September 2020 Monthly Report – 77% Savings Rate

What will you read in my September 2020 monthly report? We will go into September expenses, September passive + side hustle income, and September goals. 

September started well. Less COVID cases in the Netherlands, more and more people were allowed together. We planned several events with my friends in September, and we enjoyed having social interactions again. 

Every weekend we spent time with a couple of our friends and we were enjoying the great weather. Outside it’s really easy to keep 6 feet apart and. Toward the end of September, more and more people tested positive for the virus. The government is getting stricter again with the rules, to prevent a second lockdown. 

We need to wear a mark in most shops, and shop owners can refuse you if you don’t wear a mask. Plus, all bars and restaurants close at 10 pm. I hope that cases stay stable so that we don’t need to go in a second lockdown. 

Honestly, I don’t mind working from home at all, but another couple of months inside with the rainy and dark weather isn’t something I’m looking forward to. There’s not much that we can do, except wearing our masks when we go to the supermarket – that’s our only trip nowadays.  

Highlights of my September month:

💸 Expenses of €733

👉 77% savings rate

🌟 Extra income of €657

💰 22% to FIRE

September Expenses

Here you can find the details of my September costs: 

September gives me a monthly savings rate of 77%. My goal for 2020 is to have a savings rate of 75%. I’m right on track with my yearly savings rate of 79%.

September Income

Here is a breakdown of income per source:

Source	Income	XIRR
Blog	€466
Reselling & Flipping	€140
Cashback Groceries	€4
Crowdestor	€29	9.33%
Mintos	€9	12.15%
EstateGuru	€5	8.86%
Funding Circle	€4	4.78%
Reinvest24	€0.6	5.47%
Total	€657	P2P: 9.07%

Let’s get into my passive income, side hustle earnings, and my other income for the month.

September Passive Income

Every month I try to grow my passive income. Passive income means you’re making money without actively putting in hours of work. My peer-to-peer investments and quarterly dividends are my current sources of passive income. 

Do you want to start investing in peer-to-peer platforms? Check out which P2P platforms give a sign-up or cashback bonus!

In September, I got a total of €47 in passive income. Here is a breakdown of all my passive income sources:

Note: I’m not a financial advisor, and I’m not giving financial advice. I’m only telling you what steps I take. A significant part of my investment portfolio is peer-to-peer lending or crowdlending, which means higher risk and higher return. 

With the coronavirus, many peer-to-peer platforms have had some minor setbacks. There are no significant defaults because of the current economic climate. It is relevant to know the risks of peer-to-peer lending and know the possible scenarios. 

To summarize for the different platforms I’m invested in:

• Grupeer has its bank accounts frozen, meaning nothing can be paid out to investors. It’s not clear at this point what will happen. Also, Grupeer has a KYC procedure going on to unfreeze their bank accounts. They seem to do their best to resume operations. You can read their FAQ here.
• Crowdestor had a three month period in which projects were evaluated. Many projects got a couple of months extensions for the repayment (up to 3 months). Payments are coming in, and no investments have defaulted yet. 
• EstateGuru and Reinvest24 have continued to pay according to schedule. 

Crowdestor

Portfolio Value: €4,126

Average Interest Rate (XIRR): 9.33%

Passive Income: €29.27

Crowdestor is back on track with their projects. The fluctuation in payments is due to the projects I’ve invested in that are paying irregularly. As I am not living from my passive income yet, regular payment is not something I am currently looking for in projects. 

I currently invested €4125, which has yielded me €29.27. That’s a 9.33% yearly interest, which is a great return. I will continue to diversify among platforms, and Crowdestor will remain one of the main ones. 

Check out my Crowdestor review 🔥 for more detailed info.

Mintos 

Portfolio Value: €1,469

Average Interest Rate (XIRR): 12.15%

Passive Income: €8.98

Mintos is currently one of the biggest peer-to-peer platforms in Europe, which makes it a great platform to start building up your passive income streams. 

Mintos is a great place to invest if you know which loan originators to choose. These loan originators are reliable and will be generally safer than a loan originator with a low(er) rating. 

I currently have €1,468.81 invested with Mintos. That gave me €9 passive income in September, which is a 12.15% average annual interest rate. 

🔥If you’re not using Mintos yet, check it out. You can read our Mintos review here, or you can sign up directly.

When you sign up with Mintos using my link, you get a 0.5% extra return on any investments made within the first 90 days!

Try Mintos Now

EstateGuru

Portfolio Value: €1,175

Average Interest Rate (XIRR): 8.86%

Passive Income: €4.42

EstateGuru is a way to start real estate investing with a low barrier. It’s one of the biggest real estate crowdfunding platforms in Europe, and they have an extensive track record. At the moment of writing, they have not lost a single euro for their investors since their start in 2014. 

EstateGuru is one of my favorite real estate crowdfunding platforms. Since I started investing with them in November, I’ve had between 9-11% return. 

I’ve recently invested in five new projects. Two of them aren’t paying anything until the loan ends, which means that there will be ups and downs in my return rates. 

Currently, I have €1,175 invested in EstateGuru, with €4. That’s an average return of 8.86%. 

🔥 Sign up using this link to check Estateguru out yourself or read our EstateGuru review!

EstateGuru is currently giving 0.5% cashback to my readers, in the first 3 months, if you sign up using my link. 

Join EstateGuru Today >>

Funding Circle

Portfolio Value: €34

Average Interest Rate (XIRR): 4.78%

Passive Income: €3.84

Funding Circle was the first crowdlending platform I invested in back in 2018. Their returns aren’t great, and they have no buyback guarantee.

All the other platforms I have mentioned have a far greater risk-reward ratio, so check them out instead.

🔥 I have a list of platforms best real estate crowdfunding platforms that I recommend. 

Reinvest24

Portfolio Value: €98

Average Interest Rate (XIRR): 5.47%

Passive Income: €0.57

A year ago, I started investing with Reinvest24, a real estate investment platform that allows me to invest relatively low amounts. I like that they pay a yield plus capital gains when you sell like you’re receiving monthly rental income. 

🔥 If you want to give Reinvest24 a try, sign up here or check out my complete Reinvest24 review!

Open An Account At Reinvest24

September Goals

• Move daily – PASS! While I haven’t been working out as rigorously lately, I still moved daily. I’m doing more movement that soothes my soul, like walking and yoga. 
• Finish the beginner plank challenge – PASS! I’ve finished the beginner plank challenge I did last month. I want to do that again later this year, perhaps as a December challenge. 
• Optimize mobile site speed – FAIL! I have not worked on this, but I will put it on the list for October. 
• Work ahead 4 weeks in posts – FAIL! September was a low-motivation month for me. Little time on the weekends, combined with low motivation, means that I don’t have any posts planned. Oops, better luck next month!
• Read 30 minutes – PASS! I haven’t read every single day, but most weekdays I have. Plus, I’ve read more on weekends. I’ll give it a pass. 

October Goals

• Optimize mobile site speed
• Work ahead 2 weeks in posts
• Plan content for the rest of 2020
• Create Pins for old posts – follow me on Pinterest if you haven’t already

How was your September? Let me know below!