Posts

Posted on

Portfolio update – March 2024

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my first portfolio update or the year 2024, I hope you still enjoy them. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are looking good: after a reorg in my company, I got to keep my team and my leadership position. We are now in the middle of the anual compensation review process, and I am expecting a considerable raise. I am also testing the market and there are indeed opportunities that pay 30-40% more than my current position, but nothing materialised with an offer so far. The market is not in the best shape at the moment, like it was in 2021, but things start looking better.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – March 2024”

Posted on

Portfolio update – December 2023

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

First of all, I am very sorry for skipping the quarterly update, this year I promise I will post them on a regular basis again. Welcome to my first and last portfolio update or the year 2023, I hope you still enjoy them. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are looking good: I got my leadership position back in the beginning of the year, managed a big team and survived a busy year with no major incidents. I got a 7.5% raise in spring, but still not enough to cover inflation, as the increase in prices started to take a toll on the family budget, especially for the bigger things (like home renovations). I also managed to travel more business related, having four  company trips in the last year.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – December 2023”

Posted on

What are RSUs and how do they work?

At my current employer, I receive RSUs (restricted stock units) as a form of bonus. I have received a RSU package as a signing bonus and also my annual bonus is paid in RSUs. So, I needed to learn how these assets work.

Investopedia says:

A restricted stock unit (RSU) is an award of stock shares, usually given as a form of employee compensation. The recipient must meet certain conditions before the restricted stock units are transferred to the owner.

Continue reading “What are RSUs and how do they work?”

Posted on

Portfolio update – December 2022

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my third portfolio update or the year 2022, I hope you enjoy them. I’ve decided to post updates at the end of the quarter, as things are not so interesting every single month. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are looking okish: my team got dissolved, I’ve moved to a new team where I will have to learn new technologies and frameworks. It’s good in a way that I am exposed to other stuff, but again I will need to go through a learning period. I hope that I will get my former position back, I have strong signals on this path.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – December 2022”

Posted on

Portfolio update – September 2022

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my third portfolio update or the year 2022, I hope you enjoy them. I’ve decided to post updates at the end of the quarter, as things are not so interesting every single month. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are looking better: I got promoted! The company is still reorganizing and finding its path to being profitable again. I am hoping that it will succeed, as I have some RSUs that will get vested soon and I hope in their appreciation in value.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – September 2022”

Posted on

Portfolio update – June 2022

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my second portfolio update or the year 2022, I hope you enjoy them. I’ve decided to post updates at the end of the quarter, as things are not so interesting every single month. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, things are not looking good. I’ve got a small raise, but my company had to lay off 10% of its workforce, in an effort to “focus on being profitable”, rather that following growth with all costs. Fortunately I was not affected, but some projects got shut down, including one that I worked a lot in April and May. Oh well, we’ll see what future holds for me.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – June 2022”

Posted on

Portfolio update – March 2022

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Happy New Year 2022! Welcome to my first portfolio update or the year 2022, I hope you enjoy them. I’ve decided to post updates at the end of the quarter, as things are not so interesting every single month. Now let’s get into things!

On the professional side, everything is good. I’m settling in the position, getting to know the colleagues and IT systems. I am happy that I work for a global company, with distributed workforce, with no need to come to the office, only when it’s needed. In January I have received my RSUs (reserved stock units), but they will start to get vested starting January 2023, but also this is the time when I will need to pay taxes for them. I will write a separate article about how the RSUs work in my company and how the taxation works in Germany.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – March 2022”

Posted on

Portfolio update – December 2021

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my seventh portfolio update or the year 2021, I hope you enjoy them. I’ve decided to post updates at the end of the quarter, as things are not so interesting every single month. Now let’s get into things!

October was my last month in the old job, so I’ve decided to use all my remaining vacation days and have a holiday in Alicante, before starting the new job. As I told you in the previous update, we had a semi-failed attempt for a seaside vacation at the Baltic Sea in the middle of July (!!) and we had to try one more time.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – December 2021”

Posted on

Portfolio update – September 2021

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my sixth portfolio update or the year 2021, I hope you enjoy them. I’ve decided to post updates at the end of the quarter, as things are not so interesting every single month. Now let’s get into things!

The last three months have been exhausting: after the move, which was quite in a rush, we had to arrange the old rental house for the next tenant (this is the unwritten rule in Germany, you get a newly painted and clean house, you need to leave it the same, otherwise the landlord will paint and fix damages out of your deposit). After we managed close the rental contract, we had work to do in our new house: small fixes, work in the garden, buying different furniture and appliances etc. And then it came the renovation of our attic, for the home-office. I think I’ve spent most of my free time in stores like IKEA, Höffner or Bauhaus.

Continue reading “Portfolio update – September 2021”

Posted on

Portfolio update – June 2021

Dear fellow investors, friends, family and future self.

Welcome to my fifth portfolio update or the year 2021, I hope you enjoy them. I’ve decided to post updates at the end of the quarter, as things are not so interesting every single month. Now let’s get into things!

The big news since April is that we finally signed the papers for the house at the notary in May! Horray! Finally, after almost one year of waiting, since the house was reserved for us. Things started to move quickly and at the end of May we received the keys, although the process is not yet finalized and the seller didn’t get the money from us. It is a weird situation for us, because usually the buyer gets the keys and can move in after the seller receives the money in their account. Anyhow, we asked our lawyer and we cancelled our rental contract (thus saving some money), we made some small renovations and end of June we moved to our new home. Our own house in Germany!

Continue reading “Portfolio update – June 2021”