New month, new check-in. After July 2025’s update, August was calm: no holidays, lots of work, and a family barbecue. Next holidays are in October (the bookings are already giving me a headache 😅), so I kept spending under control and stayed disciplined.
My short-term goal remains clear: raise the ETF allocation steadily, month by month. The FIRE dream stays in the background, but let’s be realistic: I still carry too much debt to seriously pursue it right now. The practical priority is twofold: keep investing regularly in ETFs and pay down the “bad” liabilities.
For the pie charts I used a simplified visual estimate (for display only): EUR≈CHF and USD≈CHF. Exact amounts are shown in the tables below.
ETFs remain the backbone of my strategy: low cost, broad diversification, and simplicity. In August I avoided extra spending and kept my dollar-cost averaging going. The rest of the assets are life insurance (meaningful but illiquid), crowdfunding, managed funds, and small—more volatile—positions (crypto and single stocks).
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Life insurance | € 44,015.66 |
| Crowdfunding | CHF 16,210.97 |
| Managed funds | CHF 8,000.00 |
| ETFs | € 3,489.26 |
| Crypto | $ 1,518.73 |
| Stocks | $ 1,502.37 |
| Miscellaneous | € 908.96 |
| Robo-invest | CHF 201.45 |
| Total Assets | CHF 75’645.95 |
This is where the real work happens: reducing debt. The Swiss bank loan is the biggest chunk, followed by car leasing and credit cards, plus a smaller euro loan. The goal is clear: lower interest costs and free up cash for ETFs. As long as debt stays high, FIRE is inspiring—but not an operational priority.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Bank loan (CHF) | CHF 53,930.00 |
| Car leasing | CHF 15,451.20 |
| Credit cards | CHF 14,824.00 |
| Bank loan (EUR) | € 5,871.19 |
| Total “bad” liabilities | CHF 90’076.39 |
August was deliberately ordinary. Staying home cut non-essential spending while keeping good habits: automatic monthly ETF contributions, monitoring interest costs, and no new debt. These quiet months don’t make headlines, but they stabilise the course and make compounding predictable.
The plan for the coming months is simple: keep the recurring ETF buys (even in small amounts), keep pushing down costly liabilities, and pre-budget October’s expenses so I don’t break the investing rhythm.
August 2025 closes as a month of quiet discipline. No fireworks, just many small steps in the right direction: more awareness, tighter spending control, and a simple strategy to repeat. FIRE remains the north star, but right now getting debt in order comes first. Each month like this strengthens the foundations for the next update.