Amy lives in Jordan, which makes her finances challenging

How do you create financial security when you work in a fickle industry and live in a country where the tax system is completely different from the Netherlands? Amy (40) lives with her husband in Jordan and now has her money matters in order, including financial statements from Elfin, which her husband is also very enthusiastic about. ‘I shouldn’t have plodded along on my own.’

40
Resident in Jordan
Pregnant with first child
Employed in refugee sector, no permanent position
Crazy about traveling

Money in Jordan

‘I haven’t lived in the Netherlands for ten years. Before I ended up in Jordan, I lived in Lebanon, among other places. I work at an NGO in the refugee sector and my job is to translate the issues at hand to the people in power. These may include government representatives, as well as members of the UN or the European Union. Because I live in Jordan, my financial situation is very different from Elfin members in the Netherlands. This is primarily because of my job: my employer pays my rent, my insurance and my phone charges, but then again, I don’t have a permanent job, nor do I automatically build up a pension. And I don’t pay taxes. But if I were to marry my Jordanian husband, the only way of partnership here in Jordan, then my financial situation would also change. For example, it affects the repayment of my student debt, as well as the value of my investments. In short, it’s complex.

Rocket science

‘It drove me crazy that I didn’t understand anything about money. It was one of those topics that people are blathering about in the pub, but only when investments are doing well. During the corona period, I had time to spare, so I started looking into money. But I shouldn’t have plodded along on my own, it took me so much time. I can remember spending an entire weekend trying to understand the workings of ETFs, when after an hour with an expert from Elfin I figured it out right away. At Elfin, they have a complete approach, which I really like. It deals with everything related to money, including the psychology of money or how money can create difficulties in relationships. And I love any women-only club anyway.’

Financial Overview

‘Right now I have two parties investing for me, Bright and Semmie. Bright is retirement investing, but in a regular investment account, because I have no tax benefit from retirement investing. Before I was at Elfin, I first started with a few small purchases to figure out how it works. On the advice of my brother-in-law, I started investing in tech, but that has plummeted, haha. I then also did some research and invested in companies that produce lithium, which are doing a lot better.

Sometimes up to fifty percent of my income goes to investments, a luxury. I realize that investing is a smart way of saving, you prevent your money from becoming worth less. Together with my husband, I completely filled out the financial statement Lieke created; he loved doing that. Right now I am pregnant, so we will have to budget again. Before, a lot of money went to travel, first because we were in a long-distance relationship, now because we just think it’s very important. We also try to spend a fixed percentage of our income on donations, a guideline for this is the zakat from the Islamic faith – 2.5% of your total assets at the end of the year.’

Certainty?

‘I lived on a small budget for five years and didn’t look at money in the long run. Through the trips I made for work and to see my husband in the US, I saw how relatively expensive life in places like Northern Europe and North America actually is. Now I think about everything extra carefully, with the future as my guide. Which investment is really worthwhile? What do I need to retire? What is the value of my investment, do I consider it enough? Thinking about this gives me the security I need despite my erratic job.

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