“I believe that the current Pension system in Europe is not viable anymore by the time people from 1980+ will retire. I took matter in my own hands and started investing for my own retirement using a Dividend Growth investment strategy.”

European Dividend Growth Investor

The quote above is something I told my friend recently. I truly believe in it, and it’s one of the reasons I became so passionate about Financial Independence and Retire Early (FIRE).

I am 43, married to a wonderful wife, and we have two young children. You could describe us as a typical middle-class European family.

For us, this means we still need to work for at least another 25 years, and sometimes it feels like a rat race. I often long for more freedom, which to me means doing what I’m truly passionate about.

At the same time, I am risk-averse when it comes to income, which has, for example, prevented me from starting my own business. My experiences with poverty in my youth are likely a root cause of this caution.

Unfortunately, European economic and policy trends are not in our favor. Our population is aging, leading to a greying demographic. This shift has already resulted in increased retirement ages across Europe (e.g., from 65 to 68). By the time I reach retirement age, it’s likely that we’ll be working until 72.

Moreover, many pension funds have struggled to meet their future obligations due to the low-interest environment driven by ECB policies. As a result, these funds have had to re-index their future pension payouts. This effectively means I expect to receive less retirement income than what was initially promised.

Don’t just take my word for it—check out the table below. It shows the amount of re-indexing by the National Pension Fund in the left column and the inflation rate in the right column. Ideally, these should be aligned.

However, as you can see, we have lost approximately 19% of our purchasing power in just 14 years. So for every 1,000 euros promised when they deducted money from our salaries in 2009, we are now only seeing a maximum of 800 euros. Who knows how much less it will be in two decades?

Longer working periods and reduced retirement income—this is the reality.

Realizing this, I saw only one solution: don’t rely on the government and start taking control of my financial future.

That’s when I discovered Dividend Growth Investing. This strategy resonated with me because it allows me to invest for cash flow, with the expectation that it will compound over time at a higher rate than inflation.

This brings me to my ambitious goal: to retire at 47 and spend my time more purposefully, while still enjoying life now.

Since I began investing in late 2014, the snowball effect has definitely started. My dividend income currently covers about 65% of my monthly expenses. This realization fills me with confidence and humility about what the future may hold.

I started this blog to document my journey, which includes its ups and downs. It’s a continuous learning experience with the aim of becoming a better investor every day.

As a Dividend Growth Investor living in Europe, I’m motivated to invest a significant portion of my portfolio in European stocks. This approach mitigates currency risk and allows me to explore companies that are generally more familiar to me.

I’ve noticed that European stocks are often underrepresented in the FIRE community. With this blog, I aim to shed more light on European Dividend Growth stocks (also known as European Dividend Champions).

In addition to stock information, this blog will offer a European perspective on other related FIRE topics that are part of my journey.

I hope to share my learnings, provide insights, and, through your feedback and engagement, become a better investor.

Thank you for reading this far 🙏 and I hope to see you around!

With best regards, Mit freundliche grussen, Met vriendelijke groet, Cordialement, Pozdrawiam, Saludos,

— European Dividend Growth Investor

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