10 Cognitive Biases That Are Costing You Money (and How to Fix Them)
Find €100 and you get a small lift; lose the same €100 and it hits about twice as hard. That one quirk drives ten money mistakes, each with a fix you can actually set up.
— Money stuff, for Europeans —
Money is just numbers that people get upset about.
We read why, so you can get upset more accurately. No paywall, no upsell, no "course launching soon" and no "Make $12k per day!". — An owl that, technically, nobody hired.
Featured
Our best attempts.
Updated whenever we come up with something better.
How to teach your brain to delay gratification
Delayed gratification is a skill, not a flaw you were born with. Four small levers turn it into a saving habit instead of a daily willpower fight.
Diversification, and why owning one fund isn't where the job ends
You bought a fund and a bad week made you wonder if you were ever safe. You swapped one risk for another, and nobody finished the sentence. Here is the rest.
The 50/30/20 budget rule: a simple plan for European savers, and where it breaks
The 50/30/20 budget rule for European savers, explained plainly: how to split take-home pay, what a need is, and what to do when rent breaks the 50% ceiling.
Lately
Browse the archive → Last few things we wrote.
19 Jul Budgeting & Saving
The 50/30/20 budget rule: a simple plan for European savers, and where it breaks
10 min 18 Jul Financial ProtectionEmployer pension contributions mean five different things across Europe
12 min 18 Jul Budgeting & SavingLoud budgeting: how to turn down plans you can't afford without shame
10 min 18 Jul Investing & Wealth BuildingWhat is the MSCI World index, and is one ETF enough?
8 min 18 Jul Financial PsychologyThe psychology of financial goal setting, minus the willpower myth
10 min 17 Jul Financial PurposeWhat is financial independence? Not a permanent holiday
12 min 16 Jul Financial Psychology10 Cognitive Biases That Are Costing You Money (and How to Fix Them)
16 min 15 Jul Investing & Wealth BuildingCurrency hedged vs unhedged ETFs: when the hedge is worth it
9 min 14 Jul Budgeting & SavingFix your savings, stay flexible, or build a ladder?
8 min 12 Jul Investing & Wealth BuildingDoes the 60/40 portfolio still work for European investors in 2026?
8 min 11 Jul Financial PsychologyLoss aversion: why you're too scared to sell losing stocks
13 min 10 Jul Investing & Wealth BuildingStaying the course: how to handle market panic and volatility
12 min The whole library, somewhat organised
No idea where to start? Normal. Start here.
Written carefully. Updated when reality changes.
01 · Money Management 8 posts
Money Management
Everyday money skills: budgeting, saving, credit, tax, and the fintech tools that, on a good day, make all of it less of a chore.
Walk in → 02 · Investing & Wealth 21 posts
Investing & Wealth
Putting money to work: investing fundamentals, turning a salary into assets, and protecting what you have already managed to accumulate.
Walk in → 03 · Money Mindset 12 posts
Money Mindset
The behaviour and meaning layer: psychology, purpose, and the big transitions that quietly reshape what money means to you.
Walk in → Tools, free, no email gate
Numbers in, answers out.
No sign-up, no optimistic defaults, and nothing you type leaves the page. The maths just runs, here, in front of you.
- 01 Years until you can quit →
- 02 Mortgage stress test →
- 03 What €200 a month becomes →
- 04 Your rainy-day number →
- 05 Snowball vs avalanche →
- 06 Hit a goal by its deadline →
- 07 Split your monthly money →
- 08 Track your net worth →
- 09 Audit your subscriptions →
- 10 What your fund really costs →
- 11 Rebalance without selling →
- 12 Name your money script →
- 13 Stack your splits →
- 14 Will your pension pot last? →
- 15 Redundancy floor →
- 16 Build a savings ladder →
- 17 The hidden cost of hedging →
Money Management
The 50/30/20 budget rule: a simple plan for European savers, and where it breaks
The 50/30/20 budget rule for European savers, explained plainly: how to split take-home pay, what a need is, and what to do when rent breaks the 50% ceiling.
Loud budgeting: how to turn down plans you can't afford without shame
Someone's booked a hen weekend that costs a week's groceries. Loud budgeting is how you say no to it without sounding cheap, broke, or mean.
Fix your savings, stay flexible, or build a ladder?
Rates fell, then the ECB hiked. Nobody can call the next move, and a savings ladder is built for exactly that uncertainty.
Why you can't save money (it was never willpower)
You keep failing the willpower test because it was never a willpower test. Change the set-up, automate one transfer, and saving happens without you.
How to track your net worth: a monthly guide for Europeans
Track net worth across countries and currencies with one home currency, one rate source, and one date each month. A plain, repeatable habit.
The envelope system and cash stuffing: does it still work in a cashless Europe?
The cash envelope budgeting system still works in a cashless Europe, but only if the empty bucket can actually stop your card. Cash, pots, and sub-accounts compared.
Investing & Wealth
Employer pension contributions mean five different things across Europe
Cross a border and employer pension contributions become five different things. Ireland and Britain force a minimum in; Spain requires nothing at all.
ETFs·
What is the MSCI World index, and is one ETF enough?
About 72% of the MSCI World is US shares, and it holds no emerging markets. It tracks 1,283 developed-market companies. Is one ETF enough as your core?
Currency hedged vs unhedged ETFs: when the hedge is worth it
Your global tracker's hedged version carries a cost that never shows in the fee: about 1.4% a year for a euro investor now. Here's when it's worth paying.
Does the 60/40 portfolio still work for European investors in 2026?
In 2022 the safe half of a European 60/40 fell harder than the risky half. It was not the end. Here's what actually changed, and how to set your split.
Staying the course: how to handle market panic and volatility
A falling market is a paper loss until you sell. How to sit through the panic, tell when selling is actually rational, and how long crashes really last.
What is your 'enough' number? How to define your financial finish line
Your enough number is the pot that replaces a wage. Europe's version beats America's 25x rule, and even hitting it will not feel like enough.
Money Mindset
The psychology of financial goal setting, minus the willpower myth
You don't need more willpower or a nicer vision board. You need an if-then plan and one automatic transfer that fires without asking you.
What is financial independence? Not a permanent holiday
Financial independence is a coverage test, not a wealth level: non-work income covers your costs, so work turns optional. Europe changes the maths.
10 Cognitive Biases That Are Costing You Money (and How to Fix Them)
Find €100 and you get a small lift; lose the same €100 and it hits about twice as hard. That one quirk drives ten money mistakes, each with a fix you can actually set up.
Loss aversion: why you're too scared to sell losing stocks
That losing share isn't an investment any more. It's a small shrine you tend, waiting for it to apologise. Here's the disposition effect, and the way out.
Financial therapy: what it is, and who it's for
Financial therapy treats your relationship with money, not the money. Who it helps, what it costs in Europe, whether it works, and how to find a real one.
How to teach your brain to delay gratification
Delayed gratification is a skill, not a flaw you were born with. Four small levers turn it into a saving habit instead of a daily willpower fight.