you are in a lucky position, you can do some really cool shit with it.

What, why, how??

I try to push into saving around half of my netto salary per month. With the Dutch 30% tax ruling for expats (5 years) this is a possibility and I aim to get the most out of this.I try to break a good balance between life and savings.

In an ideal world, one would like to move away from linear earnings and amplify your output without increasing your input/hours proportionally, basically do your own thing, but this is a topic for another day.

Just as we as humans are a series of inhales and exhales, I don’t really have an fucking idea what I’m doing with my life (please bring me someone that has). It gives me closure knowing I can save for my future NOW and earn interest for when I finally decide to live that island dream life.

Where do you invest?

Living abroad, this can be quite tricky for several reasons. For many South Africans especially, we would love to know we can return to the ‘’new normal’’ one day. Until then, we need to make smart money decisions in order to do so- here is my approach at the moment:

-Offshore Account (+- 50%):

Around half of my savings go into stock picks and ETF’s. This can be risky business but with a trusted advisor (shout out to Armand at PSG!) and diversified portfolio, I have been reaping the rewards the past few years.

-Cash (+- 50%):

When I refer to cash, I don’t mean dough sitting in your current account. Fuck no.

I mean interest- bearing cash. It is logical that in larger economies like EU or US, interest rates will be lower due to several factors such as lower inflation.

 Foreign cash:

The first time opening my dutch ING bank account and seeing the maximum interest earnable at 1.5%, I seeked other options which would keep up with inflation. After some due diligence, I believe Wise or Revolut is your best bet at around 3.5%* .

 Local cash:

The only reason I have some cash in ZAR, is because of that beautiful interest rate which I enjoy benefiting from. There is also the concept of currency hedging but let’s leave that for another day (when we have few more 00’s).

• I also use this to cover my TFSA (Tax- Free Savings Account) of maximum

  ZAR36k per year, a very good investing 101 principle.

 Crypto & Credit:

I don’t fancy either, simply staying away.

 Property (0%*):

This is the real challenge as there are a lot of factors in buying property such as the when, where, why.

Owning a property comes with high initial costs and ongoing expenses like maintenance and taxes. It can be a challenge to find the right renter who will help cover your mortgage. As Rich Dad Poor Dad explains, many people mistakenly think their first property is an asset because its value may go up over time.

However, since it doesn’t generate cash flow from rent, it’s actually a liability. Instead, the book encourages people to focus on acquiring income-generating assets.

But opinions are like assholes: We all have one.

Even though I agree with above and enjoy the flexibility of renting, it still beats pissing money down the drain making your landlord rich, right? And so the next question is:

Where to buy property?

Do you buy an apartment/house at a fraction of the cost and thrice the size or a shoe-box apartment in Manhattan? The answer would be personal but some of the most important factors with investment properties as a expat would be things like location and interest rates, the latter which plays hand-in-hand with currency risk when buying back in your home country .

But anyway, I would leave boetie Charl who owns 2 Cape Town properties with his expertise.

What would I have done differently?

I don’t believe you can be right all of the time. There is another great book called The Almanack of Naval Ravikant which highlights the 51% rule: It’s just about making more correct decisions than incorrect ones over time and letting the compounding (love this word) of those small advantages drive significant success.

Once again success is subjective, and it means something different to each of us.

I guess the one thing I am learning on this journey is not too rush things too much and let go of things outside our control.

My key takeaways:

• Keep up with tech or put on that blue collar.

• Integrate or learn how to.

• Enjoy life, while earning interest.

• Diversify your portfolio and invest in appreciating currencies

• Invest in your network and travelling.

• Listen to Charl’s advice (except on the weekend)

To those who made it to the end, thank you for listening and being lekker. I hope to feature again soon!

Best regards,

Stefan Minnaar