# Road to Financial Freedom



## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Hello everyone! Ive been reading these forums for a while and thought I would finally join and begin tracking my journey. 

*Background Info:*
I'm 23 years old, and have been working at my current job since I was 19. My scenario is a little different then most, as my income changes from year to year. There will be times where I'm laid off 4 months a year, and I have to go back to school for 10 weeks two more times. The least I'll make is around 50,000 and the most is about 200,000(very rare). I'd say the average is probably about $100,000 a year, before tax. I've been interested in finance since I was about 15, reading all sorts of books such as The Intelligent Investor, The Wealthy Barber, Rich Dad Poor Dad, ect. When I was 19 I was ecstatic I was finally making money to start putting what I learned into practice. I started investing heavily into stocks while paying off my student debt at a very fast rate. I absolutely hate using debt because I tend to overspend and have a hard time getting back out of it. I just got a 1% cashback credit card and I cant even bring myself to use it, even though Id pay it off every month, just because I know I'll spend more then I should with it.

At 21 years old I saved $25,000 and was debt free, and it all went down hill from there. I decided to buy a house for $180,000, with plans to renovate the basement into an apartment to rent for $750/month. When I bought the house, and started the renovations, I kept coming across more and more problems that I didn't expect(big mistake on my part). The financial costs kept adding up but I eventually got most things fixed and got the apartment to a point where drywall was up, electrical/plumbing done, painted, floors partially in. Then we had a flood. More costs, and I happened to have no work for 4 months during this. I decided to put the basement reno on hold because I was completely out of money and going back into debt. I also had to put $1400 into my car during this period. That brings me to where I am today.

*Assets:*
House: $190,000
TFSA: $3700
Cash: $5000
Pension: $40,000 (~$600/month if I was to retire today at age 65)
Total: 238,700

*Liabilities:*
LOC: $3000 (2.5%)
Credit Card: 0
Mortgage: $160,000
Car: $6500
Total: $169,500

*Networth: $69,200*

*Monthly Expenses:*
Mortgage: $1100 (with property taxes)
Union Gas: $100
Cable/internet: $160
Water Tank rental: $20?
Union Dues: $40
Electric/water: $140
Cell: $80
Car Payment: $340 (killing me, another big mistake I made)
Insurance: $170
Groceries: $300
Gas: $200

I greatly appreciate all help and advice, my goal is to be financial free by 40. I still want to work, but I want to be able to pick and choose my jobs rather then _have_ to go where theres work.

A few questions I have:

Is it better for me to make extra payments on my mortgage (currently 3.5%) or invest into my TFSA? Everyone I've talked to says to pay down mortgage as fast as possible, but if I can get more then 3.5% in investments, wouldnt that be better?

Im currently about $8000-$10,000 away from finishing basement apartment, should I finish it using my LOC so I can start collecting rent, or should I keep it dormant until I have enough money saved to not have to go into debt? I will be going to school in October until Christmas, so I will only have a $450/wk income during this time.


Thanks everyone!


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## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Deleted.


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## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Deleted.


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Oh okay thanks! Ill edit it as soon as I figure out how to edit posts lol.. it says I dont have permission to edit yet.


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Ag Driver said:


> 1. At this point in time, I have a similar rate and I am investing vs paying the mortgage down. When rates rise, I think my opinion will change on this and I will be trying to dump everything into the mortage.
> 
> 2. If life is sustainable as it stands now, I would not use a LOC for a reno. I want to finish my basement as well, but I will only use cash to do so.
> 
> Are you able to rent out a room and share common spaces (living room, kitchen, etc). I rent out two rooms, and so far I can't complain too much as they pay the majority of my mortgage.


Okay thanks. I was originally renting out a room, but now my girlfriend has moved in so its no longer feasible, my girlfriend does chip in though. It is sustainable, we haven't had any problems paying any of the bills without the added income from basement so far.


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## TK.61 (Mar 27, 2012)

Good job on becoming financially aware! That is a huge step in sorting out your finances, and becoming financially independent! The car payment does suck, and its good that you realize that. I had one when I was age 18-20 (400/mo + 350 insurance). I couldn't imagine that now! I have friends with car payments larger than my mortgage on a monthly basis; AND they make less money than me. The investing vs mortgage pay down debate seemingly never ends, I am doing a little bit of both. I am curious what career/industry you are in. Large swings in earning has me think your in sales. But Im going to guess you are in a trade (school terms left) and you work in the oil patch. Would be interested to hear more about it

In regards to your net worth I see it as:

Assets
House: $190,000
TFSA: $3700
Cash: $5000
Pension: $40,000

Assets: $238,700

Liabilities:
LOC: $3000 (2.5%)
Credit Card: 0
Mortgage: $160,000
Car: $6500

Liabilities: $169,500

*Networth: $69,200*


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

TK.61 said:


> Good job on becoming financially aware! That is a huge step in sorting out your finances, and becoming financially independent! The car payment does suck, and its good that you realize that. I had one when I was age 18-20 (400/mo + 350 insurance). I couldn't imagine that now! I have friends with car payments larger than my mortgage on a monthly basis; AND they make less money than me. The investing vs mortgage pay down debate seemingly never ends, I am doing a little bit of both. I am curious what career/industry you are in. Large swings in earning has me think your in sales. But Im going to guess you are in a trade (school terms left) and you work in the oil patch. Would be interested to hear more about it


Thanks for the reply TK! I have adjusted my networth on the main post now. I know what you mean about the car payments, 80% of the guys I work with drive big trucks with a >$800/month payment on them. I will probably do what you're doing in terms of mortgage/investing. Ill put more into investments but put extra on mortgage whenever I have a little bit extra. If the interest rates are much higher when I renew in 3 years I will probably try to get it down as fast as I can though. 

I am in trades, I'm a 4th year electrical apprentice. I don't work in the oil patchs though, I work all over Ontario jumping from job to job, normally mines or solar/wind farms.. but we do all sorts of work.. basically whatever we can get! It'd be nice if the Ring of Fire went through though.. then I'd have job security 12 months/yr making over $150,000 for the next 10-25 years. Who knows when that will happen though. Job outlook looks pretty good for the next few years though.


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## dougboswell (Oct 25, 2010)

Your total mortgage is relatively low. You mentioned that you are going back to school. I would not worry about paying down the mortgage at this time. I would suggest putting anything you can into savings to tide you over until you are finished your courses as $450 weekly is really not that much and your monthly liabilities are about $2000 a month. You can track mortgage rates until your renewal. If they are heading up and you have finished school this would be the time to put as much on it as you can in terms of annual lump sum payments and/or increasing your monthly payment


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

Congrats on having your head screwed on so well at a young age FinancialFreedom. You're doing very well and even recognize a couple of the things you've made mistakes on and especially important how to control your spending. 

I suggest investing your money into TFSA first and once topped up contribute to your RRSP especially when you're making the good money. Consider a couch potato investment portfolio (index funds or ETFs when you have more money) instead of stock picking since there is a much higher chance of doing better and it will be vastly simpler. When you have extra money put it against the mortgage. Life begins when you're debt free! My last mortgage was over at age 35 and that was 21 years and 3 houses ago. 

Good luck.


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

dougboswell said:


> Your total mortgage is relatively low. You mentioned that you are going back to school. I would not worry about paying down the mortgage at this time. I would suggest putting anything you can into savings to tide you over until you are finished your courses as $450 weekly is really not that much and your monthly liabilities are about $2000 a month. You can track mortgage rates until your renewal. If they are heading up and you have finished school this would be the time to put as much on it as you can in terms of annual lump sum payments and/or increasing your monthly payment





RBull said:


> Congrats on having your head screwed on so well at a young age FinancialFreedom. You're doing very well and even recognize a couple of the things you've made mistakes on and especially important how to control your spending.
> 
> I suggest investing your money into TFSA first and once topped up contribute to your RRSP especially when you're making the good money. Consider a couch potato investment portfolio (index funds or ETFs when you have more money) instead of stock picking since there is a much higher chance of doing better and it will be vastly simpler. When you have extra money put it against the mortgage. Life begins when you're debt free! My last mortgage was over at age 35 and that was 21 years and 3 houses ago.
> 
> Good luck.


Thanks for the replies! Is there a book that explains the couch potato portfolio? I've heard a lot of ppl talking about it but dont actually know what it is. I've always been interested in researching individual stocks and buying the ones that seem undervalued, but I think I will switch to a couch potato portfolio and maybe just buy certain individual stocks every once in a while. 

Congrats on paying of mortgage so fast and being debt free so young. I can't wait to be debt free!

Got some bad news today though, the job I was on ended early, so it looks like I'll be laid off from now until im done school in january. It sucks, but out of my control. I'll have to really budget for the next few months to make sure I don't run out of money. It'll be tough but I'm sure I'll make it! Good news is I have a nice raise around next March to look forward to.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

FinancialFreedom said:


> Thanks for the replies! Is there a book that explains the couch potato portfolio? I've heard a lot of ppl talking about it but dont actually know what it is. I've always been interested in researching individual stocks and buying the ones that seem undervalued, but I think I will switch to a couch potato portfolio and maybe just buy certain individual stocks every once in a while.


http://canadiancouchpotato.com/


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Thanks!


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Hey everyone! First update in nearly 2 years.. and things have changed a lot! Not for the good either lol! So shortly after I made this post I got laid off(which happens quite frequently in my job) but this time I was off for 14 months!! In total, I was off 18 out of 22 months in a row. I was out of ei for 4 of those months, which really hurt. Talking to the older guys, they all said this is the first time this has happened in their lifetimes. The longest they had been off before this was 8-9 months in the early 90's. I did not expect this time off and was not prepared for it at this point in my life, and it ruined my financial position(I did attempt to get some other jobs, but no one wanted to hire knowing I could get a call back to work anytime). I did end up getting my basement completely renovated, and rented, which ended up helping a lot. I also used my time off to learn a new skill and made an android app. I've made around $250/month off that for last 8-9 months now.

I finally got called to work last Sept, and have been working since then. I will probably be laid off in July though. In this time I have tried to pay off as much debt as possible (I racked up a nearly $15,000 LOC while off, just paying bills/finishing basement/no EI), and try to prepare for next time I'm off(luckily the job outlook looks much better this time). My commonlaw gf and I also hope to be buying a new final house soon(big enough to have kids in), and I hope to rent this house completely. 

I'm going to remake my original post with some updates.


*Background Info:*
I'm *25* years old, and have been working at my current job since I was 19. My scenario is a little different then most, as my income changes from year to year. There will be times where I'm laid off *the whole year* , and I have to go back to school for 10 weeks *once more, next March*. The least I'll make is around *30,000* and the most is about 200,000(very rare). I'd say the average is probably about *$75,000* a year, before tax. 

*Assets:*
House: $190,000
TFSA: $4000
Cash: $20,000
Pension: $55,000 (~$800/month if I was to retire today at age 65)
Total: 269,000

*Liabilities:*
LOC: $0 
Credit Card: $0
Mortgage: ~$150,000ish (will confirm when I can)
Car: $0 (Finally paid this sucker off, just as its about to die)
Total: $150,000

Networth: $119,000, though I don't like viewing my house as an asset.

*Monthly Expenses:*
Mortgage: $1100 (with property taxes)
Union Gas: $100
Cable/internet: $160
Water Tank rental: $20
Union Dues: $41
Electric/water: $220
Cell: $80
Car Payment: $0
Insurance: $170
Groceries: $400
Gas: $100

Temporary expenses while I work out of town:
Rent - $750
Gas - $300

Total: $2391 without temp, $3441 while working

*My income over last 5 months(after tax):*
May 1-21: $7000
April: $6568
March: $10,000(2600 income tax return)
Feb: $8700
Jan: $5300
I should mention these aren't including the $200-300 per month from the app. I also forgot to add the $800 per month from apartment into each month.

Going forward I would like to be better prepared for if I'm ever off an extended time again. My SO and I are also looking at buying our final house(big enough for growing family). I am hoping to rent out the upstairs as well as the basement of the current house. My current tenant will be moving out of the basement in the summer so we will be looking for another person to rent to. When I get laid off in July I also have some home renovations I need to do. I'm also going to have to buy a vehicle soon. I'm looking at buying a reliable truck but we will see.

Any tips/advice/criticism greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

Thanks everyone!


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

*June Update*

Well the old vehicle died so I bought a truck! Hurt to spend that much money but I sacrificed a few options I wanted to save a bit of money. I ended up going new since to me it's a better value. Have the full warranty, don't have to worry about how previous owners drove it, and got a lower interest rate. I put $7000 down and financed over 7 years. Hoping to pay it off soon as possible though. Going to take good care of it and hope it lasts 10+ years. Definitely a nice feeling not having a crazy shake any time I go above 80km/hr!

On the work front it looks like I will be laid off in the next week or two as this job is coming to an end. Shouldn't be off nearly as long as last time, but I'm in much better position in case I am. Also able to do some side jobs easier now with the truck so hoping to make some money that way while I'm off. I'm also going to be working on new apps to see if I can create more passive income.

Here is my current position
*Assets:*
House: $190,000
TFSA: $4000
Cash: $25,000
Pension: $65,000 (~$800/month if I was to retire today at age 65)
Truck: $45,000
Total: 329,000

*Liabilities:*
LOC: $0 
Credit Card: $0
Mortgage: $149,000
Truck: $44,000 
Total: $193,000

*Networth:* $136,000, though I don't like viewing my house/vehicle as assets.

Monthly Expenses:
Mortgage: $1100 (with property taxes)
Union Gas: $90
Cable/internet: $160 No longer my bill, gf pays
Water Tank rental: $20
Union Dues: $41
Electric/water: $220 No longer my bill, gf pays
Cell: $80
Car Payment: $520
Insurance: $190
Groceries: $200
Gas: $100

Total: $2341 per month.

My current goal is to be able to live off my income when I am laid off.
That way when I'm working everything is a bonus and can be used to pay off truck loan very fast and start building a bigger nest egg. My current income when laid off is $1800 from ei, and $250 or so from my app(which fluctuates and can stop at any time, I'm actually very surprised I've maintained this income over a 10 month period without any work being done to it).Therefore when I'm off I'm going to try to make an extra income of at least $350. This is not including the $800 per month income from rent as we have no found a tenant for July yet. With any luck we will have it rented by august, which will greatly help.


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## Jimmy (May 19, 2017)

I just looked at your investment assets/cash only. You are young so you should probably aim for a 75/25 % mix of equity/FI investments

I would treat your pension as a fixed income (FI) asset.

So given you already have $65K in FI, you should probably invest the next $195k in equities.
A good split of the equity is into indexes 1/3 in US, CDN and Intl couch potato


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

finFreedom i should have posted a few days ago since my suggestion is quite different from Jimmy.

young though you are, i don't see jumping for 75% of investment savings in equities as appropriate for you. My reason is that your earned income is erratic, unstable & apparently unpredictable at present, although this could change.

on the good side of things, there's nothing inherently wrong with a setup like this, plus you appear to be very flexible & to have adapted very cheerfully to the up-&-down pattern.

$65k already in an RRSP is great. Here you could take advantage of reciprocal tax conventions, aiming long-term to hold US stock investments in RRSP as there will be no withholding tax on US dividends.

what about moving that $25k in cash into a HISA TFSA somewhere. Doesn't have to be the same institution where your current TFSA (the one with $4k) (sounds like a bank-sold TFSA with one or more mutual funds in it) is located. You could probably arrange a no-strings-attached TFSA paying 2.40% at tangerine. There'd be no withdrawal fee if you'd choose to move this registered account somewhere else at any point in the future.

can you commit to regular deposits into your 2 registered accounts. Myself, i'd prioritize the TFSA, i'd only want to contribute to RRSP in years when income was high, certainly not in years when income was low.

the new truck sounds good. Will probably pay off for the job. I'm not sure if it should be included among "Assets" though. Look what happens to the balance sheet if you remove truck but retain its debt payments, gah! not a pretty picture.

for this reason i'm also a bit chilly about buying a bigger better house _tout de suite_. Owning & living in one residence while owning & renting a 2nd residence for investment purposes could appeal to a guy who sounds super handy ... but such a guy ought to stay strictly away from RE associated investments in his eventual investment portfolio.

i'm impressed by the detail about the app rolling along unsupervised & delivering a bit of tasty extra income as she goes. Plus it's a creative outlet, i hope you will keep this up.

.


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## canew90 (Jul 13, 2016)

As I always recommend, check out: http://www.dividendgrowth.ca/dividendgrowth/
Following his strategy we achieved what you seek. You are in much better shape the we as we started late, had no pension and didn't really have a good handle on investing.

I'm often asked what my 18 holds are. Well here's an article by John Heinzl: https://secure.globeadvisor.com/servlet/ArticleNews/story/gam/20170624/RBGIINVESTORCLINIC

Almost all of my holding consist of the ones he's listed. 

Create your own Perfect Dividend ETF:
#1 – select 4 to 6 stocks suggested
#2 – select 4 to 5 stocks suggested
#3 – select 2 to 3 stocks suggested
#4 – select 2 to 3 stocks suggested
#5 – select 2 to 3 stocks suggested

One would then hold between 14 to 20 good dividend growth stocks with no fees, no reason to sell or rebalance, and just keep adding to those, ignoring all others. Then sit back and watch your income grow over time.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

canew90 said:


> As I always recommend, check out: http://www.dividendgrowth.ca/dividendgrowth/
> Following his strategy we achieved what you seek. You are in much better shape the we as we started late, had no pension and didn't really have a good handle on investing.
> 
> I'm often asked what my 18 holds are. Well here's an article by John Heinzl: https://secure.globeadvisor.com/servlet/ArticleNews/story/gam/20170624/RBGIINVESTORCLINIC
> ...


Not unlike my portfolio either although I don't own many consumer discretionary stocks (i.e., grocery chains). I also own more than 10% U.S. stocks, closer to 30% U.S. in my portfolio; a combo of blue-chip stocks and U.S.-listed ETF for extra diversification.


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Thanks everyone for the replies! Lots of great advice!
I should have been more clear, the $4,000 is in a self directed questrade tfsa in which I follow the Canadian couch potato portfolio! I currently have it invested as the "Cautious" model shows (55% bonds, 15% canada, 30% all countries exc canada). I have it like this as I thought with the market so high I should be more cautious, then when it corrects I would switch to a more aggressive model. The reason I have only $4,000 invested and $25,000 in cash is exactly like humble mentioned, my income is so sporadic I need to keep a larger fund available for when I am laid off. The long term goal is to keep $10,000 in an emergency fund for the rental property, and $20,000 for times when I'm laid off. The rest will go into investments. Moving the amount into a higher interest tfsa at Tangerine is a very good idea that I will look into! Thanks!



My pension is actually a dpp and not an rrsp. Because we generally contribute so much into it I have no room to contribute into an rrsp. (I wasn't even aware my workplace pension affected my rrsp contributions until last year when to my surprise my contribution room was 0) I am hoping to max out my tfsa room over the next few years and then I'll have to look into other account types.

Thanks for the links about dividend growth portfolios! I'll def take a look! My current goal was to get enough invested in the 3 funds for couch potato that each fund could DRIP a share, but I will look into the fund you linked. 

One major concern I've had and continue to have is being able to contribute regularly. From my understanding the point of couch potato/dividend is to buy on a regular basis, so you're buying more shares when it drops low to even out the losses when you buy high. My problem is with the irregular income is it's hard to buy on a regular basis, so I'm scared then when I'm working and able to contribute, and the market is high, I'm missing out on a lot of gains when I'm laid off and the market is low but I can't contribute. Does anyone have any tips or ideas to help offset this?

Thanks!


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

finFreedom re the $25k into a TFSA HISA account, i meant _that_ to be the emergency fund! a tangerine promotional TFSA HISA at 2.40% for 6 months can be totally or partially withdrawn at any moment with no fee or penalty. 

in effect, a no-fee HISA TFSA can be an emergencly account with benefits such as a) no tax on income plus b) slight psychological barrier against withdrawing for any reason other than a truly dire emergency.

i also intended the idea of focusing heavily on a HISA TFSA as a temporary strategy for the present period only. I gather you are an apprentice electrician in his 4th/final year, therefore facing uneven employment opportunities & unstable income for starters. That's why it seemed, to myself at least, that putting a protective blanket of emergency HISA TFSA in place for a few years made good sense.

as income stabilizes & the layoff periods hopefully grow fewer & shorter, you'd move towards growth investing plus you'd be thinking of buying that bigger family home.


* * * * *

re your work DPP, i'm not sure what this entails. Does it mean your employer invests only in its own shares if these are publicly traded? this brings alone one set of problems. Is it a genuine retirement account? do you have any say over what your dpp account can hold for you?

i ask because the official retirement account is where you'd want to migrate towards USD investments, if possible. This in turn would mean a lowering of US investments in other type accounts, including in TFSA where US investments are taxed (by the US) unfavourably. Would you be able to look into all this with your DPP when you have some time?

in your case, the dollar amount of US NR tax on your foreign allocation investments in TFSA at present is not significant - you've mentioned you're currently holding 30% of $4,000 in a foreign couch potato allocation, so not to worry about a smidgin.

however, long-term, as accounts grow bigger, it's a good idea to be mindful of tax consequences. One should aim to put the correct square pegs into the correct square taxation holes, so to speak.


* * * * *

the most difficult question to answer is your last, re market timing. You ask if you should invest when you have income but markets are high? or should you wait until markets are low, when you might happen to be laid off & have no extra income to spare?

no one can answer this difficult question. What occurs to me is whether you might like to consider income from your app as income that could & should be deposited immediately into investment accounts. Thus income earned as an electrician would be spared. Only as it - income from the trade - would accumulate, would it be shifted into investment accounts.

i do realize that what i'm suggesting means 2 TFSAs. Your present one at questrade plus a new HISA TFSA to stash the emergency $$. As for new contributions, my hope would be that you'd contribute to both.

best of luck. Overall, i can see that you have a good sense of financial management, along with a wonderful ability to recover quickly from setbacks.

.


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Sorry for late reply!

That's a good idea humble, although since I already have a tangerine account I believe the best interest rate I can receive is .9% currently. I have had a few changes as noted below in the last few months, but will definitely put a good cushion in a tangerine tfsa when it settles.
As far as the workplace pension, I'm not 100% sure what its invested in. I have contacted them for a document showing exactly what it is invested in, but all I know is it is invested in low risk, diversified investments. I have no control over what they invest in as they pool all contributions together, then when I am set to retire I get a set amount per month.

*August Update*

Well we decided to buy a new house. I decided to sell my current house instead of renting it out as it is hard for me to be a good landlord when I'm constantly working out of town, often times with no cell service. I was also laid off from my last job at the end of June, but I worked 2 weeks at a different job. I am now back to being laid off, though I should be back within a few months. My app's income has dropped off this past month, and I don't expect it to pick back up. I may try to make a new app while I am off.

I went over all my pension paystubs to get a more accurate figure, and it turns out I was a little off with my last update, so this update shows those differences. I am also going to show the numbers as if the closing dates have past, and with the bills of the new house, even though we don't move in for a couple more weeks. I spent a lot of time going through all the numbers and making spreadsheets before purchasing to make sure we could afford it, so hopefully everything goes okay! 

Another cool update is I have completed all my hours for my apprenticeship, and just need to school once more(in the new year) before I can write the exam! This comes with a nice 25% pay raise, unfortunately it also seems to come with longer times off at times.

I'd also like to point out that this only shows my income. My gf income is not included.

*Age:*25

*Assets:*
House: $290,000
TFSA: $5500
Cash: $36,000 (counting the $26,000 from sale of current house and subtracting $10,000 from downpayment)
Pension: $56,000 (~$1050/month if I was to retire today at age 65)
RRSP: $1500 (I forgot about this rrsp account I set up a while ago with Investors Group, anyone know how I can transfer this account to my questrade account?)
Truck: $45,000 (0.9% interest)
Total: $434,000

*Liabilities:*
LOC: $0 
Credit Card: $0
Student Loan: $4000 (Forgot about this, got in while in trade school, 0% and no payments until become journeyman)
Mortgage: ~$280,000 (with cmhc included)
Truck: $44,900 
Total: $324,900

*Networth: *$109,100. though I don't like viewing my house/vehicle as assets.

*Household Monthly Expenses:*
Mortgage: $1340 (Accelerated Bi-weekly)
Property Taxes: $450 ( no payment in Nov or Dec)
Union Gas: $130 (union gas and electric is based off the previous owners 12 months, so may go up slightly)
Cable/internet: $150 
Electric/water: $120
House Insurance: $100
TOTAL: $2290

*My Monthly Expenses:*
Union Dues: $41
Cell: $80
Car Payment: $520
Car Insurance: $130
Groceries: $200
Gas: $100
Gym: $25
TOTAL: $1096

The bills work slightly different now that my girlfriend and I bought this house together rather then just me. Basically when I'm not working, we both pay 50% of household, and when I am working we split them 70/30.
So when I'm not working my monthly expenses are $1145 Household plus $1096 personal. Which brings my total to $2241.
When I am working the total goes up to $2703.

My earnings while laid off are $2100 from ei, and $100-$150 from app.

YTD Earnings: ~$91,800
YTD Work pension contributions: $13,500

Going forward, I will be putting around $5000 into my questrade account. I will use this 5000 to equally purchase more shares of my couchpotato portfolio. This way I don't need to worry about whether the market is up or down, I will have the money in there whether I'm working or not and buy somewhere between $200-$500 per month(yet to decide how much per month I should actually buy). I will always try to keep at least $4000 in my chequing account(so I don't pay the $15/month fee), and $20,000 in the tangerine tfsa, for times when I'm off for extended periods of time. 

I will also look at paying off the student loan, just so I don't forget about it again when I become a journeyman. My long term goal is to pay off the truck, and pray it lasts 15 years lol. I want to grow my questrade account as much as possible and max out my tfsa in the next 5-7 years. I would also like to make extra payments on the house when possible, but need to find a balance between making extra payments and saving for future kids/wedding and contributing to TFSA account.

Any advice greatly appreciated. I know a lot of people would have advised against the new truck and house, and it was very hard to take the big leap, but I needed a reliable vehicle for all the back roads I travel for work, and I'm hoping it lasts well past the payoff date. The house is something we needed to do as a family, for more space, and we are in agreement that this is the forever home, so at least I don't have to worry about this again in the future.

Thanks for reading!


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## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

Other than really negligible purchase, the missus and I always talk about the purpose of what we buy. If you're going to fully use and get value out of your new truck and place, IMO, spending the money isn't necessarily a bad thing. While a little discomfort isn't necessarily a bad thing, IMO, I don't think it's worth being extremely unhappy or risk being caught in a bad situation for the sake of saving at full tilt. It is a personal decision though so you do have to make that evaluation the trade-off of what you gain today versus delaying the growth of tomorrow.


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

I agree milhouse!


*October Update*

Well we are all moved into the new house! Sold the previous house and got a bit of money from that which was nice, a couple unexpected expenses when moving into new house (built a fence, changed bunch of lights/switches, dishwasher died so bought a new one, ect), but hopefully those are all done now! I'm still laid off, but I'm hoping to go back within the next 2 months (I have to go to school in March, so I want to get atleast a few months of work in before I am off for another 3 months).

I have also taken the advice from this thread and transferred $15,000 to tangerine to take advantage of their 2.75% interest rate (unfortunately only for 3 months).

I have also transferred a bit more into my questrade account, so I am able to make $200/month contributions into my Couch Potato portfolio.

Here are the numbers

Age:25

Assets:
House: $290,000
Questrade Trading TFSA: $5000 cash, $2400 invested
Tangerine TFSA: $15,358
Cash: $10,000
Pension: $56,000 (~$1050/month if I was to retire today at age 65)
RRSP: $1500 (I forgot about this rrsp account I set up a while ago with Investors Group, anyone know how I can transfer this account to my questrade account?)
Truck: $45,000 (0.9% interest)
Joint account for house bills: $2500 (2 months worth of bills)
Total: $427,758

Liabilities:
LOC: $0 
Credit Card: $0
Student Loan: $4000 (Forgot about this, got in while in trade school, 0% and no payments until become journeyman)
Mortgage: ~$280,000 (with cmhc included)
Truck: $44,000 
Total: $324,000

Networth: $103,758


Going forward I would like to minimize expenses as much as possible until I get back to work. Once I do get back to work I will pay off my $4000 student loan, and continue contributions into my quest trade account. 

I would like to keep $15,000 in a Tangerine TFSA for emergencies when I am laid off, I might grow this to $20,000 when I go back to work. I am keeping $10,000 in my normal account for monthly expenses, if this drops to $5000 before I go back to work, I will transfer $5000 from Tangerine to top it back up.

Any suggestions? One question I have is I was reading somewhere that it is not good to keep a couch potato portfolio in your TFSA as its not taking advantage of the low dividend tax you would be paying if it were in a non registered account? Any tips for that, should I be switching some of my accounts around? I'm not sure what my contribution room is, but I currently have approximately $22,500 in TFSAs.

Thanks for reading!


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## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

Are you maxed out on your TFSA and RRSP yet? If so, are you looking at your overall portfolio holistically? Generally, you'd want to max out on your registered accounts (TFSA, RRSP) first then overflow into non-registered. Then I would think you would consider breaking out components of your overall couch potato portfolio into the different accounts based on the tax advantages of each. 
Personally, I'm slowly restructuring to this where I'm hoping to hold my Canadian dividend growers in my non-registered account, US holdings primarily in my RRSP, and everything else (Int, EM, and Bonds funds) mixed between my RRSP and TFSA. However, in the mean time, my TFSA and DC pension are a full mix.


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## Thal81 (Sep 5, 2017)

+1 to what milhouse said. There's no need to bother with asset allocation between the different types of accounts until your TFSA/RRSP are full. You already pay no tax in a TFSA, so the dividend tax credit amounts to nothing. It's only when you must buy non-registered investments that optimization is helpful to minimize taxes you have to pay yearly on distributions.


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Thanks for the replies! My TFSA is definitely not maxed yet, I'm not sure exactly how to tell how much I have contributed, taken out, and recontributed (I probably should have been keeping track since I was 18 so I know exactly) but I know it's not at the max yet. My RRSP contribution room is normally 0 or very low due to my high pension. Good idea with the way you are restructuring yours milhouse. Once I get close to maxing out my TFSA I will do the same.

Should I be worried about holding a fund like XAW.to in my TFSA? Seeing as there is no Canadian companies in the fund and I believe the TFSA is meant for only certain Canadian investments? (Some people at work were telling me about how they had to pay a penalty or something because they were holding a stock that did not qualify to be in a tfsa?)


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## Thal81 (Sep 5, 2017)

Couple tips:

1- Make sure you don't bust your TFSA contribution room or the CRA will come after you for taxes. The amount of room left I believe may be on your federal tax return papers (same papers that tell you your RRSP room), but for sure you can find it in your Canadian Revenue Agency My Account website. The data may be only up to date since your last tax return though, so keep in mind any contribution you have done so far this year.

2- You said your income was very variable, depending on years. To get the most out of your RRSP, make sure you contribute only those years where you are in the high tax brackets. This way you get big fat tax returns, otherwise RRSP contributions are a bit wasted. Also I doubt your contribution room is 0 even with a pension, you should check this.

3- I don't see any problem with holding XAW in your TFSA... It's an ETF of foreign stocks traded in Canadian dollars on the Toronto Stock Exchange, so it's fine for sure. As for the allocation itself, your TFSA is probably the best place to put it, so you're good on that front. The reason is you would have to pay income taxes on distributions if it was in a non-registered account, without any dividend tax credit because they're not Canadian companies. You would be able to recover some witholding taxes if it was elsewhere, but that's another big discussion, just know that you're better off with this in your TFSA until it's full.


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Thanks for the tips Thal! Very handy knowing I could look at CRA account to find the numbers, I didn't realize that! After looking, it appears I have around $28,000 more contribution room in my TFSA, so I should be good there for a while. I also found my rrsp room on there, it appears to be $300 for this year, so I will contribute that near the end of the year to take advantage of the tax refund as this year was my highest income to date.

Perfect, thanks for clearing up the tfsa holdings!


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## redsgomarching (Mar 6, 2016)

Looking good Financial Freedom! Be sure to get that TFSA maxed asap as others have said! As long as you are in this line of work and accumulating DB pension your own RRSP is probably negligible so the TFSA will help you shelter some nice gains!


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

August Update

Been a while since I updated! I ended up being laid off for longer then expected. But went to school and completed my apprenticeship so I am now completely licensed.
I have been slacking with my investments as I tried to start an online business while I was off. I also did a complete kitchen reno which cost quite a bit.

Let's update some numbers and see where we are and how I can improve!

Age:26

Assets:
House: $310,000
Questrade Trading TFSA: $9300 total - $4300 cash, $5000 invested (made some questionable investments that lost me some money.. I need to stick to index investing I think. My index funds are doing good besides the bonds one which is down 2%)
Tangerine TFSA: $700
Chequing account: $16,000
Pension: $63000 (~$1150/month if I was to retire today at age 65)
RRSP: $1500 
Truck: $36000 
Joint account for house bills: $3500 (3 months worth of bills)

Business account: ~$7000
*Total: $447000*

Liabilities:
LOC: $0 
Credit Card: $0
Student Loan: $0 (finally paid this off before having to make an interest payment lol)
Mortgage: ~$279,000 (my last update was off, this is accurate, just got statement in the mail recently)
Truck: $38,700
*Total: $317,700*

*Networth: $129,300*


I'm not happy with my progress during the past 9 months. It was unfortunate being laid off for so long and having to go to school for 3 months, but at least I won't have to do that again. I am seriously considering applying to other jobs where I would hopefully not be laid off as much/long. They would be a pay cut per hour but I think it would even out over the long term.

Going forward I would like to continue with my previous goals of maxing out my TFSA and paying off debt quicker. I would also like to grow my online business. To date it has profited approx $1500-$2000.

I'm going to continue contributing to my canadian couch potato portfolio and hopefully get better at valuing other companies.
Any tips greatly appreciated! Thanks!


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

December update:
I'm bad at updating this on a regular basis! 
Heres some updated numbers then I will go over what I would like to improve on and future plans.

Age:26

*Assets:*
House: $315,000
Questrade Trading TFSA: $11,000 total - $4300 cash, $6600 invested (most of my investments have been losing some money lately, but that is okay because I have been buying more while the funds are down.)
Questrade RRSP: $4000 cash (I just put $2500 in there recently after noticing I actually have contribution room this year. Thought it would be a good idea to bring down my taxable income a bit)
Tangerine TFSA: $21,000 (I put this in here for now to take advantage of the 3% interest for 6 months)
Chequing account: $12,000
Pension: $70,000 (~$1250/month if I was to retire today at age 65)(this is an estimate, I will get my official statement in the new year)
Truck: $35000
Joint account for house bills: $4500 (3-4 months worth of bills)

Business account: ~$0
*Total: $473,000* including house and depreciating truck

*Liabilities:*
LOC: $0 
Credit Card: $0
Mortgage: ~$275,000 (dang this drops slowly first few years)
Truck: $36,000
*Total: $311,000*

*Networth: $162,000*

This year was a good year in terms of income, but I am now laid off again. I'm hoping to not be off more then a few months. I have decided to get my fiance and I a trip for January as a Christmas gift, but I have already paid for that so it is not reflected in the numbers above. I am relatively happy with this update, as I tried to regularly add money to my investments, and greatly cut back on spending. Although I did do another major home reno which cost a few thousand.

I am slightly worried about some major expenses going forward, such as our wedding and stag and doe, and kids shortly after that, but I think we will be okay. It will be an adjustment to budget with kids, especially with trying to convince my wife! My business slowed to a crawl while I was working and I kind of let it die, but now that I am off I will probably try to start it back up again. 

I am thinking of starting to make extra payments towards the mortgage, as I know it helps take a lot of time off of it. I am always too worried about how long I will be off for though. If I go back to work soon I will definitely start doubling up payments. For now I am going to try to keep expenses to a minimum while I'm off, and work on paying off the wedding.

I also wish I knew better ways to get a higher tax return. Just based off my working income I would get $14000 back this year, but as soon as I file with my spouse and add in the EI that I collected/have to pay back, it brings it below $4000. Depressing.

Any advice greatly appreciated!


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## Dilbert (Nov 20, 2016)

You’re doing really well for your age. Why so much in the chequing account, probably earning you peanuts? Why not park a chunk of it in an EQ or Tangerine HISA?


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

great history & thread. You are certainly a young person flying on all engines!

a tiny reminder though. Don't forget about your student loan, it was $4k a while ago & you mentioned you keep forgetting about it. 

now that you've graduated & are licensed, doesn't that student loan becomes payable w interest pretty soon? what will be the interest rate? how about using some of that $12k in chequing account to pay down/pay off student loan as soon as it becomes due? afaik there's a grace period of a few months after graduation but then they will lower the interest rate boom heavily.

no point receiving 3% in tangerine TFSA while having to pay 2-3 percentage points higher on student loan

i also sense that the uneven income, with long periods of layoff, is starting to wear on you ever so slightly. You have been wonderfully cheerful about adapting to several years of it. But are there other employers that could offer more permanent employment? are you highly specialized in the nuclear industry? what about residential construction, surely that must be going on all over northern ontario, does it require a separate license? i would hope not

mille félicitations on the upcoming wedding & the even-sooner upcoming vacation trip in january


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Thanks for the replies guys!

@Dilbert: I generally like to keep a bit higher amount in my chequing account when I'm laid off, as it tends to drop quickly sometimes. Now that I have a joint account for bills with my fiance though I probably don't need to keep more then $5,000 in my chequing account. I will transfer some more to my TFSA in Tangerine to take advantage of the higher interest rates!

@humble_pie: I actually paid off that student loan in my previous update! I finally remembered haha. In terms of the uneven income and long layoff periods, it is definitely wearing on me, especially as it is all out of town work so I am away from my family a lot. I have been thinking about applying to local jobs for a while now, but it's hard to get over the fact I would make less money while working the full year. I will definitely apply in the near future though, when we start having kids. Until then I am going to try to hit a few more big jobs to make as much money as possible before then. It will be nice once I have a stable income, it will make it much easier to plan my life out.

In terms of RRSP investments, is the couch potato portfolio a good one to follow in rrsp as well? I follow it in my TFSA portfolio, but have no experience with RRSP and tax implications in it.

Thanks!


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Not sure you want to tie the investing strategy to tax implications ... the strategy is aimed at best method to grow the investments, right?


For the RRSP, it is the similar to the TFSA in that any buys/sells within the account have no tax implication. When making the RRSP contribution, either withholding taxes then final taxes were waived or if withholding taxes on the source funds were charged, the RRSP deduction reduces income to potentially have a rebate of taxes. Either way one is able to use funds that would have been paid in tax.

The RRSP is tax deferred so that when one withdraws, not matter how the $$ were made (i.e. preferred tax treatment for capital gains or eligible dividends) - withholding taxes may be applied to the withdrawal and depending on one's final income, more income tax could be charged or a rebate could be coming where one overpaid.

The key idea that can make the RRSP work well is if income in retirement is lower than income now. Early retirement can help with this by providing a period of low income, before private/public pensions start paying income. 


Cheers


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

ummmm how about deleting the above post, it's a direct incitement to crime

bozo has got a similar post advertising his counterfeit currencies in another thread, how about banning mister bozo? it may be december 24th today but this is not bethlehem & he's not joseph-&-mary looking for a stable in a hurry, there's no reason to offer a manger imho



EDIT 2 HRS LATER: my goodness that was quick, no sooner did i post (above) than the Mystery Midnight Moderator zapped the offending spam, leaving no trace in bethlehem

_"all is calm all is bright"_


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

*May update:*

Time for another update!

Age:27

*Assets:*
House: $320,000
Questrade TFSA: $12,250 total - $2500 cash, $9700 invested (My couch potato investments are up, VCN 4%, XAW 6.5%, and ZAG 0.3%.. my 2 individual stocks are down.. a lot.. lol don't know why I get roped into buying small cap stocks that might make it big)
Questrade RRSP: $4000 cash (I still haven't invested in anything yet, been slacking)
Tangerine TFSA: $1,000 (I just withdrew the money I had in this account, hoping to get another 3% offer from them soon.)
Chequing account: $27,000
Pension: $74,000 (~$1350/month before taxes if I was to retire today at age 66) (As of December 2018)
Truck: $35000
Joint account for house bills: $4500 (3-4 months worth of bills)

Business account: ~$800 (still getting around $150/month from app)
Total: $478,500 including house and depreciating truck

*Liabilities:*
LOC: $0 
Credit Card: $0
Mortgage: ~$272,000 
Truck: $32,000
Total: $304,000

*Networth:* $174,500

I have recently gone back to work, though it's a very small job and I'm not sure how long I will be here. This year will be bad in terms of income compared to the previous 2 years.

The cruise we went on was awesome! Unfortunately it was a bit more expensive then I was hoping. We also booked our honeymoon while on board, so we will have to pay for that as well as the wedding this year. We have been trying to pay for the wedding expenses bit by bit so it's not such a huge hit.

The home renos seem to be never ending. I am trying to cut back on them but they really make the fiance happy :nevreness:
We also just paid $4000 for our insurance for the year, so atleast that's one less monthly payment. 

I'm still worried about how expensive kids are, and how we are going to make that work.

I also don't think I'm optimizing my money properly. I would like to have $10,000 in cash and have the rest invested. I don't think I should put it all in the stock market as it is quite high right now, though I am regularly contributing to it. I was happy with the 3% from Tangerine but that ended, so I took it out hoping for a new offer. I wonder about making extra mortgage payments but not sure. I did make an extra $2000 payment towards my truck last month. 

Any other ideas greatly appreciated!


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## scorpion_ca (Nov 3, 2014)

What are the interest rates on your mortgage and auto loan? If it is more than 3%, I would pay the debt instead of investing since the market is high at present.


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Hey Scorpion!
My current interest rates are 2.89% on mortgage and 0.99% on the auto loan. I think I will start making some extra payments towards the mortgage.


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## Gruff403 (Jan 30, 2019)

Hey Financial Freedom you are an under 30 year old with a net worth around $175 K. Exceptional. Keep it going. My philosophy is not to rush to pay down mortgage with an interest rate so low and rather take that extra payment and buy some quality blue chip stock. You can can get over 4.5% with BNS today and they usually give you a raise twice a year. Kids are expensive but so worth it! Well done.


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Wow, been 11 months since last update! 

Age:28

*Assets:*
House: $330,000
Questrade TFSA: $20,400 total - $10,400 cash, $10,000 market value (Almost all of my investments are down, but have been trying to buy more over last few weeks to lower average price.. have made a few questionable investments, but learned valuable lessons  )
Questrade RRSP: $4800 invested in index ETFs
Tangerine TFSA: $2500 I'm essentially using this as a small emergency fund
Chequing account: $8000
Pension: 84,000 (~$1550/month before taxes if I was to retire today at age 66) (As of December 2018)
Truck: $25000
Joint account for house bills: $6800 (yearly insurance payment coming out soon though)

Business account: ~$3500 (have not been conducting any business lately, still get monthly payments from app I created, but if this business wasn't so complicated to close it wouldn't be here anymore)

Total: $485,000 including house and depreciating truck

*Liabilities:*
LOC: $0
Credit Card: $0
Mortgage: ~$261,000
Truck: $23,000
Total: $284,000

*Networth:* $201,000

Not overly happy with how little my savings/networth went up in the past year, although I did make extra payments on truck loan and mortgage. Hopefully I can increase my savings amount and return on investment over the next year.

We officially got married! Which was a good time. Also went on our honeymoon (we lucked out and just missed the covid 19 crisis). While on board we booked another trip for summer 2021, although we may still cancel it. We are working on trying to expand our family a bit now  hopefully that doesnt effect finances too too much.

Still working on some home renos, although nothing too expensive.

This year I am hoping to continue contributing to my investments while paying down truck. I am currently trying to add some reit etfs to my portfolio as I don't have any exposure to real estate currently.

Any other ideas greatly appreciated!


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## fireseeker (Jul 24, 2017)

FinancialFreedom said:


> I am currently trying to add some reit etfs to my portfolio as I don't have any exposure to real estate currently.


I don't think that's true. About 40% of your net worth is in real estate -- your house! 
And it's leveraged, thanks to the mortgage.

At your asset level, I'd personally not sweat individual securities. Broad-market ETFs are your friend.

Good luck with the family!


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

Look at that, exactly 11 months later and here I am again.

Age: 29

*Assets:*
_*House:*_ $370,000+ (housing market has gone crazy here, no idea who's buying them all)
_*Questrade TFSA*_: $29,500 total - I'm currently at about 33% cash, 33% invested in VGRO, 33 % individual stocks, buying more VGRO every 2 weeks and individual stocks as I find companies that I consider over valued (hard to find right now)
*Questrade RRSP*: $6400 invested in index ETFs, I did not add anything this year as I had a low income year, I will likely contribute more this year as I'm on pace to make more
*Tangerine TFSA:* $6000 - I've still been using this as an emergency fund in case I am laid off, but am now planning on either putting more in investments or putting more on my truck as it looks like ill be working for at least the next 6 months.
*Chequing account*: $6500
*Pension:* $100,000 - Have not received statement in the mail yet this year but will update when it comes in, I suspect it should be around $100,000, which I believe is $1800 per month if I were to retire at age 66 (If I pull it at 63 I lose 9%, if I pull it at 60 I lose 27%)
*Truck:* $15,000 - No idea what truck is worth currently, 2017 with 30k km so maybe $20,000 but I don't plan on selling till it dies on the side of the road lol
*Joint account for house bills:* $6200 (yearly insurance payment coming out soon though)

Total: $540,000 including house and depreciating truck

*Liabilities:*
LOC: $0
Credit Card: $0
Mortgage: ~$250,000
Truck: $10,500
Total: $260,500

*Networth:* $279,000

Closed out the business account finally!

Still not happy with savings rate over the past year, but I am happy with the extra payments I've made on truck, finally getting close to paying it off. Can't wait to not have that monthly payment.

We've had a lot of medical problems this year, wife almost died from pregnancy complication and we lost the baby. This took a big toll on both of us mentally and a bit financially, though we are sure grateful we live in Canada. Not sure what the future brings yet in this aspect.

Still working on some home renos, seems like they are never ending..

My goals for this year are to pay off the truck completely, and start saving more. When I make these posts I always wonder if I have too much cash just sitting around. With this update I have abouit $22,000 between my accounts that isn't invested or doing anything. I wonder sometimes if I should just pay off the truck now.

Any suggestions? Thanks for reading!


[/QUOTE]


fireseeker said:


> I don't think that's true. About 40% of your net worth is in real estate -- your house!
> And it's leveraged, thanks to the mortgage.
> 
> At your asset level, I'd personally not sweat individual securities. Broad-market ETFs are your friend.
> ...


Thanks for this reply, I forgot to respond to it! It was a great point and I did decide to avoid any reits because of it! I do still invest in individual securities when I see something seemingly over-valued. I think it's more because I love doing the research and trying to do custom discounted cash flow analysis though. I want to always have at least 50% of my portfolio in VGRO though.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Great call on VGRO. Is that all in your TFSA and RRSP? I see/hear of more millennials embracing the merits of all-in-one ETFs.

What is your pension again? DC and DB?

Great work....


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## FinancialFreedom (Aug 18, 2015)

My Own Advisor said:


> Great call on VGRO. Is that all in your TFSA and RRSP? I see/hear of more millennials embracing the merits of all-in-one ETFs.
> 
> What is your pension again? DC and DB?
> 
> Great work....


Yes that's all in my TFSA and RRSP. Mostly TFSA. Hopefully I'll be able to max it out soon.
I'm not really sure what DC and DB are actually. I believe my pension is DB, as I get a specific amount in retirement, but not sure if it would be defined contribution or not. For every hour I work my employer puts a certain amount in as part of my wage package, but I have no option to put more in, so it sounds like it would be defined contribution?

Time for another update! 

Age: 29

*Assets:*
_*House:*_ $450,000
_*Questrade TFSA*_: $32,000 
*Questrade RRSP*: $7000
*Chequing account*: $9000
*Pension:* $100,000 - I over-estimated this last time around. It was around $85,000. After this year it will be around $100,000, which is the equivalent to roughly $1800/month if I were to retire at 66.
*Truck:* $15,000 I recently seen a few trucks similar to mine sell for $25-30,000 due to a massive shortage of trucks, but as I said I plan on keeping this one as long as possible. 
*Joint account for house bills:* $5000

Total: $618,000 including house and depreciating truck

*Liabilities:*
LOC: $0
Credit Card: $0
Mortgage: ~$240,000
Total: $240,000

*Networth:* $378,000

This update brings some great news that my wife got pregnant again! Very stressful but almost there now, 2 more months till the baby is here! She's a trooper

This post was a little frustrating to make, as I thought I had been doing a lot better saving in TFSA, but it appears my accounts didn't go up much or at all since the last update. It made me think back and remember that we had a large expense; $13,000 for a new heat pump (pregnant wife needed AC lol). I also paid off my truck finally, started another small side business, and still doing some small home renos. Since paying off the truck I have been adding 20-30% of every cheque to my TFSA, and really want to max it out ASAP. I'm glad I make these posts as it holds me accountable.

Going forward I'm hoping to build my emergency fund/available cash back up a bit, especially since my wife will be off for 18 months with lower income. I also think I will try to put some money into my RRSP this year, as it will be a good year for my income. My overall goal is to retire as early as possible, hopefully 50-55. In order to do this I have to work as much as possible to build my pension up, while also saving enough to bridge the gap between when I retire and when I can actually pull the pension. I haven't really done the math to see what the number that I'll need is yet, but I imagine it will be over a million, so I have a long way to go!

Thanks for reading!


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