You got the job offer. The number sounded solid. Then the first payslip landed — and the number that actually hit your account was different. That gap is where this episode starts.

In this episode I break down what is really happening between gross salary and net salary — income tax, social contributions, pension, and the deductions that vary wildly by country. Then we go further: net salary minus expenses equals what is actually yours to work with — and most people never calculate that properly.

I walk through the first foundational habit of this series — a two-phase tracking system that shows you exactly what lands, what leaves, and what is left. Not glamorous. Not exciting. But it changes everything that comes after.

Visibility first. Choice second. That is where real money appears — not from earning more, but from keeping more of what you already earn.

I started a podcast for parents. The idea was simple — help them build a financial head start for their children, early enough to matter. That series is called Baby to Graduation.

Now my son Rodrigo is heading to university. And that made me think. What does he do when he starts to earn? When the real decisions begin?

That is what this series is about.

Welcome to The Foundation Years — a Beyond PiggyBanks series. Whether someone gave you a head start or you are beginning from zero, this window you are in right now is one of the most powerful financial periods of your life. Income. No dependants. Time on your side.

Your salary. Your emergency fund. Your debt. Your investments. Your taxes. The decisions that shape everything that comes after. Simple. Practical. No jargon.

I'm Jorge and I'm here because your child deserves the advantage we never had. We are done hoping for the best. We have built it. Subscribe to Beyond PiggyBanks on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. The clock is ticking.

Have you just started earning and want to make sure you are making the right choices? Welcome to The Foundation Years — a Beyond PiggyBanks series.

Three starting points. One thing in common: income, no dependants, and time on your side. This is the most important financial window of your life — and what you do with it is everything.

In this episode I set out what this window is worth, the three traps that quietly waste it — comfort, lifestyle inflation, and complexity paralysis — and what this series builds from here. Practical, direct, no jargon. Built for wherever you are starting from.

The next episode starts where it always starts. Your salary. What actually lands in your account. What is already gone before you touch it. And the habits that determine whether what is left builds something or disappears.

This is the last episode of the Baby to Graduation series. Imagine it. Your child is sitting across from you. They are 18, or 20, or 22. You open a screen and show them a number.

That number represents years of quiet discipline — monthly contributions that never stopped, markets that rose and fell and rose again, compounding that worked in the background without ever asking for your attention.

You built that for them. Before they were old enough to understand what you were doing. This episode is about that moment. Not the legal paperwork. Not the account transfer. Those are administrative steps. This episode is about something harder and more important — how do you prepare your child to receive what you built? How do you hand over not just the money, but the understanding of how it got there? Because the number on the screen is not the gift. The understanding of how it got there — that is the gift.I walk through the handover conversation: what to tell them about time, compounding, diversification, fees, and automation. I cover the two temptations that follow a handover — cashing out, and simply stopping — and what each one actually costs. And I share what this moment really is: the most powerful financial education you will ever give your child.13 episodes.

The engine is built. The handover is made.

This is a bonus episode. It sits outside the series — but it is not optional.

Everything we have built together — the time, the compounding, the platform, the tax wrapper — can be undone in a single moment of misplaced trust. This episode is about making sure that never happens.

In 2024, investment fraud was the single most reported category of cyber crime in the United States. Nearly 48,000 complaints. $6.5 billion in losses. In Europe, Europol has identified investment fraud as one of the most prolific online crime threats on the continent. And in 2025, complaints about investment group scams increased by 300% in a single year.The people running these operations are not amateurs. They are organized, sophisticated, and growing.

In this episode, I walk through how these scams actually work — the mechanics, the psychology, and two real cases from the US and Europe that show exactly who gets targeted and how. Then I give you the red flags: guaranteed returns, urgency tactics, requests for secrecy, unverifiable platforms, deepfake celebrity endorsements, social media investment groups, and unusual payment methods.I also cover what to do if you think you have been targeted — and why reporting matters more than most people realise.The most sophisticated scams do not target the uninformed. They target the motivated. The people trying to do the right thing for their families. Being smart does not protect you. Knowing the red flags does.

The engine is built. Now it needs a home.

Choosing a platform feels like a small administrative step. It is not. The platform you choose determines what instruments you can access, the fee structure that will quietly compound against or in favor of your returns for the next 20 years, and the regulatory protections covering your assets if something goes wrong.

In this episode, I give you the framework. I cover the legal structures protecting investors across the EU, Switzerland, the UK and the US. I walk through the five types of platform — and which fits a deliberate low-cost passive strategy. I break down every fee component most parents overlook when comparing options: transaction commissions, custody fees, inactivity fees, and currency conversion costs. And I share a five-step decision process you can apply to any platform, anywhere.

At the end, I tell you what I personally use — not as a recommendation, but as an example of how this framework plays out in practice.

I'm Jorge and I'm here because your child deserves the advantage we never had. We are done hoping for the best. We are building it. Subscribe to Beyond PiggyBanks on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. The clock is ticking.

The recipe is built. But every portfolio exists inside a tax environment — and that environment can quietly take a meaningful portion of everything you have built, or barely touch it at all.

In this episode, I give you the map. Four questions every parent needs to answer for their own country: How are capital gains and income taxed? Does your country have a tax wrapper for children or long-term investing? Should you choose accumulating or distributing funds given your tax situation? And what reporting obligations apply to foreign holdings?

I also cover tax loss harvesting — what it is, when it is worth considering, and when it is irrelevant.

Tax rules vary by country and change over time. This episode does not give you the local roads — it gives you the map so you know exactly what to look for and what questions to bring to a local advisor.

Beyond PiggyBanks is a podcast helping parents build long-term wealth for their children through simple, practical strategies. No jargon. No products. Just the knowledge you need to give your child the financial advantage we never had.

Nine episodes of preparation. Today, everything comes together.

In this episode, I walk through how to actually build a portfolio for your child — turning the theory into real percentages, real allocations, and a real engine. Before you can build, you need to answer three questions: What is your objective? How long do you have? What is your risk tolerance? Everything follows from there.

I walk through two real examples. A five-year-old with a 15-year engine handover goal, and a thirteen-year-old with a seven-year target amount goal. Same ingredients, different proportions, different recipes — and I explain exactly why each choice was made.

I also cover how often to review, how the allocation shifts gradually as your child grows, and what the whole system actually looks like in practice once it is running.

The allies are in place. The dangers are named. The ingredients are understood. The vehicle is chosen. Now we build.

Beyond PiggyBanks is a podcast helping parents build long-term wealth for their children through simple, practical strategies. No jargon. No products. Just the knowledge you need to give your child the financial advantage we never had.