Own your future: why I don’t outsource mine to the state
Hayek, state budgets from Berlin to Rome and why I plan my money as if the state won’t show up. Safety net yes, financial planner no.
ReadFreedom is a number
Go get yours.
* and no ministry is going to calculate it for you.
Your future is your job. Not your boss’s, not your bank’s, and definitely not the government’s, which can’t even keep its own budget. Sounds like bad news? It’s the best you’ll get today, because what’s yours, you can fix. So here you go: free calculators, a free course and straight talk about investing in Europe. No gurus, no Lambo, no sales call.
I want to… start investingbe free soonercheck my pensionearn morenerd out on AI
// why this site exists
Nobody knows your life better than you. Least of all a ministry.
Friedrich Hayek had a name for it: the pretence of knowledge. The idea that some central office can plan what millions of very different people need. It’s been field-tested for a hundred years, and the result is always a queue. The state as a safety net? Fine by me. The state as your financial planner? Yeah, no.
- 0x01Promises are not assets.
A pension promise can be changed with one vote on a Friday afternoon. A fund you own can’t.
- 0x02Responsibility is the good part.
If it’s your job, you can start today. No form, no waiting period, no office hours.
- 0x03Nobody fixes it in time.
The reform that’s needed ends political careers, so it gets postponed. Again. State budgets look grim. People with their own money look fine.
// what you get here
Five ways to get your money in shape.
Pick a topic. Every one comes with articles, tools and zero sales calls.
0x01 // investing
Own the world. Pay almost nothing for it.
ETFs, shares, dividends, brokers and tax. For people in Europe who’d rather keep their returns than donate them to a fund manager.
6 articles
0x02 // freedom
Freedom is a number. Find yours.
Your number, financial independence and how to live off a portfolio without running dry. Asking for permission is not part of the plan.
4 articles
0x03 // pension
Your pension has a bug. Patch it yourself.
What the state promises, what the budget can afford, and the hole in between. With numbers for your country.
1 articles
0x04 // build
Saving has a floor. Income has no ceiling.
Earn more, start something next to your job, and find out when your own company or a new country starts to make sense.
2 articles
0x05 // ai & tech
Robots are great at spreadsheets. Terrible at prophecy.
What I build with AI, what works, and what it can and can’t do for your money. Spoiler: it can’t see the future either.
1 articles
// free · no sign-up · runs in your browser
Tools that do the maths for you.
Eight calculators. Move a slider, watch your future change.
$ pension --reality-check
Pension gap
What the state promises, what the budget can afford, and the hole in between.
Open
$ compound --monthly 300
Compound interest
What a boring monthly savings plan turns into. Before and after inflation.
Open
$ freedom --when
Freedom number
Your savings rate decides when you’re financially free. Not your boss, not a ministry.
Open
$ fees --compare
Fund fees
What 1.5% a year costs you over 30 years. Sit down first.
Open
$ inflation --years 30
Inflation
What your money buys in 10, 20, 30 years. The tax nobody had to vote for.
Open
$ dividends --monthly
Dividend income
How much capital a monthly payout needs. And how it grows.
Open
$ withdraw --how-long
Withdrawal
How long your money lasts when you start taking it out.
Open
$ earn --vs-save
Earn vs. save
Skip the latte or raise your income? Let the numbers fight.
Open
// fresh from the keyboard
Brain food, zero fluff.
Accumulating or distributing ETFs: same engine, different exhaust
Same index, different cash flow. How both ETF types work, what the German taxman does to them in 2026, and which one suits your temperament.
ReadAI and your money: great intern, terrible oracle
What a chatbot can really do for your money in 2026, where it confidently talks crap, and a checklist before you believe a word of it.
ReadDividend investing, minus the fairy tale
Dividends aren’t free money. What a payout really does to your shares, your tax bill and your risk – and the few cases where dividends still make sense.
ReadETF tax in Germany 2026: what the state takes, on one page
Flat tax, partial exemption, advance lump sum, allowance: German ETF tax in 2026 without the legalese. Two worked examples you can check yourself.
ReadFIRE in Europe – the US playbook doesn’t work here. The maths does.
No 401(k), no Roth, no US ETFs. Here’s what financial independence looks like under European rules, plus the savings rate table.
Read// house rules
How I think about money.
Five rules. They fit on a beer mat, which is where most good plans start.
- 01Maths over opinions.
If a claim can’t survive a calculator, it doesn’t make it onto this site.
- 02Costs are the only sure thing.
Returns are a maybe. Fees are a promise. Cut the promise.
- 03Boring wins.
One global fund and a standing order beat most clever ideas. Sorry.
- 04Income is a lever.
You can’t save what you don’t earn. So go build something.
- 05No gurus. Me included.
Every number here has a source. Don’t trust me. Check it, then make your own call.
// more
Books, a podcast and a microphone.
in the makingBooks
The long version of this site, on paper. Get a ping when the first one is out.
Notify me coming soonPodcastThe Nerdy.Money podcast: money, companies and freedom, without the suit.
Get the first episode book meSpeakingTalks on the pension gap, investing and building with AI. Slides with numbers, not with people shaking hands.
See the talks
// whoami
Hi, I’m Markus.
I build companies and software, and I like money questions you can settle with a spreadsheet instead of a talk show. VEONIO and Nerdy.Money are mine. Here I write down what I’ve figured out about investing, earning more and AI. Retirement isn’t on the list. I like working too much.