The FIRE Belgium Show

If you keep doing what you're doing today, when will you become financially independent? In 10 years? 25 years? Or never? Most people have no idea. But after watching this video, you will know your financial independence number and exactly how long it will take you to get there. Most financial independence calculators are wrong for investors living in Belgium, because they ignore Belgian-speci...

He was earning €1,300/month in Italy. Rent alone was €600. Saving felt impossible. Then he got a phone call from Brussels, and everything changed. In this episode, Sébastien Aguilar shares the real case study of David: a 37-year-old expat IT consultant at the European Commission who went from €0 invested to €2,500/month in index ETFs, and is now on track for financial independence at 53.This is no...

What actually happens to your money, your investments, and everything you’ve built… when you die in Belgium? For most people, the answer is simple: a large part of it disappears in taxes. 30%, 40% and up to 80% in some cases. Because of non-existent or poor estate and inheritance planning. My name is Sébastien Aguilar and I teach busy professionals living in Belgium how to build wealth on autopilo...

Crypto investing, Bitcoin strategy, passive investing — can you invest in crypto without stress? In this episode, we talk about how passive investors can approach Bitcoin and crypto without turning it into a full-time job. I’m joined by Brecht Van Craen, founder of Digital Currency Academy, and we break down a simpler, long-term approach to crypto investing. Crypto is often associated with hype, t...

How Do You Actually Build Wealth in Belgium?  Without Overcomplicating It or Leaving Money on the Table? This is the main question we discussed with Thomas Guenter, Founder and managing partner of Finhouse. We discussed the top principles of wealth creation and what it really takes to get to it. - What does it actually take to build serious wealth in Belgium today? - Is entrepreneurship the only p...

On the 1st of January, a new tax will impact all investors in Belgium. But how does it work? What do we know about this tax right now? This is what we cover in this masterclass presentation with Pieter van der Velden, author of the white paper on this topic for Vermorgensgids. From what we know of the tax right now, it looks like we will all need to learn to deal with it even if we invest with Bel...

Most Belgians are leaving thousands of euros on the table every single year.  Why?  Because they’re still stuck in savings accounts or paying high fees on underperforming bank funds.  In this episode, I’m showing you how to take control of your financial future by investing in global low-cost index ETFs, in a simple and effective way. It’s simple because all you really need is a couple of well sel...

How to optimize your pension as self-employed in Belgium? In this session from Money Week 2025, I speak with Karel Van den Eynde, Public Affairs Manager at Liantis. He specializes in advising entrepreneurs on optimizing their pension strategies, including government schemes and additional pension options such as the VAPZ/PLCI, POZ/CPTI and IPT/EIP.  We dive deep into these pension products, breaki...

Do you know where your pension money is going? It’s your money, you should know! In this episode, I speak to Ann Verlinden, CEO of PensioPlus, the Belgian Association of Pension Institution. It’s a recording from Belgium Money Week 2025. This was a fascinating conversation, where I learned a ton! In this episode, you will learn about pension funds, what they are and how they work. How they are ver...

Will you afford to retire?  How good (bad?) is the Belgian Pension System, compared to other systems in Europe? This is the second talk of Belgium Money Week 2025, where I interview Sébastien Commain, co-author of the report  “Will You Afford to Retire". Every year, BETTER Finance, The European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users publishes the report "Will You Afford to...

What is wrong with the Belgian pension system? Is it broken? With rising life-expectancy, shrinking working force, budget deficit and erosion of trust in the pension system, it’s time to raise the alarm. This is what we do in this episode with Pierre Devolder.  Pierre is an emeritus professor of mathematical finance and actuarial science at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL). He has publishe...

What are the best brokers for investors in Belgium? Which ones are the cheapest? Which ones are the safest? Which ones handle all Belgian taxes? Which ones are the easiest to use? In this episode, we analyse and compare the 12 main brokers used by investors in Belgium, so that you can pick the best one. We cover the following brokers: Bolero, Degiro, Keytrade, Saxo, Re=Bel, Mexem, MeDirect, ING Se...

How to level up at work? Do you feel like you’re not fully using your potential at work? Or that you are not recognized and rewarded for the work you do? Have you ever wondered how to fast-track your career, climb the professional ladder, and earn more? Wherever you are in your career, there are ways for you to level up at work. This is what we discuss in this episode with Judith Escalier. Judith...

Could freelancing be the key to your financial freedom? Are you currently an employee thinking about becoming a freelancer? Or Have you recently started as a freelancer and are looking to level up? Compared to traditional employment and its many constraints, freelancing offers a flexible approach to work with the potential to make more money. But how do you start? How do you avoid beginner’s mista...

Are you looking to invest in Real Estate in Belgium? You’re exploring the potential for a first real estate investment, or you’re already made one or more investments. But you’re wondering what it takes to be successful with real estate? How to find good deals? What are the strategies that improve investment returns? What are the key elements to pay special attention to when you invest for the fir...

Are you a business owner looking to optimize your investments? Your business is making money and you’re paying yourself, but you still have money in the company.  Should you open a pension plan? take it out and invest as an individual, or invest as a company? How can you take money effectively out of your company? How can you optimize your investments as a company owner? What investment or saving...

Over the last 20 years, the stock market went up by 500%!! * 1000 euros invested 20 years ago could have become 6000 today. That’s insane. But you know what’s even crazier… and very sad… The vast majority of investors only got a tiny piece of this growth. In fact, the average investor investing in the stock market barely managed to get 100% return over the same period. The average investor that ha...

What are the best stock index ETFs for investors in Belgium? What are the most diversified, cost-effective, tax-efficient, high performance ETFs that we can invest in from Belgium? In this episode, we cover: The FIRE Belgium ETF selection checklist - to help you pick the best ETFs How to practically check each of those criteria for an ETF (using IWDA as an example) Top 5 ETFs that fulfill those cr...

How to pick the right stock index ETF? How to find the best index funds for investors based in Belgium? What are the key criteria to select the perfect low-cost stock ETF, optimized for Belgian taxes ? In Belgium, the investing world is mostly controlled by banks and powerful lobbies. But good investing is not as complicated as what the industry wants you to believe.  In fact, research proves that...

Research shows that investors underperform the market by 3 to 4% on average each year!  That’s half of the returns of the market! And this is due to investment biases and mistakes many investors make. In this episode with Thomas Laureys, we talk about the 4 most common mistakes and biases that prevent investors from getting good investment returns. And how to prevent them. We dive deep into behavi...

Jasper Vekeman is a financial journalist who is passionate about sustainable investing. He is the co-founder of Duurzaam Beleggen Academy ( https://duurzaambeleggen.academy /), where he teaches sustainable investing, and he is the Editor in Chief for the magazine of the Vlaamse Federatie van Beleggers (VFB) I recently attended the 2nd Belgian Impact Day organized by Belgium Impact Finance and had...

JL Collins, author of the international best seller “The Simple Path to Wealth” also known as the godfather of financial independence is back on the FIRE Belgium Show to discuss his new book “PATHFINDERS: Extraordinary Stories of People Like You on the Quest for Financial Independence—And How to Join Them" In this episode, we discuss: How to invest simply and effectively How to reach financia...

What are the best brokers for investors in Belgium? Which ones are the cheapest? Which ones are the safest? Which ones are the easiest to use? In this episode, we analyse the top 10 brokers in Belgium, with all the pros and cons! It's a long episode because it's a deep dive into all things investment brokers. We share all our knowledge on how they work and how to pick the best one for your...

I know an investor who had to pay 70,000 euros in penalty fees because he was investing with the wrong broker. And his portfolio was worth less than 50,000 euros. The broker you pick is a crucial part of your investment strategy. Getting the wrong broker could be very costly. In this episode, we explain: - why the cheapest broker is not always the best (it rarely is) - the 4 key criteria for broke...

As you probably know I am a huge proponent of index investing, because of its simplicity and its effectiveness to bring regular people the market returns they deserve.   But how does this simple investing approach work?    How can index investing be implemented by people like you and me?    And how can it help us build financial security and reach financial independence? &...