The terms used on the journey, explained simply. Click a link to read the article that goes deeper into the subject.
- 4% rule
- A benchmark according to which withdrawing 4% of your capital in the first year, then that amount adjusted for inflation, has historically allowed capital to last at least thirty years. Learn more
- APR (TAEG)
- Annual percentage rate: the total cost of a loan, including interest and the main fees, expressed as an annual percentage. Learn more
- ASIC
- A machine designed solely to mine a cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin. Learn more
- Asset
- In Robert Kiyosaki's sense, something that puts money in your pocket every month: a profitable rental property, shares that pay dividends. Learn more
- Bullet loan
- A loan on which you pay only interest, repaying the capital in one go at maturity. Learn more
- Cadastral income
- A notional rental income set by the Belgian tax authorities, the basis for taxing most lettings to individuals in Belgium.
- Capital gain
- The profit made by selling something for more than you paid for it.
- Compound interest
- Interest earns interest in turn: capital grows faster and faster over time. Learn more
- Crowdlending
- Lending to a company or developer through a crowdfunding platform. Learn more
- Debt-service ratio
- The share of net income spent on loan repayments. Learn more
- DePIN
- Decentralised physical infrastructure network: individuals install hardware (antenna, sensor, server) and are rewarded in tokens. Helium, Ambios and ThreeFold are examples. Learn more
- Dividend
- The share of a company's profit paid out to its shareholders.
- Emergency fund
- A reserve of three to six months of expenses, available immediately. Learn more
- ETF
- An exchange-traded fund that tracks an index, for example hundreds of companies worldwide, at low cost. Learn more
- FIRE
- Financial Independence, Retire Early: a movement aiming for early financial independence through a high savings rate. Learn more
- FOMO
- Fear of missing out on an opportunity, which pushes people to buy at the top. Learn more
- FSMA
- Financial Services and Markets Authority, the Belgian financial regulator. Learn more
- Halving
- The halving of a cryptocurrency's mining reward, at scheduled intervals. Learn more
- Hashprice
- What one unit of mining power earns per day. Learn more
- Holding company
- A company whose main activity is owning shares in other companies. Learn more
- LBO
- Leveraged buy-out: buying a company financed largely by debt that is repaid from the company's own profits. Learn more
- Liability
- In Kiyosaki's sense, something that takes money out of your pocket every month. Learn more
- Liquidation reserve
- A Belgian mechanism for setting aside company profit and later distributing it at a reduced rate. Learn more
- Loan-to-value (LTV)
- The amount borrowed divided by the property value; the National Bank of Belgium expects banks to limit loans above 90% (own home) and 80% (buy-to-let). Learn more
- Loss aversion
- The tendency to feel a loss more strongly than a gain of the same amount. Learn more
- Mastermind
- A small group of people who meet regularly to make progress towards their goals. Learn more
- MiCA
- The European regulation governing crypto-asset service providers. Learn more
- MLM (multi-level marketing)
- Direct selling in which distributors are also paid on the sales of the people they recruited. Learn more
- Net yield
- The return after all costs, charges and taxes, unlike the advertised gross yield. Learn more
- Passive income
- Income that does not depend directly on your working time: rent, dividends, interest, royalties.
- Pay-as-you-go pension
- A system in which current workers' contributions pay current pensions. Learn more
- Ponzi scheme
- A fraud in which early investors' ‘returns’ are paid with later investors' money. Learn more
- Pyramid scheme
- A scheme in which most gains come from new participants joining rather than from real activity; banned in Belgium and the EU. Learn more
- Rat race
- A cycle in which every rise in income is absorbed by higher spending, so you never break free from your salary. Learn more
- Registration duties
- A regional tax paid when buying property in Belgium. Learn more
- REIT (SIR / GVV)
- A listed property company that lets a portfolio of properties and distributes most of its income. Learn more
- Replacement rate
- The share of your last salary replaced by your pension. Learn more
- Sequence risk
- The danger that a sharp market fall at the start of withdrawals depletes capital. Learn more
- Stablecoin
- A cryptocurrency designed to keep a stable value, often equal to one dollar or one euro. Learn more
- Stock exchange tax (TOB)
- A tax paid in Belgium on every purchase and sale of securities.
- Vendor loan
- The part of a company's price that the seller agrees to be paid later. Learn more
- VVPRbis
- A Belgian regime of reduced withholding tax on dividends from small companies, under conditions. Learn more
- Withholding tax
- Tax deducted at source in Belgium on dividends and interest, in principle 30%.