Thanks to her depot, Karina Metzdorf wants to stop working early and go on a trip around the world instead. Karina Metzdorf
Twelve years ago, Karina Metzdorf decided to achieve financial independence with a portfolio and strategic investments. Your goal is to retire early at age 50.
It invests in around 60 different stocks, including ETFs, individual stocks and cryptocurrencies.
Don’t retire until you’re 67? This may be what the law in Germany says. Karina Metzdorf, electrical engineer at Bosch and financial blogger, would like to enjoy life without work sooner. That’s why the 42-year-old from Baden-Württemberg decided twelve years ago to build up a portfolio and invest in it so well that she could afford early retirement and a trip around the world with her husband and dog. In short: She wants to achieve financial freedom.
The portfolio is currently in the mid six-figure range. Metzdorf’s goal is at least a seven-figure amount, i.e. in the millions. Metzdorf wants to reach this amount in the next eight years: “My husband will be 60 and then we want to stop.” Karina Metzdorf herself would then only be 50 years old.
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Her parents retired early
Her passion for finance began early. Even as a teenager, Metzdorf followed the ARD evening program “Börse im Erste” (today: “Wirtschaft vor Acht”) with her father. She regularly discussed finances with her father, who invested himself.
And her parents were also role models when it came to the decision to retire early. According to Metzdorf, both of them stopped working at the age of 57.
She now wants the same for herself. The engineer laid the foundation for this after she and her husband bought an old house, the renovation of which cost less than planned. The childless dual earners came up with the idea of investing the remaining money and thus investing in an early retirement. This should be enough to travel around the world in a motorhome with your husband and dog.
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That was their first share
So Merzdorf began to expand her portfolio.
One of the first stocks Metzdorf bought in 2011 was from Manz, a high-tech mechanical engineering company with a focus on the automotive industry. “At that time you couldn’t go wrong, all prices were rising. As a result, I had beginner’s luck and earned a monthly salary of around 3,000 euros within just a few weeks. I naively thought: ‘Wow, I’m the greatest, I can do it!'” says Metzdorf looking back.
“I would rather buy a share today than a new dress”