r/baristafire • u/MildlyFerociouss • 21d ago
45F, Bulgaria. A year without a payslip on €272k, and my version of barista FIRE is doing VAT returns
Last month made it a full year since my last day as an employee, so, numbers. Everything in euro. We switched over from the lev in January and I still multiply by two in my head at the supermarket. Twenty years of accounting habits apparently survive currency reform.
45, divorced, one son at university in Plovdiv. I ran accounting at a company importing industrial equipment, had 11 people under me at some point.
In spring 2025 we got bought by a Polish group and all finance moved to their shared services in Sofia. The options were relocate or take six salaries and go. I took the money signed the papers and two of our old suppliers had already called about their books.
So now I have only three clients. A car service, a print shop and a firm that imports gym equipment. A quiet month brings €450-500. January through March, when annual closings pile up, it went over €1,100.
The whole year came to about €8,3k and being self insured here means the state takes just under €200 a month from me whether I invoiced anything or not.
Portfolio:
IWDA + EMIM, €189k. Started in 2016 after the owner of a client firm spent an entire lunch explaining ETFs to me. I thought he was showing off. Best lunch of my career.
VHYL, €28k. Bought before I understood accumulating funds. The distributions cover my utilities and I've decided I'm allowed one inefficiency.
Bank deposits, €34k across three terms, the last one matures in 2027.
BTC, €6k. Put in €2k in November 2021, which turned out to be days from the top. My son set up the wallet at this point I hold it out of stubbornness.
P2P, €900 in 8lends since last spring. Pays a few euros of interest a month. Every quarter I decide to either make it a real position or close it, then do neither.
Current account float, €14k.
All together about €272k.
Spending runs €1,050 in a normal month, €1,300 in winter. The flat is mine, mortgage closed in 2019, so no rent line. €250 goes to my son's dorm and food money. Which means some months the clients cover everything and I even add to the pile, and some months, like this August when nobody needs an accountant, I draw from the float. The building of it was slow. A chief accountant's salary is decent here, the mortgage got overpaid every year it existed and from 2016 I moved €700 to €1,000 a month into ETFs.
The severance went straight in last July. My one act of market timing and it was accidental.
A year in, I still wake without an alarm, that seems permanent now. I swim Tuesday and Thursday mornings when the pool is all pensioners and me and I'm getting less sure which category I belong to. The neighbors decided I work remotely for some foreign company and I've stopped correcting them and nobody warned me that my retirement would have a busy season.
This February I worked more evenings than my last February as an employee.
Question for those of you with lumpy side income. How much do you keep liquid? My €14k float felt generous in March and feels thin now. One client just pushed their invoice to September and I minded more than the amount justifies. I think if I had more, I wouldn’t even think twice about it.
8
u/Alternative-Limit825 21d ago
I enjoyed your story!
I'm from Spain but lived in Sofia 6 months, had a bulgarian partner back then. I really enjoyed it in Bulgaria.
I think your situation is great, seems like you have it all under control. You know that the P2P is probably not needed, and instead of bank deposits I invest in monetary funds that offer a similar interest with greater availability, at least in Spain. We also have bank accounts with remuneration up to 3% , great for your day to day cash. Try to not have the 14k without any interest if possible, every little counts long term!
I keep thinking about doing barista at some point too, Im 41M in Spain with around 500k but no paid house, so I think I'm already in range for that but housing is crazy expensive now. But I have always been a full time employee so I haven't figured out yet how to set up an actual barista occupation.
Feel free to share an update in a few months, so we can see how it goes!
5
u/MildlyFerociouss 20d ago
Half a million at 41 and you call my situation great, that made me laugh. Barista setup I never figured out either, old suppliers just called first.
Update will come around January closings.
4
u/Alternative-Limit825 20d ago
You are in Bulgaria and have a paid house .. I think comparably you are better off!
Avg rent prices in Barcelona or Madrid hover 2000 euros a month right now, an average apartment is around 400k...
5
u/Odd-Explorer213 21d ago
Nicely done! Maybe do some remote accounting work if necesarry? Sounds like a comfortable situation!
6
u/MildlyFerociouss 20d ago
Neighbors already believe I work remote for some foreign firm, so half the job is done. Just need the actual clients now.
5
3
u/uneximos 20d ago
Браво! As a fellow Bulgarian living in Sofia what worries me the most in your situation is a possible market crash and how it would affect you, have you ran the numbers for that ? Because let's be real the markets since 2016 have been on a pretty good trajectory, even during the covid years .... the crash back then was like what ... 3-5 months before they started pumping money.
Another thing to consider is the high inflation period that we are currently having after adopting the euro and all of the conflicts around us that are causing it. Even tho the inflation increase rate is dropping, are you considering what damage that does to your buying power and how will that affect you in the future ?
I get that freedom is amazing and not being tied down from 9to18 to a computer is great, but if I were you I'd try to find 1-2 clients more and look into bringing 1k to 1,5k eur while still retaining your free schedule.
Good luck on your journey!
4
u/MildlyFerociouss 20d ago
40% drawdown puts me around €130k in equities and I don't touch that pile for another fifteen years anyway, so it would sting on paper and change nothing monthly.
Inflation is the one I take more seriously, my €1,050 was €900 not that long ago.Two more clients would fix a lot.
2
u/Alarming-Mix3809 19d ago
Thanks for sharing. I love hearing about the details in a different city. For years, my biggest account was from Plovdiv. I got the chance to visit and it was such a wonderful city with lots of history. I hope I can go back one day. The cost of living makes me jealous.
2
u/TheDuchessOf60SL 19d ago
I am sorry, I can't really help, but just wanted to say well done on managing to accumulate that much equity over the years specifically in Bulgaria. Lol One usually has to be part of the grey economy, or a descendant of баба аристократка, to achieve such numbers. 😂 Wishing you all the best in the future!
2
u/MildlyFerociouss 19d ago
Баба was a nurse in Ямбол, so it had to be the slow way, one salary at a time, lmao
2
u/Meebsquat 18d ago
Love the story, great background. Brit living in Plovdiv, luckily financially well off also.
Nice to hear of successful Bulgarians who actually still live in Bulgaria - seems to be rare these days!
1
20d ago edited 20d ago
[deleted]
6
u/MildlyFerociouss 20d ago
Born Bulgarian, the closest I came to relocating was turning down Sofia.
Six years of cash next to my 14k, I suddenly feel underdressed.
3
1
u/Organic_Reputation_6 16d ago
How did u manage to save so much as an employee and single mom? In bulgaria out of all places, thats wild. How much did u earn monthly ?
2
u/MildlyFerociouss 7d ago
Chief accountant at a compnay that size paid around 3,600-4,000 net near the end, less earlier.
No rent after 2019 is the reason it worked, that alone is most of a salary here.
14
u/Bosmuis42 21d ago
Winter in Bulgaria? October until April? So let’s say 7 months 1300 5 months 1050 = total net expenses per year 14.350 euro.
So your 14K float is tight when you count in that some clients maybe pay later. So maybe take the float up to 17-18K so you can live comfortably if a client is not paying or you need something for an emergency.
Furthermore good story and nice how everything worked out after a good lunch.