Eden (38): "My husband and I want to stop working within 5 years, thanks to passive income"

The dream that became a reality

My husband Colin and I have a dream that started at the kitchen table and has now become a plan. We want to be financially independent within five years.
Not because we are lazy, but because we want to spend our time differently. More living, less working, like ants. No more always feeling rushed and dependent on a paycheck. We were tired of thinking every month: where has all that money actually gone? Colin worked in IT, I worked part-time in education, and together we made ends meet just fine. But 'making ends meet' increasingly felt like spinning our wheels. And spinning. In an endless cycle. We didn't want to just work to pay bills anymore, but to buy freedom. Freedom to choose where, when, and with whom we work. That became the start of our plan: to build passive income.

We talked for evenings about what freedom means to us

Not luxury, not more possessions, but peace. The time to watch our children grow up, to travel, or to simply take a walk on a Monday morning without rush. We wanted to reduce life to its essence: time over money. Colin once said: "We have worked too long for a security that never really felt like security." That was the moment we decided things had to change.

How it all began...

We are not financial experts, and honestly? At the beginning, we barely knew what we were doing. Colin spent evenings diving into podcasts about investing and real estate. I read blogs about financial freedom, FIRE movements (Financial Independence, Retire Early), and minimalism. We discovered that money wasn't necessarily the enemy, it was a tool. But it had to work for us, rather than the other way around. The first step was painfully simple: gain insight. We were shocked by how much money was disappearing unnoticed each month. Lunches, subscriptions, "small expenses" that together amounted to hundreds of euros. So we made a plan: everything we save goes into investing. We started with €250 per month. A small amount, but it felt like the beginning of something bigger. Our first ETF (a basket of stocks) felt like a milestone, the first euro working while we slept.

We wrote down every issue

Not to be strict, but to become aware. That alone changed our behavior: it provided insight, discipline. Suddenly we saw how much space there actually was when we stopped making impulse purchases. And how liberating it feels to no longer be dependent on 'better next month'. When those first interests and dividends came in, it felt like magic, money we hadn't 'earned', but still received. That gave us the energy to keep going.

From saving to investing

After saving and reading for half a year, we decided to think more broadly. Investing in the stock market is good, but slow. Colin said, "We should also have something tangible." That became our first project: a small holiday apartment in Spain.
Bought with savings and a small loan. We now rent it out via Airbnb, and it brings in an average of €800 per month, even after expenses. We learned what return really means: not just financially, but also mentally. Every month that the rent comes in, it feels like confirmation that our plan is working. We don't have mountains of gold, but we have direction. By now, we have three streams of income: the apartment, investments, and an e-book I wrote about budgeting. It doesn't yield wealth yet, but it does provide choices. And that's exactly what we're doing it for.

The first few months were exciting

We were afraid of vacancies, technical issues, setbacks. But with every challenge, we learned something new. When our first guests responded enthusiastically, it felt as if we had built something real. It's not passive income in the purest sense, we invest time in it, but it's time that we choose ourselves. No boss, but our own boss.

What we do not do

People often think that passive income means: get rich quick. That's the biggest misconception. We're not involved with crypto hypes or expensive courses that promise "€10,000 per month". We do it step by step, almost boringly. Every euro has a purpose. We've made mistakes—wrong investments, overly optimistic expectations, but we learn.

We have agreed: no stress projects

If something causes us sleepless nights, it doesn't belong in our plan. We don't want to get rich off something that actually burns us out. Financial freedom for us means: peace, time, and space to live. No longer being chased by deadlines or bills. But also not getting entangled in the pursuit of returns. We often talk openly about this with friends, even though some consider it 'idealistic'. But that's okay. For us, it feels realistic, this is the future we are building. No lottery, no gamble, just strategy. And who knows, maybe we'll inspire others along the way. That would be nice.

How our lives have already changed

We are still working, but differently. With more awareness of where we are heading. Colin has shortened his workweek, I occasionally give financial workshops to mothers. Our children now understand what "making money work" means. We live smaller, but richer. We sold our car, we cook more at home, we rarely buy new things. But what we get in return is peace.
We no longer have to worry about unexpected bills or vacations that we can't really afford. There is a plan. A purpose. And that gives a peace that no salary can buy.

Sometimes people ask: "But isn't that frugal life boring?"

Not at all. Precisely because we make conscious choices, everything we do feels more intense. A dinner, a weekend away, it all has meaning. And we teach our children that happiness is not in things, but in spending time together. That is ultimately the best lesson we can give.

Our 3 practical steps for passive income

1. Start with insight, not with investing. Know what you are spending. Only when you know where your money is going, can you direct it.
2. Choose one source and stick with it for a while. Don't jump from crypto to real estate to dropshipping. Focus on what suits you and keep it simple.
3. Do not make profit your goal, but freedom. Wealth is relative. Time, peace, and freedom of choice are the real gains of financially conscious living.

These three steps may seem small, but they changed everything. We went from "let's see what's left" to "every euro has a direction". We often say to each other: "We might not earn more, but we live better." That is the most beautiful form of return.

What freedom really means

Sometimes people ask if we're not afraid. What if it fails? What if the market collapses? What if it's never enough? Sure, I have those thoughts too. But the truth is: doing nothing was scarier. Staying stuck in a rhythm where we lived from weekend to weekend, that felt like slowly deflating. and from vacation to vacation. Now every day feels like investing, not just in money, but in the future. Maybe we won't be able to stop working within five years. But even then, we gain time, knowledge, and peace. And that's really the essence of financial freedom: not waiting for later, but starting to live differently right now. We're not just earning money, we're also earning back our time.
EDEN