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DIVI CENTS JOURNEY.

21K views 65 replies 16 participants last post by  londoncalling 
#1 · (Edited)
Basic Info

Age: 37
Net Income (after taxes): $118,000 (Single income family of 5)
Status: Married

Assets

House $700,000.00
TFSA $63,163.89
RRSP $74,402.00
Savings $26,950.89
Pension $165,205.00
Vehicles $30,000.00
Silver and Cash $5,000.00
Brokerage. $6,500.00




Liabilities
$0


Net Worth
$1,071,221.78

History.
I started investing in the stock market in 2006, probably at the worst possible time. I lost a small fortune in the next few years but learned some very valuable lessons.

I have always been a hater of debt (fight club is my favorite movie) and have worked really hard to get rid of it. For my work, i'm a Steamfitter. I have been fortunate to be able to work lots of overtime and really focus on getting rid of all my debt.

I traveled to the oil patch for 3 years and saved up nearly every dollar and paid off my house on my 35th birthday. It was bitter sweet, I missed many of my families birthdays to put them in a better spot today. I have never received any inheritance or hand outs but believe in hard work and frugal living.

For the last 2 years I have started putting the money I had previously used to pay down my mortgage into my direct investing stock account. I don't like buying into an expensive market but i'm always seeking out value and growing dividends.

Future

I'm going to use this forum to track my stocks going forward and the income I receive from them. My goal is to make more money in the stock market then I would at work. Let's see how it goes :)

If I make any stupid moves, feel free to call me out!

Thanks for reading.

Steve.
 
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#5 ·
Thanks for the reply.
I have started a RESP for my kids but it is not very large yet. I consider it their money so I keep it off my balance sheets. I have all my family and relatives give them money for their RESP's instead of birthday presents. I do like RESP's and the benefits of them but I hope to have my kids do what I did when I was going through college. Work part time and pay for at least 1/2. I believe this would help with the entitlement issues of the next generation. Maybe :)

Cheers
Steve
 
#6 ·
Age: 37
Net Income (after taxes): $118,000 (Single income family of 5)
Status: Married
...
For my work, i'm a Steamfitter. I have been fortunate to be able to work lots of overtime and really focus on getting rid of all my debt.

I traveled to the oil patch for 3 years and saved up nearly every dollar and paid off my house on my 35th birthday.
Wow! Impressive. You've certainly managed to buck the Alberta tradesman trend and kept your nose clean, saving all that you can for a great future for you and your family. For most 37 year steamfitters I know a family of 5 would mean him, his truck, and 3 ex-wives. :biggrin:

Do you make that money working and living in BC, or still travel to Alberta for work?

Now that you are investing with an unregistered account, and you are in a top tax bracket, I hope you have brushed up on the dividend and capital gains tax rules, and are properly allocating the correct holdings between your RRSP/TFSA/unreg to minimize your tax bill.

http://www.moneysense.ca/invest/asset-ocation-everything-in-its-place/

As a quick general rule of thumb, in order of preferred asset location:

RRSP: Bonds, GICs, Foreign stocks, Canadian stocks
TFSA: Foreign stocks with low yield, Canadian stocks
Unregistered: Canadian stocks with low yield, Canadian stocks with high yield, foreign stocks with low yield

Welcome to the forum.
 
#8 ·
Thanks PeterK.

I live in Coquitlam, BC and I make that money working in town. This year has been exceptionally good for work but there is many ups and downs in the construction trade. As a matter of fact, that's how I learned to save most of my earnings, the constant threat of being jobless!!

I hope to be finished travelling for work as it is too much of a sacrifice and I've already missed out on more than I'd like to have. As for the big truck, well, i'm lucky that my wife is equally as thrifty as myself and would probably kill me if I ever came home with one!

My accounts are set up just like you explained above. TFSA I have a lot of Canadian REIT's, RRSP is US stocks and Non Reg is Canadian bonds in the form of ETF's (XLB, CLF ect) When I get a chance, i'm going to throw up my portfolio on here just to keep track of it through time.

Cheers
Steve.
 
#11 ·
What's your approach to DIY equities?
Thanks for reading Janus. I was going through your Journey and i'm very impressed with your savings %. I know many people who earn a lot more money then I do but are broke.

An old quote by some smart guy goes "It's not how much money you earn, it's how much you keep".

I firmly believe that the percentage of the income you save will dictate you financial future much more than the money you earn on a pay stub. Janus, your financial future is bright if you can keep the course.

My approach to DIY investing is very simple yet easy to stray from. To put it simply, i'm a value investor with a passion for ever increasing dividends. It took me a long time to get here but as Warren Buffett says " Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1." Sounds easy but it's not. With every screaming head yelling at you to buy TESLA! APPLE! ect ect it's easy to loose focus. Luckily I've lived through some of that with Nortel and some others (not to say APPLE or TESLA will implode, they are just not in my wheelhouse).

My basic rules are:
1) Never buy a stock to try and sell it fast. Minimum period i'm looking to hold is 2 years.
2) Try to have a P/E ratio under 15
3) Think to myself "will this companies business model be relevant in 10 years (fax machines)
4) Must pay a dividend
5) NO PENNY STOCKS!!
6) *Should be on Aristocrats list* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26P_500_Dividend_Aristocrats
7) If I buy a stock the Payout ratio needs to be low, nothing in the top 75% dividend needs to be sustainable. If it's a REIT The AFFO should be under 90%
8) Make sure the debt is in order. Debt is okay in a bull but in a bear your debt is going to sink the ship. Current Ratio above 2 is looked for.
9) Never follow a hot tip. EVER. Remember there are people out there who's only job is to promote a garbage company hoping a fish will bite. Don't get hooked! When I was working in Fort McMurray I would constantly hear from people "Hey man you hear of company XXXX?, my brother works there and they just did XXXX, you got to buy some of their stock. It's $0.12 right now but it's going up to $3.00 in a few months for sure" I would shrug but the guys beside me would usually take the bait. I'd warn people about "pump and dump" but people seldom listen to good advice.

Well that was a long reply!

Cheers
Steve
 
#12 · (Edited)
July 2016 Update.

I'm just going to track the things that change month over month and do a year end total NET update.

JUNE 2016
TFSA-$63,163.89
RRSP-$74,402.00
Savings-$26,950.89
Pension-$125,205.00
TOTAL at the end of June $329,720.89


JULY 2016
TFSA-$62,829.00
RRSP-$74,190.00
Savings-$28,040.00
Pension-$165,545.00
July total = $330,604.00 Month over month of 0.3%


Total Dividends were $380

Summer is always slow and I haven't worked or saved much. Have to enjoy family life too!

Cheers
Steve
 
#16 · (Edited)
August 2016 Update.

I'm just going to track the things that change month over month and do a year end total NET update.

JUNE 2016
TFSA-$63,163.89
RRSP-$74,402.00
Savings-$26,950.89
Pension-$164,205.00
TOTAL at the end of June $329,720.89


JULY 2016
TFSA-$62,829.00
RRSP-$74,190.00
Savings-$28,040.00
Pension-$165,545.00
July total = $330,604.00 Month over month of $884 and 0.3%

August 2016
TFSA-$62,100.00
RRSP-$74,900.00
Savings-$30,540.00
Pension-$166,845.00
August total = $334,385.00 Month over month increase of $3,781 and1.29%


Total Dividends I received in August were $501

Now that September is here I hope to start making some hay!

Cheers
Steve
 
#18 ·
I really appreciate your input james!

The only reason i'm holding those etf bonds there is because my TFSA and RRSP are at the limit.

I'm going to look into both of the funds you listed and check them out. I just hate holding onto plain cash but want to keep some in reserve for a correction. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
 
#19 ·
JUNE 1, 2016
TFSA-$63,163.89
RRSP-$74,402.00
Savings-$26,950.89
Pension-$164,205.00
TOTAL at the end of June $329,720.89


JULY 1, 2016
TFSA-$62,829.00
RRSP-$74,190.00
Savings-$28,040.00
Pension-$165,545.00
July total = $330,604.00 Month over month of $884 and 0.3%

August 1, 2016
TFSA-$62,100.00
RRSP-$74,900.00
Savings-$30,540.00
Pension-$166,845.00
August total = $334,385.00 Month over month increase of $3,781 and1.29%

September 1, 2016
TFSA- $61,300
RRSP- $75,000
Savings- $31,500
Pension- $167,340
September total = $335,140. Month over month increase of $755 :( or 0.24%

October 1, 2016
TFSA- $61,700
RRSP- $78,350
Savings- $33,950
Pension- $168,209
September total = $342,239. Month over month increase of $7096 :) or 2.12%


Total Dividends I received in September were $717

October should be a great month.

Cheers
Steve
 
#20 ·
JUNE 1, 2016
TFSA-$63,163.89
RRSP-$74,402.00
Savings-$26,950.89
Pension-$164,205.00
TOTAL at the end of June $329,720.89


JULY 1, 2016
TFSA-$62,829.00
RRSP-$74,190.00
Savings-$28,040.00
Pension-$165,545.00
July total = $330,604.00 Month over month of $884 and 0.3%

August 1, 2016
TFSA-$62,100.00
RRSP-$74,900.00
Savings-$30,540.00
Pension-$166,845.00
August total = $334,385.00 Month over month increase of $3,781 and1.29%

September 1, 2016
TFSA- $61,300
RRSP- $75,000
Savings- $31,500
Pension- $167,340
September total = $335,140. Month over month increase of $755 or 0.24%

October 1, 2016
TFSA- $61,700
RRSP- $78,350
Savings- $33,950
Pension- $168,209
September total = $342,239. Month over month increase of $7096 or 2.12%

October 1, 2016
TFSA- $61,239
RRSP- $75,063
Savings- $40,178
Pension- $169,500
September total = $345,980. Month over month increase of $3741or 1.09%

Total Dividends I received in October were $479

October was Not a greart month, Oil collapsed again and I own 5 oil companies

November should be better.

Cheers
Steve
 
#21 ·
JUNE 1, 2016
TFSA-$63,163.89
RRSP-$74,402.00
Savings-$26,950.89
Pension-$164,205.00
TOTAL at the end of June $329,720.89


JULY 1, 2016
TFSA-$62,829.00
RRSP-$74,190.00
Savings-$28,040.00
Pension-$165,545.00
July total = $330,604.00 Month over month of $884 and 0.3%

August 1, 2016
TFSA-$62,100.00
RRSP-$74,900.00
Savings-$30,540.00
Pension-$166,845.00
August total = $334,385.00 Month over month increase of $3,781 and1.29%

September 1, 2016
TFSA- $61,300
RRSP- $75,000
Savings- $31,500
Pension- $167,340
September total = $335,140. Month over month increase of $755 or 0.24%

October 1, 2016
TFSA- $61,700
RRSP- $78,350
Savings- $33,950
Pension- $168,209
OCTOBER total = $342,239. Month over month increase of $7096 or 2.12%

November 1, 2016
TFSA- $61,239
RRSP- $75,063
Savings- $40,178
Pension- $169,500
NOVEMBER total = $345,980. Month over month increase of $3741or 1.09%



Cheers
Steve
December 1, 2016
TFSA- $64,032
RRSP- $85,156
Savings- $41,382
Pension- $171,000
DECEMBER total = $361,570. Month over month increase of $15,590 or 4.51%

Total Dividends I received in November was $515

November was a great month.
 
#22 · (Edited)
End of the Year update


JAN 1, 2017
TFSA- $66,878
RRSP- $88,353
Savings- $49,500
Pension- $171,605
JAN total = $376,360. Month over month increase of $14,757 or 4.08%

Total Dividends I received in November was $766

Total yearly dividends was $6,192

Self Directed Portfolio
TFSA 33.82% VS TSX 15.45% +18.37% above the TSX not including Dividends.
RRSP (Hold US Stocks) 21.90% VS DJIA 10.91% +10.99% Above the Dow not including Dividends.
Savings (3.42) VS TSX 15.45% -18.87 Below the TSX. This was in BOND etfs about 20G so i'm down a few hundred :(

Pension
I believe it to be fixed at 4% but i'm calculating it a 0% and only my contributions will be added.

My house which is paid off in full increased $300,000 but I live in Vancouver and I don't like to view my house as an investment and think that prices should come down by over 50%



Age: 37
Net Income (after taxes): $118,000 (Single income family of 5)
Status: Married

Assets

House 1,000,000.00
TFSA $67,000
RRSP $88,000
Savings $49,500
Pension $171,505
Vehicles $40,000
Silver and Cash $10,000.00 (Bought more silver :))
Brokerage. $10,500.00




Liabilities
$0


Net Worth
$1,436,500
 
#23 ·
Jan 31, 2017 Update#1

TFSA- $85,740
RRSP- $90,451
Savings- $45,265 (moved $5,500 to TFSA)
Pension- $174,080
JAN total = $394,438. Month over month increase of $18,120 or 4.80%

Total Dividends I received in January was $639.12

Total yearly dividends to date is $639.12



Year Total Dividends Received
2014 $2,421.00
2015 $4,169.00
2016 $6,192.86
2017 $639.12
2018
2019
2020
Total $13,421.98 of free money :)
 
#24 ·
February 28, 2017
Yearly update #2

TFSA- $88,483
RRSP- $88,369
Savings- $51,827
Pension- $175,845
Feb total = $404,524. Month over month increase of $9,067 or 2.29%

Total Dividends I received in February was $557.24

Total yearly dividends to date is $1,196



Year Total Dividends Received
2014 $2,421.00
2015 $4,169.00
2016 $6,192.86
2017 $1,196
2018
2019
2020
Total $13,997 of free money since 2014
 
#28 ·
How did you manage to pay the mortgage off so fast? Was it difficult to get your wife on board?
Hi Lost in Space.

It was and is very difficult to get the wife on board and it's a continuing thing. Luckily, she is frugal by nature so this helps to a degree. The way I convince her to let me save and invest so much is by explaining the truth to her. I am doing it for HER retirement. Mine is already funded through my work so I am investing to build her a nest egg.

It also helps that I don't spend anything on myself so I try to lead by example. One thing we never do is scrimp on the kids. If anything I would count them as spoiled. So there is that.

Thanks for taking the time to read :)
 
#29 ·
March 31, 2017
Yearly update #3

TFSA- $88,512
RRSP- $90,119
Savings- $57,920
Pension- $177,832
Feb total = $414,383. Month over month increase of $9,859 or 2.44%

Total Dividends I received in March was $850.50

Total yearly dividends to date is $2,046



Year Total Dividends Received
2014 $2,421.00
2015 $4,169.00
2016 $6,192.86
2017 $2,046
2018
2019
2020
Total $14,829 of free money since 2014
 
#30 · (Edited)
April 31, 2017
Yearly update #4

TFSA- $87,886
RRSP- $94,155
Savings- $54,872 **Typo Savings total this month is $64,872
Pension- $180,028
April total = $426,941. Month over month increase of $12,557 or 3.03%

Total Dividends I received in April was $931.94

Total yearly dividends to date is $2,978



Year Total Dividends Received
2014 $2,421.00
2015 $4,169.00
2016 $6,192.86
2017 $2,978
2018
2019
2020
Total $15,761 of free money since 2014 :courage:
 
#36 ·
I have around 30 companies. The only ETF I hold is ZLB.TO

Biggest holdings right now are AQN, ENB, RY, CWB, PLZ.UN, NKE, O, WPC, AX.UN, ALA, WDC

All holding listed below

TSE:NVU.UN
TSE:pZA
O
TSE:AD
TSE:ENF
TSE:SJR.B
TSE:ALA
TSE:CPG
TSE:AX.UN
TSE:D.UN
TSE:pLZ.UN
TSE:AQN
WDC
TSE:ZLB
NKE
WPC
TSE:RY
OHI
GIS
TSE:pWF
TSE:SU
TSE:TS.B
NVDA
TSE:XTC
TSE:BIP.UN
CVE:pTG
TSE:CWB
TSE:ENB
NASDAQ:BBRY
TSE:BTE
TSE:SHOP
TSE:REW
 
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