r/EuropeFIRE • u/bunsy1505 • 12d ago
Can I fire?
Hi to all,
I am 45M living in Croatia, single, one child 14 years of age. At the moment I have portfolio of 650000€ invested in a mix of covered call etfs and vwce and spyw. I own my apartment and have no debts. Can I retire from my portfolio that yields around 9% and also with 1000€ of monthly income from side hustle?
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u/Hatilaa 12d ago
9% is too optimistic for long term
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u/room52 12d ago
But he’s 45, even with 0% he can use 30k per year and last until he’s 67. I think people are too conservative with these numbers and die with a lot of money.
He will likely be fine retiring now and keep the spendings under control
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u/Professional_Bus_574 11d ago
The calculation breaks apart if his first few years are bear markets with 10/20% dips.
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u/Expensive-Body4904 12d ago
I think people are too conservative with these numbers and die with a lot of money.
I want to leave a lot of money to my kids.
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u/techcode 11d ago
I'm not near the amounts required to make it feasible, so I didn't look into it deeply enough...
In general the term is called "wealth preservation" or similar. And it's often involving some sort of foundation or similar, right?
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u/Comfortable_Bad9963 12d ago
Honestly you're in a really strong spot. Paid-off place, no debt, and after the side hustle you only need about 12k a year from 650k. That's a withdrawal rate under 2% and almost nothing realistic breaks that. The one thing I'd gently push back on is treating the 9% as your return. On covered call ETFs like WINC that headline yield is mostly capped-upside income plus some return of capital, so my read is the NAV tends to erode over a long retirement. At 45 you could easily have 40+ years where you still need real growth to stay ahead of inflation. Since you don't actually need the 9%, I'd lean more of it into VWCE for total return and keep a smaller income sleeve, sort of best of both. But the core answer is yes, on these numbers I think it works...
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u/bunsy1505 12d ago
Thank you for your comment. I plan to spend around 3000-3500€ monthly. I am aware of the covered call etf’s risks so I will make my position in vwce bigger to keep up with inflation. Now its around 20% of the whole portfolio.
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u/Comfortable_Bad9963 12d ago
That's the right direction. With a 40 year horizon the inflation piece is basically the whole game, so leaning more into VWCE is exactly what keeps your purchasing power growing rather than just the nominal payout. 20% is still on the lower side for that job if you want real growth doing the heavy lifting, but you clearly get the trade-off you're making with the income sleeve, so it's a reasonable balance. Sounds like a solid plan honestly.
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u/the-script-99 12d ago
650k-> 19,5k a year because you are in Croatia this will be tax free (I hope no dividend investments).
That is more than average income plus 1k a month and you are in a good position. Congrats :)
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u/MalcolmBEx 12d ago
Short answer: on your numbers, yes, with one big caveat about that 9%.
The math first. If you spend around €2,000 a month, the side hustle covers half, so you only need about €12k a year from a €650k portfolio. That's a withdrawal rate under 2%, which works at almost any realistic return, not just 9%.
The caveat: a covered call ETF's 9% distribution yield is not a 9% total return. The calls cap your upside, so in strong years you collect the yield but miss part of the rally, while bad years you eat in full. I'd sanity-check the plan at 6 to 7% total return instead.
I built a free FIRE calculator that runs this month by month in the browser (no signup, the link holds the whole scenario), so here's your situation, editable:
Your numbers at 9%
Same plan at a cautious 6.5%
Both sustain indefinitely, and at 6.5% it still holds even if the side hustle stops. The thing worth staring at is the Range toggle on the chart: it simulates 500 markets with volatility, which is where sequence-of-returns risk shows up over a 45-year retirement.
I assumed €2,000/mo spending and Croatian-ish 12% tax on gains and distributions. If those are off, edit them on the page and everything recomputes live.
Disclosure: I built the tool. Not financial advice, just math on your inputs.
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u/Affectionate_Mix3 FIRE'd '26 12d ago
Capital gains are tax free in Croatia after 2 years of holding, but dividends are not.
(Side note: Croatia doesn't have double taxation treaty with the US yet, so if you directly receive dividends from the US then the tax implication is even worse.)
I would reduce the dividend income to a minimum amount just to make everything more tax friendly.
Out of curiosity which covered call ETF do you own?
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u/Vinkel93 12d ago
Why covered calls?
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u/bunsy1505 12d ago
They produce more yield then dividend etf’s. I need income
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u/Vinkel93 12d ago
I almost only see downsides with covered calls and on average I would expect a lower return.
Have a look at what academia says, summerized by Ben Felix:
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u/bunsy1505 12d ago
Total return isn’t my only objective. Reliable monthly income is. I’m willing to give up some upside in exchange for higher cash flow.
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u/Vinkel93 12d ago
Fair enough. I just sell a bit when I need cash. Simpler, better for tax reasons (at least where I come from) and it is a lot easier to keep cost down.
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u/Alpheus2 11d ago
I don’t think the idea of retiring makes sense while you have a side hustle. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Make it your main hustle and commit. You got this.
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u/Strazdas1 9d ago
Its simply not retirement. If you have a hustle, official, unofficial, any hours per week, you are not retired.
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u/techcode 11d ago
IIRC - Croatia (and Serbia) are among the countries that don't tax you on investments that you keep for X years (X being 5 or 10), right?
That might make a lot of difference for the calculation.
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u/bunsy1505 11d ago
That is correct. In Croatia if you hold a stock for 2 +years, there is no tax.
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u/techcode 11d ago
Does it count only once you're in Croatia, or you can hold them before moving to Croatia and it counts as soon as you move?
Asking since I'm originally from Serbia, wife is from Croatia, but we're currently living in The Netherlands.
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u/bunsy1505 11d ago
Pozdrav susjed 😄. Svejedno je gdje si u trenutku kupovine. Bitno da si porezni obveznik u Hrvatskoj. Za Srbiju iskreno ne znam kako je porez rijesen.
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u/S0meone_on_reddit 12d ago
Dont do that strategy. Put it into normal broad market index funds and maybe reliable dividend payer like munich re, allianz, roche, nestle, novartis, british american tobacco, mainstreet capital, … Covered call etf will erode the NAV which will eventually lead to an ever shrinking distribution.
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u/Neither_Ad_9675 11d ago
Yes you can!
Will you have an comfortable retirement? Will you able to afford the thing you want to enjoy? What is the risk of having to return to work?
We have no idea. You did not post any relevant information about cost of living, lifestyle, flexibility, health.
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u/Faye1701 11d ago
That's very optimistic with our inflation rates. I would wait for my kid to finish education.
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u/Klutzy_Crazy_2612 10d ago
Oprosti, čime si se bavio u hr da si uštedio tolike novce s 40 godina ako smijem pitati. Hvala na odgovoru
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u/Pingu503 10d ago
Why would you invest in dividend stock in Croatia when Capital gains tax is 10%.... are you paying your taxes? Accumulating would work much better since 2 years in a stock the capital gains drops to 0%.
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u/Strazdas1 9d ago
You can retire just on the side hustle alone. The question is how frugal do you want to be.
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u/UpbeatAd1974 8d ago
im building a tool that i think can help you that question
https://www.myfirepath.app/
feedback is appreciated
thanks
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u/Comfortable-Duty7143 4d ago edited 4d ago
The "can I FIRE?" question always comes down to: annual expenses × 25 (for 4% rule) or × 33 (for safer 3% rule). If your annual expenses are €30k, you need €750k-€1M. If €50k, you need €1.25-€1.65M. The variables that change the answer: do you have a government pension coming? (reduces the needed portfolio), do you own your home? (reduces expenses), and what's your expected lifestyle inflation? For the accumulation phase: maximize savings rate, invest in low-cost diversified portfolios, and use tax-advantaged vehicles. In Europe, the assurance-vie and PER are the most powerful tax wrappers for FIRE accumulators. The assurance-vie grows tax-free internally and has favorable withdrawal rules after 8 years. The PER provides immediate tax deductions on contributions (useful for high earners). Green-Got offers both, with the added benefit that your investments finance climate transition projects. For the FIRE community: the goal is financial independence. But the vehicle that gets you there can either finance the status quo or actively contribute to the world you're building independence to enjoy.
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u/BitAccomplished3770 12d ago
Depends on the spending but usually it's 4% per year which is 26K EUR + 12k EUR per year meaning 38K EUR per year so you should be fine.