April 2010 Net Worth Update (+1.34%) – New Beginnings Edition

Welcome to the Million Dollar Journey April 2010 Net Worth Update – The New Beginnings Edition

For those of you following my net worth updates, you may have noticed that the bulk of the net worth increase is due to savings.  The savings have been higher than normal as of late due to higher household professional and business income.

What does this have to do with “new beginnings?”  Well, I managed to conjure up enough courage to leave my technical job for a position that’s more in alignment with who I am.  The new position requires both financial and technical skill sets and has been a great experience thus far.  Perhaps more relevant to these updates, the new position increases our household income which leads to increased savings.  As I’ve written about before, one way to further build your wealth is to bank your raises.

In addition to the increased income, the new position comes with a defined benefit pension plan.  Being on a pension plan is new to me as I’m accustomed to contributing to an RRSP.  With the DBP, the pension adjustment will severely reduce my RRSP contribution limit.  For tax planning purposes, I may top up my professional salary with a salary from my corporation thus giving me RRSP contribution room for the following year.

Lets talk a bit about the numbers below.  Again this month, you’ll see a large gain in the TFSA,  this is due to a $5,000 contribution.  We’re aiming to have both our TFSA’s ($20k worth) maxed out by the end of the year.  Other than the significant boost to the TFSA, the other investment accounts have leveled off their gains.  As well, I have decided to write the vehicles off the balance sheet.

On to the numbers:

Assets: $ 514,470 (+0.84%)

  • Cash: $4,500 (+0.00%)
  • Savings: $34,900.00 (-1.69%)
  • Registered/Retirement Investment Accounts (RRSP): $77,400.00 (+0.91%)
  • Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA):  $14,970 (+50.00%)
  • Defined Benefit Pension: $28,950.00 (+1.76%)
  • Non-Registered Investment Accounts: $13,800.00 (-3.50%)
  • Smith Manoeuvre Investment Account: $56,700.00 (+1.25%)
  • Principal Residence: $283,250 (+0.00%) (purchase price adjusted for inflation)
  • Vehicles: $0 (2 vehicles) (-100.00%)

Liabilities$75,800.00 (-1.94%)

  • Tax Liability: $3,000 (-0.00%)
  • Principal Residence Mortgage (readvanceable): $18,900.00 (-7.80%)
  • HELOC balance: $53,900 (+0.19%)

Total Net Worth: ~$438,670.00(+1.34%)

  • Started 2010 with Net Worth: $399,600.00
  • Year to Date Gain/Loss: +9.78%

Some quick notes and explanations to net worth questions I get often:

The Cash

The $4,500 cash are held in chequing accounts to meet the minimum balance so that we pay no fees (accounting for regular bill payments). Yes, we do hold no fee accounts also, but I find value in having an account with a full service bank as the relationship with a banker can prove useful.

Savings

Our savings accounts are held with PC Financial and ING Direct. We usually hold a fair bit of cash in case “something” comes up. The “something” can be anything that requires cash such as an investment opportunity that requires quick cash or maybe an emergency car/home repair.  We also need cash to cover any future tax liabilities.

Real Estate

Our real estate holdings consist of a primary residence plus a rental property. The value of the principal residence remains valued at the purchase price (+inflation) despite significant appreciation in the local real estate market.

Pension

The pension amount listed above is the value of both of our defined benefit pension plans.  I basically take the semi annual statement and add the contribution amounts (not including employer matching) on a monthly basis.

Stock Broker Accounts

Another common question is which discount broker do I use?   We actually have accounts with multiple institutions.  I’m hoping to reduce the number of accounts that we hold in the near future.  Here is a review of some of the more popular online stock brokers.

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FT

FT is the founder and editor of Million Dollar Journey (est. 2006). Through various financial strategies outlined on this site, he grew his net worth from $200,000 in 2006 to $1,000,000 by 2014. You can read more about him here.
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Aury (Thunderdrake)
14 years ago

Interesting that you’re laying out whole nine yards in your accounting assets. A very fantastic breakdown of your assets and liabilities.

Nice to see how much you got the real estate paid off as well. Definitely showing some strength in your net worth.

If I had to shoot for a million dollar goal like that, chances are I’d be balancing my paper assets with typical liabilities. But I ought to study accounting again, if I plan on getting more serious with this sort of thing.

Canadian Dream
14 years ago

Cool, new job. How are you liking it so far? DB plan so I’m guessing some level of government or perhaps a Crown corp. Anyways it great to hear you took the leap to something new. Growth is money is good, but growth in yourself is better.

Tim

Tyrone Matheson
14 years ago

I would like to advertise on your site, haven’t heard back from you. Please visit my site to contact me (don’t want spam).

Thanks

Alex
14 years ago

FrugalTrader – do you live in Ontario?

Chris
14 years ago

What is your TFSA invested in (does anyone remember it posted before)?

Thanks

Money Green Life
14 years ago

Question – I see bloggers posting their net worth all the time and I get confused each time I see them. I personally calculate my own net worth every month (i don’t post them on my blog), but I don’t account for the value of my depreciating car, or even home mortgage loans. I only consider my immediate debt, such as credit cards and student loans and immediate cash available in savings and checking account, also stocks, but not 401k. Should I reconsider this and account for everything like everyone else to get an accurate sense of my total net worth? Thanks.

Alex
14 years ago

Hi, I am a bit unclear on the pension related posts…

“Pension
The pension amount listed above is the value of both of our defined benefit pension plans. I basically take the semi annual statement and add the contribution amounts (not including employer matching) on a monthly basis.“

I don’t really understand how you come up with the numbers… If it is a defined benefit pention plan the only “value” it has is the “commuted value” which changes every month due to your age, service and interest rates… Employee/Employer matching has nothing to do with this (almost nothing) – hence the name “defined benefit”.

“The DBP doesn’t actually start the employer matching until 5 years of employment. I haven’t lasted at a job for more than 5 years yet, so we’ll see what happens. :)“ again I`m not very clear as in DB pension there is no `matching` concept…

Could you please clarify?