en – FinMarie

ANNA works as an employed doctor in Berlin and would like to acquire a 120 m² apartment together with her husband. Their bank offers them a loan of up to € 320,000. Both are considering whether they can afford such a high investment. In doing so, they have to consider many factors: How many years should the term of the loan be selected? Which conditions are currently favorable? What are the interest rates? What percentage of the loan is repaid monthly? What is the optimal monthly rate? What other costs need to be taken into account when buying a home (eg notary, broker)? No matter whether you build, build, buy or finance yourself, FinMarie can assist with making the best financial decision for you and finding an investment strategy that is based on an appropriate level of risk.

For SUSANNA, flexibility is not important. She is in her 40s, childless and wants to build her wealth for financial independence in the future. In the past three years, she has saved € 10,000, which she now wants to invest sensibly, as well as setting up a savings plan for future savings. However, Susanna is unsure about investing with the current political situation around the world. FinMarie recommends a higher allocation to shares given her long term goal, but also takes into account her current feelings about markets, and can help assist her understanding of how markets work. Susanna understands the benefit of a savings plan, where every month, an agreed amount is automatically added to your portfolio with the benefits of ‘dollar cost averaging’ the entry point into markets as well as automating the saving a certain amount each month.

CORA lives in a one-person household in Berlin. She is a freelance graphic designer and has a monthly net income of about 2,000 to 2,500 € per month. From this, Cora has to meet her monthly obligations for rent, food, transport, her hobby of photography and the gym. She also saves a monthly amount for her retirement. Taking these expenses into account, she still has 400 to 800 € per month that she can save. In addition, Cora still has around 5,000€ in her bank account for emergencies. Cora’s goal: since she currently has no family plans, she wants to continue to enjoy her financial freedom and pursue her hobbies and so she feels that she can easily invest savings for the long term of around 10 years. The low-cost Exchange Traded Funds are an ideal base for Cora’s portfolio and so FinMarie recommends a broadly diversified portfolio, with a higher allocation to shares, given she has the longer term investment timeframe and will not need to draw on her investments in the short term.

KAROLINA is 33 years young, has two children (2 and 5 years), is married and lives with her family in Munich – the fastest-growing city in Europe. The mother of two currently works part-time as an accountant in a German company and earns € 34,000 net per year. The change from being a couple to becoming a family after the birth of their child has been the biggest and most moving event in their lives to date for Karolina and her husband. Although it is an exciting time, the young parents have more than enough to consider professionally and at home. Particularly financially, because of her two children and the full-time work of her husband, Karolina currently can only pursue a part-time employment and so the family has a loss of income. FinMarie advises: Family planning is also financial planning, and so the issues around the change in the financial circumstances of a family should be integrated into family planning. We recommended a ‘moderate’ investment portfolio for Karolina as a large part of her monthly income is needed for regular expenses. Flexibility is a high priority for Karolina and therefore must be included in her financial strategy.

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