My dear dudes,

Many thanks for sticking around during 2016, subscribing the blog, sending me supporting messages and opportunities to do business together. I am very happy that I revitalized this blog and put our community together. I’ve received a lot from you guys, and 2017 will be an explosive year. First, I hope that our recently created Facebook page continues to grow, as I think it is a great way to deliver news first-hand. Second, I will add a lot of summaries and reviews on the Books page (probably in chunks of 2/3). Third, I will finally publish my own book and exclusive articles on how to do some extra income, online. This post aims to do a reflection of 2016.

Reflection and assessment of 2016

I am very happy with my achievements in 2016, both online and offline. If you click on the “Goal” tab above, you’ll see the goals I had for 2016:

1. Increase my net worth to €115k

My net worth at the end of this month will surpass the €120k mark, so this goal was accomplished; the only thing I am not fully happy with is the asset distribution: first, I have way too much Real Estate, in comparison to the other asset classes, and two, I’ve spent way too much liquid cash on Rental Property 3 (RP#3), because I clearly underestimated the renovation costs of this property. Next year, I will not spend a dime into renovation, and I will try to build up some more liquidity from the rents of this and other properties.

Overall: satisfied!

2. Get a new job in Portugal for 2017 where I can make at least 35K net, a year

When I set this goal, in the beginning of 2016, I thought I would leave my current full-time job in October 2016, which I haven’t. Right now, I know that I will only leave it on April 1st, so it would be impossible for me to get a new job in Portugal for 2017.

Either way, I’ve made progress in this regard: I’ve started to collaborate with a new company, which will provide me with few flexible jobs in 2017. From these jobs, I expect to make €10-15k for the year, but I will clearly have to freelance or get jobs from other companies to hit €25k net, which is my goal for 2017 (I will explain this in detail later on). I’ve also sent applications to other companies which are hiring for specific jobs (exactly what I am looking for). My goal is to lock at least €15k worth of jobs till April 1st.

Overall: not satisfied, but not unsatisfied yet!

3. Sell all my assets in Germany at the market value

I was able to sell everything I had in Germany at market value, except for my car, which I lost money on (but I sold to a friend, knowing I was losing money on the deal). A few items were left to sell, but I will have enough time to take care of them as I will be in Germany till April 1st.

Overall: satisfied!

4. Live off of €800 a month

I’ve done a great job in being frugal. As my monthly updates show, I was able to live off of €800 and save about €1600 every month, consistently. I’ve proven that I can cut off the expenses aggressively if I want to. In my view, it is more important to know how to make more money than how to live off of little, but both are important to long-term success. This year, I’ve proven I don’t need much to have a good life, but next year, I will have to prove that I am good at creating more sources of income.

Overall: very satisfied!

5. Improve my financial IQ

This year I have learned a great deal about Real Estate and the economy in general. I haven’t started on different areas, as for me these are the most critical at this point. I think that, given what I learned, I’ve clearly accomplished this goal too. What I will do is to aggressively re-read the books I have under Books so that I remember all the concepts I’ve learned in the past years.

Overall: satisfied!

Tomorrow or on Tuesday, I will provide a complete road-map for 2017. Bare with me.

Best,

Ben