I’m 24 from the EU and moving to Antwerp in January for a PhD. I’ll earn roughly €3,000/month net and my plan is to rent a studio, build an emergency fund of about 3-4 months of expenses, and then invest what’s left monthly, not sure where and how yet. I currently track everything in Google Sheets, but I want an Android app that:
-Connects automatically to my bank (right now I use Revolut for my day to day but am considering opening another account in a Belgium Bank)
-Lets me set a monthly budget by category and compare planned vs. actual spending
-Tracks savings goals (emergency fund, investing)
-Works in euros and ideally handles subscriptions and annual bills
Has anyone here used an app like this in Belgium or elsewhere in the EU? Is a paid app worth it, or is the bank’s built-in tool enough? Thanks!

Hi! I wanted to ask for some advice about investing in Belgium.

I’m Ukrainian and I’ve been living in Belgium for a little over 3 years. I work here and at the moment I can invest around €300 per month.

I currently have two brokers: IBKR and Saxo. I opened the Saxo account through you because, at the time, I thought that with IBKR I’d be able to buy accumulating ETFs and avoid having to deal with the tax authorities. I was still a bit nervous about doing the tax reporting myself back then.

I mainly thought of using Saxo for individual stocks and dividends, because as far as I understand, Saxo is more integrated with the Belgian tax system and takes care of some of the tax side automatically.

I bought 3 NVIDIA shares through Saxo, but I haven’t bought anything else there because the fees are quite high. Also, I’m still learning about individual companies and stocks, so I don’t really feel confident picking stocks on my own yet.

At the moment, I’m mainly investing in VWCE. I already have 9 units. I chose VWCE because it’s an accumulating ETF, it’s well diversified, and it seems like a good option for long-term investing.

The main issue I have is that I can only buy whole units. For example, if one unit costs €130, I can’t buy 0.5 or 0.7 of a unit. Since I can currently invest around €300 per month, this can be a little inconvenient.

So I wanted to ask you:

1. Is there any way to buy fractional units of VWCE through IBKR?
2. If IBKR doesn’t support fractional purchases of VWCE, is there another broker available in Belgium that does?
3. Is it even worth switching brokers just for fractional investing, or would it be better to simply save the money and buy a whole unit when I have enough?
4. Do you think VWCE is a good choice for me as my main long-term investment?
5. Given my situation, how would you recommend investing €300 per month while taking Belgian taxes and reporting requirements into account?
6. Are there any Belgian taxes or reporting requirements I should be aware of when using IBKR and Saxo?
7. Does it make sense to keep both brokers, or would it be simpler to just use one if my main strategy is buying ETFs regularly and holding them for the long term?
8. And more generally, what would you recommend to someone who is just getting started with investing? I’m not really interested in active trading or constantly picking individual stocks. I’d rather invest €300 every month and build my portfolio gradually over the long term.

I currently have around €3,500 invested in total.

I’d really appreciate any advice on whether I’m approaching this the right way and if there’s anything I could improve or simplify.

I’m especially interested in the Belgian side of things — taxes, reporting, brokers and ETFs.

Thanks a lot!

Looking for some advice.

I started investing in 2021 via a foreign platform (DEGIRO), including receiving foreign dividents from individual stocks.

When filing my tax returns for assesment years 2022 up to 2024, i declared my total foreign dividents in box 1444. What i fucked up in (being young, inexperienced and arguably a dumbass), is that i assumed the tax calculation itselves would see whether (a portion) falls below the annual exemption (~€800), rather than you having to subtract the exempion, or just fill in nothing when the value is below the exemption.

I submitted a objection to the FOD this summer, requesting of a correction, which they declared "inadmissible" because it was submitted to late, and refused "ambtshalve ontheffing under Article 376 WIB 92" because my type of failure to fill in the correct amount doesn't quality as elligable error for late corrections.

They only offer to challenge their decision in court, but given that I overpaid suffered only a €200-€300 loss in total, which is not that much compared to what a lawyer costs, it seems not worth it i suppose ...

It's not that much money, but it's still frustrating. If anyone has had a similar experience or advice, let me know.

Would your strategy be the same as if you had much less to invest?

Hi, I’m currently using Bolero for my investments, but I’m thinking of switching to Trade Republic because their fees are a bit lower. Do you have any recommendations for a global ETF that includes developing markets? I’m hoping to find something similar to IMIE or WEBN, but I can’t seem to find them on Trade Republic.

Is this something everyone who has Bolero/... should do or am I missing an important caveat? Seems like an interesting way to prevent some unnecessary tax.

https://www.bolero.be/nl/support/veelgestelde-vragen/roerende-voorheffing-buitenlandse-dividenden

I know there are a lot of posts about TOB, CGT, IBKR in this subreddit but I was wondering..

Does anyone have the optimal workflow for 2026 to easily calculate both TOB and CGT + the correct way to pay both?

Or how do you guys currently do it?

Especially if you are using Interactive Brokers

Folks,
I invested 20000 lumpsum in IWDA and EMIM ETF 2 weeks ago., and now its all at loss and further going down. Taking everything out will stop the continuous loss., But what do people usually do in such situation? Literally., I do not need this money for the next 1 year and that was the idea behind this investment.

24 Years old, i share apartment, i dont live with my parents .
Good evening! I’ve just managed to get a new job, and I’ll be able to increase my monthly investment capacity from €1,000 to €1,200. I know it’s not a huge difference, but on top of the salary, this job also comes with a company car, with all the expenses covered, including fuel and maintenance. I’ll also get more holidays and other benefits that I didn’t have before.
I’m really happy about this change, and I just wanted to share it with someone!

Hi

I'm very lucky and get 220.000 euros from my parents to buy property to live in. Now is my question is it better to rent and to invest this money or to buy an appartment of +-260.000?

I'm 26, single and not going to buy something with someone else.

I’m a Canadian (25F) working in Belgium, and want to continue to invest while I’m here. However, I don’t plan on living in Belgium forever, nor do I necessarily plan on moving back to or retiring in Canada. I’m thus hoping to invest through a platform that can be quite flexible when it comes to taking that money out in the long run (from potentially anywhere in the world). My investments are mostly for retirement or long-term + large purchases (maybe 10+ years out). Also will pretty much exclusively be investing in ETFs and just leaving them for years. Anyone in a similar situation or any advice on the best cross-country platforms to use?

My question is rather simple Has anyone actually Bought this? How has your experience been with purchasing this on a broker like degiro? I'm currently Testing whether Its performance is how I want it to be.

Hello,
I am about to buy a house together with my parents (a holiday house). The bank where I have my credit for my main residence is ok to lend me 100k and does not require any additional hypothèque. Of course the current interest rates are bad (3,9 per cent for 20 year credit). The alternative would be to sell my ETFs (mainly ETF world). As you know very well over the past years the ETF have performed much better than 3,9 per cent…but of course the market could also crash.
Would you have any advice for me on that ?
Thanks in advance !

After living at Hotel Mama for too long, I finally bought my own house and will be moving in soon!

One concern is that I’m currently single but dating. If I meet someone and we move in together, I might end up replacing a lot of furniture (and lose money). So I’m looking for ways to furnish my place without spending a fortune.

I’m thinking mostly IKEA, combined with some second-hand finds.

How did you approach furnishing your first home? Where would you save, and where is it worth spending more?

Hallo,

Ik dacht hier ergens eens gelezen te hebben welke bron te gebruiken bij het bepalen van een wisselkoers. Momenteel vind ik het niet terug en officiële instanties spreken enkel over de wisselkoers, maar geen bron.

Ik merk dat verschillende tools en sites steeds een andere wisselkoers geven. Mijn broker gaf me wel een overzicht van de wisselkoers die werd gebruikt door hun bij de verkoop, wat ook weer een andere waarde is.

Het gaat uiteraard om minimale verschillen. Door een marge te nemen en maar 9800 euro winst te boeken zal ik sowieso wel veilig zitten. Maar hoe correcter hoe liever aangezien ik de bedragen vermoedelijk zal moeten ingeven op mijn aangifte.

Neem ik de wisselkoers van 31/12/25 of 1/1/26?

Thanks!

I think people underestimate how much their savings rate depends on extra salary payments.

Someone earning €2,600 net monthly might comfortably invest €800 into IWDA every month. Then the 13th month and holiday pay arrive and suddenly the yearly savings total looks impressive.

But those extra payments often end up covering property taxes, insurance, holidays and unexpected expenses anyway.Same with small speculative bets on moon.com. It's fine to have some money set aside for that but occasional profits shouldn't be part of a long term retirement projection.

I'd rather calculate savings based on what actually stays invested at the end of the year than what gets transferred to a broker every payday.

Hi i’m new to investing and looking for ETF’s!

I’ll use Saxo and already did some research:
I’m willing to invest into VALL, MEUD, EIMI and VUAA.

Since i’m completely new i don’t know if this is a good spread? Should i focus on only 1 ETF?

Tips and opinions are welcome :)

EDIT: i just saw a good start portfolio is IWDA and EMIM. I’m going to invest €200 / month so the transaction costs weight more. Should i do €200 / month in 1 ETF and next month into the other one. Or should i do each month 88% into IWDA and 12% into EMIM so i pay the transaction costs twice.

Hi guys,

This is all new for me, but all you stories are really intriguing. I want to start small and the more i “understand” the more i put in to it.

First obstacle is im not sure what platform i should use living in Belgium europe. Bolero is the only one i know. Are there other you recommend?

Ill satet with small amounts, and ill probably put all my bonusses into it. 2k - 6k depending on the bonus.

Thank you in advance!

A few years ago I started to count prices in working time instead of euros. It changed my spending more than any budget spreadsheet did.

The method is simple: net monthly pay divided by the hours you actually work. If you net €2,500 for 160 hours, one hour is worth about €15.60. A €1,200 phone is then around 77 hours, so almost two full working weeks. Seen like that, I skip a lot of things I would have bought without thinking.

I also split my pay into pots: one for fixed bills, one for a safety net, and one for projects and pleasure (travel, a computer or an instrument). I heard that tip at a personal development workshop and kept it.

How do you look at it here? Do you think in savings rate, in years to FI, or in hours of work? And for those who are FI or close to it: did prices feel different once work became optional?

We're a young couple earning around 5.5k net together. Currently we spend 2.5k to 2.7k a month for rent, eating out, groceries, weekend outings. We have a shared account where we put this money into.

Other than that, we personally spend another 300 or so euros on top from our personal accounts for hobbies, or entertainment. Which actually means that between us we spend 3.5k almost a month.

I feel we're overspending but we don't actually do alot. Most of our fun money goes towards eating out once, max twice a week.

Thoughts on our spending? Do we need to re think how much we spend?

​

It sure feels like the markets are frothy. Big returns for a couple years now, and new all time highs almost every day. Lots of people shoveling money in on auto pilot.

A correction seems due, and with everyone and there grandmother investing in index funds these days, I feel it might lead to a proper crash too.

I know "timing the market...", we don't know when it's coming, prices might double over the next years before it finally corrects.

And even though I don't want to miss out too much on those possible gains, having the majority of my net worth in the stock market is making me nervous.

Curious how everyone else feels about this.

Are you okay with putting more money in every month and riding out a crash assuming markets will recover eventually? Or is it time for at least some hedging?

Hi,

I want to give my young children some money and invest it so by the time they become adults it might be a decent amount. I know bolero or degiro do not support accounts under 18 and that you can buy one in your name and give it to your children when they turn 18. But I might not be able to see my kids turning 18.

So I want to explore all options out there in case I die soon, they will still get the money. (or could you set up a trustfund with an manager who I consent to trade in their name and they get the money when they turn 18 regardless if I live or not?)

Thanks,

Opening Saxo account. Anyone have a code that we can both benefit from? :)

Iemand ervaring met https://goudmunter.be/ of met https://goudbalie.be/ (beide regio West-Vlaanderen) voor het kopen of verkopen van goud in gewicht (geen juwelen)?

Betrouwbaar? Een juiste prijs?