Finanziell frei mit 46 in der Schweiz – Interview Dror Allouche

Zuletzt aktualisiert: 13. Januar 2024 von Oliver Kunz

Financially independent in Switzerland – Interview with Dror Allouche

This blog is all about finance and investments. But what is the meaning and the end goal of it all? Financial freedom or financial independence in Switzerland are the keywords and are very popular, especially on social media. Traveling the world, spending time with family or focusing on your hobbies are some of the things you could do if you didn’t have to work anymore. Thanks to long-term investments, in the best-case scenario, you can achieve financial freedom in Switzerland before you reach normal retirement age, or even better, before you turn 50. Dror Allouche did exactly that.

That’s why I have a special post today and for once in English. It’s an interview with Dror Allouche. Dror managed to be financially free in Switzerland at the age of 46.

At the end of the interview there is even a gift from Dror to my readers. So be sure to read to the end.

Who is Dror Allouche?

Husband, father of two, sportsman, avid reader, investor and executive coach. 

Dror ran a 9-figure business as an executive and decided to leave corporate at 46 years old, financially independent. Now Dror writes at his own blog optionstogrow.com to share his learnings on how to grow your life, your career and your wealth.

You’ll find more details on Dror’s life and career in this article. And now the interview.

Career

You look back on a steep career, what advice would you give to young people who also want to make a career in corporate?

• Take time to think about what you want to do.
• Write down your plan.
• Work at the job you have, seek to learn as much as possible. Seek to create a pocket of excellence in what you do.
• Constantly observe the leaders you like who are in the job you are aiming for. How do they operate, what do they do?
• Stay flexible when opportunities arise. Move forward and refine your roadmap.
• Disassociate your well-being/happiness from your position. You have everything to be happy, the career is just another adventure in your life. Regardless of the outcome, it transforms you and makes you grow.

In the preliminary talk you mentioned that ambitious people can have less competition in their career, can you elaborate on that?

Dror: Most people who want to advance in their careers are looking for the next promotion and the security that comes with it. In a fast-moving world, the two things don’t go together. Every opportunity has an element of uncertainty attached to it. Wanting to check all the boxes before committing is impossible. You have to be prepared and accept a certain amount of risk.

In the end, there are few people (internally) who are willing to do this. Leaving the comfort of an existing job to try the adventure and its uncertainties.

You have certainly put a lot of time into your professional career. What were the biggest trade offs on your way?

I believe I have  navigated my professional career with great intention. 

Family, health, fitness, personal finances have always been part of the mix. 

But it also means that I’ve lived my career much like an athlete. Go to bed early, get up early, and spend a lot of time prioritizing and reprioritizing. 

Despite all of this, I missed a lot of quality time with my kids and my wife. 

My wife has played an extraordinary role in my career by supporting our children and me in this adventure

And what did you enjoy most in your corporate career?

The human part of the business. Helping people succeed. Using every challenge to grow collectively.

What is your advice for people who want to find a good balance between career and private life?

Be intentional. Work tends to fill all the spaces. By the time you realize it, it’s often late. The relationship with your spouse, your children, your friends has been lost, the pounds are piling on, your health is weakening.

This is certainly not what we hope for in the first place.

So instead of sliding down this path, take charge of your life.

One of the tools that has helped me the most is writing a life plan.

I recommend two books that can help you do this.

• Hero on a Mission: A Path to a Meaningful Life by Donald Miller (Englisch*, Deutsch*)
• Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want by Michael S. Hyatt (Englisch*)

A more specific question from my audience: in which country and in which industry do you see the most potential for young talents?

I don’t have a specific industry or country but I like this view from Zain Kahn that I read on LinkedIn. There are four ways to make money in a career.

• Create a product. (software, design…)
• Selling (sales, marketing)
• Managing money (finance jobs)
• Managing people (management, leadership).

I started in sales and marketing and I was lucky enough to be able to move into organizational management.

The combination of two or more ways is even more powerful. For example selling software.

If I were to do it again I would choose a high growth industry. There are more opportunities, and they are often more interesting when the company grows.

Ich kaufe Aktien & ETFs bei Swissquote – der beste Broker in der Schweiz

Mit folgendem Aktionscode* erhältst du bei Kontoeröffnung CHF 200.- Trading Credits:
“MKT_SIMPLEMONEY“

Nur für Schweizer Einwohner
Mindesteinzahlung CHF 1’000.-

Konto bei Swissquote eröffnen*

Zum Swissquote-Review

Übersichtliche App/Website – Top Service – Transparente Gebühren – Schweizer Bank

Investing and money

How did you learn about investing in ETFs and where did you get your knowledge from?

Since I was young, I had one intention. Not to have to work all my life. So, I have always paid attention to the different ways to make my capital grow.

As for all the subjects that interested me, I acquired my knowledge in books. The book that convinced me about ETFs is “The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence by J. L. Collins” (Englisch*, Deutsch*)

What tips would you give someone who wants to start investing?

If I had to start again today with my knowledge, I would start with an ETF covering the world and a broker with low fees. And I would invest every month, no matter what the market weather.

How has your way of thinking about money changed along the way as an investor?

I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my investment career. Each experience made me grow.

• I invested alone by choosing stocks and trying to time the market.
• I went through funds. They are costly in fees, and few of them perform every year.
• I have invested for too long in safe products. Low risk, low return.

In the end I ended up embracing the ETF philosophy.

“I don’t favor indexing just because it is easier, although it is. Or because it is simpler, although it is that too. I favor it because it is more effective and more powerful in building wealth than the alternatives.” J.L. Collins

Which asset classes would you not invest in and why?

Apart from historical investments that I still have in my portfolio today (real estate, secured products) I only invest in ETFs.

The only reason why I don’t invest in other assets is that it takes time. I have neither the desire nor the time to do so.

Life is about choices and priorities. Every time I have managed to make them, my life has become easier.

Investments are a good example. Since I have a good understanding of what I want and don’t want to do, I can navigate more serenely between the different opportunities without having a feeling of missing out (FOMO).

What do you think about frugalism?

I find that in the FIRE movement the focus is too much on savings. 

I have preferred to focus my path on income growth through my career. 

Having said that, we have and still live on a few principles. 

• Material things only bring us ephemeral joys, we prefer experiences
• We have never adapted our expenses to our earnings
• We saved and invest the difference

Are there things you spend a lot of money on?

Not really. But we are happy to spend a little more for high-quality food.

Start investing in ETFs with a robo-advisor

Zum Beitrag

Best broker for ETFs in Switzerland + 100.- Coupon Code

Zum Beitrag

Personal development

Was there a moment in your youth when you realized that you wanted to be financially independent one day?

I think I had that thought early on. I always said I wanted to stop working at 40. I ended up doing it at 46.

But I actually don’t think I’ll ever stop. I just like the feeling of not having to.

For me, financial freedom means working with who I want, when and where I want.

Currently, it means creating my business OptionsToGrow.com which has two parts:

• My passion for writing: A blog with free digital content around three topics. Personal growth, career growth, personal finance growth.
• My passion for contact and exchange. I help people achieve their dreams through coaching.

Which mindset enabled you to achieve financial freedom and how did you build this mindset?

I believe that anything is possible if you give yourself the means. Taking charge of your life and living your dreams is a way to transform yourself and grow. Even if you don’t reach your dreams.

On your blog, it quickly becomes clear that you enjoy reading books. Which books had a particularly big influence on you?

Books have changed my life. It’s hard to list them randomly, they often correspond to a period of my life, to a problem I was trying to solve.

But I’ll mention two that had a huge impact on my life:

• Awaken The Giant Within by Tony Robbins. I learned to dream big and turn my ideas into action plans. (Englisch*, Deutsch*)
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. A framework with Principles that helped me change my life from the inside out. (Englisch*, Deutsch*)

What role does sports play in your life?

An important role. Every time I’ve taken a break from sports, I’ve experienced more stressful moments. It’s a form of outlet and a process of clarifying my thoughts.

Right now, I’m focusing on running.

How have books and physical exercise helped you in your career and in investing?

They have helped me tremendously. I will give you two examples.

The Simple Path to Wealth by J. L. Collins helped me to understand in depth the power of compound interest and the crises in the markets. I gained serenity and years in my quest for financial independence.

Also I participated in an Ironman. I learned how to swim the crawl from “Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way to Swim Better, Faster, and Easier by Terry Laughlin” and how to manage a training plan from “Triathlete Magazine’s Essential Week-by-Week Training Guide by Matt Fitzgerald.

There are dozens of examples where the books have impacted every part of my life

Where do you get your motivation and inspiration from, to get up in the morning?

I have a constant form of gratitude to life. I cultivate it.

Being alive and well every morning is a gift to me.

Add to that, that I am chasing dreams every time, it gives me incredible strength and desire. Currently, I am pursuing the dream of becoming the best coach I can be to help the people I work with most effectively.

It gives me endless motivation to learn. I read, I listen, I practice any exercise that can help me.

Do you have a life hack that only a few people use?

I don’t believe in one thing that changes everything. I believe in the whole. But if I had to choose, I would say write my life plan. It gives me a backbone to my life. That clarity gives me a lot of energy.

And as a final question: what does the world need most at the moment and how can everyone contribute to that?

Time for personal reflection. I think most people go through their lives following the ‘cultural script’. School, marriage, career, children….

Few people ask themselves and prioritize their thoughts. The more you do, the more you take charge of your life.

By doing so, you help yourself and others.

All the projects that have changed the world started with an idea, a dream.

You always create twice, once in your head and once in the real world.

When is the best time to buy ETFs?

Zum Beitrag

Which is the best exchange and currency to buy ETFs?

Zum Beitrag

Special offer for simplemoney.ch readers

A special offer to thank the readers of simplemoney.ch:

Dror is offering the first five responses an entire two-hour coaching session 1:1 with him. Here is the process:

1. Send an email to dror@optionstogrow.com with the title “I am interested.” And a short presentation of yourself and mention simplemoney.ch.
2. I will send a link to my calendar (for the first 5 readers) with two dates.
3. First date: 20 minutes to assess if we can work together. (both sides)
4. Second date: 2 hours of free full coaching.

Summary

Thanks for reading the interview and thanks to Dror for the detailed answers to all my questions. What I found exciting was Dror’s realization that investing must be as easy and simple to implement as possible. This allowed Dror to use his time for personal development and his career with a focus on increasing his income.
I also realized again; how important it is to read books. Not only for knowledge building, but also for inspiration and motivation. A healthy mind also includes a healthy body. Dror is very athletic and pays attention to healthy food when it comes to nutrition.

This combination and balance allowed him to retire from the corporate world, already at the age of 46.

How did you like this format? Do you have any suggestions for further interviews?
Leave me a comment down below, write me an email or on Instagram.

Ich kaufe Aktien & ETFs bei Swissquote – der beste Broker in der Schweiz

Mit folgendem Aktionscode* erhältst du bei Kontoeröffnung CHF 200.- Trading Credits:
“MKT_SIMPLEMONEY“

Nur für Schweizer Einwohner
Mindesteinzahlung CHF 1’000.-

Konto bei Swissquote eröffnen*

Zum Swissquote-Review

Übersichtliche App/Website – Top Service – Transparente Gebühren – Schweizer Bank

Disclaimer

No investment advice and liability. No guarantee for the correctness of the information. This is my personal and independent opinion. Investing involves risk of loss.