# Life of a 30 y/o



## Butter

Hello, if you have questions about my personal life feel free to PM me, would love to make new friends!

All comments regarding my diary are welcome.

I live in Winnipeg. Work PT for the government and PT sub-contracted.

Oct 1, 2013 Net worth *$105,900*
House 280,000
Simplii
Chequing 500
TFSA 11,000
Questrade 
TFSA 2,000
RRSP 0
Pension 5,000
Total 298,500
Mortgage 192,600



Nov 25, 2017 Net worth *$230,277.48*

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 3,248.35
Savings 6,000.00

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 4,932.03
RRSP 11,040.07

Pension 20,000

Total 345,220.45

Mortgage 114,942.97


TFSA
73 VCN.to 31.38
100 XAW.to 24.08
RRSP
30 ENB.to 47.04 (journal)
44 IEFA 64.83
18 IEMG 56.55
60 ITOT 59.15










Past goals: Sold single stocks to simplify portfolio. Finished School.

Next goals: 
1) Make a lump sum on the mortgage. 
2) Save up cash again for several expensive bills on the way. (Dog Jan$2000 Car Insurance Feb$1500 Personal Taxes $2000)


----------



## motl

Am I missing something here or did almost all of your gain in net worth come from paying down your mortgage / appreciation? You've contributed very little to your TFSA/RRSPs over the 4 years. What's your income/spending look like?


----------



## Butters

Yes, I thought paying down my mortgage would be good. I realize now it doesn't matter because I don't pay the interest as it's a rental property right now. When I move back into it I will pay it down.

So I will alter my goals, and try to get close to maxing out my TFSA, and a tiny bit into RRSP

I will also add, I got a lump sum $12,000 in December, lets call it a bonus. Which would put my net worth without bonus at 237,190 still up $7000 from 230,277.48 That $7,000 in 6 weeks is mostly from work income. My new goal will be to max out TFSA before I move back into my house.

Also since my house value and pension aren't quite exact, im going to start rounding a bit more.

And I do appreciate tips/comments, I am finally making the leap into adding more into the stock market, which I should have nibbled away at years ago instead of putting extra on the mortgage. I was extremely busy the last few years, so now I have time to get excited about money again.

Income: 35k government PT 
15k self
10k rental income

Expenses: $500 a month

---------------------------------------

Jan 1, 2018 Net worth* $249,190 
*
House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 15,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 15,000
RRSP 11,190 (up $150)

Pension 20,500

Total 362,690

Mortgage 113,500



RRSP no changes in position, got $60 US dividends from the 3 ishares etfs

TFSA currently
300 VCN.to 32.38 (32.74)	- just finished ex-div date
113 XUU.to 26.33 (25.89) - down a bit on these 3 ishares... these 3 ETFs are broken down from XAW.to
47 XEF.to 30.90	(30.72)
30 XEC.to 27.83 (27.73)

Will add $4000 lump sum in 2018 and will try to balance out some of these positions. Any advice appreciated.

Below is a picture to see percentages
https://imgur.com/0RWGE8S

Can 37.72%
US 28.92% (17.69 + 11.23)
EFA 19.56% (14.02 + 5.54)
EMG 8.14% (4.94 + 3.20)
ENB 5.66%


----------



## Butters

My paycheque changed at one location, so now I collect just under $1000 every week.

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,300
Savings 1,500

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 30,600
RRSP $11,700

Pension 20,700

Total 363,000

Mortgage 112,800

Jan 28, 2018 Net worth *$250,200 *

Sadly only $1,000 gain, this mostly comes from my $1,300 gain in stocks. Quite scary to think I had more spending than income. Paid off the puppy $2600, been spending money on food and social activities.

Next goal : Save cash ... will NOT be adding anymore to my TFSA
renew license + car insurance $1,800 
personal taxes $4000?

I put away as much as I could in the market usually buying 50 free shares of ETF's a day, along the lines of "time in the market is better than timing the market"
Don't think I'll add more until the summer when my larger annual bills are paid. Need to build up that emergency fund.

Also, I'm tempted to move back into my house in the summer, but I might wait until 2019.
I'd like to get my life back on track and I think moving back into my house would be nice. I also think my mom wants to sell her house in the next couple years. Hopefully next couple months give me a better review of my spending.


RRSP sold ENB, put into the 3 etf's

TFSA currently
413 VCN.to
281 XUU.to
151 XEF.to
85 XEC.to
$2000 cash


Stock Market Total $42,300
Can 33.69%
US 32.51% (18.92 + 13.59)
EFA 22.48% (12.09 + 10.39)
EMG 11.31% (6.33 + 4.98)

Perhaps the next step here is dump the $2,000 into USA

Stock Market Summary picture.







https://ibb.co/hmJgUG


----------



## damaaster

Nice to see another person from Winnipeg on the boards! You are a couple years younger than me - but pretty close in age too 
Looks like you are off to a good start - and your expenses are super low - which makes things a lot easier.


Just curious what this means: 
"I put away as much as I could in the market usually buying 50 free shares of ETF's a day"
How do you get free shares each day? Do you mean you don't pay commission on these? I don't use Quest Trade so not sure how it works.

Thanks and good luck!


----------



## Butters

damaaster said:


> How do you get free shares each day? Do you mean you don't pay commission on these? I don't use Quest Trade so not sure how it works


To clarify yes, I pay full price for the shares. But the commission is only a couple pennies. 
So I can add 1 share at a time, if I wanted or 20 shares, don't need to worry about $5 each buy. So I spread over my cost average this past month. Don't have much money to add now so I'll let it ride!

Also in that past monthly update I forgot I get my $1550 rental income so that changes things but I'm busy this week so thought I would post while I had time. 

My expenses might go up once I move back to my house  and buying puppy things. 

I was noturious at saving, started working when I was 15. Never used to go out. Now I'm not afraid to spend $10 on some wings or pizza and go out with friends. And I'm still learning things about the market.

Winnipeg is cool! Nice to meet you!


----------



## damaaster

I'm 34 (lived in Winnipeg my whole life).

Spending is my one weakness - especially on food, booze and Jets tickets.....so I make sure I pay myself first- with Pre authorized payments...otherwise I'd never save anything..haha

I'm starting to simplify my portfolio - I use my RRSP for a few index funds - TFSA for Canadian Dividend payers. Unfortunately I don't have a pension - so I've tried to save pretty aggressively over the last few years as I want to be done with work as soon


----------



## james4beach

Butters said:


> Never used to go out. Now I'm not afraid to spend $10 on some wings or pizza and go out with friends. And I'm still learning things about the market.
> 
> Winnipeg is cool! Nice to meet you!


Winnipeg is a great city to build wealth and have a very comfortable lifestyle.

By the way, Smitty's in St James has great wings and has great specials a couple times a week!


----------



## BigMonkey

I agree on Winnipeg being a nice city. Something you can't really measure by money number is the high quality of life you can get in Winnipeg. 

The worklife balance, affordable housing/nice homes for the prices compared to other parts of Canada, less materialistic/status driven community resulting in less desire in keeping up with the neighbours/friends. 

But the cold and mosquito does suck


----------



## Butters

9:45am market is open

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 2,200
Savings 0

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 33,675
RRSP $11,500

Pension 20,700


Mortgage 112,200

*March 1, 2018 $255,875* 

Up about $6,000 (mainly from wages)
Was an interesting month, right after I posted my Jan 31 net-worth the market dropped 10%, I lost about 4-5k only to regain 3-4k. Sadly I didnt have many funds available to add  I also thought it would be a great year for Canada, but now I think it will be an even better year for the US. I'm interested in that new VGRO.to product would stop me from believe 1 market is better than the other. I have no concrete percentage allocations in mind right now.

This includes Feb1 and Mar1 rent's - Told tenants Summer 2019 I will move back

Havent filed taxes yet (-$4000?)
Added to my TFSA, lol
Will put $1000 more from chequing into XUU.to
Next goals: ???

Stock Market Total $45,100
Can 34.80%
US 33.98% (21.97 + 12.01)
EFA 21.39% (12.39 + 9.00)
EMG 9.84% (5.49 + 4.35)

March Stock Market
https://ibb.co/fTeVqx


- Winnipeg is better than Edmonton, I was there for 4 years. Edmonton had nice bike paths, and views with the river valley. But the Spring and Fall cut into the summer a couple weeks. Winnipeg gets much more hot and for longer, which is worth the colder winter. And it's affordable as suggested. I'd rather live in the states, and be really warm. Hawaii? or Australia. I think one day I might try to think of moving to Niagara or somewhere warm in Canada. Wish our country bought Turks and Cacios.

People and finance are interesting. Not many people want to disclose too much. I have a friend who makes enough to pay her bills and go out and is fine with that. I have another who makes a lot, but spends a lot. No one is really planning for their future. A couple of my friends recently signed up for Questrade. 2 went into weed and arent doing so hot. 1 did well with weed and is in Amazon and other played safe with VGRO. My recommendation to all of them was to pay off any debt first, then follow a simple canadian couch potato index, and don't go heavy into it, just start a couple hundred a month and learn a bit. Have the account and knowledge in case an opportunity arises.


---> In reply to next post
My income and expenses have varied quite a bit. I will send you a PM.
Basically 60k with $1,300 average expenses


----------



## scorpion_ca

Would you care to share your yearly income? You and I started to track our net worth at the same time in 2013.


----------



## Butters

*April 1, 2018*

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 2,100
Savings 0

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 36,300
RRSP $11,400

Pension 20,800


Mortgage 111,450

Total Net Worth* $259,150 *

Up a few thousand due to wages  still need to save cash :-(

I've put more into TFSA, sometimes leaving my chequing account with a couple hundred dollars, 
and actually my mastercard bill was higher than my bank account, first time in history I felt like I was negative money.

Stock Market Total $45,100
Can 32.75%
US 35.60% (24.48 + 11.12)
EFA 22.34% (13.79 + 8.55)
EMG 9.32% (5.21 + 4.11)

April Stock Market
https://ibb.co/bQphH7


Been thinking more of my allocation #'s
Think I want:
28% Canada
35% US
22% EFA
10% EMG
and maybe 5% into a Nasdaq fund or a health fund something we are underweight in here in Canada... any idea's?


----------



## Butters

Apr 27, 2018 *Net worth $274,950* 

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 3,200

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 38,000
RRSP 11,480 (up $80)

Pension 30,500

Total 387,500

Mortgage $110,800
Taxes $1,750

Included May 1 rental income

Got a pension booklet update, 30k is what I put in and if I quit today that's what I keep, IF I make it to retirement, I get some bonus dollars from the company.
My stocks are back to green-ish, and a couple dividends help, no dividends next month.

Not many new funds added into the stock market. Think I might do my home buyers RRSP, and that's it. I want to renovate my mothers house next summer as she plans on selling it. I'm hoping a $40,000 reno could translate to a $50,000 increased sale, and attract more buyers with a turn key ready house. I probably have at least 5k more in TFSA room and 30k in RRSP. Next summer when I move back into my house I won't be able to save any money.

Planning on going FT with government, and working less self contracted hours. All my friends go out late, my current position is super early in the morning. After a few days of going out I'm completely exhausted. Not only will I make more money, and sleep in longer, I think it could be better for my overall health. In the summer anyways, working outdoors in the winter sucks. But I'm really not taking advantage of getting off work early. I go home to nap, don't go to the gym as much as I should.

In other news, I've been running a bit more, biking to work, being more social. Things are going alright. Dog is pretty wild, can't wait until she stops teething. She has cost me $4,000 in total so far  and a bit of lost sleep  I can't imagine having a child haha, but I need to find a partner first 


TFSA currently
502 VCN.to 
444 XUU.to
211 XEF.to
89 XEC.to
18 QQF-F.to

Below is a picture to see percentages
https://ibb.co/fN3Rdc

Can 32.32%
US 36.76% (23.87 + 10.8 + 2.09)
EFA 21.91% (13.57 + 8.34)
EMG 9.01% (5.15 + 3.86)

Seems like I need a bit more international.


----------



## Butter

June 2, 2018 - Net worth $*275,780*

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 4,700

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 38,900
RRSP 13,100 *x .8 *= 10,480

Pension 30,500

Total 385,580

Mortgage $109,800


Upcoming Prop Tax $2,700 Plumber $300


Stock Market Total $51,965.10
Can 31.56%
US 37.56% (23.51 + 11.93 + 2.12)
EFA 21.56% (12.83 + 8.73)
EMG 9.32% (4.84 + 4.48)

June Stock Market
https:

//ibb.co/iJiuyJ



Read James post about RRSP calculation shouldn't be 100%
Had some RRSP I gambit over using CM.to made a couple bucks  (HomeBuyer Repayment)
I expect July's net worth to be very similar as I have $3,000 of upcoming bills.
Started saving cash for House renos Summer 2019, likely won't put any new money in market, will probably add to EFA? with dividends.


----------



## Butter

July 3, 2018 - Net worth *$277,650*

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 5,700

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 39,050
RRSP 13,000 x .8 = 10,400

Pension 30,600

Total 386,750

Mortgage $109,100




Stock Market Total $51,635.69 (down 330 excluding 400 dividends)
Can 32%
US 38%
EFA 21%
EMG 9%

July Stock Market
https:

//ibb.co/coNmUy

(it's not letting me post links due to low forum posts)


No major changes, got some money, paid some bills. Actually quite sad about this. Did get the Rogers World Elite Mastercard. Working FT for government now.

I got $400 of dividends and put into US, maybe next one I should do EFA, it's a bit down


----------



## Butter

Aug 10, 2018 Net worth *$286,150*

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 12,100

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 39,750
RRSP 13,250 x.8 = 10,600

Pension 30,800

Total 396,900


Mortgage $108,100




Upcoming Home Insurance $1,500



I've been tempted to add to an ETF CWW.to or some other beaten down stocks like BCE, but still saving cash. Simplii has promo interest right now.


Can 31.46%
US 39.46% (24.16 + 12.61 + 2.69)
EFA 20.45% (12.16 + 8.29)
EMG 8.63% (4.48 + 4.15)


----------



## james4beach

You've had an amazing growth in net worth... you're up 56 K in just 9 months!

Earlier you wrote "$1,300 average expenses". I presume that's monthly, and yearly expenses of about 16K. How are you expenses so low?

It sounds like you're renting out your house to tenants. Are you able to live with family or something?


----------



## Butter

james4beach said:


> You've had an amazing growth in net worth... you're up 56 K in just 9 months!
> 
> Earlier you wrote "$1,300 average expenses". I presume that's monthly, and yearly expenses of about 16K. How are you expenses so low?
> 
> It sounds like you're renting out your house to tenants. Are you able to live with family or something?


Well I got a one time bonus, and I underestimated my pension. But I figure I'm managing to save about $2,550 cash a month, as well $100 into pension and mortgage principle increases.

I had moved to another city to pursue a girl for four years, then moved back home with mom. Tenants just got married and didn't want extra expenses and I also don't mind saving some money. Next summer when I move back to the house, I will be house poor. That's when I'll probably have to focus a bit more on budgeting. Don't really have a solid plan yet. But now I have a nice cushion.

That expense estimate is probably higher than reality. I pay most things annually, like Car insurance, etc... everything in 1 shot. The rent for the house basically cancels out the costs.
$150 car insurance $150 gas $50 sports $100 eating out $60 phone $40 dog... maybe $550 a month. I don't really buy clothes or accessories. I'm really waiting until I move back to my house before making any substantial changes. I make about $3,100 a month (after taxes)

I will have to say I've been obsessed with money my entire life, growing up from a poor family. And I try to sock away every dollar I make, often missing out on opportunities to be social and do amazing things. I am realizing my mistakes and am not as stingy now. But every time I spend money, I just think, this $50 can be $100 in 8 years if invested.


----------



## Mortgage u/w

Butter said:


> .....I will have to say I've been obsessed with money my entire life, growing up from a poor family. And I try to sock away every dollar I make, often missing out on opportunities to be social and do amazing things. I am realizing my mistakes and am not as stingy now. But every time I spend money, I just think, this $50 can be $100 in 8 years if invested.....


I think you have the right mind-set. It means you actually know the value of a dollar. I was like yourself from an early age and may have missed out on certain luxuries but as you get older, you realize those luxuries are worthless. The fact I held back allowed me to enjoy more important things later on*in life. While my friends struggled with their first home, starting a family and expenses in general, I was always 2 steps ahead and affordability came easy. 

I once read that you should spend money on making memories rather than on materials. So in essence, I don't regret what I may have missed out on. I am actually thankful for being who I was and am reaping its benefits now. I wish the same upon you!


----------



## Eclectic12

Butters said:


> ... Got a pension booklet update, 30k is what I put in and if I quit today that's what I keep, IF I make it to retirement, I get some bonus dollars from the company ...


This sounds odd to me. 

Manitoba and Federally have full vesting immediately. Typically this means that where one quits, the employee + employer contributions + some growth is what one would receive. From what you have written, it sounds like only you are contributing to the pension and it is not growing.

Before Ontario went to immediate vesting for pensions, had I left the company in under two years from joining the pension - the proceeds I would have received would have been my contributions plus a bit of growth where the pension would have kept the employer's contributions plus growth.


Depending on the situation - the $30K might be accurate but include more than your contributions or it might be understating what you would receive, if it really is your contributions only.
If the employer isn't putting in contributions - it is usually not called a pension.




Butters said:


> ... I want to renovate my mothers house next summer as she plans on selling it. I'm hoping a $40,000 reno could translate to a $50,000 increased sale, and attract more buyers with a turn key ready house ...


Just be sure the renos are ones that improve the chance of selling and/or increase the values. Every buyer will value or hate each reno with only a few being attractive to a broad range of buyers.

http://homeownership.ca/homeownership/top-five-home-renovations-that-increase-property-value/
https://www.hgtv.ca/renovations/photos/20-renovations-that-wont-add-value-to-your-home-1894750/


Cheers


----------



## Butter

I made a slight error on last calculations.


Sept 1, 2018 Net worth $*287,456*

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 12,700

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 40,000
RRSP 13,320 x.8 = 10,656

Pension 30,900

Total 395,256


Mortgage $107,800

I'm using Rogers WE Mastercard now.
MBNA has harassed me in the past about a balance transfer for 0.00%. My limit is $14,000. It's a 1 time fee of 1% so for $140. On the site I just see 0.99%. Maybe I'll phone and put this against the mortgage.

Still tempted to invest some cash, *please help*!

I want to buy CM.to and BCE.to and a railroad and maybe FTS.to Basically following some of Argo's 6 pack. I really think Canada will get a boost here after NATFA gets renamed and the deal is done.
I also want to buy AAPL. And CWW.to ETF or some more QQC-F.to
$14,000 cash is so much! At least Simplii has that promo. Might go to Tangerine after it ends. So many thoughts and decisions!!!

Not so happy with my emerging so far 

*Stay the course?*




Eclectic12 - My Pension numbers are probably way off. I don't fully understand it. I just tried to add some value because they take off $80 a paycheque, and come Oct 2042 I can retire with a pension! Awesome to know I will get the companies portion too!

My mom's house is very dated and not very functional. I think it needs a bit of a flip just to have a turn key ready house so it will actually sell. The basement needs to be more useful! The house only has 1 washroom, a few of the light fixtures are broken, etc. I have a real estate team in mind that flips houses. They said they would partner up with me just to get the 3% real estate sale price. Nothing has been written in stone yet, but I'm fairly certain the house could use a make over.

Mortgage u/w - thanks for the comments. I am way ahead of the curve with my own hard earned money. But it doesn't feel like it. I'm hoping things will be different next year!


----------



## milhouse

I bought some CM last year when I thought they were undervalued as I think there was concern about their mortgage exposure. It went up, down early this year with all the financial, and climbed back up so I'm not sure if it's that much of a bargain as it was. Right now I would like to add to my existing holdings of BNS because I think they're currently undervalued as they work through some acquisition issues and TD because they just seem like they have a great business and because of their US exposure. 
I have held BCE for a relatively long time and will continue to do so. However, I'm not sure if their share price is going to show a lot of life while they build out their fibre footprint and wireless revenue growth is slowing. But I feel confident they'll continue they'll continue to grow their dividend by 3-5% per year. Longer term, I'm hoping they'll somehow be able to harvest the investments they're making to their fibre wired network and soon to be 5G wireless network. 
I also have FTS as a long term hold. With rising rates, I'm also not sure if we'll see a lot of life from their share price in the short term. But I also feel confident they'll make good on their 6% dividend growth guidance. 
Been dying to add some CNR for a few years now but never got around to it. 

My EM components are also hindering my overall portfolio but it's a relatively small chunk and going to stay the course with it and hope things pan out. There's a lot of overall distaste for EM currently due to Turkey, Argentina, rising rates, trade war concerns, etc. But it's also a longer term hold for me.


----------



## Butter

Sept 30, 2018 Net worth $289,950

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 700
Savings 3,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 51,750
RRSP 13,230 x.8 = 10,600

Pension 31,000

Total 397,050


Mortgage $107,100







So, moving back to the house in a few weeks (tenants found a new place), the needle won't be moving much now. I'll be lucky to hit 300k by the year end.

I had the FOMO and bought a couple week stocks. I put 7k in, and panic sold half. I'm up about $60 but I'm pretty sure had I put it in VCN or XUU I'd be up the same, if not more. And it's really stressful for me to watch my hard earned money go 10% one day, then 7% up the next two days.

Anyways, I need 1 side of my backyard fenced for the dog. And need to do a lot of packing which I have no motivation to do. Lots to do.


----------



## Butter

*lowered house value by 20k

*Oct 31, 2018 Net worth $270,000*

House 280,000

Simplii
Chequing 730
Savings 6,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 48,750
RRSP 12,400 x.8 = 9920

(3k lower in TFSA ouch)

Pension 31,000

Total 376,400


Mortgage $106,400





a $50 increase this month... basically worked for free last month :'(


debating getting a roommate for the house


----------



## Butter

Dec 2, 2018 Net worth *$272,420*

House 280,000

Simplii
Chequing 900
Savings 5,800

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 49,750
RRSP 12,800 x.8 = 10,270

Pension 31,100

Total 377,820


Mortgage $105,400



Money stayed the same, went on a trip to Vegas, took 6 days unpaid from work plus 3 other job days and spent close to $1,000
This trip also prompted me to get a roommate, because I'm money hungry, and I could use help with the dog.

Market recovered slightly.


----------



## Butter

Jan 3, 2018 Net worth $270,200

House 280,000

Simplii
Chequing 2500
Savings 0

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 52,000
RRSP 12,000 x.8 = 9,600

Pension 31,000

Total 375,100


Mortgage $104,900


*note put 6k into TFSA* plan to buy XUU.to soon
went on road trip to mountains -400 $

Minus 2k for the month.. stock market loses.. makes me sad

Rough allocations
CAN 40%
US 36%
EFA 17%
EMG 7%

obviously too much in Canada, was hoping a pipeline would go through, NAFTA would be good, and weed would help boost our economy
maybe one day ill sell some CAN to add to EU

kinda wish i had saved money in my savings account :'(


----------



## scorpion_ca

I see you are with Questrade. Do you have any complaints about their service/platform? 

I am planning to open accounts with them in the next couple of weeks. I will be buying only ETFs.


----------



## Butter

scorpion_ca said:


> I see you are with Questrade. Do you have any complaints about their service/platform?
> 
> I am planning to open accounts with them in the next couple of weeks. I will be buying only ETFs.


I have ZERO COMPLAINTS! I'm pretty easy, I just log onto the app, buy a couple ETFs, and close it.. takes about 15 seconds. Like you, I'm mainly focused on ETFs so Questrade is SO CHEAP and really the best!!!


One thing I will say is that Questrade is not good for millionaires, or penny stocks. If buy over 1,000 shares the fee will be $10. In that case CIBC at $6 would be best.

But for the common small potato like me Questrade is the best! They do have an ECN fee of 0.0035 so every 3 shares you pay 1 cent (even on etfs) but this is avoidable if you buy a unit of 100 shares. (5k worth of a $30 etf NOT BUYING IN 100's would cost $0.59)

Service is great! I have done Norbert Gambit a few times, over the chat. Takes a few days, but it's all good. Anytime you have a question, you can be lazy like me and use chat or email.

You can have your account set up in less than a week! Using Pay Bills takes about 2 days for money to go into my account, and withdraw only takes a couple days as well.

Honestly... It's so cheap, about 5 of my friends signed up... they usually just add some shares of VGRO.to every month, and that's it. No major fees. Investing really is about behaviour


----------



## scorpion_ca

Thanks for the detail explanation. Neither I am a millionaire nor I trade penny stock, so I think QT would be good for me.

Is it possible to set up DRIP by account at QT? How long does it take to receive money from QT to your account?


----------



## peterk

Have my registered accounts with QT. No major complaints. 

Can't insta-gambit to USD though, like some brokers can, which is annoying.

The free ETF purchase is really great for when you just have a few bucks of dividends trickling in and don't know what to do with. Just buy 1 share of XIU.


----------



## Prairie Guy

Butter said:


> I will have to say I've been obsessed with money my entire life, growing up from a poor family. And I try to sock away every dollar I make, often missing out on opportunities to be social and do amazing things. I am realizing my mistakes and am not as stingy now. But every time I spend money, I just think, this $50 can be $100 in 8 years if invested.





> I think you have the right mind-set. It means you actually know the value of a dollar. I was like yourself from an early age and may have missed out on certain luxuries but as you get older, you realize those luxuries are worthless. The fact I held back allowed me to enjoy more important things later on*in life. While my friends struggled with their first home, starting a family and expenses in general, I was always 2 steps ahead and affordability came easy.


Saving is good, but I think it's a mistake to neglect or avoid building your social contacts for the sake of a few extra dollars. You can go out once or twice a week with friends and do it cheaply...nurse 1 or 2 drinks all night, or eat first and just have an appetizer instead of a full meal. 

The reality is that most people build the majority of their friends and social contacts when they are young, and they do that by getting together on a regular basis....parties, socials, and just hanging out. If you neglect to do it now you may find that you have no close friends when you get older. It really is hard to build close friendships in your later years.


----------



## Butter

scorpion_ca said:


> Thanks for the detail explanation. Neither I am a millionaire nor I trade penny stock, so I think QT would be good for me.
> 
> Is it possible to set up DRIP by account at QT? How long does it take to receive money from QT to your account?


You can set up synthetic DRIP with Questrade. Even if you can't drip, you can log in every couple months and buy 1 share of an ETF for free. Transfers between Simplii and Questrade take about 2 days for me. 

I can't express how good Questrade has been. I don't need any fancy services or to talk to anyone, all I need is to put money on there, log into the app and buy shares.



PrairieGuy, thanks for the social tips. I am trying to slowly improve that mindset. I went to Vegas in November which was a net -$3000 journey purely for social reasons. I regret spending the money, but am getting a couple new friends, they invited me skiing this past weekend, but it was super cold so I passed, but I am going in March! My one set of friends are pretty good, but in reality all I want to do is build my own family. Although I like getting together playing board games, or sports.


I have some bigger bills coming up so I'm probably back to saving cash

License + Insurance $1,400
Personal Taxes probably a few grand (10k self-contract income + 16k rental income) should be at 80k this year. Actually the last couples years I was in school and at 40k but had low expenses.

Seems like even though I've spent some money, my bank account is still growing (or staying the same). In the past few weeks I have gained around 3-5k in the Questrade. Markets have turned around thank god, and I deposited my 2019 6k TFSA into TD.to - not sure if I'm completely maxed out yet. I've also thought of opening a non-reg account and buying a few nice dividend stocks, like TD, BCE, FTS, IPL, just a grand or two in them and let them run, but likely won't... I should save for my mom's house reno's and after that pay down my mortgage. Renewal is up in July, at 2.2% right now, 10 years to go (100k).

Buying TD was strange, I really want to buy XUU.to to balance my equities allocations, but I didn't like the price. Likely both positions have gone up a few percent in the last couple weeks. I need to be more disciplined here. I should just sell everything and switch to XGRO.to did you know with Questrade you can set up a PACC and have them auto withdraw a set amount (say $200) every month and buy the ETF.

I recently found an old phone where I had some previous stock picks from a few years ago I had. I had a 100% gain on GIB, MTY, 50% on FTS, BRK, and some other awesome results, which sadly outperforms the recent indecision I've made about investing in ETFs and messing around with different positions. I bought a few POT stocks, mostly broke even, but wasn't worth the stress. I had about 10k in my account before late 2017, now I've boosted it up above 60k purely from working and saving. Still have some things to figure out, and would love some help. For some reason, I can't just sell my positions and do the allocations I want.

Quick reference, I have 

TFSA (all tsx)
22k VCN
15k XUU
6.5k TD
6k XEF
2k XEC
2k BNS
1k QQC-F
1k HEXO

RRSP
4.7k ITOT (50%)
3k IEFA (33%)
1.6k IEMG (17%)


If I total the allocations (rounding), I have

32% VCN
10% TD 3% BNS 1% HEXO
22% XUU 9% ITOT 1% QQC-F
9% XEF 6% IEFA
3% XEC 3% IEMG

46% Canada
32% US
21% International (15% EU 6% Emerg)

So Basically if I sell my 3 single stocks, I will have 32% VCN, and I can get more US / International

Ideally I think I would want 28% VCN, 50% US 17% EU 5% EMG

So maybe 1.5k into XEF.to and rest (9k) into XUU.to would balance me well


What bothers me of VCN is that I feel like The 5 Pack portfolio would be better results, and a bit more fun.


I've been thinking too, I turn 49 in 18 years. I could pull out my pension from the government. Or I could work until 55. I would rather retire sooner than later, then I can go to yoga, go for walks, ride my bike, get outside and enjoy things I like and not worry about going into work. Like why am I saving money right now? Because if I have kids I won't be able to save? I have everything in place to succeed. I have a house. I have 2 decent jobs, plan B's. Why? What's the point? What's the end game? I hate Winnipeg weather in the winter.


----------



## peterk

Butter said:


> I've been thinking too, I turn 49 in 18 years. I could pull out my pension from the government. Or I could work until 55. I would rather retire sooner than later, then I can go to yoga, go for walks, ride my bike, get outside and enjoy things I like and not worry about going into work. Like why am I saving money right now? Because if I have kids I won't be able to save? I have everything in place to succeed. I have a house. I have 2 decent jobs, plan B's. Why? What's the point? What's the end game? I hate Winnipeg weather in the winter.


Hey Butter - Same age, getting married soon - Everything is a trade-off, I'm starting to learn that. Also, some other people will have an easier life than you and some a harder one, so there's no sense in setting a goal that is benchmarked against other people, you aren't them. Just like working 60+hrs/week is too extreme, so is retiring too early to focus on yoga and walks... Feeling dissatisfied is normal, feeling unsure about whether to prepare for the future or live for the moment is normal. Don't think so much about what things might be like 20 years from now, either way it's coming, and we won't all end up satisfied or living on yachts. 

What's the end game? I dunno. Procreating would be good... Being a builder of the future instead of a destroyer of the future, like so many, would be good too... Dying without too much regret or deep guilt, I suppose. Suffering in the cold along the way? That's life.


----------



## james4beach

A stable, well paying government job (with pension) is a really great thing. Very hard to find any fault with that. But even within government, there are opportunities to move around and that might be worth exploring. I think it's good to have some change in your life, both location and job. Again, government provides opportunities to shift into different kinds of jobs so you don't even have to leave government to get that kind of change.

But gaining skills and experience in a variety of jobs is important. You wouldn't want to become incredibly comfortable in a certain job and stagnate. Before you know it, this will all you know how to do (this seems to hit people in their 40s or 50s when the memory of other experiences fades away). I hear older people talk about this, even ones who are extremely well paid professionals with strong experience. They are good at what they do, but only at what they do.

The problem is, jobs may not last forever. The economy changes, the structure of government changes, parties in power come and go, populism comes and goes. Pensions can be mismanaged and raided, laws can be changed that change everything. So many things can force you out of a job. I don't want to ever find myself saying "... but this is the only job I know how to do!"

Recently I spoke with a man in his 50s who told me that some of his professional colleagues, guys earning around 200K, lost their jobs and are unable to find a new one. All the years of experience is meaningless if your job (fundamentally) has been phased out, or you haven't adapted to the new style economy.

We're in our 30s and we might still have 40 years of work ahead of us. We might live for another 60-70 years. An incredible amount of change can happen over that many decades. Personally I like the idea of having continuous change and variety in life, skills, profession. Partly to stay sharp and expand my skill set, but also *partly to exercise the muscle of adaptation to change*.

I even like the idea of deliberately disrupting an existing career path, just to avoid stagnation and force a situation of adaptation and new learning. Diversification & adaptation means short-term pain, but long term gain.

Life is very different now than, say, the 1950s, back when (a) life expectancy for men was only 66 years and (b) most jobs and professions were lifelong. This is a whole different game now!

Government jobs might insulate you from that, with the danger that it could still all change in a shocking way at some point, in which case you are even more vulnerable to the dangers I describe above.

... additionally, I think it requires a different way of investing and wealth management. Due to employment and career uncertainty I think time horizons for investing are far shorter than the "30 year" norm from past generations. The old model of working and retirement is outdated and dead, in my opinion. This is why I endorse investment styles that are more reliable on shorter time horizons such as permanent portfolio, all weather, 50/50.


----------



## Butter

Feb 3, 2018 Net worth *$277,960*

House 280,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,200
Savings 2,100

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 56,500
RRSP 12,700 x.8 = 10,160

Pension 32,000

Total 381,960


Mortgage $104,000


Sold TD for $460 profit, bought 4k XUU.to and 2k CNR

VCN 31.6%
USA 37.6%
EU 14.6% Emerg 6.3% = 20.9% international

10% single stocks
2k CNR
2k BNS
1.2k Hexo
1.k QQC-F
Ratio's looking at bit better. Looking to buy ATD.b, maybe DOL, then T.to, ACO.X .... Maybe MA, GOOG eventually.. Think I still have a few thousand room left in TFSA

Life has been unnecessarily stressful, at least my money is pushing forward.


----------



## Butter

Feb 3, 2018 Net worth $283,864

House 280,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 1,500

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 61,300
RRSP 13,080 x.8 = 10,464

Pension 33,000

Total 387,264


Mortgage $103,400



TFSA went up like 5k
2k in 4 stocks CNR, BNS, ATDb, DOL 
and couch potato ETF's


----------



## Butter

Last entry was Feb 28 not Feb 3, 

April 1, 2018 Net worth $286,268

House 280,000

Simplii
Chequing 700
Savings 20,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 62,300
RRSP 13,210 x.8 = 10,568

Pension 34,000

Total 407,568




Mortgage $102,300

Balance Transfer $19,000.00

NOT COUNTED
Renos -$2,000


Looking to add BNS(non-reg), CTC, looking at removing DOL on strength


----------



## Butter

April 28, 2018 Net worth $296,430

House 285,000

Simplii
Chequing 400
Savings 12,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 65,200
RRSP 14,000 x 0.7 = 9,800

Pension 73,300 x 0.6 = 43,980

Total 416,380




Mortgage $101,200

Balance Transfer $18,750

NOT COUNTED
Renos -$12,000 (at least another 10k to go)



So a big boost to my pension I didn't account for last year.


Sold DOL and CNR, looking to sell ATD.b if it goes up 5% ... Will keep BNS for now... Maybe looking to shave off some VCN / XUU as markets hit 52 week highs... might not...


Right now TFSA is 
5k cash
23k VCN
22k XUU
6.5k XEF
2.5k XEC

2.3k ATDb
2k BNS

RRSP
5.3k ITOT
3.3k IEFA
1.7k IEMG

And maybe just keeping the TFSA simple for right now. Might have to pull out 5k for contractor. Mom's house is gutted.

A friend is looking for houses in my area, says she can't find anything for less than 350k


----------



## james4beach

Wow, nice! You're about to hit 300 

You must be seeing good performance recently, right? VCN and XUU are on a tear.


----------



## Butter

james4beach said:


> Wow, nice! You're about to hit 300
> 
> You must be seeing good performance recently, right? VCN and XUU are on a tear.


*Yes!* I remember in December my portfolio was down 8k, now it's up about 4k... a 12k swing... huge! If you look back, I added a big chuck before VCN went down, so happy it's finally back... money I was thinking of using for mom's reno's... took out a balance transfer instead... lol

But, its a milestone for me, getting more networth than my house... im always juggling the numbers here, trying to make logic of everything... lol
I'll be glad when mom sells her house, and hopefully repays my reno fees... hope everything goes smooth, as it has so far

Thanks for the message j4b


----------



## Gruff403

Great job Butter. Early 30's with 300K in assets! Why are RRSP and Pension multiplied by 0.7 and 0.6 respectively? If it is to account for taxes I think that is way to high.


----------



## james4beach

Gruff, curious what multiplier you think is reasonable for RRSPs (I can't tell if you mean the ratio is too high, or implied tax rate is too high). I multiply my RRSP by 0.75. It's impossible to estimate future taxes but I was thinking 25% is a reasonable guess and one can only make a very coarse guess anyway.


----------



## Butter

Gruff403 said:


> Great job Butter. Early 30's with 300K in assets! Why are RRSP and Pension multiplied by 0.7 and 0.6 respectively? If it is to account for taxes I think that is way to high.


Ahhh The .6 is probably too much, but the pension could change... could go to 0

.7 taxes seems fair if I have pension income....

Who knows, I just don't physically see the money today, so I didn't want it to become overweight in my networth... I only read about multiplying from James, and I thought it was a good idea.

Honestly *I like tracking my TFSA going up, and my mortgage going down*  I'm very tempted to pull out 1k a month from TFSA and pay off that mortgage in 6 years. 


I'll admit, I don't know the most about finances, but I'm trying to learn, I ask doctine a couple questions on here, and he is good at responding 2 weeks later  wish he still blogged!

I think I'm doing well for my age, and it would be amazing to find a partner who liked being a cheap-o like me haha (probably my lowest dating requirement)... of course, they have to like eating healthy (sometimes) and exercise (sometimes)!


----------



## Gruff403

Butter you are doing VERY well for your age. Keep it going. Highly unlikely a gov't pension would go to 0. What is the unfunded liability if any? Are there any plans to address it? BTW please change your updates to read 2019. Every single person makes mistakes with personal finance decisions - the most important thing IMO is that you control debt, save for your future and lead a full and active life. The right person will come along. I joke that I married my wife because she had a house.
Personally I would not touch my TFSA to pay down house quicker unless you plan to do a Smith maneuver. You like watching TFSA grow and mortgage shrink be happy with that. Of course lots depends on interest rates, how much of each payment goes to principal vs interest, your comfort level with debt etc... Butter you will have a paid for asset before you are 40 - fantastic. If you tap the TFSA you lose the time value of money and how do you plan to replace that asset? Easier to access TFSA funds then draw money from a paid for house.

James. Early retired at 56. Our income sources include RRIF, Teaching Pension, CPP, part time work, dividend income, rental. Different income gets taxed differently. Before I retired I used my tax program to input where I thought our income would come from. Our marginal tax rate is 10% on 65K combined income. I would use 15 or 20% tax on RRSP. Butter will not likely have a large RRSP because she has a pension. Tax withheld on my pension is 11.5%. I hope to owe the gov't a couple grand next year if I do this right. We don't pay the marginal rate on income. Manitoba tax payers pay no tax on the first 21 600 of income and then add on other tax breaks such as charitable giving etc... 
You're right that no one knows the future or changes that might come. Who ever thought that the gov't would create the TFSA - amazing gift to Canadians. Have an amazing day.


----------



## Butter

June 1, 2019 Net worth $*286,040*

House 285,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 7,500

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 54,700
RRSP 13,200 x 0.7 = 9,240

Pension 73,000 x 0.65 = 47,450

Total 404,890




Mortgage $100,200

Balance Transfer $18,650


NOT COUNTED
Renos -$23,500
Paint -$1,000


*NOTES*
withdrew $7850 from TFSA to help pay reno's... House hopefully should be done in a week or so, and on the market soon!


Sold ATD only single stock left is BNS which is -6% (including 2 dividends) thankfully CNR, DOL, ATD were all about 14% profits. Market has been taking a bit of a beating as of late  I was tempted to sell when they were peaking at ATH, but stayed the course, and definitely won't sell now

VCN 36%
XUU 45%
XEF 15.5%
XEC 6.5%

Seems like if I sold BNS and bought XEF my numbers would be fairly balanced how I want them (or just buy 2k of XEF in 2020 when I get more room). But I'll hold it still. Like the banking sector, good value right now.

Once mom's sells and I get my money back, I might do a lump sum on the house, or open a non-reg account and buy 5k or so worth of another bank stock. 

I have to renew my mortgage, might go with 1 or 2 year if its really cheap, or 5 year variable. only 100k to go, i want it gone! I can do 10% so 20k annual and double ups... tempting 

Also thanks for the comments guys... keeps me honest and thinking!


----------



## Butter

June 29, 2019 Net worth $281,465

House 285,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,200
Savings 0

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 56,000
RRSP 13,600 x 0.7 = 9,520

Pension 73,300 x 0.65 = 47,645

Total 399,365




Mortgage $99,500

Balance Transfer $18,400


NOT COUNTED
Renos -$25,000
Paint -$1,000

*NOTES*
I paid my personal taxes, property taxes, etc..
reno mom's house is not fun, its on the market now! thank god its over. I also made a poor pick at work, so the next 3 years I have something not as good as what it could have been  it's eating me up.


----------



## Butter

Aug 9, 2019 Net worth *$312,990*

House 290,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 26,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 55,000
RRSP 13,450 x 0.7 = 9,415

Pension 73,500 x 0.65 = 47,775

Total 429,190




Mortgage $98,800
Balance Transfer $17,400



NOTES
Pick at work is better, haha hindsight... things are good, just got my money back from moms reno's... mom made a bunch of money!

debating on selling my 20k vcn into 10k hxt 10k zlb
also my tfsa is full (i took some out) so maybe ill put a few grand into RRSP, and maybe do non-reg... maybe TD or some safe dividend player ... any suggestions?


----------



## Butter

Sept 5, 2019 Net worth $331,500

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 7,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 56,000
RRSP 13,600 x 0.75 = 10,200

Pension 74,000 x 0.7 = 51,800

Total 426,000




Mortgage $77,500
Balance Transfer $17,000



NOTES

I sold all my ETFs in TFSA, sadly they are about $1,500 higher now 
-I listened to my dad who has never invested, he told me to take it out and keep my money safe... he thought I was losing hundreds of dollars everyday, but I am definitely in the green, mainly from dividends over the past few years.
Also he wanted to buy a house (under my name he is poor) we offered 267k on a 250k house, and it went for 277k  oh well

put 20k on mortgage

inflated a few other numbers


----------



## OnlyMyOpinion

Butter said:


> ... NOTES
> I sold all my ETFs in TFSA, sadly they are about $1,500 higher now
> -I listened to my dad who has never invested, he told me to take it out and keep my money safe... he thought I was losing hundreds of dollars everyday, but I am definitely in the green, mainly from dividends over the past few years.
> Also he wanted to buy a house (under my name he is poor) we offered 267k on a 250k house, and it went for 277k oh well


What is your plan for your TFSA savings? If you have no intention of spending the money for the long term (10+yrs), then you should consider buying right back in and following your plan (at a cost of $1500). Hopefully this can be a learning moment - have a plan and stick to it. Do not not listen to anyone who is is not part of your financial plan. 

As for buying a house in your name for your father. Whose money? What personal liability are you taking on by doing this? Sounds like a poor idea to me.


----------



## Butter

OnlyMyOpinion said:


> What is your plan for your TFSA savings? If you have no intention of spending the money for the long term (10+yrs), then you should consider buying right back in and following your plan (at a cost of $1500). Hopefully this can be a learning moment - have a plan and stick to it. Do not not listen to anyone who is is not part of your financial plan.
> 
> As for buying a house in your name for your father. Whose money? What personal liability are you taking on by doing this? Sounds like a poor idea to me.


Would be my down payment, under my name, etc... I would be a landlord... my dad is extremely handy, and i know you will all say its a bad idea, the only setback i see is health issues... i think we might just give up on the idea anyways.

I know, I shouldn't have listened... But I know that money in the market should be left alone for 5+ years, and if I were to buy a rental property, I couldn't have it in the stock market... I explained this to dad, and he said keep my money safe... my dad is the type to keep money under his mattress. 
My mom sold her house, and I convinced her to go to Steinbach Credit union where she is making 2.65% on her savings now


I can't buy 60k back anyways, I put 20k into mortgage, 20k into PSA.to and I have about 20k cash, or so... I donno So I may spend that 20k in 25% HXT.to / 75% XAW.to and keep doubling up mortgage payments. I'm actually fearful of a recession in 2020, The next 6 months will probably be pretty good though.

60k was a lot of money, and I did not enjoy the -$2,000 days followed by 3 days of only +$500

I will slowly think about my next actions, and how to proceed from here. But likely doubling up mortgage payments, and keeping cash for now.


----------



## OnlyMyOpinion

Fair enough. Certainly knocking off the mortgage is usually a good idea.
As to whether becoming a landlord makes sense, that's a call that depends on your specific circumstances.
You're doing great btw.


----------



## Butter

Oct 2, 2019 Net worth *$331,225*

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 500
Savings 5,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 40,000
RRSP 13,300 x 0.75 = 9,975

Pension 74,500 x 0.7 = 52,150


Total 407,625



Mortgage $76,400



*Bought $3,000 into XGRO.to today*
$2,000 existing in BNS.to
and 35k in PSA.to


I missed that wild ride to the top, however it's lower now, than when I sold...
When the right time comes ill sell my PSA to buy more XGRO... 
Anyways, I'm back in the market now! Lol


Also to note: I have $900 tax rebate and potentially $2,000 coming back to me over the next 5 years (peg-city car co-op)
$550 loan to friend
and likely $2,000 owing on future taxes and $1,500 for license + insurance (in Feb)
Let's call it all a wash
Paid my balance transfer off!
I suspect the next few months I'll keep doubling up mortgage payments, and buy some clothes and stuff, my networth might increase $1,500 a month if im lucky.


----------



## Butter

Oct 27, 2019 Net worth *$334,250*

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 5,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 40,200
RRSP 13,800 x 0.75 = 10,350

Pension 75,000 x 0.7 = 52,500


Total 409,050



Mortgage $74,800




35k in PSA.to

Looking to maybe buy a couple stocks, MTY.to ENB.to come to mind, sad I missed that 4% on CP.to earnings
I'd like to sell half my PSA and buy indexes... probably won't though, mindful of a possible recession


----------



## Butter

Dec 1, 2019 Net worth $*339,800*

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 6,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 40,600
RRSP 14,400 x 0.75 = 10,800

Pension 76,000 x 0.7 = 53,200


Total 411,600



Mortgage $71,800




35k in PSA.to - Sold 3.5k bought 3.5k MTY so far up 8% on it

still sad I sold a few months ago, i'd be 5k richer right now!

Just plugging away I guess, bought a few running shoes, nothing else exciting... 
been debating doing a 30k renos, adding sliding patio doors to a hot tub


----------



## Rising Tide

I see it was brought up earlier in thread, but I'm still not sure how you're getting your pension value. To me it looks like you are just taking your yearly salary multiplied by the 70% pension you'd get at full retirement. This would be a payout you would get every year.

Commuted value would be a much better number to use, and it would factor in the sequence of payments you could expect, therefore be higher as well. Usually on your pension statement the CV is listed and I know for most government jobs you can take the CV prior to a certain age or years of service. That is the number I use.

Have you looked into that at all?


----------



## Eclectic12

I'm not sure I'd use the CV to replace the full pension value estimate.

The rest of the items are tracking how the assets build so I'd go with the DB pension formula to see how the annual pension builds.
For my private pension, the credits are something like 1.65% a year. So for someone in the pension eight years, the pension would be 1.65% x years of credits earned x annual salary or about 13.2% of annual salary. Where one reached twenty five years of credits then it's 1.65% x 25 x annual salary which is about 41% of annual salary.

The growth shows up as the pension credits are built.

Where one has access to the pension formula and things like having a guarantee period, these can be factored in. For example, if it's a ten year guarantee then multiply by the ten years. If you live longer, it will be worth more.


There are several challenges I see with using the CV (assuming it is published as all three of my private DB pensions do not publish a CV until one quits the company *and* quits the DB pension).

The first is that changes in the assumption factors such as interest rates, mortality, retirement dates etc. could cause the CV to move in the opposite direction to the pension value. With more time, the pension annual amount will go up but a rise in interest rates might keep the CV amount even or drop it.

The second is that the CV doesn't take potential taxes into account. The two DB pension I left did not have a lot of credits built up, did not have high contribution rates and were not generous. The result was that the limited transfer amount plus RRSP room was able to absorb the full CV amount on a tax deferred basis with no taxable income to report. Others who had more credits, in a more generous pension have reported their maximum transfer amount plus RRSP room plus TFSA room was *six figures short of the CV amount*. They had to report as taxable income the six figure amount, plus other source of income in that tax year - reducing what they had left for retirement.


Where one is still in the pension - it makes more sense to me to be tracking the growth in the annual pension amount or something similar.


Cheers


----------



## Rising Tide

Good points. For me, the commuted value is published and it would be the amount I would get if I were to quit at that time, so I feel like it makes sense for me to use that number. 

However as you stated, the CV does fluctuate with interest rates etc. so it is definitely not linear, and will also will have possible tax issues like you listed.

I still feel that in my case it is the best number I can work with. If other companies don't provide it or have different caveats then it may not work as well.


----------



## Eclectic12

If it makes sense to use the CV then I'd suggest figuring out the maximum transfer value (MTV) that can be rolled over to a LIRA.
At least then one would know up front what sort of tax hit might in play (assuming other factors by the time of taking the CV don't make a significant change). https://milliondollarjourney.com/how-to-calculate-pension-maximum-transfer-value-mtv.htm


Cheers


----------



## Rising Tide

Thanks Eclectic. I'll check out that link and take a closer look at the MTV part of it!


----------



## Butter

I've been using CV from the book they mailed out in March, and just adding a few hundred dollars which comes off my cheque.

I just logged into the website 
Commuted Value Transferable Within Income Tax Limits $45,000.00
Lump Sum Taxable Payment Above Maximum Permitted $56,000.00
Total commuted value $101,000.00

Maybe I should start using this number x .7 like I've been doing? idk

Can I brag that I'm a half millionaire yet? Am I 32 years old now? Half way to retirement?


----------



## Eclectic12

Where .7 is being used, presumably one is assuming an average tax rate of 30%, correct?

Which number is it being applied to? 
How reasonable is the assumption for all income when the taxable part of the lump sum (which is likely growing each year) is paid?
How likely is it that one would prefer the CV including it's taxable portion instead of an annual pension?


Up until one is given the option by quitting or from the pension plan - what is building up is the annual pension, with any guarantee period.


Cheers


----------



## Butter

Jan 9, 2020 Net worth $*353,775*

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 1,500

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 46,700
RRSP 16,500 x 0.75 = 12,375

Pension 90,000 x 0.7 = 63,000


Total 424,575



Mortgage $70,800



Getting inflated by the pension, next month 100k unless stock market tanks

6k to TFSA in psa.to
1.7k to RRSP in TD.to (home buyers re-payment)

Save some cash for 1.3k car insurance in Feb, and personal taxes soon, then in summer property taxes


another 20k and 3.5 years and I could pay off my mortgage

with 350k house value and no multiplier for RRSP/pension 102k
net worth could be *517,700*


----------



## Butter

Feb 3, 2020 Net worth *$396,700* (362,575)

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 1,500

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 46,900
RRSP 16,500 (x 0.75 = 12,375)

Pension 100,000 (x 0.7 = 70,000)


Total 465,900



Mortgage $69,200


House value after mortgage $230,800
TFSA + Cash = 49,400
*280,200* will be nice when this number is the same value as the house.


Not much change, no change in my chequing account due to doubling up mortgage payments, and spending money going out more, dating...
My TFSA is mostly PSA.to so not much change there.

sold my MTY.to with a 12% profit... still like the company though...

Should have maybe listened to OnlyMyOpinion and bought back into the market at an educational loss of $1,000+ or bought more XGRO.to
I know I'm still trying to time the market, but I'd love to dump 20k back in if the market dips here... with this virus, apple, startbucks, many big companies are shutting down offices in China, I think that will impact their next quarter results, as well as USA said their GDP would be affected by -0.5%
And save another 20k for if it dips more, or to lump sum on the mortgage in July again, or have cash laying around for a unlikely newer used car.
*40k to spend lets go!*


----------



## BigMonkey

Good job! Your pension went from 73 to 100k in a span of ~6 months. Was wondering if this was your work pension? And if it is, is this a Gov DB plan?


----------



## Butter

It went up due to my poor estimates. It is a Gov DB plan.


----------



## Butter

Feb 28, 2020 Net worth *$396,300* (362,550)
(loss of ~$300) - I went skiing, spent lots on food, etc... but since money was in PSA.to no major losses with this Coronovirus downturn. I also sold my 4k of MTY.to and my 3.5k of XGRO.to from TFSA prior to this drop. I've been following the virus and knew it would drop. I think the next 3-6 month earnings will be lower, with lower guidance from most companies. I will for sure be buying again this summer. I might chop it up and start doing $500 weekly in a few months. I have also stopped double up payments to my mortgage.

House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 1,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 46,900
RRSP 15,000 (x 0.75 = 11,250)
*i will be doing a new multiplier of 0.25 and subtract that from total NW. NW will remain same format.

Pension 100,000 (x 0.7 = 70,000)


Total 465,900



Mortgage $67,600


*Notes*
No change in TFSA for feb, and prices are at the same levels as when I sold 6 months ago  
I will be looking to deploy money in the next 6 months.
Was thinking
20% HXT.to
30% XUU.to
20% TEC.to
15% XEF.to
5% XEC.to

10% single stocks/play money (currently in TD / BNS)
*ANY COMMENTS ON MY ALLOCATION %'s*


15k of RRSP stays at 55% ITOT 30% IEFA 15% IEMG -no plans to really touch this, when house is paid off I might max this out... but for right now, not adding. TFSA first. My income is close to 70k annual in MB.


----------



## Butter

July 11, 2020 Net worth *$373,200 *up 10k in 5 months


House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 4,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 47,800
RRSP 16,000 (x 0.75 = 12,000)

Pension 102,000 (x 0.7 = 71,400)


Total 436,200


Mortgage $63,000 

TFSA
6.2k Tec.to 
2k Xgro.to
1.5k BNS
33.5k PSA.to

RRSP still TD/ITOT/IEFA/IEMG


Been doubling up mortgage payments, will take 20k out of PSA to put into mortgage lump sum

Thinking of buying a hot tub, i'd like to start enjoying some of my hard work, since my mortgage is getting close to the end.


----------



## scorpion_ca

Are you happy with the performance of TEC so far? I heard about this ETF recently and considering it.


----------



## Butter

scorpion_ca said:


> Are you happy with the performance of TEC so far? I heard about this ETF recently and considering it.


Very happy with it... I wanted the big names(microsoft, google, amazon, apple) and I also like *V *and* MA*
I'm sitting at a 17% return in a few months. I tried to buy it in March, watched it go up for a month, and pulled the trigger and added more.

I had 1k of QQC-F.to before, and loved that... TEC.to is very similar, just less healthcare, and very slightly higher fee... I might try to go 10k in TEC and 10k in XGRO... we will see how it all pans out over the next year


I'd like to have my 70k back in the markets, but I don't like risk (especially right now) so I'll probably put it on the house or buy a hot tub. Next year hopefully I'll start regularly adding to the ETFs


----------



## scorpion_ca

An experienced investor told me that market usually goes up prior to the US election and it usually drops after the election. We have around 40k to invest and we will wait until the Fear and Greed index drops to around 20s.


----------



## Butter

Nov 5, 2020 Net worth *$375,625*


House 300,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,000
Savings 3,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 21,300
RRSP 17,100 (x 0.75 = 12,825)

Pension 105,000 (x 0.7 = 73,500)


Total $411,625



Mortgage $36,000


Bought a hot tub for $12,000 Car is fixed. Need to clean up the backyard.
Bought some more tec.to a month ago, shaved down the mortgage


----------



## Butter

Jan 18, 2021 Net worth *$391,175*


House 305,000

Simplii
Chequing 500
Savings 9,000

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 17,500
RRSP 18,900 (x 0.75 = 14,175)

Pension 110,000 (x 0.7 = 77,000)



Mortgage $32,000


----------



## milhouse

How's the hottub working out? They always have vendors at the local fair (PNE) that we check out every year but we don't have any good space to put one.


----------



## Butter

milhouse said:


> How's the hottub working out? They always have vendors at the local fair (PNE) that we check out every year but we don't have any good space to put one.


It's nice, I only use it every 3rd day or so... getting down to -20 here in Winnipeg

It's restorative after some runs, or my long day of work. The best is actually drinking a cold smoothie, sitting in the hot water, especially when I'm low on sleep.

I was in it for about 3 hours the other day and it dropped from 102 to 98 when it felt just like a bath... So now it's set to 104 for the next use... I had it at 102 so I could stay in it for an hour no worries, but 104 seems more appropriate now with all the cold weather... as long as the cover is on, it's not hard to keep the water hot.

Hydro and chemicals haven't been too expensive, just the 12k upfront cost, (10.7 tub, 500 pad, 500 electrical 300 lifter) and if it lasts 15 years, it will be about $8 a use maybe hahaha

We are in code red lockdown, so its hard to get people to come over. Had a couple different friends come over, it's been fun. I think it will be more fun after code red, and if I ever throw a party. Haha. Maybe one day it will help me find a girlfriend. Ha! I've been on 2 dates with one, I'm equally excited, but have a strong feeling she won't be interested in me  We are perfect on paper, but she's just not quite ready.


----------



## Butter

April 4, 2021 Net worth *$419,375*


House 320,000

Simplii
Chequing 1,200
Savings 0

Questrade ($CDN)
TFSA 53,000
RRSP 18,900 (x 0.75 = 14,175)

Pension 120,000 (x 0.7 = 84,000)

472,375

Mortgage $30,000 
HELOC $23,000



Used the HELOC to buy 8k Tesla, 8k Bitcoin, and a bunch of XSP.to although with the strength of our Canadian dollar, XUS.to might be the better pick 

I don't like risk, haha, so I might cash out the TFSA and pay off the HELOC, we will see. Ironically 53k debt and 53k TFSA

With the house and the pension, I'm basically a half millionaire.


----------

