‘I used to feel broke all the time. Now, I spend mindfully and I invest the rest’

Sjoerd Bak was once stuck in a ‘pay cheque to pay cheque’ cycle. Now, he helps people achieve financial freedom through mindful spending and wise investing

Financial adviser Sjoerd Bak moved to Ireland 19 years ago (Phil Gaffney)

Sjoerd Bak

I’m from the Netherlands originally. In 2006, I was working in a ski shop for ski season in Andorra, and I decided that it wasn’t time to go home yet, so I thought I’d go to Ireland for a year. Nineteen years later, I’m still here.

I started out working for Xerox, helping people fix their printers over the phone, for €19,000 (£16,000) a year.