Two Savings Goals, One Clear Plan: My Ioniq 5 and My Retirement
For a long time, I did not have a real structure for my savings. Money was set aside whenever possible, but every euro was basically part of the same reserve.
That is now changing.
I currently have two very different financial goals:
- I need approximately €9,000 for the final payment on my Hyundai Ioniq 5 in September 2030.
- I want to start building an additional retirement portfolio from January 2027.
Both goals involve saving money, but they require completely different strategies.
The car payment has a fixed date and must remain secure. My retirement money has much more time and can therefore accept a certain amount of market risk.
The message that started this new calculation
In September, I received a notification from Trade Republic informing me that the European Central Bank had increased its deposit rate to 2.5%.
Trade Republic announced that it would pass this rate on to its customers. The new rate has been active since September 16.
After years of receiving almost no interest on savings, 2.5% sounds surprisingly attractive.
It will not make anyone rich, but it is better than leaving money on a current account where it earns nothing.
However, the message also contains an important detail: Returns on cash can come from interest paid by partner banks and from distributions by money market funds.
Money market funds are investments and involve market risks. The cash area at Trade Republic should therefore not automatically be treated as identical to a traditional savings account.
I will continue to monitor where my money is held, especially because part of it is intended for a payment with a fixed deadline.
My first goal: €9,000 for the Ioniq 5
The final payment on my Hyundai Ioniq 5 will be due in September 2030.
I do not want to reach that date and discover that I need to finance the entire €9,000 with a new loan. Interest rates on loans may be considerably higher by then.
My plan is therefore simple:
- Start saving in December 2026
- Save €205 every month
- Make the final regular payment in August 2030
- Complete a total of 45 monthly payments
Forty-five payments of €205 will result in €9,225.
This means that I should reach my goal even without relying on interest. The additional €225 and any interest earned along the way will create a small safety buffer.
That point is important to me.
The current 2.5% rate is variable. It may remain at this level, rise or fall again before 2030. My ability to pay the final instalment should not depend on an interest rate that Trade Republic cannot guarantee for the next four years.
Why I will not invest the car money in stocks or crypto
A higher return would obviously be welcome. Nevertheless, the car fund does not belong in shares, cryptocurrencies or a strongly fluctuating ETF.
The problem is not that these investments are always bad. The problem is the fixed date.
If the stock or crypto market falls shortly before September 2030, I cannot simply wait another five years for prices to recover. The final payment will still be due.
This is why the €9,000 must remain relatively stable and accessible.
The goal is not to achieve the highest possible return. The goal is to have the full amount available at the correct time.
What can 2.5% contribute?
If €9,000 remained invested for a full year at 2.5%, the theoretical return would be approximately €225 before taxes.
In reality, my balance will grow gradually through the monthly payments. Therefore, I will not receive €225 in interest from the beginning.
Nevertheless, every euro helps.
The interest can increase my buffer, compensate for a missed payment or cover part of another car-related expense.
I see the interest as a useful extra, not as the foundation of my plan.
My second goal: a German retirement portfolio
My retirement plan follows a completely different strategy.
Germany is introducing a new state-supported retirement investment account from January 2027. It is known as an Altersvorsorgedepot, which can be translated as a retirement investment portfolio.
Unlike a traditional guaranteed pension product, this portfolio can invest in eligible funds and ETFs. The goal is to offer better long-term return opportunities.
The German government will support personal contributions.
For the first €360 contributed each year, the state is expected to add 50 cents for every euro saved.
My initial plan is to contribute €30 per month.
The calculation looks like this:
- €30 from me every month
- €360 of personal contributions per year
- €180 of state support per year
- €540 invested in total each year
This means that my personal contribution of €360 could become €540 before any potential investment return is added.
That is effectively a 50% state bonus on my own contribution.
The support depends on meeting the official eligibility requirements. The rules, costs and available investments will also need to be checked carefully before I open the portfolio.
Official information about the German reform can be found here:
👉 German Federal Ministry of Finance – Reform of private retirement provision
Why €30 per month is still a meaningful start
Some people may think that €30 per month is too little to make a difference.
I see it differently.
The amount is small enough to fit into my current budget, but large enough to receive €180 in annual state support under the planned system.
Over one year, my own contribution would be €360. With the state support, €540 could be invested.
Over 13 years, and without calculating any investment return, that would theoretically amount to:
- €4,680 in personal contributions
- €2,340 in state support
- €7,020 in total contributions
This is only a simplified calculation. Rules may change, eligibility must be maintained and investment values can rise or fall.
But it shows why even a small monthly amount can become meaningful when time and state support are added.
Why retirement money can accept more risk
My car money has to be available in September 2030. My retirement portfolio has an investment horizon of approximately 13 years.
That makes a major difference.
Over a longer period, there is more time to recover from weak market years. Reinvested returns can also create a compounding effect.
The retirement portfolio will not come with a full capital guarantee. Its value can fluctuate and losses are possible.
For the car payment, I would not accept that risk.
For retirement, I am prepared to accept reasonable market fluctuations because the money has much more time.
Two separate pots with two separate jobs
My financial plan is now divided into two clearly separated areas.
The Ioniq 5 fund
- €205 per month from December 2026
- At least €9,000 by September 2030
- Stable and accessible
- Interest used only as an additional buffer
- No dependence on stock or crypto prices
The retirement portfolio
- €30 per month from January 2027
- €360 of personal contributions per year
- Up to €180 in annual state support at this contribution level
- Long-term investment in eligible funds or ETFs
- Better return opportunities, but also market risks
The retirement portfolio is not an emergency fund and will not be used for the car.
The car fund is not designed to produce maximum long-term growth.
Each euro has a specific job.
Higher interest rates have two sides
The current 2.5% rate is good news for savers. But higher general interest rates can also make new loans more expensive.
Existing fixed-rate loans normally remain unchanged during their agreed term. New loans or refinancing offers can be considerably more expensive.
This gives me another reason to save the €9,000 myself.
If I can pay the final instalment from my own cash reserve in 2030, I will not be forced to accept whatever financing rate a bank offers me.
The interest earned on my savings is useful. Avoiding an expensive loan could be worth much more.
My conclusion
I am not trying to become rich overnight.
My goal is to become a little more financially independent with every monthly payment.
The €205 monthly car fund should protect me from an expensive refinancing of my Ioniq 5 in 2030.
The additional €30 per month will be the beginning of my retirement portfolio. The state support makes this small contribution particularly interesting.
The most important lesson for me is simple:
Short-term money needs stability. Long-term money needs time.
The 2.5% cash interest, my car fund and the future retirement portfolio are not competing ideas. They are three parts of one financial plan.
Would you like to try Trade Republic?
If you do not yet have a Trade Republic account, you can use my personal invitation link:
👉 Open a Trade Republic account and check the available welcome bonus
The exact bonus and the conditions will be shown during registration.
Transparency notice: This is my personal referral link. If you register through it and meet the applicable conditions, I may also receive a reward. Using the link does not create any additional costs for you.
How do you organise your savings?
Do you separate money for fixed short-term goals from long-term investments, or is everything still kept in one place?
The original message I received from Trade Republic about the increase to 2.5%.
This is some of the kind of stuff we need to Start getting into also, so, I made http://data.soapbox.community to be a Surface where we can look at Markets and Things. It is Good for Screenshots for Blog Posts and Things.
And the way we did it, there is Stocks, Crypto, Politics, and Scam Alerts and whatnot, and it is all Tied together. If You Click on a Cryptocurrency, or a Stock, there is like a “Crunchbase” Style Profile, then it Connects Politicians to Stocks and Companies, etc.
But the Important Part for making Money is knowing the Interest Rates, or just Prices on the Markets, the State of the Stock Market, the News that might Effect Markets, Spot Prices for Metals, etc. we should Probably even have an Account that gives like a Weekly update on the Price of Gold and Silver, I might set that up Soon.
STEEM/HIVE/BLURT never made a Focused Point to get Gold for Crypto going, that was how I/we got DevCoin to have Value, by making that a Big Deal and the Bitcointalk user “IGotSpots” did accept Coins for Gold and Silver and it made a Difference when Everyone Learned.
This is me Talking about this 8 Years Ago
https://steemit.com/steemit/@marsresident/why-can-t-i-buy-gold-with-steem-yet
Thank you for your detailed comment. The idea behind data.soapbox.community sounds interesting, especially the way it connects market data, companies, cryptocurrencies, politicians and related news. That could be genuinely useful for research and for creating screenshots for future blog posts.
A regular update on gold and silver prices could also fit well. Many people in crypto concentrate almost entirely on token prices, even though interest rates, stock markets, precious metals and political decisions can all influence each other.
My own approach to money is becoming more structured. I want to keep money for a fixed goal, such as the final payment on my car, separate from long-term retirement investments and more speculative experiments with crypto. Reliable market data can help people understand why these different goals should not all be treated in the same way.
Your story about DevCoin and accepting coins for physical gold and silver is particularly interesting. It shows that a cryptocurrency needs more than trading and speculation. Real utility and the ability to exchange it for something tangible can give a community much more confidence in a coin.
I am also thinking about asking a friend of mine whether he would be interested in publishing crypto news here on MELEK. On Blurt, he is known as @gtmatze. Regular market and crypto updates could be a useful addition to the community, especially when they are connected with reliable data and current developments.
I will take a closer look at the site and your older Steemit post. Are the market prices and company profiles on data.soapbox.community already updated automatically, or are parts of the information still maintained manually?
Data.SoapBox is mostly Automatically Updated, the only issue is that some of it is like the Top 3 or something and doesn’t Show Others, but it should all be Current.