Real estate is thought to be the best long-term investment. Is it?
In past blogs, we have already explained why investing in real estate is not worth it compared to equities. However, prices of flats and houses have been regularly hitting new highs since then, and even last year's survey by Slovenská sporiteľňa showed that more Slovaks still prefer real estate to securities. That's why we bring you an updated comparison, in which we answer whether real estate is still (not) worth it.
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10 cases when you should not leave your savings lie in the bank
Did you know that Slovaks will lose at least 480 million euros in banks this year? This represents a decline in the purchasing power of 24 billion euros currently deposited in transaction accounts at 2% annual inflation and zero interest rates. The losses will also affect another almost 20 billion euros deposited in term accounts, whose interest rates do not exceed inflation. But doesn't this statistic happen to affect your money as well?
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Book review: Your Money or Your Life
Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) has become a goal of many people in recent years. The idea of early retirement and having free time certainly sounds better than living in a predetermined way: 40 years of work and surviving in retirement. Today, we will have a look at a genre classic from 1992 - Your Money or Your Life written by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez, which represents the beginning of the FIRE movement.
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Financing a real estate purchase
In recent years, the National Bank of Slovakia has taken several measures in order to mitigate the risks associated with the rapid growth of Slovak household indebtedness. Easily available 100% mortgages are a thing of the past. If you want to live on your own today, in addition to rising real estate prices, you also have to deal with several banks’ requirements.
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Are you prepared to live 20 years without a payroll?
Pensions are not something that is discussed over a beer in Slovakia. However, it is a subject we cannot afford to ignore, as this period represents approximately a fifth of our lives. How much money will I receive during retirement? And will it be possible to make a decent living from this amount? Will I be able to reach the retirement age at all? These are the questions that will sooner or later begin to bother each and every one of us.
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Buying or renting - what is more worthwhile?
Securing a housing is one of the largest budget items for most people. If you are not one of the lucky ones who have acquired their own housing almost for free during the housing fund privatization in the 90s or by inheritance, you basically have two options – housing in a rental or “in your own”, i.e. with the burden of a mortgage. But what is more favourable? Is it better to be indebted for decades or to make use of the flexibility and carelessness a life in a rental has to offer?
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High fees are one of your biggest expenses
If your bank or your portfolio manager issued an invoice on tens of thousands of euros, you would think, that it must be some kind of a bad joke. It might sound ridiculous, but it is happening every single day and even without “the invoice“. Overpriced financial products are hindering better future for thousands of people.
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Do you want get rich? Invest long-term
Warren Buffett, one of the richest people in the world, bought his first equities at the age of 11 and continues to buy them even today. At the same time, he says: "I regret that I did not start investing earlier". Buffett's path to wealth is the embodiment of the compound interest principle. Up to 99% of his property was earned after his 50th birthday.
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