Every human life goes through ups & downs. And preparing for everything is unfortunately impossible. But as we have often experienced, a man is worth two. That is why we have gathered here the most important things you can prepare for.
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Moving out on your own: what's involved?
As comfortable as the service at Hotel Mama is, Emma is moving out of the house. Now that she has had a cool, steady job since last year, she feels quite ready to spread her wings and live on her own. Or to look for a rented house together with Manon and Thomas, she'd like that too.
Geert and Katrien are totally behind their daughter's choice. No worries about the empty nest, with those two. They are already full of plans for their retirement which is quietly beckoning. And what's more, Lucas, their youngest, is just about to enter . Katrien and Geert still have their hands full. But they don't want to throw Emma in at the deep end. They didn't do that when she learned to swim when she was four, did they?
Katrien and Geert sit down with Emma: has she definitely thought of everything before going her own way?
This is what you need to think about when you go out on your own:
Budget
If, like Emma, you start living on your own, you will be responsible for your own income and expenses from now on. In the beginning, it is a good idea to keep track of them. What income will you receive every month in your account anyway, what fixed expenses do you have and for what fluctuating or unexpected expenses should you provide a buffer?
Are you going to live with someone? Then make clear agreements from the start, both financially and practically (who does the shopping, who cooks when, who cleans, who takes out the bins...)
Change of address
Don't forget to get your address updated with the necessary authorities. Also conclude new contracts for electricity, gas, water and internet, or have them updated if you move in with someone. Read more tips on this in our blog on moving
Insurance
If you rent a property, in Flanders and Wallonia you are obliged to take out fire insurance or home policy . In Brussels, this is not a legal requirement, but it is strongly recommended. Such insurance prevents you from having to pay all the costs yourself in the event of a fire or damage caused, for example, by storm or lightning.
For all other insurances, too, you are no longer covered by your parents' policy once your domicile address is somewhere else. This means you will have to take out your own (legally required!) health insurance. You should also consider family insurance, hospitalisation insurance and travel insurance .
Do you have any questions about that? Feel free to contact .
Buying or renovating your own home? Think about this
A bit further down the street from Geert and Katrien is a house for sale. Sarayi and Nicolas have outgrown their rental flat in the student area and come to take a look. In this compact but characterful house, they immediately envisage their future - children playing in the garden. Finally, that spicy house hunt is over!
Wise as they are, they do not take that decision lightly. First they look at the house from all sides, literally and figuratively. Because buying a house, and possibly renovating it, also requires a good view of the complete financial and insurance picture.
What to think about before buying a house?
Ask lots of questions of the seller. Go - if you can - more than one viewing before you decide and take a trusted person with you who will be attentive to any defects.
The purchase price of the property is not your only cost. Will you need any refurbishment or remodelling? How much will it cost you to live in the house (e.g. heating) and maintain it? You can estimate the notary fees quite correctly yourself. Take all these into account when looking for a home loan.
What insurances do you need when buying a house?
As every situation is different, we recommend that you visit at our office. But we already list the most important insurances for you
Outstanding balance insurance
When you borrow for a house, the bank usually requires you to take out debt balance insurance. An extra cost, but a good thing in itself: this insurance ensures that your next of kin do not have to pay off your mortgage loan if you die . Moreover, the premiums of your outstanding balance insurance are usually tax deductible, so ask about this when you take out the insurance.
Also see if you qualify for the Flemish government's insurance guaranteed living. This ensures that you can continue living in your new home if you suddenly become unemployed or unfit for work.
Home insurance
Take out home insurance - often called fire insurance - as soon as you have signed the private sale deed with the seller of your new home. This way, you are covered if a fire breaks out in your new place, but also in case of e.g. burglary or if a water leak in your house causes damage to the neighbours.
An interesting addition to this is assistance insurance. If you have it, we will send help immediately in case of urgent problems in your home. If your boiler fails, for example, or even if you lose your keys ...
Rebuilding & insurance
If you are going to renovate or remodel your home, your home insurance will continue as normal. But it is vital that you inform your insurer of your plans.
Why?
After remodelling, your house or flat will look different. Maybe your home got bigger, you installed a new kitchen or bathroom, you have a more expensive floor than before... All this affects the sum insured, so an update is needed.
Depending on the exact work you are carrying out, additional insurance for the duration of the conversion or renovation may be useful. Talk to us about your plans, and we'll see if you're best insured against damage to neighbours, theft of equipment on site, accidents during the works ...
Smoothly from place to place in your own car
Nicolas and Sarayi's new neighbour Mehdi has a new job, one with irregular hours and out of town. And also a new hobby: mountain biking, preferably in the Flemish Ardennes. Until now, he mostly travelled by public transport, when cycling didn't work out. But because of these two novelties in his life, Mehdi decides to buy a car. This will save him a lot of time and stress.
Think about this when buying a car
Whatever your reason for buying a car, whether like Mehdi's, it is your first car or already your umpteenth ... Take a moment to consider these tips before investing in a new four-wheeler.
Second-hand
If the seller can produce all car documents, plus the legally required Car-Pass, a well-maintained used car is as reliable as a new one. And also a lot cheaper.
Registration & tax
Before you can drive your new (used) car on public roads, you are legally obliged to register it with the Vehicle Registration Service. You also have to pay a tax on entry into service and then an annual circulation tax.
Safely insured in the car
Car insurance consists of several elements:
Statutory civil liability (BA) insurance covers damage you cause to others with your car.
A full omnium (full omnium) or partial omnium (small omnium) covers damage to your own car. With an electric car, we definitely recommend a full omnium, because then you will also be insured, e.g. if you damage the charging system yourself through a minor oversight.
Additional policies: a driver insurance , legal assistance, a travel insurance with breakdown assistance and personal assistance, additional car insurance for your child with provisional driving licence ...
Insuring your family, that's no child's play
With Emma soon going to live alone , mum Katrien is leafing through old photo albums. She vividly remembers the day her daughter was born. Father Geert doesn't think of those baby days in terms of the same pink cloud, but mainly of the administration that their family expansion entailed.
And thankfully also to the many hours he spent romping in the garden with his daughter, and later with his son Lucas. That this ended up in a trip to the emergency room a few times, he adds. Just like that afternoon when a neighbour's window broke when Lucas practised his football skills a little too enthusiastically.
Thinking back on that, Katrien wonders which insurances she needs to update now that that footballer of theirs will soon be moving into digs ...
Adding a baby? Get this straight
What do you need to arrange when your family expands? Which authorities do you need to inform? And which financial allowances can you apply for? You can read it all in this article on family expansion .
In terms of insurance, it is important that you give us a call . Then we will immediately add your smallest to all the necessary policies. Do you not yet have family insurance ? Then now is the time to get one. Such a family policy pays on your behalf for damage you or a family member cause to third parties. When your baby's nappy leaks on your visitor's silk dress, for example, or your toddler 'decorates' the neighbour's curtains with alcohol pen ...
And if your child goes to boarding school?
Fire insurance
Most fire insurance policies also cover your children's student room and its contents, as long as they are domiciled in your home. Check this in your home policy and also check whether theft and burglary are covered. Or give us a call and we will check whether it is best to make any changes.
Family insurance
The family policy or family insurance also continues to cover damage caused by your child, if that child still legally lives at your address. If the student room is your child's main residence (domiciliary address), you will need to take out a fire insurance policy for tenants .
Your own business? Start with expertise
Denisha has been feeling the itch for several years and soon she will start her own webshop with exclusive trainers. From now on, she combines her desire to be an entrepreneur with her passion for unique shoes. Which she shares with her neighbour Emma, the perfect guinea pig for her new business.
Denisha has plenty of sales experience, gained during her 14 years in salaried employment. But she also realises that as an entrepreneur, you need to have more than one hat on. And so she gets good advice on the aspects that are still new to her.
Doing business is not something you do alone
Will you follow in Denisha's footsteps and start your own business too? We wish you every success! Stop by to discuss your insurances. But be sure to also reflect on what becoming self-employed means for your partner and your family.
Some tips
Work-lifebalance
As an entrepreneur, you can always work. Beware the risk of actually doing so. Make time for yourself, your family and other social contacts. Can you still be there for your children as often as before? Should your partner take on more of the housework or do you hire a household help? How do you make sure you can still take holidays with your family
Your partner's role
Will your partner play a role in your venture or not? And which? Even if your partner is not joining your business, you would do well to keep him or her informed about the evolutions of your business. Because your business will always affect your partner and family's life to some extent.
Money matters
Keep a close eye on both your business and family income and expenses. So that there are no unpleasant surprises anywhere.
Well-insured business
Starting your own business can be done in several ways. You can start as self-employed with a sole proprietorship, you can set up a company right away, you can join an existing business or take over one. Either way, you better start it well-insured. In this article, we collected all the indispensable insurances for entrepreneurs . Inform yourself well.
Prepared for retirement
As soon as their daughter has left home and their son is at kot , Katrien and Geert start daydreaming aloud about retirement. Finally time to make that long trip to Asia, to visit every museum in the country on weekdays, to hopefully go to the sea for a week with the grandchildren in a few years.
Geert and Katrien are filling in the 'empty nest' by preparing for retirement. Even though they will happily work for another 10 years or so, they are already making sure they will not have any financial worries later on. As they sort everything out, they soon realise what a good idea it was to take out pension insurance years ago.
What should you think about when you retire?
The first question is actually: when do you retire? Well, the legal retirement age is currently 65 in Belgium, but it is gradually being raised: from 2030, it will be 67. Depending on how many years you have been working, there is a chance that you can retire early. You can calculate the exact date, and the pension amount you can expect, at mypension.be.
When that date approaches, be sure to ask yourself these questions:
What did my employer pay for me?
Now that you stop working, the fringe benefits you received from your employer in addition to your salary will also expire. List them and see what you need an alternative for. Your mobile phone subscription, your laptop and your train pass will probably come immediately to mind, but don't forget to replace the insurances your employer arranged, such as your hospitalisation insurance .
How will my income and expenses change?
As with someone living alone for the first time , you would do well in the first few years of retirement to keep a close eye on what you are spending and what income you still have.
Some expenses that you did not have to bear as a working person are now your responsibility (car, smartphone with subscription, insurance ...). In addition, now that you have more time for yourself, you will incur expenses you didn't before: more outings or trips, a new hobby, and so on. We also recommend that you systematically set aside money in case you have additional medical expenses later or move into a retirement and nursing home.
Pension savings: your retirement is closer than you think
Even if your pension is still far in the future, you would do well to start saving for retirement already. That way, you build up extra budget for later, on top of your statutory pension, throughout your active career. And that is also interesting from a tax point of view.
With a pension savings insurance, you have a lot of certainty about the amount you will receive once you retire. Because on every deposit you make during your active career, you get a guaranteed interest return. On top of that, there is often also an annual profit share. A pension savings fund usually yields a higher return, but this is more dependent on fluctuations in the financial markets.
Ending in beauty
Mehdi's parents Imane and Mohamed retired three years ago. Imane herself was the youngest of five children and had already had to say goodbye to two older brothers. On top of the grief for the family, it then turned out to be quite an administration to arrange the funeral.
Imane definitely wants to spare her own three children and five grandchildren that. As fifties, she and Mohamed already went to their insurance agent to take out life insurance with funeral cover. Now they can make many warm memories with their families with peace of mind before the time comes.
Life insurance and death insurance: what's the difference?
'Life insurance' and 'death insurance' are two terms for almost identical insurance policies. As such, they are often used interchangeably. The difference is only in when your insurer pays you.
With a life insurance policy, you get that money on a pre-agreed date, such as when you retire. With term life insurance, your surviving relatives will receive that amount as soon as you die. A combination of both also exists, in which case we call it a mixed life insurance policy.
Tax interesting examples include branch 21 savings insurance and branch 23 investment insurance. Be sure to visit if you want to find out which option is most interesting for you.
Why take life or death insurance?
For your family
You make sure your family does not have any financial worries when you are no longer around. Funeral insurance is also (part of) death insurance: it covers the cost of your funeral, so your loved ones won't have to worry financially in advance at an emotionally difficult time
For yourself
With the money your life insurance pays you on the agreed end date, you give yourself financial breathing space in the last years - or hopefully decades - of your life. For example, you can use this amount to live on during retirement, pay off your remaining home loan, or give yourself an occasional extra treat.