# Race to Financial Independence



## Guigz

Hello,

I am a long time lurker and recently started posting here. 

I plan to retire early ( in the sense that I dont want to HAVE to work to live my life the way I want to) possibly as early as 35-40. I would like your input on whether what I want is possible.

I am 26 Y/O and this is my situation.

Married, S/O is 27 Y/O. We both have secure jobs with defined benefit pensions. 

We gross about 135,000$- 140,000$ per annum with potential for growth up to 160,000$ in the next 3 years (very safe bet, unless we change to lower paying jobs). 

We bought a new house in 2009 that we plan to stay in until we are too old to care for it (or it becomes too expensive to maintain). We also plan to have kids in 3-4 years.

*Assets:*
- House 330,000$ (purchase price in 2009)
- RRSP 15,000$ in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA 10,000$ in index funds (TD-e series)
- Defined Benefit pension cash value: 46,000$
- Emergency fund : 12,000$ (ING savings Account)
- Vacation fund : 600$ 
- Cash: 10,000 $ (we plant to buy a car so this will used)
-Car : Worth 6000-7000$
*Total:* 435,000$


*Liabilities:*
- Mortgage 206,000$ (year 1.75 of 5 @ 3.65% fixed with 35 amortization)
- Student loans 8,000$ ( we both have bachelors and masters)
- HPB loan 3,000$ 
- Pensionable Service buyback 3,000-6,000$ (assessment is ongoing)

*Total:* 223,000$

*Monthly net Income:* about 7,150$

*Monthly expenses:*
- Mortgage (we pay extra each payment. It varies but we average around this amount) 3,600$ 
- Municipal Taxes (Home and school) 500$
- Utilities (heat, electricity, internet, phone, cell): 200$
- Restaurant, booze, fun : 240$
-Car (parking, gas, insurance) - 320$
-Home improvement/maintenance - 300$
- Investments (RRSP, TSFA) : - 700$
- Vacation Savings : - 200$
- Food and supplies : - 500$

*Total:* 6,560$

The unnacounted money accumulates in our transaction account and we do something with it when it reaches a sizable amount (Ie: sometimes pay even more on mortgage, sometimes we invest, sometimes we buy stuff for the house).

In the next few weeks, we are planning to replace our current and only car with a new one that corresponds to our needs better (its a 2 door coupe which is not really compatible with transporting 2x4's and bags of soil). All my previous cars were used and I did not have so great of an experience with maintenance issues. I would like to buy a new car, take care of it and keep it for 10+ years. 

The car we are planning to buy is about 25,000$ all in. If we get about 6-7,000$ for our current car (a pretty safe bet) we are looking at financing 18,000-19,000$. we could pay cash but the dealer has offered to finance the car at 0% for 36 months and the total price of the car is the same whether we finance or not(according to CarCost Canada, the dealer makes a 500$ profit on the car at the price sold). 

We would be looking at an increase of about 4-500$ per month in car costs (surprisingly, our insurance will be 10$ / month cheaper though).

The overarching plan is to finish paying the house 5 years from now (total 7 years of amortization) and then focus on accumulating assets.

With regards to investments: I have maxed my RRSP and I plan to max it each year. As my salary increases, I will also max my TSFA (currently contribute about 60% of max each year). My wife's RRSP is not maxed and she as no plans to max it same for her TSFA. She is open to the idea of early retirement but she does not mind having to work longer. 

All input is appreciated.


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## Four Pillars

You are in very good shape financially. Congrats.

Offhand, I don't think your plan is all that realistic - but then again, I'm not sure exactly what your goal is. To be able to not work at all? To be able to work at reduced pay?

You don't have a lot in savings, most of your extra money seems to be going towards paying off the house. Once the house is paid off at age 31? You can then accumulate assets, but it will take longer than 4 years to get to a point where you can semi-retire. 

What you need to do is:

1) Pay off house and then save a lot
2) Convince your wife to keep working.


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## GeniusBoy27

Hmmm, maybe I should put that on table for my wife too.

If you're having kids, you're probably going to have greater future expenses as well, and you won't have had enough time to put together assets to retire properly. Perhaps, you could explain that part of the equation?


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## Guigz

Sorry if I failed to explain properly in my OP. 

When I think of retirement, I think of the ability to work whatever job I want for as little or as much time that I need to. Maybe Semi-Retirement would have been a better term.

Options include:

- Working part time at my current job (60% of the time)
- Finding a job that is more in line with my values
- Starting a business

When I think about it, we really only need to bring in 2000-3000$ to live comfortably once the house is paid off. 

I realize that these numbers will change with kids but I also think that it is possible to raise kids frugally. 

Also, both my wife and I have DB pensions. If worse comes to worst, I only really need capital to tie me over until my pension kicks in.


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## the-royal-mail

Welcome to the forum!

Interesting 1st post. I agree with the responses you've received thus far and have to emphasize that for someone who wants kids, your plan of retirement in 10 years is unrealistic. There are just too many variables between now and then. You could lose your job and DB pension anytime. I've seen it happen many times.

But say you retire at 40. Do you really think you'll be able to live off the money you've saved for the following 35 years? Think about that. Many people think of retirement as their goal, but give very little thought to the years AFTER retirement. You will keep living and needing to eat, replace your cars, have medical expenses, be spending more money because you're at home and bored, more trips etc etc. Then add the uni educations of those kids you want as well as their moving expenses, weddings, first cars etc etc. These things are very costly.


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## Plugging Along

I agree with the others this might not be the most realistic. It sounds like you are both depending on your DB pensions for retirement. This is a catch 22 for DB pensions. Yes, you get a great pension and can retire relatively early (55 with 35 years), but if you're leaving the pension early, you really won't get very much at all . 

Even if you triple or quadraple your net worth in the next 10 - 15 years (which can be a stretch), that wouldn't be enough to retire at such a young age, since alot of it will be from your home. Unless you plan to downgrade into a less expensive home. 

Also, the fact that you plan to have kids, this may severely impact your plans. First, you will lose some of your income potential if either one plans to stay home even for a short time. Secondly, kids cost alot. If you don't plan to stay home with them, then you will most likely have to pay someone to take care of them (unless you're likely and have family that is willing to take them full time), then little people come with a lot of expenses, even for the most frugal person. I could have retired before 40 if we didn't decide to have kids. Now, I'm looking at 55.


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## the-royal-mail

Sorry, I hit the send button before I was finished. But your plan is way too optimistic and does not account for the possibility of adversity such as divorce, disability/health expenses. And if you're living in a $330K house in a neighborhood to match I seriously doubt your kids are going to be too happy with being "raised frugally" while their friends in the same social class are all getting spoiled with nice things.

By all means, try and do it. The best way to reach your goal is to continue fortifying yourself with a wall of cash and assets as you are doing. I wish you all the best with that, but I really think your plan needs to incorporate more pessimism. It looks to me like you are wearing rose-coloured glasses or are living on a different planet to most people.

I apologize for my harshness. Please look past that and focus on my message. I really am impressed with your assets and cash. You've done exceptionally well, let there be no question about that.


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## the-royal-mail

Great post by PA.

P.S. What's a "Race to FI"? You might get more responses with a more meaningful thread title.


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## HaroldCrump

the-royal-mail said:


> P.S. What's a "Race to FI"?


Race to Financial Independence, I guess.


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## MoneyGal

the-royal-mail said:


> Do you really think you'll be able to live off the money you've saved for the following 35 years? Think about that.


Holy frijole. Life expectancy for a Canadian male in good health at age 40 is age 80, not age 75; and fully 50% of Canadian males in good health at age 40 can expect to live beyond age 80...and some will live WAY beyond. 

In fact, a 40-year-old Canadian male in good health stands about a 20% chance of living beyond age 90. 

And his wife can expect to live longer. 

The retirement horizon for someone retiring at 40 is NOT age 75. It should be more like age 90, with provisions to 95 or beyond.


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## Guigz

I am not sure I get the point about the DB pensions. 

The way both our pensions are set up, we get 2% per year (of our best 5 years) fully indexed to CPI. we get a 5% penalty each year that we retire before 60 or 25 years of experience *unless* we wait until 60 where we wont have any penalty. The way I see it, I work 17 years from 23 to 40 (potentially) wait until I turn 60 and then retire on 34% of my best 5 years (indexed between end of employement and retirement too). 

Therefore, I only need 20 years of funds to tie me over before my pension.


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## the-royal-mail

Thank you MG. I appreciate those stats. My point, which you helped illustrate beautifully, was that you never know how long you are going to live and you need to ensure you take as much of this into account as possible. On a DB benefit you have one solid working run and you need to make it count as much as possible. By retiring at 35-40, the OP is depriving themselves of all that pension money. You do need to contribute to the plan to get that lucrative amount calculated on the pension plan website. I wouldn't want to be in my 80s or 90s and peniless with no means to pay for medical and living expenses and no practical ability/desire to go back to work at that age. Need to work and build up as much as possible now.


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## Guigz

Thanks for input Royal.

Again, I believe that I did not explain my concept of retirement in the first post post. Full retirement at 40 would be a pipe dream. I do think that partial retirement (work part time ) would perfectly contend me until I have accumulated enough assets.


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## Four Pillars

Guigz said:


> Thanks for input Royal.
> 
> Again, I believe that I did not explain my concept of retirement in the first post post. Full retirement at 40 would be a pipe dream. I do think that partial retirement (work part time ) would perfectly contend me until I have accumulated enough assets.


If you continue to make good money and save a lot - then 40 might be realistic for going to part-time.

This type of planning is very difficult because you really have to guess at the future. Nonetheless, there is nothing wrong with having a plan.

I'd say just keep doing what you are doing and then once you have some significant assets built up - re-evaluate at that time. You'll have much better data to work with compared to now.


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## Plugging Along

Guigz said:


> The way both our pensions are set up, we get 2% per year (of our best 5 years) fully indexed to CPI. we get a 5% penalty each year that we retire before 60 or 25 years of experience *unless* we wait until 60 where we wont have any penalty. The way I see it, I work 17 years from 23 to 40 (potentially) wait until I turn 60 and then retire on 34% of my best 5 years (indexed between end of employement and retirement too).
> 
> Therefore, I only need 20 years of funds to tie me over before my pension.


Since you will not be getting a full pension, you will also needs funds to suppliment your income when you are 60 because you have not contributed the full amount. Is 34% enough for you to live off of when you're 60?


As others have said, what you're planning is difficult to plan, especially if you have kids, and because of your time lines. Nothing wrong with having something to aspire to though


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## canuck1

Why do you want to retire so early unless you hate your job or can't find work-life balance?


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## Guigz

canuck1 said:


> Why do you want to retire so early unless you hate your job or can't find work-life balance?


Are these the only two possible choices?

My work-life scale is perhaps way more tilted towards life compared to other people. I value time instead of money. If I have kids, I want to spend time with them and raise them, I dont want someone else to do that for me. I want to enjoy the time that I have in this life. I find pleasure in little things. Having more does not make me happier. Having less is simpler.


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## the-royal-mail

guigz, I'm intrigued by your 'having less is simpler' concept. This is very unusual in this day and age, when having more seems to be the goal. I once started a thread (that ended quite a few months ago now) titled "How to consume less" -- you might enjoy reading that. But tell us more about your concept! It sounds interesting to me.

P.S. Please watch the quotes - it isn't necessary to quote everything you respond to. It's ok to just start typing, as anyone following the thread later will be able to read what you were responding to that way.


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## HaroldCrump

Guigz, I see that many have said above that your plan for financial independence is unrealistic, however, I don't think it's that outrageous.
In fact, I think it is achievable given certain assumptions around your future financial behavior.

Let's look at the assumptions I'm going to make:
- Assume 4/18/2011 as the start date of your plan and assume you want to be FI exactly 14 years from now i.e. on 4/18/2025.

- I calculated your current net worth at ~ $160,000.
For this, I completely discounted out the present value of your pension.
The reason is that if you quit work at 40, you will not receive anything from that pension for at least 20 years.
In the long run, however, this works in your favor since your income will get a boost as soon as you turn 60 (should you choose to take it then) or at most at 65.

- I also discounted out the value of your car - it is a depreciating asset and there's no point in including such consumer items in your net worth only to make the numbers look good.

- I estimated your monthly savings at $700 ($7,200 - $6,500) and therefore your current annual savings at $8,400.

- I estimated that after 3 years your family will receive a $20,000 raise.
I made a blanket tax assumption of 50%, leaving you with $10,000 of that raise after paying the govt. and all related vultures.

- I made the assumption that _you will not spend even a dime of this raise_ and keep your current lifestyle, therefore, saving $18,400 every year for the 11 years after that.

- Assume that you need $1.2M on 4/18/2025 to be financially free.

Plugging all these numbers into the goal solver in Excel shows that to achieve $1.2M on 4/18/2025, you need an annualized RoR of 11.5% on your investments for the next 14 years.

Note that this includes the value of your house at your current equity, therefore, I made no assumption of paying off your mortgage.
If you do, while maintaining your saving rate of $18,400, then you can achieve the same with even les return on your investments.
Of course, you may consider $1.2M too less in the year 2025, so bumping it up to $1.5M would require only 13.68% return and a whopping $2M on that date would require a RoR of 16.5%

Not too shabby, eh?

However, increasing your lifestyle even by small amounts will put a severe dent in these goals.
For example, if you decide to consume even half of your after tax raise i.e. $5,000 and save only $13,400 you will need to earn 12.33% to reach $1.2M and 17.15% for reaching $2M.
Large consumer goods purchases like new cars will also dent your plan.
For example, paying $20,000 net for a new car this year reduces your current net worth to $140K and requires you to earn 18.03% return to reach $2M.

You can play with numbers as you want, but it does appear that your plan is achievable but is heavily dependent on your future saving habits and ability to earn the required RoR.


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## Guigz

Again thanks for the insight, it is greatly appreciated.

I understand that nothing is certain and that many assumptions need to be made in order for my plan to succeed. That being said, I am not really looking for someone to garantee that my plan will work. In any case, I would certainly not hold anyone to their word! 

Howard, RE: your specific post, there are a few points I want to address:

We are currently saving 650$ or so per month and have a 700$ surplus from our monthly budget. We plan to increase our savings (up) to 1,350$ per month. In addition, when the house is paid off (5 years from now according to plan), we will have about 3,600$ more per month to plug in our investments.

We are taxed at 38% MTR and should stay there unless (until) taxes increase.

I am "planning" a 7.5% return on my investments. Anything more than that is a bit optimistic IMO especially given that I am mostly doing Index/passive investments.

UPDATE:

We bought a new car using cash to profit from a dealer discount on cash purchase (0% financing was a farce).

The plan is to drive the car into the grave or until it is no longer economical to do so.

Howard: I disagree about including the value of the car in the networth calculations. Point in case, we sold our old car for 6,400$ and used the proceeds to pay part of the new car. If we were REALLY strapped for cash, we could always sell the vehicle.


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## steve41

Ok.... in order to run the numbers properly, I will need to know how your gross salaries are apportioned... ie for each spouse. And, for the DB pension, how many years of work prior to today for each of these jobs for each spouse. A 2% DB pension requires the average of the last 5 years and total years worked.


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## Guigz

Our income is split 50-50% (or will be once my wife reaches maximum pay scale). Max would be about 80,000$ each per year + CPI.

Wife: about 5 years of work prior to today
Me: about 3 years of work prior to today

Given that I plan to be working a few years still D) you can use 80,000 (adjusted for CPI) as the average of the 5 best years. If I get a better paying job, it will just be bonus.


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## steve41

OK.... I ran this with my customary haste and inattention, so check the numbers.

I have you both retiring at 50, taking early CPP, your db pensions are integrated with CPP, rates set at 4% nominal, inflation 2%, in BC dying broke at 95.

I didn't play with the TFSAs, I just let them run to 60 and then drew them down. Here are the 2 plans.... 

Mrs Lurker
Mr Lurker


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## HaroldCrump

Guigz said:


> Howard, RE: your specific post, there are a few points I want to address:


I assume you meant me...Howard is someone else and didn't participate in this thread.
Anyhow, no matter.


> We are currently saving 650$ or so per month and have a 700$ surplus from our monthly budget. We plan to increase our savings (up) to 1,350$ per month. In addition, when the house is paid off (5 years from now according to plan), we will have about 3,600$ more per month to plug in our investments.


So my estimate of your monthly savings is pretty close.
I didn't speculate on when, or if, you may pay off the mortgage because it's your decision and hard to predict.
It will reduce your investable cash so will affect the rough calculations I did above.



> We are taxed at 38% MTR and should stay there unless (until) taxes increase.


The 50% I estimated included all other forms of income related taxes, too, like CPP, EI, child benefits clawbacks, and what not.



> I am "planning" a 7.5% return on my investments. Anything more than that is a bit optimistic IMO especially given that I am mostly doing Index/passive investments.


That will require more years of working, obviously, but yes it's a safe[r] assumption.
IMHO, you may want to try for better returns esp. since we are using pre-tax and pre-inflation returns.



> Howard: I disagree about including the value of the car in the networth calculations. Point in case, we sold our old car for 6,400$ and used the proceeds to pay part of the new car. If we were REALLY strapped for cash, we could always sell the vehicle.


True, but I personally do not like to include value of a depreciating consumer item into net worth calculations.
Your new car is depreciating every day, even while you sleep, and there aint a thing you can do about that.
OTOH, your investments are (hopefully) appreciating in value while you sleep and they are under your control.
The logic for car applies to other household goods like TV, computers, etc. as well since you can theoretically sell those as well.


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## Guigz

Hey!?

someone changed the thread title...

Harold... Yes, I was referring to you, usually I use the quotes but I figured I would try without. See where that lead me (this is your fault Royal...) ?

You say that you estimate my saving rate at 8,400$, however, we are currently saving 16,200$ annually(650$ forced savings each month and 700$ accumulation in our slush fund).


Regarding the inclusion of depreciating assets in my networth, I understand your position. As long as I am being consistent in the way I calculate my NW, it does not really matter that I include my car and or possessions in the pipe (assuming that I depreciate them properly).


Steve41, Thank you very much for running this simulation. If I understand the numbers, I could retire at 50 Y/O with 49,000$ (2010 $) net / year by investing about 14,000$ per year in my RRSP? If so, this is way more $ than I strictly require.

Sorry if I am missing the obvious, I am not sure I fully understand the graph and tables.


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## the-royal-mail

Haha sorry guigz. Wouldn't be the first time something was my fault. 

I suspect the mods changed the thread title to be more meaningful. Someone (eagle?) started a thread in the forum feedback section asking folks to please use more meaningful thread titles. Between the overquoting and meaningless thread titles (plus many of the newbies taking on these bad habits from the old guard) things were getting a bit disorganized around here.


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## steve41

Just look at mr-lurker.pdf as an example. Page 2 explains the contents of the tables, but to get the best picture of what is happening, look at pages 6&7.

First of all, examine the 2nd from the right column (in green). That is your magic number, the amount you can spend on living (beer and groceries) after taxes are paid, loan pmts made, etc. The program took the assumptions, 4% rate, 2% inflation, certain loan and pension parameters, and developed a schedule of how you should be investing (both RRSP & nonreg) pre-retirement, and drawing down post-retirement, in order that you sustain a maximum lifestyle (in this case a constant $43,276) that takes you out to exactly age 95 before your savings run out. (the mrs-lurker.pdf shows the other spouse's plan.... pages 12-13 show the combined summary)

If you look on page 7, in the last year, your RRSP is depleted exactly to the dollar. The big $1.293M chunk in the final year is your home going to your estate.

The thing about this plan is that you can verify every element with a calculator and that the tax is spot on as per the current tax (T1) rules. No black box.

The importance of the $43,276 number is that it relates exactly to what you should budget for lifestyle-wise. It is merely a starting point, you may choose to stagger that net spending number (higher pre-retirement, lower post retirement), goosing it up for a special purchase at various times, such as a new car purchase every 5 years.

The point of the plan is that it includes all aspects of your fiscal life, not just investments in a vacuum. Loan payments, pension income, CPP/OAS, taxes.... it is fully inclusive as well as tax-accurate. 

Spreadsheets don't perform this type of calculation, BTW.


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## Guigz

New trimester, new update

Nothing special, tumbling along as planned.

Turns out we bought the car new and paid cash.

Assets:

- House: 330,000$ (purchase price in 2009)
- RRSP : 19,000$ in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : 13,000$ in index funds (TD-e series)
- Pension: 56,000$ (Defined Benefit cash value)
- Emergency: 10,000$ (ING savings Account)
- Vacation Fund: 1,000$ 
- Cash: 6,000$ 
-Car : 18,000$
Total: 453,000$ (+18,000$, +4%)

Liabilities:
- Mortgage: 186,000$ (year 2 of 5 @ 3.65% fixed with 35 amortization)
- Stu. Loans: 7,800$ 
- HPB loan: 3,000$ 
- Buyback: 3,000-6,000$ (pensionable service buyback assessment is *still* ongoing)
- Credit card: 15,000$ @ 0% for 15 months (MBNA balance transfer) 

Total: 215,000$ (-8,000$, -4%)


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## Plugging Along

Just curious on how a vacation is an asset with a $1000 value.

Nothing wrong with vacations, I'm on one right now, but I definitely am experiencing a negative cash flow, and it's not helping my net worth one bit.


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## Guigz

Ooops 

The line should read Vacation Fund. Fixed now.


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## KaeJS

Plugging Along said:


> Just curious on how a vacation is an asset with a $1000 value.
> 
> Nothing wrong with vacations, I'm on one right now, but I definitely am experiencing a negative cash flow, and it's not helping my net worth one bit.


Only a real addict would CMF on vacation  

Glad to have ya, PA!


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## Plugging Along

*lol* I can't tell what I may be more addicted to, CMF, my IPAD, or Technology in general. 

I did just get back. 

Plus, I find CMF is a quick way to get a pulse on whats going on while I'm away. 


I was trying to turn my vacation into an asset. I was wondering if I did ALOT of cross border shopping, and paid less than 1/2 of what I would at home, did I get a 50% gain, because that's my net worth at FMV?


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## ShowMeTheMoney

Plugging Along said:


> *lol* I can't tell what I may be more addicted to, CMF, my IPAD, or Technology in general.
> 
> I did just get back.
> 
> Plus, I find CMF is a quick way to get a pulse on whats going on while I'm away.
> 
> 
> I was trying to turn my vacation into an asset. I was wondering if I did ALOT of cross border shopping, and paid less than 1/2 of what I would at home, did I get a 50% gain, because that's my net worth at FMV?


I love this!


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## Saniokca

I might have missed this but I have one question: Why are you putting money into RRSP before TFSA? I would think that at your income level TFSA's are much more productive...


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## Guigz

Saniokca said:


> I might have missed this but I have one question: Why are you putting money into RRSP before TFSA? I would think that at your income level TFSA's are much more productive...


Good question.

Although I would not say that I am putting money in my RRSP to the *exclusion * of my TFSA (I am contributing to both), these are a few factors that I have considered in my decision.

1) In my line of work, I do not expect that my salary will change much in the foreseeable future. Even with a promotion, I would expect my salary to top around 100$K (not including cost of living increases).

2) Since I expect to retire very early (potentially), I know that I will have little to no income between the ages of 4x-60. Having a large RRSP would allow me to withdraw a fraction each year completely tax free (if I have no other income) thus maximizing the tax deferral/differential strategy. This would also allow me to conserve the growth in my TFSA.

3) Although I am maxing my RRSP, my contribution limit is very low given my DB pension plan so we are not talking about many dollars here. So the "risk" I am taking by maxing my RRSP is not great.

4)Aggresively contributing to my RRSP right now allows me to maximize my cash flow and my investment contributions. I am having less taxes taken off my pay to offset my RRSp contributions so that I have more cash flow and more money to invest. The downside is I dont get a fat check at the end of the year 

I know my strategy is not perfect and that I might end up paying more taxes if I retire later with a full pension. However, if all I have to worry about is that I pay too much income taxes, I think I will be fine.


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## Guigz

New trimester, new update

December 1st update. We got performance and cost of living increase at the job and wife got a promotion. 

We also went ahead with a refinance on the house (to be completed in January 2012) in order to benefit from even lower rates. 

The market has been capricious and we lost a bit on the investment side. Since the market was very volatile in December, actual $ in investments varied greatly from day to day. 

My wife was able to buy back a few years of services for her pension (hence the higher number).

We took a small vacation and also a small break from contributing to the vacation account. We have now resumed making contributions in the account (hence the apparent stagnation).

Combined Annual income: *$137,760 *(+5%)

Assets:

- House: *365,000$* (+2%) (we just had an assessment and this is the FMV we amortized the growth over the time since purchase)
- RRSP : *17,000$* (-11%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *12,000$* (-8%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Pension: *70,000$* (+25%) (Defined Benefit cash value)
- Emergency: *10,000$* (+0%) (ING savings Account)
- Vacation Fund: *1,000$* (+0%)
- Cash: *8,600$ *(+43%)
-Car : *17,100$* (-5%)

Total Assets: *$500,700 *(+16,300$, +3.4%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *181,800$* (-$7,000, -4%) (year 2 of 5 @ 3.65% fixed with 35 amortization)
- Stu. Loans: *7,700$* ( -1%) @ 3.5%
- HPB loan: *3,000$ *(+0%), no contribution needed until 2012 
- Buyback: *3,000-6,000$* (pensionable service buyback assessment is still ongoing)
- Credit card: *15,698$* (+4.6%) @ 0% for 15 months (MBNA balance transfer)

Total Liabilities: *211,200$* (-3,800$, -2%) 

Networth: *$289,500 *(+20,100$, +7.5%)


Overall, not a bad 4 months but the next update should be betterin terms of investments contributions and


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## Jon_Snow

Guigz, you remind me of a ten years younger version of myself... we have very similar outlooks on life and money. And the fact that our wives have kindly offered to work a little bit longer and let their worn out husbands scale things back. 

I am very hopeful that I am 5 years from an unusually early retirement.... I will be 44. 

Looking at your numbers, they are quite similar to how ours would have looked ten years ago... you are doing well.


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## HaroldCrump

Guigz & Jon, when you guys are calculating your ER assets, are you accounting for the home equity and the pension cash value?
In the case of ER, those are not available to you for living expenses and generating monthly cash flow.
You can't start receiving your pensions at 44, I don't think.
The home equity is also locked up since you have to live somewhere (either rent or own).
So the cash truly available for your living expenses and investing capital is lower.

In Guigz's case, it is $48,600 at this time (not accounting for liabilities).

You _could _potentially monetize the home equity by taking out an investment loan for 80% of the equity value
But you can't leverage the pension in any way.


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## Guigz

HaroldCrump said:


> Guigz & Jon, when you guys are calculating your ER assets, are you accounting for the home equity and the pension cash value?
> In the case of ER, those are not available to you for living expenses and generating monthly cash flow.
> You can't start receiving your pensions at 44, I don't think.


@Harold

I am accounting for both home equity and cash value of the pension in my NW calculations. Although those two are not easily tapable for living expenses at this time, I need to keep them in mind because I could elect to make some choices and use them.

For the house, I am likely to use the equity in the house in the short term (when I am a little bit more comfortable with investing) for making investments. Also, it is a very likely scenario that we will downsize to a smaller house in case of ER. 

For the pension, I can elect, on the day of my retirement (early or not) to be cut a cheque for the amount quoted above instead of relying on the (reduced) pension payments that would start at 50 at the earliest. Depending on the circumstances, I might be better off taking the money VS waiting 15 years to collect.

I do agree that invested-able money is limited at this time. However, once we pay off the house (less than 4 years and shortening), the majority of our former house payments (+/- 4,000$ per month) will be redirected towards investments.


@Jon

Thanks for the encouragements. Looking at my updates helps me stay focused on my goals.


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## Guigz

April 2012 update

We got a small cost of living increase at the job. 

We also completed a refinance on the house in February 2012 in order to benefit from even lower rates. We had to borrow a bit more than our mortgage to get such a good rate, this explains the abnormally large amount of cash we have on hand. We are waiting to learn the impact of the 2012 federal budget on our jobs before we deploy the cash. 

Since we got such a good deal on the mortgage rate (2.52% combined 4 years) we will be looking at using the cash on hand (provided we keep our jobs) to pay our students loans (@3.5%) and max our TFSA. 

The market has been good the last few months and we gained quite a bit on the investment side. We also contributed a lot of new money in January and got a significant tax refund.

I finally got confirmation for my pension buyback, I have the opportunity to buy back several months for a cost of 2,600$.

Combined Annual income: *$139,860 *(+1.5%)

Assets:

- House: *370,000$* (+1.5%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$, slowly ramping up to this amount)
- RRSP : *25,100$* (+52%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *16,300$* (+55%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Pension: *87,000$* (+16%) (Defined Benefit cash value)
- Cash: *67,150$ *(+383%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *16,250$* (-5%)

Total Assets: *$582,500 *(+$81,700, +16.3%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *218,200$* (+$36,400, +20%) (year 0 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed with 10 year amortization on which we are doubling payments)
- Stu. Loans: *7,600$* ( -1%) @ 3.5%
- HPB loan: *2,000$ *(-$200, -10%) 
- Pension Buyback: *6,800$* (finally got the numbers in, a bit higher than expected)
- Credit card: *16,000$* (+$400, +2.5%) @ 0% for until August 2012 (MBNA)

Total Liabilities: *250,800$* (+35,000$, +16%) 

Networth: *$331,700 *(+44,000$, +15%)


Overall, I am pretty darn satisfied with this update. For those that do not believe in including house value and pension cash value in the net worth numbers, even excluding those, we progressed by $27,000 over 4 months. 

In the future, assuming that we keep our jobs, I think that the focus will shift from paying down the mortgage ASAP to investing a bit more. While we will keep making double payments (current ETA on being debt free is less than 4 years), as our investment account swell, it is easier not to freak out with the mortgage.


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## orange

Great job, Guigz! Looks like you made a number of great moves! Buying back time on your pension is always a great thing to take advantage of if you have the opportunity - the reward is significant when compared to the cost. You also got a fantastic rate on your mortgage, well done! You said you refinanced, not that you renewed...did you have a significant penalty or were you close to renewal? I keep seeing these mortgage rates and wish I were closer to renewal!!

Any thoughts on how you are going to deploy all that extra cash? I assume you'll use a chunk to pay off that credit card once the 0% interest period is up, but then what?

Again, well done!


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## Guigz

@Orange 

Thanks for the kind words. Regarding the mortgage, yes we did refinance halfway through a 5 years fixed term. The IRD penalty quoted was close to $5,000 but, by prepaying the maximum in late 2011 and early 2012 (more than 50% of remaining principal) we dropped the penalty to about $2,200$. Including lawyers fee, it cost us about $3,000 to refinance. The good news is that we negotiated a $3,000$ cash back on top of those great rates. Therefore, refinancing cost us nothing (except time). 

Indeed, we have a portion of the cash earmarked for paying the credit card when it comes to term. I am debating renewing the card to get another year of 0% money. As long as I keep cash available to pay it when it comes due, there is little risk involved.

With the cash remaining, we are thinking of eradicating our student loans and then investing in our TFSA and RRSP. I am afraid that the strategy that we are using to invest is not very exciting. I am doing a pretty boring 25/25/25/25 split of canadian equity index/canadian bond index/US equity index/International index through TD e-series. When we get over $50,000 (pretty soon ) I am thinking of converting the accounts to a TD waterhouse so that we may diversify a bit more (e.g. small caps, REIT, agriculture, precious metals) and cherry pick some companies for dividend growth investing.


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## humble_pie

guigz ... chapeaux ... (!!)


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## Guigz

LoL, thanks Humble (and all those you represent  )!


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## RealCanuck

Financial "independence" is a fallacy.

You will ALWAYS be tied to the performance of at least one market and/or asset. 

Having a giant pile of cash is the ONLY way to achieve true independence (that is, no reliance on anything).


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## Guigz

Can you eat, drink, sleep on, be sheltered by, socialize with, generate heat and electricity from your giant pile of cash TM ?

I would then surmise that a giant pile of cash is not a way to achieve true independence. The only way to achieve such would be for one to develop a complete autocratic system. 

Since I have no desire to do so (at least, not completely. I do want to rely less on the external world), I will satisfy myself with relying on several different asset classes and hoping for the best.


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## Guigz

August 2012 update

Given the amount of cash that we were holding and since the mortgage is costing us less than the student loans (tax credit included) we decided to go ahead and pay the loans off. It feels great to remove this line off of our ledger!

We also invested more than planned in our RRSP. Next up will be the TFSA.

I finally decided to get rid of the pension value in my networth calculations. Although I still think this should be kept in mind, the fact that our work will henceforth be updating this amount only once a year will render the value detrimental to the accurate tracking of our achievements.

Combined Annual income: *$140,500 *(+0.5%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+1.3%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$, slowly ramping up to this amount)
- RRSP : *$30,700* (+20%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$16,900* (+4%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$55,100 *(-18%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$15,400* (-5%)

Total Assets: *$493,200*(-$1,500, -0.4%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$200,500* (-$17,800, -8.2%) (year 0 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 4 years)
- *Student loans: $0 - DONE*
- HPB loan: *$2,000 *(-$0, 0%) 
- Credit card: *$15,300* (-$700, -4.4%) @ 0% until April 2013 (MBNA)

Total Liabilities: *217,800$* (-$26,200, -11%) 

Networth: *$275,300 *(+$24,500, +9.7%)


Overall, I am pretty satisfied with this update. I am toying with the idea of updating once a month to get a continuous sense of progress and better track it.


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## Guigz

September 2012 update

I had a meeting with TD about converting our RRSP and TFSA to Waterhouse and they told me that each person needed $25,000 in *each* account (RRSP, TFSA, unregistered) to avoid annual fees... That was at the the TD bank though, they suggested I speak with Waterhouse directly..... hmmmm

We are slowly using up our cash reserve with accelerated mortgage payments (ETA 2016) and TSFA contributions. My objectives is to have my TFSA filled up by December of this year and my wife's by December of next year.

I am eyeing a new job opportunity that would give me a slight bump in salary with a bracket that goes $10k higher. I am trying to decide whether I want the additional responsibilities. 

Combined Annual income: *$140,500 *(+0%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$31,400* (+2%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$17,600* (+4%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$54,000 *(-2%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$15,200* (-1.25%)

Total Assets: *$493,200*(+0%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$196,500* (-$4,000, -2%) (year 0 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 4 years)
- HPB loan: *$2,000 *(-$0, 0%) 
- Credit card: *$14,800* (-$500, -3.3%) @ 0% until April 2013 (MBNA)

Total Liabilities: *213,300$* (-$4,500, -2%) 

Networth: *$279,900 *(+$4,500, +1.7%)

Business as usual. We have a few big ticket expenses coming up (municipal taxes, some renos, minor elective surgery) that will likely set us back for the next updates.


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## Guigz

October 2012 update

Our plans are coming to fruition. In just a few more months, I will have maxed my TFSA for the year.

I decided to stay put at my job for now. With the renovations at home, I don't think I can concentrate on new job responsibilities. We had unexpected income this month whose taxes were not deducted at the sources. We put it in my wife's RSP. 

Combined Annual income: *$140,500 *(+0%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$37,200* (+19%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$19,000* (+8%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$52,200 *(-3.5%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$15,000* (-1.25%)

Total Assets: *$498,400*(+$5,200, +1%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$192,600* (-$3,900, -2%) (year 0 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 4 years)
- HPB loan: *$2,000 *(-$0, 0%) 
- Credit card: *$14,500* (-$300, -2%) @ 0% until April 2013 (MBNA)

Total Liabilities: *209,100$* (-$4,200, -2%) 

Networth: *$289,300 *(+$9,400, +3.4%)

Pretty good month. The next updates will likely be a bit less impressive as we catch up on some things that were left on the wayside recently.


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## Guigz

November 2012 update

Business as usual.

I got a performance raise at my job.

Combined Annual income: *$143,500 *(+2%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$ in 2011, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$38,000* (+2%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$20,000* (+6%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$49,000 *(-6%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$14,800* (-1.25%)

Total Assets: *$496,800*(-$1,600, -0.3%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$186,600* (-$6,000, -3.2%) (year 0.75 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 4 years)
- HPB loan: *$2,000 *(-$0, 0%) 
- Credit card: *$14,200* (-$300, -2%) @ 0% until April 2013 (MBNA)

Total Liabilities: *202,800$* (-$6,300, -3.1%) 

Networth: *$294,000 *(+$4,700, +1.6%)

I am happy with this month even if it is less impressive than the last one. I look forward to the day when we break the 300K barrier.


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## Jon_Snow

I really enjoy reading your updates, Guigz, as I am trying to achieve similar goals. I am currently in Mexico for almost a month - right now I am sitting on my patio basically reviewing the same numbers you are. It is incredibly satisfying to see asset numbers climb and debt disappear. I am still not sure when I will come to the realization that I have reached "financial independence" - but it is close enough now that I can taste it.

In 3 weeks I have to get on a plane and go back to my job... I can't wait for the day that I can just stay here as long as I want to. Financial Independence = Freedom.


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## peterk

Great inspiring thread! I'm about 3-4 years behind Guigz and 10-12 behind you Jon and hope to be retired and wintering in the tropics by age 35-40 (25 now). What is your target savings amount before cutting the cord, and your intended spending amount in FI? If you don't mind me asking each of you..


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## Guigz

@Jon The taste of freedom is indeed very exhilarating. Even if I am not quite there yet, moving forward is invigorating and makes it all worthwhile.

@peterk I am not aiming for a large amount by any means. The more I experience, the more I realize that spending does not increase my happiness. The best things in life are indeed free.

That being said, I am contemplating that we need about $500,000 and a paid off home to get to a point where we can stop working and continue living as we do now. 

Right now, we live on about $24,000 a year and I cannot say that we are missing anything. We drive a brand new car, we live in a new and luxurious home, we have internet that is faster than 90% of Canadians, we eat healthy and yummy food, we take 1-2 vacations per year, we drink wine and beer as much as we want. The few things that we live without are expensive monthly recurring costs, interests charges and an acquired taste for new things.

In fact, out of the $24,000, about a quarter of this goes to municipal taxes. We could likely pull it off by spending only $19,000 if we did not have those. But I digress....

Another option for me would be to radically reduce my hours at work once I have a certain amount in the bank so that we have more time to enjoy life. Quite frankly, with such a low spending record, I can basically retire as soon as the house is paid off, provided I can take in $24,000 net to cover our expenses...


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## Jon_Snow

My wife and I are probably living on about 30k a year (we are grossing 170k currently). That is with absolutely no debt. No mortgages on primary residence or recreation property. I know we could easily do better - but since my wife has agreed to work longer than me, I don't really think its fair to ask her to go ultra-frugal with her early retirement obsessed hubby. We sacrifice very little living on 30k - eat out whenever desired, once a year tropical trip (free place to stay helps immensely, our extended family owns a Baja home), top tier cable/internet etc. 

We live in far less "house" than we can afford, and don't own a new car. No big deal for us. 

And the "no kid" factor cannot be underestimated. So much more flexibility without a human being or two to raise to adulthood.


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## HaroldCrump

Jon_Snow said:


> And the "no kid" factor cannot be underestimated. So much more flexibility without a human being or two to raise to adulthood.


Is that what you really think - that raising a "_human being or two_" reduces your financial success, somehow?
Geez, I am glad most of us don't think like that (or at least I hope not).

Enjoy your $170K, that's all I can say.


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## GoldStone

Jon_Snow said:


> And the "no kid" factor cannot be underestimated. So much more flexibility without a human being or two to raise to adulthood.


The Selfish Reason to Have More Kids


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## Guigz

I think it is a personal choice to have kids (or not).

Ourselves, we are planning to have at least 1, maybe 2 kids in the near future. I believe that kids are only as expensive as you want them to be. 

Sure, you need to buy food, clothes and items, but those don't have to be Caviar, Dolce Gabana and Ipads, respectively. I think that the $250,000 figure to raise kids that is thrown about every once in a while is very grossly inflated. We do plan to contribute to the education cost of our children, but only to the extent of free board at home (we live near to several major universities) and the content of their maxed RESP.

Oh and public schools are fine...


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## Jon_Snow

HaroldCrump said:


> Is that what you really think - that raising a "_human being or two_" reduces your financial success, somehow?
> Geez, I am glad most of us don't think like that (or at least I hope not).
> 
> Enjoy your $170K, that's all I can say.


Oh, we do Mr. Crump - we do indeed. :encouragement:

Could enjoy it much more if 75% didn't immediately go into savings or investments.


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## bayview

I, too know of couples who prefer not to have kid(s) because of monetary and flexibility (convenience) reasons.

I dare say some if not many would certainly have accumulated their first $million in savings earlier if they do not have kid(s)

We have 1 kid. Stopped at one because of medical reasons.

The journey of life towards financial independence is interesting & challenging. Not unlike the stock market - it doesnt always move in a straight line. 

Guigz, I wish you continued success in your financial planning.

Jon, here's one for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX6rrZFv3O4
Enjoy the rest of your Baja getaway. Look forward to more of your postings on how to 'LBYM"!:chuncky:


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## Guigz

December 2012 update

SOOOOOO Close!!! Almost at 300$K.... Disappointing and enthralling at the same time.

The market has not been helping us this month, but I tell myself that it allows me to purchase units cheaper. I am deferring my gain.

My wife got a performance raise at her job.

Combined Annual income: *$149,000 *(+4%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$ in 2011, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$38,500* (+1%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$21,200* (+6%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$46,000 *(-6%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$14,600* (-1.25%)

Total Assets: *$495,300*(-$1,000, -0.3%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$183,200* (-$3,400, -1.8%) (year 0.75 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 4 years)
- HPB loan: *$2,000 *(-$0, 0%) 
- Credit card: *$14,000* (-$200, -1%) @ 0% until April 2013 (MBNA)

Total Liabilities: *199,200$* (-$3,600, -1.8%) 

Networth: *$296,100 *(+$2,100, +1%)

This month should be slightly better. I am hoping to break 300 in the new year.


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## mind_business

Wow, well done!!! You're way ahead of where I was at your age.


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## Young&Ambitious

Why do you hold so much in cash? Has those funds been earmarked for particular purposes? That's alot of money earning little to no interest is my concern..


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## Jon_Snow

Uh, for the record, we didn't choose not to have kids for financial reasons. I married my wife in my late 30's and we simply deemed it too late to start a family. As the years roll on, I'm sure there will be regrets. But there are positives, most of them of a financial nature - that was my point.


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## Jets99

Guigz - Just started reading this thread. Very nteresting. Congrats on paying off the student loans and on being so diligent with your plan and goals. I think I'll show this to my kids who are in Universtity as an example of how they should take control of their financial situation early in life. Had I done so myself I would surely be retired today.

Couple questions. Why are carrying so much credit card debt each month. Pay it off.

And I look forward to seeing how your future kids affect your plan (I highly recommend, they are a blessing :love-struck.

But good luck with this :biggrin: ............



Guigz said:


> I believe that kids are only as expensive as you want them to be. ...


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## piano mom

Really, decision to have kids or not is a very personal thing. Some people are just not meant to be parents while others are great at it. I admit I'm type A personality and am having difficult time raising my kids while my sister in law is so relaxed that she's having a ton of fun with her kids. For me, I always think about maxing out RESP, ensuring they get A's and putting in hours to help with homework and piano practice. This thinking has really taken a toll on my relationship with my husband. If we didn't have kids, I'm sure we'll be more relaxed, having the freed up money to do more travelling, maybe a nicer car and living downtown lifestyle  Man, that would be soooo nice!


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## Jon_Snow

I'm pretty sure we could still live below our means and still save more than most people if we had chosen to have kids - I agree that raising kids doesn't have to break the bank. But my plans to retire before 45? Forget about it. I'm toying with the idea of giving subsistence living a try on my island acerage for a year or two. Could be a disaster - but I look forward to the challenge (also a good way to leave the nest egg intact) - no kids means one can try all sorts of wacky things.


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## lonewolf

Very interesting thread

piano, mom

I have a completely differnt view on schooling then most of the experts have.

From more experience the odds are high that you are wiser then your kids when it comes to money.

If I had kids perhaps my biggest goal would be to make them strong, independent & not the opposite dependent.

By letting them pay thier own way through school I think makes them strong. The little pain I have suffered through life I would never want anyone to take away from me because it was a learning experience. There are a lot of parents making huge sacrifices financialy to send thier kids to school. The result being the kids are walking around with expensive cell phones, eating meals @ restaurants, buying clothes based on labels instead of what is practical etc, etc. They never earned the money so they have no understanding how to appriciate it, I think it is best to give them experience in streaching thier dollars & let them be creative in obtaining thier money for school. If one learns to value money thier goal will also be to make sure it is used wisely & they will to thier best & honest ability to make school a positive not a negitive financialy. Is it not best to learn this when one is young instead of old?

The high esteem that comes with being independent I do not think should be taken away from your kids & let them experience this. Parents know they have done a good job of parenting if they offer to help pay thier kids through school & the child says I appriciate the help but it is my burden & I do not want to inflick my pain on anyone. But I would never make the offer to a child.





I was on safe haven financial website & in the United States it was something like 37% of the jobs in the US are being done by workers with degrees & the job doesnt even require a degree.

The average debt after school if memory is correct was 26,000. With over half the loans being deferred setting a lot of the students slaves to debt for life. A lot of the courses there were only a few jobs out there for the high number of students taking the course.


I have no kids & perhaps it is the reason I think paying for kids education is like throwing good money after bad.

I know from experience I would rather have had money given to me when Iam older & wiser, then when I was younger. So perhaps by not paying for education it would be better to leave them more in enheritance. Although if they are responsible kids they would want you to enjoy the money & would prefure to take responsibility for themselfs.

I get frustrated because my mom has worked hard for her money & spends it wisely. My sister & her husband makes double & are deep in debt because they spend it foolishly i.e. most meal @ restauraunts, getting luxury hotel rooms one for them & one for the kids while traveling, buying useless stuff etc. You know how grandmas are & years ago when my sisters kids were born. My mom told my sister she would set up a fund to help with thier schooling. Now my mom is stuck in a rock & a hard place because she is making less money since my dad past away & is still willing to help but I kinda think she feels as though she is being taken advantage of because they will have no respect for that money but she likes to keep her word.

She will end up okay financialy because if something goes wrong I will help her but she would not want that because she is strong & wants to be responsible.


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## piano mom

lonewolf said:


> If I had kids perhaps..


This is what I mean. When one doesn't have kids, it's easier to "teach" those who have on how to raise their children. No offense but I have same advice from my childless sister exactly the thing. Somehow it is hard to accept:rolleyes2:

I do hear you regarding getting them to be more responsible by coming up with their own money for college. However, I do not wish for them to be side tracked by part time jobs during school, taking away precious study time and get the degree. I however, have informed them that only if they do well in highschool will we pay for their college - no point in paying for a child who is unlikely to do well in uni and waste our hard earned money. Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving everything my kids want. As a matter of fact, we're quite frugal - even with them. The only thing we spend on them is towards school and music lessons. We often lecture them about frugality and how to save.


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## lonewolf

Piano mom

You seam to have your head on straight & your kids a lucky to have you as a mom. You would make a better parent then I would & you seam to be good with money. I post the following only because it is an idea few ever think of but it would not surprise me if you are doing it already but others might want to consider the idea.

If both you & your kids have the courage to stand in your truth regarding finances you will do fine.


Just like a well run company the owner will go over the books & a better run company will go over the books with thier employees to make sure the cash is put to the best use posssible.

Set an example for your kids
If you keep track of every penny spent & beside each exspense use a rating system to show if it added more value to your life or subtracted that which you value in life taking into account lifes energy used working for that money i.e., +5 added value, -5 subtracted value & then went over the money spent with your kids & then get them to help you make a chart showing with 3 lines showing exspenses, money from working & money earned from investments then hang it on the fridge. A lot of people fail to realize how much money is waisted when done mentaly

Then have your kids also follow your example & have them make thier own chart. When they go away to school they would have had the practice & could make it a condition that your willing to help them but they have keep track of every penny & just like a company you will go over the books since your paying the bill & you keep track of every penny you expect the same as long as your paying the piper. Explain to them you love them & make sure they fully understand how those that understand compound interest make it & those that dont pay it.


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## Guigz

Young&Ambitious said:


> Why do you hold so much in cash? Has those funds been earmarked for particular purposes?


We do hold a significant amount of cash for multiple reasons. We first came to hold this amount when we refinanced the mortgage. In order to get the great rates we were offered, we needed to refinance at least 250K$. 

We are using that up to Dollar Cost Average into our investments (which appears to have been a good idea in this volatile market). We also have a significant potion earmarked for payment on the mortgage on January 1st 2013. Finally, we are keeping at least the balance of our credit card in cash for repayment. 




Jets99 said:


> Couple questions. Why are carrying so much credit card debt each month. Pay it off.
> 
> And I look forward to seeing how your future kids affect your plan (I highly recommend, they are a blessing :love-struck.
> 
> But good luck with this :biggrin: ............


The credit card balance is at 0% for a predetermined period. We are arbitraging this amount in a higher interest saving account. If you think about it, it is very little work to get 300-400$. There are risks involved, of course, but I think we have shown that we are able to deal with credit responsibly.

For the kids, I agree that the proof is in the pudding. Maybe it won't be as cheap as I think, but then, I think that we will still be in good financial order to start life on the right foot.



lonewolf said:


> Set an example for your kids
> Then have your kids also follow your example & have them make thier own chart. When they go away to school they would have had the practice & could make it a condition that your willing to help them but they have keep track of every penny & just like a company you will go over the books since your paying the bill & you keep track of every penny you expect the same as long as your paying the piper. Explain to them you love them & make sure they fully understand how those that understand compound interest make it & those that dont pay it.


I like the idea of involving the kids in personal finances at a very young age. 

I think I have mentioned this already, but I don't plan to pay for my kids' education, at least not entirely. They will need to put at least half.


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## Argonaut

Well done. I have never met a fellow 26 year old with anywhere close to $300,000. In all of Canada there are maybe what, 5 or 6 people in this position? Not including musicians or hockey players.


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## Guigz

Well, I was 26 when i started the thread a year ago.  

To be fair, this is my wife and I's combined networth.


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## My Own Advisor

@Guigz,

You are rocking. I'm on a similar journey myself but I've got 10 more years on you  I echo a previous comment, having close to $300 K in net worth in your mid-late 20s is excellent. 

Where is your focus of late? Killing the mortgage or investing or a balance of both?

I suspect our mortgage could be $50 K less that it is today, but then again, my wife and I have visited Spain, Italy, Argentina, Jamaica and more in the last 10 years, and wouldn't trade anything for those experiences.

Continued success on your journey!


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## Jon_Snow

In my mid-20's I don't think my networth was barely 5 figures... Guigz, you are way ahead of the game, as the others have said.

Thankfully, my 30's were very kind to me. :encouragement:


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## mind_business

Jon_Snow said:


> In my mid-20's I don't think my networth was barely 5 figures... Guigz, you are way ahead of the game, as the others have said.
> 
> Thankfully, my 30's were very kind to me. :encouragement:


At 25, I was buried under a mortgage and student loans. To have a six figure net-worth was not even on my radar.


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## FrugalTrader

@guigz, you are doing great, congrats! When I started MDJ, I was 27 with a family net worth of about $200k. Looks like you are well under way.


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## Guigz

Thanks for all the positive feedback! I was not expecting such an outburst! 

As long as I continue enjoying the journey as much as the destination, I don't think I will have problems growing my NW some more.


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## Guigz

January 2013 update

NEW YEAR, SAME PLAN!

We are progressing along nicely. Seeing the number go up each month is very motivating.

we made a large lump sum payment to our mortgage in late December / early January

Combined Annual income: *$149,000 *(+0%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$ in 2011, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$39,600* (+3%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$22,600* (+6%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$42,500 *(-8%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$14,400* (-1.25%)

Total Assets: *$494,100*(-$1,200, -0.3%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$167,700* (-$15,400, -8%) (year 1 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 4 years)
- HPB loan: *$2,000 *(-$0, 0%) 
- Credit card: *$13,800* (-$200, -1%) @ 0% until July 2013 (MBNA)

Total Liabilities: *183,500$* (-$15,700, -8%) 

Networth: *$310,600 *(+$14,500, +5%)

We have postponed a few big expenses yet again, these will come in play later in the new year. Amongst other things, our municipal taxes will be due in February.


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## Guigz

Oh my, I am being delinquent here is my belated

February 2013 update

Ouch, brutal month!

Between a combination of municipal taxes, a planned trip, some new furniture and planned reno, we only spinned our wheels during January. We paid cash for everything though.

Combined Annual income: *$149,000 *(+0%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$ in 2011, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$41,700* (+5%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$24,800* (+9%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$32,000 *(-25%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$14,100* (-1.25%)

Total Assets: *$487,600*(-$6,200, -1.3%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$163,200* (-$4,500, -3%) (year 1 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 4 years)
- HPB loan: *$1,800 *(-$200, -10%) 
- Credit card: *$13,700* (-$100, -1%) @ 0% until July 2013 (MBNA)

Total Liabilities: *178,600$* (-$5,700, -3%) 

Networth: *$309,100 *(-$1,100, -1%)

With those big expenses out of the way, I am confident that we can get back on track and make some progress!


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## Hobotrader

Wow congrats, I'm 27 and not past 6 figures...Looks like you're keeping everything safe too, it's the shittiest feeling seeing networth drop - I don't think you'll have that problem.


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## Guigz

March 2013 update

Tax time!!! Contrary to a bunch of people I know, tax time is one of my favourite period of the year... Even if I end up owing a few thousands in back taxes... 

It is nice to see progress again.

Combined Annual income: *$149,000 *(+0%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$ in 2011, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$46,200* (+11%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$35,400* (+42%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$20,900 *(-35%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$13,700* (-3%)

Total Assets: *$491,600*(+$3,700, +1%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$158,800* (-$4,400, -3%) (year 2 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 3 years)
- HPB loan: *$1,800 *(0%) 
- Credit card: *$13,300* (-2.8%) @ 0% until July 2013 (MBNA)

Total Liabilities: *173,900$* (-$4,700, -2.7%) 

Networth: *$317,700 *(+$8,600, +2.7%)


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## mind_business

Nicely done! Question - are you planning on paying off the CC in full come July?


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## Guigz

@mind If we have to, we will pay it off. However, my plan is to roll it over in June on another 0% card for another 12 months. Ad nauseum


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## lonewolf

Guigz
Well done
Most count a car as an asset, I disagree with the majority & count the car as a liability, Reason being it takes money out of your pocket. If your planing to always use a car & not sell it to use puplic transportation I would add the monthly cost of owning the car to monthly liabilities. Of course any time frame could be used


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## My Own Advisor

Guigz,

Well done!!!

I agree with lonewolf, while cars are an asset, they are a depreciating one. For this reason, I don't include cars into our net worth calculation. Besides, my 2000 Mazda might be worth $2k and I intend to run it into the ground.

I assume your debt priorities are:

1. kill credit card?
2. mortgage?

That's a great mortgage rate BTW.


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## GoldStone

Guigz said:


> @mind If we have to, we will pay it off. However, my plan is to roll it over in June on another 0% card for another 12 months. Ad nauseum


Are you able to roll them over without incurring any fees?

All the offers that I've seen charge a fee. Usually 1% of the balance or, less often, a fixed fee (~$49).


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## Guigz

Sorry for the delayed replies, I was actually out of country the last 7 days. :biggrin:

@Lonewolf 

I do agree that a car cost money (lots of it!). We are considering becoming car free (or maybe car reduced) in the future and would certainly sell the car if we lost our jobs. This is why I am counting it as an asset. Given that I am depreciating it every month, I don't think it's a big deal to leave it in my NW. 

@MOA

Actually, my debt priority is mortgage first and credit card second. If it turns out that we can no longer obtain a very advantageous CC rate, I would switch to paying the credit card first. 

@Gold

You are correct, there is a 1% transaction fee. At a cost of 1% of the balance for 12 months without interests, it works out better to pay the mortgage rate than to pay this off. Until recently, it was 1% fee for 15 months but this has been reduced to 12 months now. 

If I am unable to get a renewal (which I would think would be unlikely), we have enough cashflow and savings to pay off the card immediately at the cost of delaying our mortgage pay down slightly.


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## Guigz

April 2013 update

A bit of a slower month as we are in the middle of small scale renos. The weather is really nice. So nice that we have been biking to work for the last 2 weeks.

We have a few large expenses coming up; a fence and a water heater (long story).

We received COLA to our salaries this month.

Combined Annual income: *$151,600 *(+1.75%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$ in 2011, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$48,400* (+5%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$36,000* (+2%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$18,000 *(-13%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$13,500* (-2%)

Total Assets: *$490,900*(-$400, -0.1%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$154,300* (-$4,500, -3%) (year 2 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 3 years)
- HPB loan: *$1,800 *(0%) 
- Credit card: *$13,200* (-1%) @ 0% until July 2013 (MBNA)

Total Liabilities: *169,300$* (-$4,600, -2.7%) 

Networth: *$321,600 *(+$3,900, +1.2%)


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## piano mom

Wow, great job! 

You are actually where we were when we were your age (+-$10k). This was where we started our family and I quit my job to stay home with them. Our networth kept climbing despite of just one income. I notice that the climb has become steeper as the networth rises. I think it also helps that after our mortgage was paid off, we pull the equity out of our home and invested it (leverage). 

I feel that you are very similar in thinking as my husband


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## Jon_Snow

Piano mom, we intend on becoming a one income unit sometime next year. I am bit apprehensive about it, just because we are used to two incomes and the insane savings that occur every month. As long our networth continues to grow, albeit slower, I'll be a happy man.


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## piano mom

@Jon_Snow, from what I've read about you, you are more than ready for retirement:encouragement:


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## Guigz

piano mom said:


> Wow, great job!
> 
> You are actually where we were when we were your age (+-$10k). This was where we started our family and I quit my job to stay home with them. Our networth kept climbing despite of just one income. I notice that the climb has become steeper as the networth rises. I think it also helps that after our mortgage was paid off, we pull the equity out of our home and invested it (leverage).
> 
> I feel that you are very similar in thinking as my husband


Thanks!

Similarly to your situation, we are thinking about raising a family soon. Although my wife does not plan to stop working, we both plan to wind down to 80% part time work (i.e., 4 days a week) at our current jobs. 

It's funny that your screen name is piano mom as my wife teaches piano on the side.


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## My Own Advisor

Guigz,

GREAT work! You definitely have your act together. 

I suspect you'll be retired (semi-retired) before me. I hope to be near retirement by age 50. Our house won't be paid off for 9 more years.


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## Jon_Snow

piano mom said:


> @Jon_Snow, from what I've read about you, you are more than ready for retirement:encouragement:


I think so too piano mom... just looking over our financial particulars this morning and everything I see strongly suggests I don't need to work anymore, at least not in my current industry, which will eventually kill me, either tragically quickly, or depressingly slowly.

Our investible assets now total 865k (327k in cash :stupid, with another roughly 600k in paid off real estate. I hesitate to include this, but a very large inheritence is also likely someday... 

My wife makes a tidy six figure income and still loves going to work - I ask myself every day while I am still doing this. As intoxicating it is to save 6k every month (dual income, no kids, no debt lifestyle), I think the time has come to be a bit selfish and look to my own happiness and exit my meat grinder career. I don't wan't this to come across as whining - there are probably many who would take my job with its monetary benefits - but since I have been close to being killed twice on the job in my 24 years there, not to mention dozens of other injuries, I think my dissatisfaction is somewhat justified. 

I would happily take 50% less pay for a job that I didn't dread going to every day. But no job at all is preferable. :tongue-new:


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## My Own Advisor

Take the leap Jon!

Investable assets of over $800k and a paid off home, wow, you seem definitely ready; especially if your wife wants to continue working.

With no kids, you are set.

We don't have a paid off home, and figure we'll need a portfolio of ~ $1 M outside our pensions to retire on. A good 9-10 years away assuming we can continue to invest about $10k per year.


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## Jon_Snow

Thanks MOA, 2014 will probably be the year for my "leap". 

Despite the numbers saying I shouldn't be, I find the idea of walking away from my job a bit frightening... I suppose part of it stems from the fact that, by nature, I am quite a risk averse fellow... and I think some mainstream media content lately against the idea of early retirement has perhaps given me pause. Maybe all this angst I am feeling at 41 is the onset of the much talked about "mid life crisis". Rambling here a bit....

MOA, sorry about your Sens... Canuck fan here, so I know pain too.


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## My Own Advisor

Ha, thanks Jon. I was mourning over that.... Pens are a great team, built to win the cup now. Sens are building for a cup and Canucks are re-building for a cup.

Such is life.

As for the numbers and back to you, you've got me in age by a couple of years and my wife and I don't intend on having kids either. 

Honestly, you seem to have your financial act together so well, if I had your assets, I'd be gone in 2014 as well.

Can't you work part-time in your line of work? That would be good. You don't have to touch your capital, live off wife's solid salary and still probably bank most of your salary given you have no mortgage. Win-Win-Win-Win....you see a pattern here


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## kcowan

Jon
You are living in a Gulf Island. Are you a fisher? I am thinking of a life-threatening career from there?

Also have you considered a part-time occupation from Baja? I know many people here in PV that work part time at lucrative pursuits NOTB. I makes me jealous that I did not discover same 20 years ago.


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## Jon_Snow

kcowan said:


> Jon
> You are living in a Gulf Island. Are you a fisher? I am thinking of a life-threatening career from there?
> 
> Also have you considered a part-time occupation from Baja? I know many people here in PV that work part time at lucrative pursuits NOTB. I makes me jealous that I did not discover same 20 years ago.


I basically split my time between Vancouver (where my current job is), my 10 acres on the Gulf Islands (where my heart is), and Baja (where my liver dies :biggrin. 

Income opportunities in the Gulf Islands are pretty limited, but I do like the idea of offering up sea kayaking lessons/tours - I've been paddling the waters around there for 25 years - to get paid a bit for doing something that brings me joy would almost seem like stealing. And Humble Pie not long ago suggested some business opportunites in marketing nature videos, mostly centered around the local orcas and other sea life. I am a bit technically challenged in certain areas - I need to combine the ability to shoot high quality video from my kayak (camera mounted on my head?), while simaltaneously capturing the underwater whale sounds with my hydrophone... damn, just talking about this excites me in a way my current career never has.....

I don't think I have adequate ambition to make money in Mexico - when I am there it is pure down time for me. :biggrin:


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## peterk

Your posts inspire me Jon_Snow. How old are you again? 42? I definately intend on being in your situation of retiring early, having 2-3 homes to chase the warm weather, and add variety to the scenery. Just gotta put in a few grueling years up here in northern Alberta so I can afford to retire when I'm 40!


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## steve41

> I need to combine the ability to shoot high quality video from my kayak (camera mounted on my head?)


Check out the GoPro. You can mount it anywhere and it takes fantastic hi-res videos and stills.


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## humble_pie

jon i believe it would be impossible to shoot video, manage the kayak & operate the hydrophone at the same time. Maybe 2 people working together, but not one person alone.

instead you'd have many outings, capturing several different pods swimming by over the course of a season. Sometimes with the video, sometimes the audio. The orcas we'd see leaping & diving in the film don't have to be the same orcas we'd hear singing & whispering.

later it would be a question of mixing & editing everything together. You might have to get this done at a commercial sound studio (cool! another thing to research!)


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## steve41

Visit the GoPro website. It has lots of video shot from a helmet cam on a skier, biker, boarder..... this is definitely a 1 man operation. My son has one and he swears by it.


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## Jon_Snow

Thanks for that Steve... that tech looks very nice and it is probably what I should be looking for - perhaps the local future shop stocks this camera system. I'll need to research the best method of mounting the camera on the kayak's deck - suction cups or adhesive? I'm taking some holidays in early July, so perhaps I'll post some vids for the CMF'ers.


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## humble_pie

curious ... why on the kayak deck? 

if you truly don't want to wear a helmet, there are headband mounts that would make the camera so much easier to manoeuvre. In a pod of orcas, with fish leaping on both sides of the kayak, you'd just have to turn your head. Whereas with the camera fixed to the kayak, you might have to turn the entire boat. Even then, you might miss some great shots.


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## Guigz

May 2013 update

As we are still dealing with the fallout from the renos, we made less progress this month. The manic-depressive market is not helping. 

We got a new 0% CC until July of next year. This explains the large influx of cash and the shrinkage of our mortgage. We will top up our investments with the remaining cash in the next weeks.

Combined Annual income: *$151,600 *(+0%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$ in 2011, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$50,300* (+4%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$36,200* (+0%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$34,000 *(+88%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$13,300* (-2%)

Total Assets: *$509,000*(+4%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$138,800* (-11%) (year 2 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 3 years)
- HPB loan: *$1,800 *(0%) 
- Credit card: *$46,300* (+352%%) @ 0% until July 2014 (MBNA)

Total Liabilities: *186,900$* (+11%) 

Networth: *$322,600 *(+0.1%)


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## Hawkdog

I was chatting with a lady on the plane this week, She had similar sentiments, worried about leaving her job. I am guessing that unless its a job you absolutely detest that its completely natural to experience some anxiety. Looks like you live in a great place so I am sure it will short lived!!




Jon_Snow said:


> Thanks MOA, 2014 will probably be the year for my "leap".
> 
> Despite the numbers saying I shouldn't be, I find the idea of walking away from my job a bit frightening... I suppose part of it stems from the fact that, by nature, I am quite a risk averse fellow... and I think some mainstream media content lately against the idea of early retirement has perhaps given me pause. Maybe all this angst I am feeling at 41 is the onset of the much talked about "mid life crisis". Rambling here a bit....
> 
> MOA, sorry about your Sens... Canuck fan here, so I know pain too.


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## Jon_Snow

Yeah, the months where the networth increases flatline aren't fun. But then, compared to the vast majority of your age group, you are really doing well.

And sorry about the earlier high jacking of your thread Guigz, all that kayaking business should have been taken to the "Hobby" thread.

For me, this thread is the de facto place for all things early retirement/ financial independence related....


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## Guigz

No worries Jon, it gives me something to aspire to.


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## humble_pie

guigz sorry also for intruding in your fine thread. There had been much excited & happy talk about jon snow's talents with video, audio, orca fish, kayak & georgia strait in another thread, so by mistake i had thought this was the right place.

but now i see that it wasn't! hope you'll forgive.

turning now to your may update, it looks glorious. The only thing i'm wondering is whether it represents the couple or your own individual interests as one person. 

your post does read as if the figures are aggregates for the couple. In that case, the tfsas do look like obvious candidates to fill if there is any contribution room available.


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## My Own Advisor

Continued good work Guigz. I wish I had your mortgage rate  Ours is just above 3%.


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## Guigz

I was out of town with no internet access for the last few days.

@ MAO

Yea, I feel pretty good about the rate. It's a shame that it's got to go regardless  

If we were more risk prone, I would leave the mortgage be for now and leverage into investments. The only way I could get my wife on board paying the mortgage so fast is if it stays paid.

@Humble

The figures are those for both me and my wife and yes, the TFSA is the next obvious target.  I did not really want to invest all of our cash in one go, so I think I will DCA into the TFSA for the next few weeks.


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## Jon_Snow

2.5% on a one year for us - we keep threatening to pay it off, but our payment is $250 monthly - the urgency just isn't there. If rates were to start to head up, things might change in a hurry.


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## Guigz

June 2013 update

Making progress again, a nice feeling. We are spending our cash down on investments (currently aiming to max wife's TFSA by end of year) and making accelerated mortgage payments.

Combined Annual income: *$151,600 *(+0%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$ in 2011, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$53,200* (+6%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$40,700* (+11%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$26,500 *(-30%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$13,100* (-2%)

Total Assets: *$508,500*(+0%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$135,800* (-2.2%) (year 2 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 3 years)
- HPB loan: *$1,800 *(0%) 
- Credit card: *$45,900* (-1%) @ 0% until July 2014 (MBNA) making minimum payments on these

Total Liabilities: *186,900$* (-2%) 

Networth: *$325,000 *(+1%)


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## YYC

Man you're doing good. So impressive.


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## Guigz

What I find interesting is that as our portfolio gets bigger, the daily variation in networth can put to shame several months worth of contributions. 

Another two years on the mortgage and that should be done. We will then focus on accumulating wealth.


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## Guigz

July 2013 update

Good progress this month despite the sizeable municipal taxes... We will continue to fill my wife's TFSA before moving to other things.

Combined Annual income: *$151,600 *(+0%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$ in 2011, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$55,000* (+3%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$45,000* (+11%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$24,300 *(-8%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$13,000* (-2%)

Total Assets: *$512,300*(+1%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$132,700* (-2.2%) (year 2 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 3 years)
- HPB loan: *$1,800 *(0%) 
- Credit card: *$45,400* (-1%) @ 0% until July 2014 (MBNA) making minimum payments on these

Total Liabilities: *179,900$* (-2%) 

Networth: *$332,400 *(+2%)


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## Andrew

Good work Guigz, you`re making progress.


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## My Own Advisor

Very good work!

Keep it up!


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## Guigz

August 2013 update

A slower month. We keep chuggin along.

Combined Annual income: *$151,600 *(+0%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$ in 2011, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$55,000* (+0%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$46,700* (+4%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$24,600 *(+0%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$12,700* (-2%)

Total Assets: *$513,600*(+0%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$129,600* (-2.2%) (year 2 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 3 years)
- HPB loan: *$1,800 *(0%) 
- Credit card: *$44,900* (-1%) @ 0% until July 2014 (MBNA) making minimum payments on these

Total Liabilities: *176,400$* (-2%) 

Networth: *$337,300 *(+1%)


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## Guigz

November 2013 update

It's been 3 months since I last updated this thread. Not much new to report, we are still progressing nicely. One thing that I have noticed is that with our increasing investment balance, return on investments is eclipsing new contributions which is nice. 

Combined Annual income: *$158,000 *(+4%)

Assets:

- House: *$375,000* (+0%) (FMV has been assessed at 390,000$ in 2011, will stay flat while we see what the market will do)
- RRSP : *$59,000* (+8%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- TFSA : *$54,200* (+16%) in index funds (TD-e series)
- Cash: *$13,100 *(-47%) (ing HISA)
-Car : *$12,000* (-5%)

Total Assets: *$513,600*(+0%)

Liabilities:

- Mortgage: *$119,200* (-8%) (year 2 of 4 @ 2.52% fixed, amortization is about 2.5 years)
- HPB loan: *$1,800 *(0%) 
- Credit card: *$31,700* (-30%) @ 0% until July 2014 (MBNA) making minimum payments on these

Total Liabilities: *152,700$* (-13%) 

Networth: *$360,900 *(+7%)


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