# My diary



## Saniokca

So, I am 25, graduated a year ago working full time since. I live with my parents. This gravy train will end in January when I will be moving in with my girlfriend.

Major achievements: paid about $30k of university debt (OSAP+LOC)
Salary: $65k + bonuses (i.e. around $2k twice a month after taxes)

Monthly liabilities:
car: $660 (financing 2.9%/y ends in feb 2013)
insurance: $250
minor debt: $150 (0% ends july 2010)
commute: $160
TOTAL: $1,220

Assets:
TFSA: $1,500
RRSP: $0
10% emergency: $9,000 (Savings acct, to be deposited to RRSP soon)


TFSA Target: $5,000
RRSP Room: $13,600
10% target: $10,000

I am trying to put away around $2.5k a month and fill up my TFSA and RRSP. In 2009 I should I accumulate about 12k more in RRSP. I want to fill this up so I can use the 25k for the "first home buyer". The TFSA is mainly for my boat when I retire (joking). My main obstacle is eating (drinking) out and vacations (for two).

As it stands right now I will be 10k short. I hope to make that up with my bonuses/raises next year. 

September: deposited $2,100 - however I will be lucky to get $200 from the second paycheque since my visa is already at $600 (all monthly expenses are paid with the second paycheque each month).

I will update this 1-2 times per month. Any suggestions/comments will be nice.


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## Ben

I'll start by saying you won't regret paying off that student debt. I paid off the same amount in the same time, and it's the best financial move I ever made.


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## Rickson9

A good start! This brings back memories...


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## Saniokca

So, September was a pretty bad month... 

Visa is about $1,100 and a big portion of it was on eating out and alcohol... (A friend came from overseas and we went out almost every day)

Consequently, this means no more contributions for Setember. Furthermore, October's contributions budget is now at $2,000 (conservative-hopefully I can get it to $2,200).

Hopefully October will go better...


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## tom_ford

Wow, you got your finances under control. Pretty admirable for a 25-year-old unmarried guy.


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## Saniokca

tom_ford said:


> Wow, you got your finances under control. Pretty admirable for a 25-year-old unmarried guy.


Haha thanks Tom! I won't be unmarried for too long though 

Regarding October... Did not go well in terms of my savings but it was worth it... Booked a cottage for Christmas with another couple... Went out a few times... Oh well I need to live for today too.

So, September and October contributions combined are $3,500. Well short of the $5,000 originally planned but I think the shortfall was well spent.

TFSA is full.

Let's see how "bad" December will be. I'll be lucky if I'll have 1k to save.


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## tom_ford

Well, you also need to live and enjoy your life. Being too busy being frugal and conscious of our expenses takes away our ability to enjoy life sometimes. It's good to spend on getaways and vacations every once in a while. Reward yourself for being responsible and all.


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## specialk

Looks like your kicking butt. Just a thought though, if it were me, I would use a bit of your cash for an older car and sell that one and have another 660 per month for your investing situation. Obviously, in your case this isn't an urgency though. Either that, or maybe be more aggressive about paying it down within 2 years instead of the 3 ish? If my math is right, it looks like you have about 23,000 or so left to pay on it, is that right?


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## Saniokca

specialk said:


> Looks like your kicking butt. Just a thought though, if it were me, I would use a bit of your cash for an older car and sell that one and have another 660 per month for your investing situation. Obviously, in your case this isn't an urgency though. Either that, or maybe be more aggressive about paying it down within 2 years instead of the 3 ish? If my math is right, it looks like you have about 23,000 or so left to pay on it, is that right?


You're pretty close - it's 24k. Don't really want to give it up lol. I was debating about paying it off sooner but I decided that and emergency fund is worth the price (2.9% that I'm paying for the car loan). 

No more savings in 2009... Bought new tires for $900

Time to sum up May2008 - Dec2009:
Paid off school debt ~ 30k
$10,000 in emergency money (will go to RRSP in February)
$5,000 in TFSA
*Total Savings = $45,000*

Big ticket Luxuries:
Raptors season seats (last season) - $2,000 + countless bar visits with my buddy before the game
Laptop = $1,700
Trip to London = $1,000 (cheap flight & stayed at friend's place)
Car = $30,000 (660/month)
Insurance = $3,000 (250/month - first car, never had insurance before)
Cottage for Christmas = 600
Winter tires = 900
*Total Luxuries = Don't want to count*

I would say I had a decent year and a half. My biggest regrets are: too much bar food, too many bar drinks, too much junk food.


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## Addy

Congratulations, good for you!! One thing to mention, if you're not planning to be unmarried for long, I hope you know where your potential fiance's stance is regarding saving and investing.... I am thankful my husband and I think similiarly because if we didn't then our relationship would be awkward to put it nicely!


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## Saniokca

Ok, posting once a month was a lot easier when I knew what is going on with the finances. Since my last post a lot has happened and although I was constantly in control of the finances it is too hard to analyze it here.

1) My girlfriend finished university and started working ($50k pre tax).
2) We moved into a 1+den condo (renting - $1400 per month plus heat and hydro costs). This might seem a bit high we only had a week to find a place and this is the best price we found for our demands (We could have saved about $200/month but this place is worth the money). We could also live at my parents' place for a month but it would be quite difficult and uncomfortable (again well worth the money).

Since we had nothing at all, we had to spend a big chunk of money in the first 3 months (I include March because we are still making some purchases.
We (I guess I...) decided that it would be fair to share expenses according to how much each of us makes (base salaries) and the ratio ended up as 57% to 43%. My rainy day fund and some of the TFSA came in very handy since there is no way we would be able to buy so much without going into debt.

Summary as of March 21, 2010:
TFSA = $1,500 (contributions) + some investment income
RRSP = $10,000 (contributions) + some investment income
ring/rainy day fund = $6,600 - need to bring it up to around 10k and then hope for a "yes" .

Monthly expenses (shared):
Rent - 1,410
Car - 660 (2.9% - last payment on Feb 1, 2013) - seems so far away...
Insurance (car+rent) - 280
Utilities = $150/m

A minor expense of $150/m expires in July (it is a no interest loan so there is no point in paying it early)

Contribution goals for this year:
ring - 3,400
RRSP - $10,000
TFSA - $5000 
$3000 in Rainy day (since it will be depleted as soon as it reaches 10k).

This will be quite hard to achieve but I have big hopes on bonuses and raises this year. I am an actuarial student and every exam I pass comes with a nice bonus and a raise. If all goes well, I should get $7,500 in bonuses and $11,000 in raises this year (pre tax).

To answer Addy's question: My girlfriend is definetly less of a saver and more of a spender  than me. During the past 4 years we learned to resolve financial arguments almost peacefully... . The past three months were a very good test for us and we did well. There were disagreements here and there but it was mostly on the timing of the purchases.

I hope that somebody finds the above at least a somewhat interesting. Let me know what you guys think.


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## the-royal-mail

Interesting profile, san. Here are my comments:

1. I am concerned with lumping in the ring (good luck!) and rainy day savings into one account. $3K is nowhere near sufficient for rainy day funds. They say the average person should have cash on hand to pay all of their expenses for 6-12 months with NO income. IMO your rainy day fund should be the immediate goal and kept to no less than $10K cash. And once you have it, it is not to be raided for anything other than an emergency. Doing this, gives you the maximum self-reliancy. And in your case you are expecting some bonuses. SO what I would do FIRST is move the money from those bonuses to a cash rainy day fund, stick it in to your TFSA, and THEN save for the ring and the RRSPs. In my opinion. I realize some may disagree.

2. Not to get off topic, but I am curious about how you resolved your financial arguments with your gf. I haven't seen too many people succeed at this as old habits die hard. This was a serious issue with my last gf and it became clear fairly early on that her poor financial habits were staying with her. In a couple, this can sink the financial ship!


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## Saniokca

the-royal-mail said:


> Interesting profile, san. Here are my comments:
> 
> 1. I am concerned with lumping in the ring (good luck!) and rainy day savings into one account. $3K is nowhere near sufficient for rainy day funds. They say the average person should have cash on hand to pay all of their expenses for 6-12 months with NO income. IMO your rainy day fund should be the immediate goal and kept to no less than $10K cash. And once you have it, it is not to be raided for anything other than an emergency. Doing this, gives you the maximum self-reliancy. And in your case you are expecting some bonuses. SO what I would do FIRST is move the money from those bonuses to a cash rainy day fund, stick it in to your TFSA, and THEN save for the ring and the RRSPs. In my opinion. I realize some may disagree.
> 
> 2. Not to get off topic, but I am curious about how you resolved your financial arguments with your gf. I haven't seen too many people succeed at this as old habits die hard. This was a serious issue with my last gf and it became clear fairly early on that her poor financial habits were staying with her. In a couple, this can sink the financial ship!


Thanks for the reply.

1) I agree that the emergency fund should come first (before RRSP/TFSA). And in a way it will. As I did last year, I will keep the money intended for RRSP in the 10% fund until February 2011. Then I will transfer 10k to RRSP and the rest will stay in the emergency fund. My plan is to fund the RRSP with 20k total contributions (when I decide to get a house I will top it up to 25k). After all this I will concentrate on TFSA. The ideal situation by the end of 2010 would be to have 25k in RRSP, 10k in TFSA and 10k in Emergency money. But this is unachievable due to my love to life 

2) For better and for worse, I look after the financial aspects in our relationship. This will change in due time because it`s not very prudent (i.e. if something happens to me she needs to know how to take care of all this). I got off topic. The money topic is a sensitive one - of course we argue sometimes but it`s not major and we try to resolve it on the spot. We decided on a way to split expenses. Everything else is not my business. Not yet at least. We also have a plan on how she will tackle student debt (around 20k). The good thing is that she helps me to enjoy life now and I help her to think about tomorrow.


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## andrewf

the-royal-mail said:


> Interesting profile, san. Here are my comments:
> 
> 1. I am concerned with lumping in the ring (good luck!) and rainy day savings into one account. $3K is nowhere near sufficient for rainy day funds. They say the average person should have cash on hand to pay all of their expenses for 6-12 months with NO income. IMO your rainy day fund should be the immediate goal and kept to no less than $10K cash. And once you have it, it is not to be raided for anything other than an emergency. Doing this, gives you the maximum self-reliancy. And in your case you are expecting some bonuses. SO what I would do FIRST is move the money from those bonuses to a cash rainy day fund, stick it in to your TFSA, and THEN save for the ring and the RRSPs. In my opinion. I realize some may disagree.
> 
> 2. Not to get off topic, but I am curious about how you resolved your financial arguments with your gf. I haven't seen too many people succeed at this as old habits die hard. This was a serious issue with my last gf and it became clear fairly early on that her poor financial habits were staying with her. In a couple, this can sink the financial ship!


I don't think it makes sense to have 6-12 months in cash just idle in a savings account. It's liquid enough in a TFSA or even a LOC.


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## the-royal-mail

andrewf said:


> I don't think it makes sense to have 6-12 months in cash just idle in a savings account. It's liquid enough in a TFSA or even a LOC.


I agree about the TFSA but do not agree that RRSP's (as mentioned above) and LOC constitute rainy day savings. Relying on credit to get you through rough periods in life is a TERRIBLE idea. How many more threads do we need to read about people who need to spend hundreds of dollars a month paying off debt?

(RRSP's are for retirement, not for rainy days)

Relying on credit to solve all of our problems is why so many people are in financial dire straits today.


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## andrewf

I don't know. Think of the foregone return on your rainy day fund as the 'cost' of that just in case. I'd much rather take the chance I'd have to pay a month or two of interest of a LOC until I could raise some cash rather than leave $20,000 sitting unproductively in my savings account 100% of the time. If you're giving up 5% return (spread on 'risky' savings vs. a savings account), that's $1,000 per year, which is a pretty costly security blanket.


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## ashby corner

*660*

I'd be curious as to what a 25 year old dude drives for 660 a month. That seems like a WHOLE lot of car (unless it was a 2 year loan or something).


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## 72camaross

Wow this a good thread Saniokca! I just turned 25 this year so I'm about a year behind you. I wish I could put that much on my student loan in that amount of time! How did you do it? and still enjoy the raps.

I'm also jealous of the RRSP and TFSA money you are putting away! Good work, I only hope I can do half as well as you are!

I also am curious about the car haha

JD


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## Saniokca

*I'm back...*

SO, my last post was about six months ago when I said it will be about once a month... Nevertheless I am back with an update. Forgive me for this post will be messy.

Summary as of Oct 12, 2010:
TFSA = $500 (contributions)
RRSP = $10,000 (contributions) + some investment income
Rainy Day fund = 1000
Line of credit = $10,000

Monthly expenses (shared):
Rent - 1,410
Car - 660 (2.9% - last payment on Feb 1, 2013) - seems so far away...
Insurance (car+rent) - 280
Utilities = $150/m

Where did my money go you ask:
20k for the ring (I know I will get slaughtered for this so fire away)
two vacations (Spain and Israel) - $12,000 (shared) - Again, slaughter away.

After a tough start of year my sense of entitlement (worked hard through university and paid off debt very quickly) got the better of me and as you can see above I overspent. It's not too bad since I buckled down again and we plan 3 very cheap (no more than 4k for all 3) vacations next year:
1) Cuba; 
2) South Carolina with her parents;
3) Ski trip with parents or friends.

Goal is to get rid of the 10k LOC by February the latest. This should be very easy since I have approx 2k of unused income every month + exam and yearend bonuses. Then max out my TFSA in 2011 (~15k room). The TFSA will be my emergency money until 2012.

We also started a wedding/honeymoon (2012) fund with $500/month contributions.

Oh yes the car is a VW rabbit 2009 (bought new financed over 4 years). Plan to buy next car somewhere around 2018.


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## the-royal-mail

san, please look past the tone of my comments and read my words very carefully.

At the end of the day, none of us here can tell you what to do. The choices - and the consequences are ultimately yours. But I am disappointed that you ask us for advice, we provide it, you disregard, acknowledge that you know that your past actions (trips and ring, which happened after the advice we gave) were not the best decisions and then proceed to boldly plan and repeat these same financial mistakes again for next year. Three vacations in one year? Brand new car. $10K in debt.

Am I reading this right?


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## Jon_Snow

Well said, TRM.


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## andrewf

Saniokca said:


> 20k for the ring (I know I will get slaughtered for this so fire away)
> two vacations (Spain and Israel) - $12,000 (shared) - Again, slaughter away.


At least you know you've been bad . 

Out of curiosity, what does $20k buy you?


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## Jon_Snow

Frugality is just not in some folks DNA... my wife would have scalped me if I had bought her a ring a quarter of the cost of the OP's... I'm serious.


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## Saniokca

the-royal-mail said:


> san, please look past the tone of my comments and read my words very carefully.
> 
> At the end of the day, none of us here can tell you what to do. The choices - and the consequences are ultimately yours. But I am disappointed that you ask us for advice, we provide it, you disregard, acknowledge that you know that your past actions (trips and ring, which happened after the advice we gave) were not the best decisions and then proceed to boldly plan and repeat these same financial mistakes again for next year. Three vacations in one year? Brand new car. $10K in debt.
> 
> Am I reading this right?


I think you misunderstood me concerning next year.

1) Car - I meant to answer ashby corner's question as to what car I bought in February 2009.

2) Three vacations - I think $1,333 per vacation is very modest for a family that brings in 120k/year.

3) Ring - I know it isn't very frugal but I just don't regret it. Again, a lot of people would disagree and I aknowledge that. 10k in debt is not so horrible if one can erase it within a few months on their own. It is a problem when this becomes a habbit.

I appreciate the responses!

P.S. 20k buys 1.22c, VVS2, Excellent cut, F colour, custom made setting


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## the-royal-mail

Saniokca said:


> It is a problem when this becomes a habbit.


You were spending this way before you joined CMF, did so in 2010 against our advice and are planning to continue this spending style in 2011 (against our advice). How is that not a habit?

I realize I'm coming across as harsh but I'm trying to get your attention! $1333 per vacation for someone with $120K income isn't too bad - agreed. But *3 *of those vacations in 1 year? Someone with a $120K income who has marginal savings in rainy day and TFSA funds, all the while being $10K in debt and continuing to spend as though it's the last day on earth IS bad. If you could account for this due to some sort of a one-time life crisis I could understand, but from where I sit you do not appear to be managing your money correctly.

IMO you need to scale back the lavish lifestyle until which point you learn how to properly manage what you have. Someone with your income ought to have all sorts of savings and investment money socked away AND a nice house AND the 1.2 kids AND the 2 cars and electronic junk, with money to spare. You'll never get there if you don't learn to practice some restraint and say NO to things. Right now I don't see that capability in you and that concerns me. 

I don't mean to be rude but I also don't sugar coat things. I do mean well, but I also think you need to speak to Suze Orman.


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## Four Pillars

I think we have to know more about Saniokca's financial goals before judging and stoning him. 

If the goal is to set up house with the girl, propose and not save anything on top of that - then he is on track. 

The reality is that there are times when you just can't save much. Getting married, buying a house, kids, unemployment etc might be times when budgets don't go exactly the way you want them.

I would suggest to Saniokca that nothing will change in the next decade or more. The wedding can cost a lot of money (if you want it to), you'll probably want to buy a house. The house will need renos and probably new furniture. Babies have a habit of showing up sooner or later. Etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.

That said, if you can be debt/mortgage free by 45 and then save like crazy for 20 years - you can still have a decent retirement.

A bit off topic, but I bought a silver ring ($150?) for my wife when I proposed. We bought expensive wedding rings ($1800 for both). Our wedding was very small and cost about $5k (it was a small wedding for family and a bbq for friends the next day) of which my MIL paid about $3500.

Our honeymoon (which we didn't save for) was several days at my parents cottage on Lake Nipissing, followed by a few days camping at Kilarney.


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## 72camaross

haha I am still blown away by the 660$ for a VW Rabbit! 

You'll get back on track! Don't worry. I have been spending (renos) way too much too and can't seem to save. Enjoy the ring, enjoy the trips, you only go around this place once.


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## Saniokca

the-royal-mail said:


> You were spending this way before you joined CMF, did so in 2010 against our advice and are planning to continue this spending style in 2011 (against our advice). How is that not a habit?
> 
> I realize I'm coming across as harsh but I'm trying to get your attention! $1333 per vacation for someone with $120K income isn't too bad - agreed. But *3 *of those vacations in 1 year? Someone with a $120K income who has marginal savings in rainy day and TFSA funds, all the while being $10K in debt and continuing to spend as though it's the last day on earth IS bad. If you could account for this due to some sort of a one-time life crisis I could understand, but from where I sit you do not appear to be managing your money correctly.
> 
> IMO you need to scale back the lavish lifestyle until which point you learn how to properly manage what you have. Someone with your income ought to have all sorts of savings and investment money socked away AND a nice house AND the 1.2 kids AND the 2 cars and electronic junk, with money to spare. You'll never get there if you don't learn to practice some restraint and say NO to things. Right now I don't see that capability in you and that concerns me.
> 
> I don't mean to be rude but I also don't sugar coat things. I do mean well, but I also think you need to speak to Suze Orman.


I don't like when people sugar coat... And I do appreciate your comments.

Me and you guys agree on one thing: the ring and vacations last year put me off my track. 

The vacations for next year I overstated a bit, it should be under 3k. Cuba will cost about 1500. the other two will probably be less but I want to keep some money to buy clothes in the US so bumped up the budget a bit. 

We are also planning to move somewhere a bit cheaper (~1200) next year around february/march.

What I will try to do is post all my bank accounts here approximately every month and see if my situation gets better. As usual, I will report only the contributions aggregates (investment income is something that I cannot completely control).

P.S. 120k is the household income, not just me (although would be nice).

P.S.S. I actually googled Suze Orman - her site is one big commercial lol.


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## Jungle

It doesn help that the jewelry industry and salesman say that you need to spend 3 months income on a ring. I always laugh when someone says that and so did my wife.


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## Saniokca

Jungle said:


> It doesn help that the jewelry industry and salesman say that you need to spend 3 months income on a ring. I always laugh when someone says that and so did my wife.


I never went by that rule actually... there was no pressure from the "industry standards" or the gf. And she did try to scalp me when she found out how much the ring was...


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## HaroldCrump

I don't see the $20K ring as a big deal.
You are young, starting out, getting into a serious, hopefully life-long, relationship.
You found something nice, bought it for your sweetie, she liked it...move on.
$20K is not a big deal over the course of your financial future.
Don't sweat it.


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## Four Pillars

HaroldCrump said:


> I don't see the $20K ring as a big deal.
> You are young, starting out, getting into a serious, hopefully life-long, relationship.
> You found something nice, bought it for your sweetie, she liked it...move on.
> $20K is not a big deal over the course of your financial future.
> Don't sweat it.


Harold, are you nuts?

That $20k could have furnished a great man-cave.

Huge tv
Awesome surround sound
proper tv-watching furniture
bar....


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## HaroldCrump

Four Pillars said:


> Harold, are you nuts?
> 
> That $20k could have furnished a great man-cave.
> 
> Huge tv
> Awesome surround sound
> proper tv-watching furniture
> bar....


...all of which would have been useless within a few months.
It is surprising how soon the gleam wears off a new TV and it starts to look ordinary and the latest model in the store starts to look attractive.
At least with the ring, it is a store of value - assuming it contains some measure of gold and maybe a diamond too.
Anyhow, I was cutting the guy some slack


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## the-royal-mail

I do understand the whole concept of wooing someone with a rock. I guess this is why I believe in saving money, even if it's seemingly without purpose, BEFORE these sorts of occasional expenses come up. Life is full of these sorts of unexpected costs. This could have been handily paid out of tier 2 or even a 4th savings tier just for this one expense. Same thing applies for the trips. Hope for the best but plan for the worst.

Why is it so hard for people these days to first save money to protect their own $ interests first, then save money to buy the things they want and THEN use $ after it's been saved?

The way the OP is doing things leaves both him and his fiancee vulnerable to adversity both now and in the forseeable future. 

I realize I'm the party pooper here.


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## andrewf

Who want to walk around with $20k hanging off their finger? I would be paranoid about losing it, or being mugged.


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## Saniokca

Four Pillars said:


> Harold, are you nuts?
> 
> That $20k could have furnished a great man-cave.
> 
> Huge tv
> Awesome surround sound
> proper tv-watching furniture
> bar....


You know some people might consider the above as "splurging" 

We have a 52 inch TV that my soon to be father in law gave us, I watch it once a month maybe (we don't have cable). I enjoy watching sports very much but right now I just don't have time for it.
I like my couch just fine (although we are considering to buy a new one when we move).

I also have a simple cellphone which costs me $30 a month (taxes included). I had an iphone but after it broke I saw that I don't miss it.

We just have different priorities.

trm said I spend like it's my last days on earth. This is not exactly true. I spend a lot on things that are important to me. In my case it was the ring and the vacations.

What I absolutely agree with you on trm is that people should save first and then spend. However sometimes you can't wait (in my situation - ring). Next car will be bought with cash. First house will be bought with a 25% or more down payment. 

Now let's focus on the future. I have just entered my employer's DB pension plan. One great thing about it is that it also allows me to contribute into a FLEX plan. For those who don't know, a FLEX plan allows you to make contributions into the DB plan and when you retire buy additional benefits (e.g. indexing, bridge, lower early retirement reduction). The best part about this is that contributions are pre-tax and it does not decrease my RRSP room. I started contributing $400/month (which decreases my after tax income by $275). It earns the fund's rate of return (there are both positive and negative aspects to it but I still think it's great).


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## Saniokca

I am back yet again. Busy year. Interesting year.
A lot has happened during the year. Apparently financial differences could be patched for some time but eventually the big clash comes. Me and my ex fiancée broke up at the beginning of 2011. A bit ironic I would say 

When we broke up:
RRSP: 10,000
TFSA: 0
Rainy Day: 0
Line of Credit: 16.5k (obviously debt).

Summary as of Sep 20, 2011:
TFSA/Emergency = $2000 (contributions) – serves as emergency for now
RRSP = $10,000 (contributions) + some investment income
Line of credit = $0
Car = 5,000 (can sell for 16-17k while owe 11k on it) will go to emergency fund
Ring = I could sell it for about 30-40% of the value so there is no point in doing that. Will probably just upgrade it next time. Using cash 

I am moving in with my girlfriend downtown as of Oct 1, 2011

Monthly expenses until end of year:
Everything (nothing left from my “divorce” so I will be buying some stuff”)

Monthly expenses as of January 1, 2012:
$2,000 (negotiated with gf that we will live on 4k/month).

All in all I think I did pretty well since the “divorce”. Paid off 16.5 k in LOC debt and now my car has some equity in it. Meanwhile I vacationed in Cuba, Philadelphia, and about 4 long weekends in various cottages/B&B/etc. 

Rest of this year is pretty much a write off in terms of savings because of the stuff I need to get for the new place + first and last month rent, etc.

My goal for 2011 is to save $24,000. Some will be TFSA investment money. The rest will be emergency money.


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## Four Pillars

Wow - thanks for the big update.

I'm sorry things didn't work out, but it's far better to break up now rather than after the wedding/house/kids etc. I have a few friends living that dream.


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## canehdianman

Four Pillars said:


> Wow - thanks for the big update.
> 
> I'm sorry things didn't work out, but it's far better to break up now rather than after the wedding/house/kids etc. I have a few friends living that dream.


+1 

I am just reading this thread for the first time now... I think the most important reason why my wife and I "work" is that we are both the same level of saver.


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## Saniokca

Four Pillars said:


> Wow - thanks for the big update.
> 
> I'm sorry things didn't work out, but it's far better to break up now rather than after the wedding/house/kids etc. I have a few friends living that dream.


Couldn't agree with you more... We broke up a few day before the wedding deposit was due.


----------



## marina628

Thank god you kept the ring , BTW Andrew you wear expensive rings like the cheap ones ,if you lose them or get stolen that is what Insurance is for


----------



## Saniokca

Sold my car! Will post the updated position soon. Things are looking up again


----------



## Saniokca

So I moved into my new condo (renting) downtown. The setup costs were quite high but with the equity I had from the car I managed to buy everything with cash. I also upgraded my wardrobe a bit. As of today I am absolutely DEBT FREE. And I intend to stay that way.

Summary as of Oct 15, 2011:
TFSA/Emergency = $2000 (contributions) – serves as emergency for now
Ring = 7k - more emergency money
RRSP = $10,000 (contributions) + some investment income

Monthly expenses until end of year:
Everything - still need to buy some furniture. I really hope to squeeze in 2-3k into TFSA but that might be too optimistic.

Monthly expenses as of January 1, 2012:
$2,000.

Goal for 2012:
$18,000 in TFSA. 
$6,000 in emergency money.

I forgot to mention that I swithced jobs in March this year. I have a pretty good pension plan (1.5% up to YMPE, 2% above). I now make 72.5k base. Should be 74k by the end of the year. Would have been making a lot more with previous (or different) employer but I was unhappy.


----------



## Saniokca

Finally my CPP and EI contributions fell off the grid (should increase the tax refund next year by $600 for overcontributing).

I was able to sock away another $1.5k  If all goes right, I will be able to put 1.5k more into my Emergency Fund by the end of the year. 

Summary as of Nov 15, 2011:
TFSA/Emergency = $3500 (contributions) – serves as emergency for now
Ring = 7k - more emergency money
RRSP = $10,000 (contributions) + some investment income
DB Pension = $2,000 (until I'm vested benefit=contributions)

Finally I am building some wealth!

Goal for 2012:
$18,000 in TFSA. 
$6,000 in emergency money.
Make $80,000 base (need to pass some actuarial exams for that).


----------



## Saniokca

2011 is unfortunately almost over. I say unfortunately because this was a very good year both personally and financially. Since this is a financial forum after all, I will concentrate on that.

From February to December I went from 16.5k debt to 6k in cash (5k of that swing was from equity in the car).

Summary as of Dec 30, 2011:
RRSP = $10,000 (contributions) + some investment income
Cash = $6,000 - Emergency money
Ring = $7,000 - more emergency money
DB Pension = $2,000 (until I'm vested benefit=contributions)

No debt (although the actuary in me wants to include future rent payments as debt).

Goals for 2012:

$20,000 in TFSA. 
Make $80,000 base (need to pass some actuarial exams for that).
I lowered the 2012 goal a bit because I decided to go to the Euro2012 tournament in Ukraine/Poland. I already bought the match tickets but estimate 4k for travel and accommodations.

I think I'm in a good position at 27 years old. I make $4,000/month (after tax) and use half of that to support my lifestyle. The field I work in (pension consulting) is pretty stable in terms of employment. My university degree and hopefully (one day...) actuarial designation will make me marketable enough to find a job in case things go south.

I hope 2012 will be at least as good as 2011.

Happy new year everyone!


----------



## mind_business

Well done Saniokca. Not too bad for being 27 yrs old.


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## KaeJS

You have a ring worth seven grand? 

Don't lose it!

Good job on getting rid of your debt. I wish I made 4k a month. Your salary is double my salary.


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## Jon_Snow

I can't get over how many financially saavy 20-somethings are on this board... how I wish the lightbulb had gone off earlier for me, and where I would be today if it had.


----------



## KaeJS

Jon_Snow said:


> I can't get over how many financially saavy 20-somethings are on this board...* how I wish the lightbulb had gone off earlier for me, and where I would be today if it had.*


Sorry, Mr. Snow...

But I'd imagine you'd be somewhere similar to "the open road" ...










Are the Audi jokes getting old yet?


----------



## praire_guy

20k for a RING?

You are an idiot. Sorry.


----------



## cannadian

Jon_Snow said:


> I can't get over how many financially saavy 20-somethings are on this board... how I wish the lightbulb had gone off earlier for me, and where I would be today if it had.


This might be crazy, but maybe it's because when we were teens we lived through the great recession.

For me personally this is what got me interested in finance in the first place, neighbours who used to be rich were suddenly working at the gas station and selling their houses, friends of mine had to move because their parents were layed off, etc..

Basically we saw, at an early age, how important it can be to save and build wealth because shite can hit the fan at any moment and you should always be prepared.
-that and we know that we probably can't rely on pensions and such.


----------



## MoneyGal

KaeJS said:


> You have a ring worth seven grand?
> 
> Don't lose it!


He already "lost" 65% of the value - if you read upthread, he paid $20K for it. I'm not sure if that was the pre- or post-tax price, so if it was pre-tax, maybe he lost 80% on the purchase.


----------



## Jon_Snow

KaeJS said:


> Sorry, Mr. Snow...
> 
> But I'd imagine you'd be somewhere similar to "the open road" ...
> 
> 
> Are the Audi jokes getting old yet?


Well, its not all that funny, as all you are doing is reminding me that I don't own one yet. 

Seriously though, been looking on Craigslist at slightly used S5's... I can get a 2010 with under 15k on it for about 55k or less... that's more realistic. As much as I'd like to spring for a new one (close to 80k) divorce papers would soon likely follow. So slightly used is looking like the route I'd go. If there is a car thread somewhere on the board, I'll post pics there if I pull the trigger.


----------



## somecanuck

praire_guy said:


> 20k for a RING?
> 
> You are an idiot. Sorry.


It's a personal diary, not an open thread. Don't be so rude as to intrude on someone's diary with an insult. 

Hopefully a mod deletes the message, and mine as well so the follow-up isn't needed.


----------



## KaeJS

Saniokca said:


> P.S. 20k buys 1.22c, VVS2, Excellent cut, F colour, custom made setting


^ This, PLUS + the following:



Saniokca said:


> Me and my ex fiancée broke up at the beginning of 2011. A bit ironic I would say


= Should have seen it coming.

Now you need to be frugal and keep that ring so you can re-brand it to a future wife. That way it's like you only spent $10k..... twice.


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## KaeJS

As I said before, you did well from February - December, 2011.

If you keep on chugging like this, you will end up in a very good position.

As you said yourself, keep debt free.


----------



## Saniokca

somecanuck said:


> It's a personal diary, not an open thread. Don't be so rude as to intrude on someone's diary with an insult.
> 
> Hopefully a mod deletes the message, and mine as well so the follow-up isn't needed.


Thanks somecanuck.

I don't have a problem with it though - it's his (her?) opinion which is perfectly fine. To be fair I am exposing my financial decisions here and welcome any criticism. I don't want to get back into this argument because we've covered it a few pages (and years) back. I still think that 20k is not that big of a deal to spend on an engagement ring. The problem was how I financed it (i.e. debt). That will not happen again.

KaeJS:Lol there will not be a re-branding - will try to trade it in and maybe upgrade a bit. Using cash of course.

MoneyGal: it was 20k after taxes.


----------



## MoneyGal

I appreciate your candor. I'm not into a $20K ring, but to each their own!  (This isn't a frugality board, much as it might seem that way sometimes.)


----------



## Jon_Snow

My wife specifically told me not to waste money on a ring... she'd rather make a big payment on our mortgage (which we did). Never thought I'd meet, much less marry, someone whose view about frugality would match mine, but I did. 

But each to their own, if a 20k ring works for some, good on em'...

Sorry, don't mean to extend the "ring" discussion... I'm out.


----------



## MoneyGal

My husband was worried our rings were too expensive at about $2K each.


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## Saniokca

I guess we did drift into the "ring" discussion again.

This is my view (as of today): 
You can spend money on whatever you choose: house, car, jewelry, vacation, etc. as long as you do not go into debt and have a clear and FEASABLE plan regarding financial security. 

If someone disagrees with my choices of where I spend my money - that's fine by me (and frankly I don't care). But if someone disagrees with the amount compared to my income or affordability - that's when I would like to have a discussion.

As a side note, my plan (as of today) is to buy a house with a 5-10 year mortgage (don’t plan on buying one until I have kids).


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## Saniokca

Summary as of Jan 13, 2012:
RRSP = $10,000 (contributions) + some investment income
Cash = $7,800 - Emergency money
Ring = $7,000 - more emergency money
DB Pension = $2,000 (until I'm vested benefit=contributions)


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## RussianRocket91

Hey, I apologize in advance because this will be a little off topic. 
First of all, I gotta say, this is a very interesting thread. 
Second of all, I'm just curious as to what University you graduated from if you don't mind answering?
Finally, congratulations for being 27 and in such good financial standing, I have 7 more years to go so hopefully I can be somewhat close to your position!


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## Saniokca

It was uWaterloo.

I wish I started at 20...(don't we all?) I'm sure you'll do much better!


----------



## MoneyGal

I warrant there's a relatively high concentration of Waterloo grads here...I'm one. Grad degree from Queen's.


----------



## Pigzfly

My inlaws are Waterloo... and managed to pass the financial sense on to my spouse.
Queen's undergrad for me, uO grad. Queen's and Queen's for spouse. 
(Yes... we started dating after I moved, because that makes sense.)

Any 2012 goals, san?


----------



## somecanuck

Pigzfly said:


> Queen's undergrad for me, uO grad. Queen's and Queen's for spouse.


Are you still in Kingston? That's where I lay to rest.


----------



## Pigzfly

@somecanuck 
No, a long way away from Kingston now.


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## Saniokca

Summary as of Feb 3, 2012:
RRSP = $10,000 (contributions) + some investment income
Cash = $6,400 - Emergency money
Ring = $7,000 - more emergency money
DB Pension = $2,000 (until I'm vested benefit=contributions)

Not a lot has happened since the last post. The cash went down a bit because I had to pay for my exam in April which I should be reimbursed for soon (1.5k). Usually most of my savings happen when I get the mid-month paycheque.

We booked a vacation to Cuba (march) - $2.3k all inclusive. We might be going a bit over our 4k budget this month but not by much ($0.5-$1k) - will need to spend less next month (I feel like I'm going into debt to myself lol).

I cannot wait to see my tax return and yearly bonus (shouldn't be much). Hopefully it will go a long way with covering the eurocup expenses.

Goals for 2012:
have 20k cash/tfsa 
get my income up to 80k. 
Pass exams (will help with income)
Get promoted for 2013 (will help even more with income).


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## Saniokca

Summary as of Feb 15, 2012:
RRSP = $10,000 (contributions) + some investment income
Cash = $9,000 - Emergency money
Ring = $7,000 - more emergency money
DB Pension = $2,000 (until I'm vested benefit=contributions)

So I got a 3% raise which brings my income to $74,600/yr effective Apr. 1. I also got a 2.8k bonus (pre tax) which will fund my euro-trip. With the tax refund it should pretty much do it.


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## Saniokca

So I got another raise - $1,800 (passed an exam) which brings my income to $76,400/yr effective Apr. 1  Now I can go to Cuba and celebrate properly (this Saturday)!

Cash is a bit volatile because I paid for airfare ($1.5k) and signed up for a seminar for my next exam ($1.4k). Company will reimburse the $1.4k when I pass.

It feels great to have cash available!

Summary as of Mar 1, 2012:
RRSP = $10,000 (contributions) + some investment income
Cash = $8,300 - Emergency money
Ring = $7,000 - more emergency money
DB Pension = $3,000 (until I'm vested benefit=contributions)


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## Four Pillars

Saniokca said:


> So I got another raise - $1,800 (passed an exam) which brings my income to $76,400/yr effective Apr. 1  Now I can go to Cuba and celebrate properly (this Saturday)!


$76k at age 25. Well done. Enjoy your trip, you deserve it.


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## Saniokca

Four Pillars said:


> $76k at age 25. Well done. Enjoy your trip, you deserve it.


Thanks Mike! I'm 27 pushing on 28 though


----------



## Four Pillars

Saniokca said:


> Thanks Mike! I'm 27 pushing on 28 though


Oh haha. I was basing that on your original post where you said you were 25. Now I see that it was written in 2009! How time flies.

Regardless, you are doing pretty well.


----------



## Saniokca

Four Pillars said:


> Oh haha. I was basing that on your original post where you said you were 25. Now I see that it was written in 2009! How time flies.
> 
> Regardless, you are doing pretty well.


Thanks, time does fly much faster than I'd like it to...

So Cuba was great. We also didn't break the budget so far which I'm very happy about (4k/m). This allowed me to save another 2k in my cash account.

Summary as of Mar 15, 2012:
RRSP = $10,000 (contributions) + some investment income
Cash = $10,300 - Emergency money
Ring = $7,000 - more emergency money
DB Pension = $3,000 (until I'm vested benefit=contributions)


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## mind_business

Not too bad considering you're only 27. Where abouts were you in Cuba? We were in Cayo Coco in January. Loved it!


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## Saniokca

We went to Santa Clara - the beach is great, the food is Cuban (i.e. not so great but we expected that) - I did find it a bit too crowded though. Also would prefer an adults only resort next time.


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## mind_business

We stayed at the Melia Cayo Coco. Adult resort only. Definitely the best resort on Cayo Coco, but more expensive too. Food was quite good. Some of the other resorts were complaining about choice and quantity, but ours was great.


----------



## Saniokca

Received the tax return and income increased by $180/m (after tax) which is great. Opened a TFSA with a $2k deposit. Once everything settles will transfer another $3k from cash. Increased cash by $900.

Summary as of Apr 15, 2012:
RRSP = $10,000 (book value)
TFSA = $2,000
Cash = $11,200 - Emergency money
Ring = $7,000 - more emergency money
DB Pension = $3,000 (until I'm vested benefit=contributions)


----------



## Mace

Saniokca said:


> So I got another raise - $1,800 (passed an exam) which brings my income to $76,400/yr effective Apr. 1  Now I can go to Cuba and celebrate properly (this Saturday)!
> 
> Cash is a bit volatile because I paid for airfare ($1.5k) and signed up for a seminar for my next exam ($1.4k). Company will reimburse the $1.4k when I pass.
> 
> It feels great to have cash available!
> 
> Summary as of Mar 1, 2012:
> RRSP = $10,000 (contributions) + some investment income
> Cash = $8,300 - Emergency money
> Ring = $7,000 - more emergency money
> DB Pension = $3,000 (until I'm vested benefit=contributions)


Only $76k for a new ASA? According to this salary survey, you're on the low end.

http://www.dwsimpson.com/salary.html

You should be getting min 83k for ASA with 4+ yrs experience in Pensions. 

Have you considered looking for a new job?


----------



## Saniokca

Welcome to the forum (and my thread). 

The salary in the survey includes bonus. I do think that my salary is a bit low but there are other consideration for me staying (opportunities, experience, etc). At this stage of my career extra 3-5k won't really make a difference (even less so if you subtract taxes). Will probably jump ships after I get the full credentials (unless I get a big raise).


----------



## Saniokca

So I am back from the Eurocup - what a great experience! Money (although a bit much) very well spent.

Not a whole lot happened in terms of savings... didn't save anything in the past few months mainly due to travelling and the fact that I am getting married in August - almost everything is cash flowed from our 4k/m budget.

Goal is to fill up the TFSA by end of year and put another 3k into Emergency. Might be a bit too optimistic but who knows...

Summary as of July 12, 2012:
RRSP = $10,000 (book value)
TFSA = $10,000 (book value)
Cash = $2000 - Emergency money (TFSA will kick in if necessary).
DB Pension ~ $5,500 as at 12.31.2011


----------



## Saniokca

Finally I was able to squirrel some more money into my TFSA - $3000 to be precise. I am still on track to fill the TFSA and ($5533 to go). The question is how much will I have in my cash account at Dec31.

I also moved all my emergency money into the TFSA as my wife has enough cash that will serve as emergency money for now.

Summary as of September 15, 2012:
RRSP = $10,000 (book value)
TFSA = $15,000 (book value)
Cash = $300
DB Pension ~ $5,500 as at 12.31.2011


----------



## Saniokca

Another 2.5k saved  Nice to see progress when so many things are going on (more on that later).

Will move that money into TFSA a bit later

Summary as of September 15, 2012:
RRSP = $10,000 (book value)
TFSA = $15,000 (book value)
Cash = $2,800
DB Pension ~ $5,500 as at 12.31.2011


----------



## Saniokca

A lot has happened since September. A position in my company opened in BC and I took it so we are relocating in 2 weeks . What's even better is that it looks like my better half will also have a job waiting for her there. I was offered a relocation package which helped me/us reach the financial goals a bit earlier than expected!

Summary as of November 15, 2012:
RRSP = $10,000 (book value)
TFSA = $20,000 (book value)
Cash = $2,000
DB Pension ~ $5,500 as at 12.31.2011


----------



## Saniokca

I was able to sock away another 5k into RRSP  Hopefully 5k more by Feb 15. Foal by end of year to have 8k cash, 25,500 TFSA and 35,000 in RRSP.

Summary as of January 15, 2013:
RRSP = $15,000 (book value)
TFSA = $20,000 (book value)
Cash = $2,000
DB Pension ~ $5,500 as at 12.31.2011


----------



## Saniokca

Had a discussion about next year's raise. I asked for 15%, supervisor said they will meet with someone next week to see what the market pays for my slave labor and get back to me. Said that at this point their budget is mostly set and if she gives me more someone else will get less. I replied in a very nice way that this is unfortunate but won't change my request (unless I start sharing someone else's yacht). One possibility she raised is to give the regular raise now and a bit later in the year another bump. Obviously if this is what they offer I will ask for a specific date. Otherwise it will be an interview season for me... And if I get what I want at another firm they will need to beat it by another 5%. I was a bit nervous before but actually enjoyed the discussion!


----------



## Saniokca

Got the salary increase today... 2% to base salary. Obviously nowhere near the 15% I asked for - apparently my pay is above average in the company. However, I got promoted which means the target bonus increased by 5%. Also I will be getting 4% company stock from now on (that I can sell right away). Total increase in compensation is 11.1% which I can live with, for now. I have to write an exam in 10 weeks so decided to wait with my decision of whether to "test the market" at least until I write it...

On another front, I was able to put away another 3k.

Summary as of February 15, 2013:
RRSP = $20,000 (book value)
TFSA = $20,000 (book value)
Cash = $300
DB Pension ~ $5,500 as at 12.31.2011


----------



## Saniokca

Saved another 5.5k to TFSA which is now maxed out. I am on target to reach my goals this year (so far).

Summary as of March 27, 2013:
RRSP = $20,000 (book value)
TFSA = $25,500 (book value)
Cash = $90
DB Pension ~ $5,500 as at 12.31.2011


----------



## Saniokca

Time to concentrate on the RRSP! 3k more today.

Summary as of April 15, 2013:
RRSP = $23,000 (book value)
TFSA = $25,500 (book value)
Cash = $400
DB Pension ~ $5,500 as at 12.31.2011


----------



## Saniokca

$4,000 more in the bank 

Will be meeting with a few potential employers in the next few weeks - hopefully something good will come out of it.

Summary as of May 15, 2013:
RRSP = $25,000 (book value)
TFSA = $25,500 (book value)
Cash = $2,400
DB Pension ~ $5,500 as at 12.31.2011


----------



## My Own Advisor

Rickson9 said:


> A good start! This brings back memories...


+10

The good 'ol days. 

Must be a nice car, $660/month 

Continue focusing on maxing out the TFSA and then contributing to your RRSP. That TFSA is a gift to all of us. Use the RRSP or TFSA savings for the first home. Pros and cons to using either.


----------



## HaroldCrump

MOA, you are responding to a 4 yr. old post ;o)
Rickson9 was banned a long time ago, and is gone with the wind.
I believe has the distinction of being the first CMF member to be banned, IIRC


----------



## Sampson

When I saw the quote I had to double-take. Rickson9? Oh boy.


----------



## Saniokca

Thanks MOA  and it was a nice car... but the 1k/ month that I spent on it are even nicer!
What happened to Rickson9?


----------



## Saniokca

Got the annual pension statement so updating the DB pension value.

Summary as of June 15, 2013:
RRSP = $25,000 (book value)
TFSA = $25,500 (book value)
Cash = $2,400
DB Pension ~ $15,000 as at 12.31.2012 (or $200/m at 65)


----------



## Saniokca

Time for another update. Now that all the registered accounts are maxed out I'll switch to posting market values.

2013 was a good year in terms of savings - I've added 48k to RRSP/TFSA and the company stock plan. Because I didn't claim any RRSP deductions, savings in 2014 will be slightly lower (12k so far and another 29k projected to the end of the year, not including pension). 

Summary as of March 15, 2014:
RRSP = $65,000
TFSA = $41,000
Company stock = $9,000
Cash = $2,000
DB Pension ~ $15,000 as at 12.31.2012 (or $200/m at 65).
*TOTAL = 132,000*

To make it a bit more interesting, I will share that my wife has approximately 300k in various accounts (she's quite the saver) and I estimate that she can put away another 30k this year. 

This puts the family total at 430k. Would be nice to get to 500k before the end of the year but a lot will depend on the stock market.

I should probably also write here that our yearly budget for everything is 48k. It's likely that this year we will spend more but a 10%-20% increase doesn't really bother me that much at this point.


----------



## techcrium

wow assuming your wife is the same age as you..30...she accumulated that much at that age?


----------



## Saniokca

Time for another update? 

As our time on the West coast was coming to an end my wife found a great opportunity in Toronto and we will be moving in the next few weeks! Unless something unexpected happens, I will transfer to my company's local office in Toronto.

No contributions for me other than company stock plan in this quarter because everything (~12k) went into into the "2014 expenses account" (i.e. food, rent, etc.). Didn't track the contributions to my wife's accounts - probably around 10k.

Summary as of June 30, 2014:
RRSP = $68,000
TFSA = $44,000
Stock Plan = $11,000
Cash = $1,000
DB Pension ~ $16,000 as at 12.31.2013 (or $300/m at 65).
TOTAL = $140,000
Wife = $335,000
Total = $475,000

Out of the 475k, approximately 430k are in various investments including some cash on hand to take advantage of opportunities that will hopefully come up. At some point I will expand on our investment "strategy" but for now I will say that we are comfortable with taking some risk.

techcrium - yes she is quite the saver  she only had 4 years more than I to save that much.

I've kept this thread more about just keeping a history of my financial "growth" but if anyone has advice, suggestions or criticism - I would love to hear it.


----------



## cashinstinct

Congrats to you and your wife ! Nice savings.

I would suggest to have statistics based on asset allocation, not where the money is.

Example:

Cash across all acounts (not only checking account)
Canadian stocks
US stocks
International stocks
Canadian bonds
etc.

You have cash on hand, pretty sure it's more than $1000, but your way to report it does not give details.

You don't have to post this info, but it can be good for you to track it (and to have more info about wife's assets if you want to plan accordinling together).


----------



## Saniokca

That's a great idea and my feeling is that this is where we could improve. I will post something once we're back from vacation.


----------



## Saniokca

*Time for an update*

Summary as of March 31, 2015 (reported together). I decided to take the DB pension out of it for now (not significant enough and will be a nice "bump" when I resign).

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $364,000
TFSA = $93,000
LIRA = $64,000
Non-Registered = $35,000
Total in investment accounts = 556,000

Cash outside = 70,000
*Total = $626,000* (it was 550k on Dec 31, 2014)

Asset Mix:
US stocks = 64% (SBUX, LULU, COF, GOOGL, AMZN, WFM, NKE, MO, CAR, PM, KO) LULU is Canadian but NYSE.
CAD stocks = 19% (SRV, BCE, XEG)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP)
Cash = 10%

We are very exposed to the USD economy and currency but believe it or not it was higher (70%) before I started to scale down about a month ago. The other glaring point is that most of investments are in equities which will need to slightly change (we are young and both are fine with taking risks at this point).

If all goes well by end of year we will save another 80k-90k... I am not really enjoying my profession so there may be a resignation next year at which point I may take some time off and try something else. 

Oh yes - our average age is almost 33


----------



## janus10

What a journey you've had both professionally and personally. I was struck, as others were, how early on you would say the right things but do the opposite.

Now, with a partner who is a better fit, and maturity, it's not only that you are moving forward, but the momentum seems to be accelerating. Do you look back and reflect on from where you've come in the past 5+ years?

Well done!


----------



## Saniokca

Thank you for the kind words janus10. I did reread the old posts recently - a lot of good memories.

Here is our summary as at June 30, 2015:
Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $368,000
TFSAs = $99,000
LIRA = $63,000
Non-Reg = $38,000
Total in investment accounts = 568,000

Cash outside = $77,000
Total = $645,000 (it was 550k on Jan 1 and 626k on Apr 1)

Asset Mix:
US stocks = 63% (SBUX, LULU, COF, GOOGL, AMZN, WFM, NKE, MO, CAR, PM, KO).
CAD stocks = 21% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 8% (CHP)
Cash = 8%

Still very exposed to US and still largely in equities. 
Hoping to save another 50-60k before the year ends.

Would love to reach 700k at the end of the year.


----------



## peterk

Hmm, marry an older woman who's doesn't spend money and is flush with 300 g's ? I like your style Saniokca.

What are you thinking about doing for a career change? early retirement? :biggrin:


----------



## Saniokca

You got me I'm a gold digger  

On a more serious note (as well as to satisfy my ego), I pulled some records - when we got married my wife had around 150k (I had around 0-20k) and since then we are each up around 200k-300k. Another interesting fact I pulled is that since we moved in we spent about 4.8k/month. Well above the 4k I would have liked but there were start up costs (i.e. furniture), wedding, honeymoon, 2 moves across the continent and some nice vacations. It's also less than 50% of our after tax income.

I still don't know "what I want to do when I grow up". I may stick around in the industry for a few more years but on the client side. Something tells me I will not really enjoy it but it's worth a try... My wife is doing something similar and I can't say I would want her job. Maybe I'll take on a trade (I like fixing stuff)... or become a bartender. Who knows? All I know is that now we are saving quite a bit to make this happen. My friend thinks I'm crazy for not making the change now but I'd like a bit more of a cushion at least until we have kids. Maybe I will take a few years of parental leave.

A part of the cushion we are building may need to be used to help out our parents in retirement. I don't think it will be a big burden but need to keep this in mind.

P.S. Total as of last night was 650k! Very happy to reach this milestone.


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## Saniokca

More good news. Passed an exam = 5k raise  Income now is 91k and 10% target bonus (however the way things look now this target won't happen - even though I've always gotten it).


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at September 30, 2015:
Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $383,000
TFSAs = $100,000
LIRA = $71,000
Non-Reg = $39,000
Total in investment accounts = *593,000*

Cash outside = $90,000
*Total = $683,000* (it was 550k on Jan 1, 626k on Apr 1, and 645k on Jul 1). 

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 66% (SBUX, LULU, COF, GOOGL, AMZN, WFM, NKE, MO, CAR, PM, KO).
CAD stocks = 18% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 13% (CHP)
Cash = 3%

Still very exposed to US and still largely in equities. I am thinking of changing the strategy to a couch potato portfolio so will need to make a new plan later this year.

Hoping to save another 30k before the year ends, BUT... we are also thinking of buying a car. Have not decided whether it will be new or used but it will be a small one (e.g. civic, corolla, golf, etc.). So the 30k may be potentially spent on that.

Every time we get close to 700k something bad happens... At some point during August the total went down to ~640k but then things recovered.


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## scorpion_ca

Would you care to share your profession? Just curious as you are earning a lot. Your BS (balance sheet) is pretty impressive.



Saniokca said:


> More good news. Passed an exam = 5k raise  Income now is 91k and 10% target bonus (however the way things look now this target won't happen - even though I've always gotten it).


----------



## Saniokca

scorpion_ca said:


> Would you care to share your profession? Just curious as you are earning a lot. Your BS (balance sheet) is pretty impressive.


Thank you but if you read the whole thread it could have been much better  I did a few BS (the other kind) moves.

I'm in the actuarial field - pension consulting. I am relatively (a little) underpaid actually but for now I don't want to rock the boat.

Right now we are saving about 7k/m (out of ~12k after tax) a month but the plan is when we have child(ren) my wife will be staying at home for a few years. That should drop our savings down to practically zero (savings in the first year will be entirely due to EI+my ER stock). Furthermore, I was hoping to take up to a year of "parental" leave myself (unpaid). This makes me a little nervous but hopefully I stick to the plan vs. justifying working.


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## Saniokca

700k reached today! Could be temporary but still feels great. As they say appetite grows with eating - 750k by end of the year? Of course a drop would also be fine because most of the stock shopping happens early in the year with the RRSP/TFSA contributions.


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## Saniokca

Looks like the markets are going crazy... at 730k now. 

Amazon, Google and Capital One with nice jumps while LULU is down. Sold some AMZN(10) and GOOGL(6) to buy 200 shares of LULU.


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## 1980z28

Got to love it

Great job

All looks good going forward,I believe the really bad is behind us

The 1,000,000 is close


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at December 31, 2015:
Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $425,000
TFSAs = $103,000
LIRA = $81,000
Non-Reg = $44,000
Total in investment accounts = *$653,000*

Cash outside = $110,000
Total = *$763,000* (it was 550k on Jan 1, 626k on Apr 1, 645k on Jul 1, 683k on Oct 1).

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 68% (SBUX, LULU, COF, GOOGL, AMZN, WFM, NKE, MO, CAR, PM, KO).
CAD stocks = 17% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 12% (CHP)
Cash = 3%

Great year overall - 213k up from Dec 31, 2014. 

Next year will be tougher financially - because we had other great news this year - our family is about to grow! 

Starting around May 2016 my wife will not be working for a while and I will probably take parental leave sometime in June-July for up to a year. Initially the goal for 2016 is to be cash flow positive...


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at March 31, 2016:
Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $416,000
TFSAs = $118,000
LIRA = $84,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $46,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $102,000
Total in investment accounts = *$766,000*

Cash outside = $47,000
Total = *$813,000* (it was 626k on Apr 1, 645k on Jul 1, 683k on Oct 1, 763k on Dec 31).

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 53% (SBUX, LULU, COF, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, MO, PM, KO).
CAD stocks = 17% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 17% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A)
Cash = 6%

It was an interesting quarter. The return year to date is about 0.4% which is pretty good considering the rough February. Most of the increase came from salaries (37k) and 2 tax returns (24k) less expenses (around 10-15k).

Our baby is due at the end of May and we will both be taking some time off (9 months for me and probably more for my wife). 

*Cash Flow Goal:*
I am hoping that the money we make from now until we are off (20k) plus EI (another 20k?) and our cash outside of the investment accounts will last until I return to work. We are also looking to buy a car (25-30k).

*Investments Goal:*
While the returns have been great in 2013-2015 (23%, 19%, 26%) I would like to move to a more conservative portfolio ("quit while you're ahead"). I would like to have a "core" portion which will follow a "boring" couch potato strategy and a "gamble" portion (for example I think that the preferred resets are oversold so I recently purchased quite a bit of them). I think a roughly 80% safe / 20% gamble should be fine. For couch potato I was thinking 4-5 index funds, I still need to do more research on this.


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at June 30, 2016:
Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $426,000
TFSAs = $134,000
LIRA = $88,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $52,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $103,000
Total in investment accounts = *$803,000*

Cash outside = $57,000
Total = *$860,000* (it was 645k on Jul 1, 683k on Oct 1, 763k on Dec 31, 813k on Apr 1).

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 51% (SBUX, LULU, COF, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, MO, PM, KO, TWTR).
CAD stocks = 17% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 8% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 17% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A)
Cash = 7%

Good Quarter. Quite volatile at the end with the UK situation but at the end the portfolio is at an all time high. 

Baby girl is here which increased expenses. Also no more earnings beyond EI for a while so we'll see if we can live just on that without dipping into savings.

We were planning to buy a car for about 25-30k but looks like we will have one for about 5k. Father in law is looking to buy a new car so we will take over the '05 corolla with the intention of buying a new car in a few years when, hopefully, we have another kid.

*Investments Goal:*
_While the returns have been great in 2013-2015 (23%, 19%, 26%) I would like to move to a more conservative portfolio ("quit while you're ahead"). I would like to have a "core" portion which will follow a "boring" couch potato strategy and a "gamble" portion (for example I think that the preferred resets are oversold so I recently purchased quite a bit of them). I think a roughly 80% safe / 20% gamble should be fine. For couch potato I was thinking 4-5 index funds, I still need to do more research on this._
Still haven't had the chance to work on this...

P.S. Splurged 1.2k on a Roomba - no regrets so far.


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at September 30, 2016:
Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $437,000
TFSAs = $135,000
LIRA = $84,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $55,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $111,000
Total in investment accounts = *$822,000*

Cash outside = $40,000
Total = *$863,000* (it was 683k on Oct 1, 763k on Dec 31, 813k on Apr 1, 860k on Jul 1).

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 51% (SBUX, LULU, COF, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, MO, PM, KO, TWTR).
CAD stocks = 17% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 8% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 18% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A)
Cash = 6%

Decent Quarter - investment return was about 2.5% (about 8% YTD). On the other hand expenses were higher than expected and income is about 4k/m (EI). As a result there is almost no change in overall net worth.

*Investments Goal:*
_While the returns have been great in 2013-2015 (23%, 19%, 26%) I would like to move to a more conservative portfolio ("quit while you're ahead"). I would like to have a "core" portion which will follow a "boring" couch potato strategy and a "gamble" portion (for example I think that the preferred resets are oversold so I recently purchased quite a bit of them). I think a roughly 80% safe / 20% gamble should be fine. For couch potato I was thinking 4-5 index funds, I still need to do more research on this.
_Still haven't had the chance to work on this...


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## james4beach

Congrats on the baby and the great job with the finances.

I like the sound of your Investment Goals a lot. This is similar to what I do as well ... something like a passive/couch potato for the majority of it, and a bit in high risk gambling. An additional advantage I discovered is that we all get an itch to _do something_ with stocks... it's a psychological effect. When you've set aside a small % of your money for gambling purposes, you can act on those things and get it out of your system. This is good because it prevents you from touching your core strategy and potentially ruining those returns.

For example, lately I've been feeling like picking stocks (probably a sign we're near the bull market peak). At least I have some money set aside to do these games with.


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## Saniokca

james4beach said:


> Congrats on the baby and the great job with the finances.
> 
> I like the sound of your Investment Goals a lot. This is similar to what I do as well ... something like a passive/couch potato for the majority of it, and a bit in high risk gambling. An additional advantage I discovered is that we all get an itch to _do something_ with stocks... it's a psychological effect. When you've set aside a small % of your money for gambling purposes, you can act on those things and get it out of your system. This is good because it prevents you from touching your core strategy and potentially ruining those returns.
> 
> For example, lately I've been feeling like picking stocks (probably a sign we're near the bull market peak). At least I have some money set aside to do these games with.


Thank you James. Yes I am looking to do something like an 80% passive / 20% active (or 60/40 - haven't decided yet) split. My initial thoughts (which I will post in a separate thread) are to have the following:

In the non-registered account (about 100k in preferred shares and 55k in employer stock now) only invest in rate-reset preferred shares without automatic reinvesting. It's easy to track and taxes are paid every year on the dividends. I do think that there is quite a bit of appreciation coming when rates normalize so one thing to look out for is paying cap gains when that happens. Currently we hold BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G. We also hold SJR-A in the RRSP but I could sell my employer stock which is held in non-reg account and buy it there.

In the registered I need to make sure that US stuff is in RRSPs/LIRAs (at least the ETFs that pay dividends/interest) and the rest are in TFSAs.

Any suggestions for specific funds/strategies are welcome...


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## james4beach

Saniokca said:


> Any suggestions for specific funds/strategies are welcome...


Two funds that seem very promising to me outside of the "couch potato" realm are

*Beutel Goodman Small Cap* -- small caps are a tricky space (high risk/reward) that can offer good returns to intelligent money managers, and this fund seems to have an established history of that. For good small cap management it can be worth paying the MER. This thing has an 11% annual return over the last 15 years, which is substantially higher than the TSX. The 2008 drop was -29% which was also milder than the TSX average; to me that's noteworthy. I've been experimenting with a stock picking technique over the last few years and just recently discovered that this fund holds many of my own picks.

*BMO's ZLB* -- this fund pursues a low beta strategy that seems to eliminate chronically problematic sectors from the TSX. The result has been 17% annual return over the last 5 years. It's unlikely that this level of performance will continue but they may be on to something here. The fund has better sector diversification than the TSX so at the very least you get an advantage there.


Given the track record, I'm more comfortable with the first but it's hard to ignore what ZLB has achieved. It's already attracted over $1 billion in assets which is amazing for such a new ETF.


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## Artfuldodger

*congrats*

just read most of your blog from the start, and am very impressed with your growth. I am 33 years old, I wish I had taken the steps that you have, back in 2009. I will be following your thread from now, and i will start my own later on today. Looking forward to learning and being continually inspired by you!


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## redsgomarching

great read and great job - looked through a few of the earlier posts and it seems like you really grew your knowledge and fine tuned your habits.
what do you do for a living?


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## Saniokca

Artfuldodger said:


> just read most of your blog from the start, and am very impressed with your growth. I am 33 years old, I wish I had taken the steps that you have, back in 2009. I will be following your thread from now, and i will start my own later on today. Looking forward to learning and being continually inspired by you!


Thank you for the kind words. 33 is very young - you can achieve a lot in a very short period of time. Most of the "growth" happened when I met my wife. It is very easy to build wealth when your significant other is on the same page (good income and a bull market help as well). Updating this thread constantly through the years helped me to stay on track. Some posts received quite a bit of criticism but that's inevitable as everyone has their own opinions. 

These days I sleep much better at night knowing that we can easily spend a few years at home without income and that we have a good cushion for most unexpected events.


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## Saniokca

redsgomarching said:


> great read and great job - looked through a few of the earlier posts and it seems like you really grew your knowledge and fine tuned your habits.
> what do you do for a living?


Thank you :joyous:. I think the habits were always there but there were a few things I wanted to do early on that were a bit ahead of my "financial" schedule.

I'm an actuary in the pension consulting field.


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at December 31, 2016:
Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $454,000
TFSAs = $136,000
LIRA = $87,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $62,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $125,000
Total in investment accounts = *$864,000*

Cash outside = $33,000
Total = *$897,000* (it was 763k on Dec 31, 813k on Apr 1, 860k on Jul 1, 863k on Oct 1).

*RESP* (not included in our net worth) = $3,000. 

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 49% (SBUX, LULU, COF, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, MO, PM, KO, TWTR).
CAD stocks = 16% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 19% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A)
Cash = 9%


*2016 Summary:*
Another great year - investment return was 13.3% (Q4 was about 5.1%). I was really hoping to finish the year at 900k but no such luck (It did get to 903k at some point). Net worth since Dec 31, 2015 increased by 134k. This is while neither my wife nor I have worked since mid May and the fact that we had some additional expenses for the baby.

Starting with this holiday season we agreed with our families to only give gifts to children (as well as to keep them small) so the spending was kept to minimum. Got some amazon gift cards as well that were spent on diapers 

*2017 Goals:* Random thoughts at this moment...
The EI will run out early in 2017 but I will be going back to work in February so the main goal is to keep our spending below the income.
Since my wife will (most likely) have no income next year we decided it's a good time to cash in her employer stock. It had a very nice run lately (30% in 3 months!) and she would pay not taxes on the gains.
Pass my final exam and get both actuarial designations.
Try for another kid.
*Get to 1M!* - that depends mostly on Mr. Market...


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## redsgomarching

Wow great job, great growth! I won't lie, I am definitely envious of your TFSA's! I thought I was doing well with mine but between you too have nearly earned 20k each + a 130k increase in your investments is amazing!
are these just liquid assets you are tracking or do you also own your own home?


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## Saniokca

redsgomarching said:


> Wow great job, great growth! I won't lie, I am definitely envious of your TFSA's! I thought I was doing well with mine but between you too have nearly earned 20k each + a 130k increase in your investments is amazing!
> are these just liquid assets you are tracking or do you also own your own home?


Thank you redsgomarching. We have been very fortunate with investment returns in the last 4 years which makes the numbers look pretty good. We also made two big bets that paid off quite handsomely: high US exposure a few years ago and preferred shares last year.

We don't own a house - with Toronto prices, our family situation (only one child so far who is not even 1 year old yet) and undecided career paths we decided that owning a home at this point doesn't make sense for us. Oh yes and we absolutely hate debt... In retrospect I think it was the correct decision despite the price growth in recent years.

Our only other asset is a 2005 Toyota Corolla. Maybe it should be included in our portfolio as an antique...


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## Saniokca

Well looks like this market keeps on giving... Our net worth crossed the *$920k* mark today. My DB pension is probably worth another 50k but I don't include it at this point in our net worth. When I eventually resign it will be a nice bump.

This update is more for the sake of investment allocations however:
1) We finally started moving towards indexing. First move is to convert MO, PM and KO in wife's LIRA into the S&P500 index. I chose VOO for this.
2) Because my wife's income will be virtually zero this year I'd like to realize the gains on the preferred rate-reset stocks in our non-registered account. The 100k portfolio grew to 134k.
3) SRV.UN has increased considerably since the time I purchased it and it doesn't look like they can grow revenue - I have started selling.
4) We no longer own TWTR - this was a pretty nice short term investment. Picked it up for 500 shares for 14.50 in April, sold 250 shares for 24.50 and 250 shares at $17. All in a nice profit of $3.1k USD.


With regards to the second point: I was going to wait until the end of the year but there is a lot of talk about increasing the inclusion rate for capital gains so it wouldn't hurt to speed up the process. I will be repurchasing 2 of the 4 stocks in my TFSA and 2 in RRSP. I have one preferred stock in RRSP so will be moving it to the non-registered account (selling in RRSP and buying in Non-reg). There are no "artificial losses" created so I don't think it will be a problem with CRA but I will call them to confirm that this is "kosher" just in case.

P.S. It's back to work for me starting next week - not too excited about it but earning some real money will be nice.


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## Saniokca

Net worth crossed *$950k* today!


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## redsgomarching

Saniokca said:


> Net worth crossed *$950k* today!


50k more to go!!! today has been a good day, have some good gains as well.


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## Saniokca

redsgomarching said:


> 50k more to go!!! today has been a good day, have some good gains as well.


Yeah so far this year the stock market has been on fire. It'll take a breather eventually but at least for now it feels good! I had a mini celebration the other day since the DB pension is worth about 50k so technically we're at a mil already but the big one will come when we'll reach it without counting in the DB.


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at March 31, 2017:
Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $463,000
TFSAs = $155,000
LIRA = $95,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $54,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $136,000
Total in investment accounts = *$903,000*

Cash outside = $44,000
Total = *$947,000* (it was 813k on Apr 1, 860k on Jul 1, 863k on Oct 1, 864k on Dec 31,).

RESP (not included in our net worth) = $6,000. 

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 50% (SBUX, LULU, COF, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, MO, KO, VOO).
CAD stocks = 9% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 9% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 21% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K)
Cash = 12%


*2017 Q1 Summary:*
Great quarter - YTD return of 5.4%. Had it not been for a last minute crash of LULU (25% down) which cost us 13k the return would have been even better. Oh well that's what you get with owning individual stocks. Net worth since Dec 31, 2016 increased by 80k. This was mainly due to investment returns but now that I'm back at work the 5k/m after tax income doesn't hurt either.
I have also started (very) slowly to move into indexed investing. The LIRA which consisted of PM, MO and KO is now half converted into VOO (S&P500). The goal is to have it completely in VOO by June.


*2017 Goals:* Random thoughts at this moment...
Keep our spending below my income of approximately 5k/m.
Since my wife will (most likely) have no income next year we decided it's a good time to cash in her employer stock. It had a very nice run lately (30% in 3 months!) and she would pay not taxes on the gains. - DONE
Pass my final exam and get both actuarial designations - Got my US designation (can call myself an Actuary now). The Canadian Institute dropped the final exam starting next year so I will be going next year instead. Upside - no need to waste time on studying. Downside - I'm giving up about 8.5k in income. I figured my time is a lot more valuable so no regrets there.
Try for another kid.
*Get to 1M!* - that depends mostly on Mr. Market...


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## Saniokca

$970k - getting really close now!

My good old 2005 corolla has 286k on it. I wonder what'll come first: 300k on the car or $1M in the bank?


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## Steve Divi

Wow, I just read through this thread. 

Great work Saniokca!


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## Saniokca

Thanks Steve - when you're lucky enough to have a great income and don't want many things it's not hard work. Oh yeah and the fact that spouse is 100% on the same page is huge.

I didn't think too many people still read this to be honest because it's quite dry. But I keep posting because from time to time (maybe once a year) I like to re-read the whole thing myself.


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## nobleea

Saniokca said:


> Thanks Steve - when you're lucky enough to have a great income and don't want many things it's not hard work. Oh yeah and the fact that spouse is 100% on the same page is huge.
> 
> I didn't think too many people still read this to be honest because it's quite dry. But I keep posting because from time to time (maybe once a year) I like to re-read the whole thing myself.


I read each and every Money Diary post in the forum. Always interesting to see the different approaches taken. Sometimes can lead to a bit of introspection.
Good work. For sure you'll hit 1mil before getting 300K on the car.


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## Saniokca

Glad to hear!

We are down to 955k - fun day on the markets today so the old corolla may yet win this one 

Also it's time to pay rent and credit cards - will be close to 950k...


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## Saniokca

Not a whole lot happening.

Here is our summary as at June 30, 2017:
Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $468,000
TFSAs = $157,000
LIRA = $96,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $58,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $141,000
Total in investment accounts = *$920,000*

Cash outside = $46,000
Total = *$966,000* (it was 860k on Jul 1, 863k on Oct 1, 864k on Dec 31, 947k on Apr 1).

Not included in our net worth:
RESP = $6,000.
My DB pension = $64,000 (as of Dec 31, 2016)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 49% (SBUX, LULU, COF, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, MO, KO, VOO).
CAD stocks = 9% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 8% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 22% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K)
Cash = 12%


2017 Q2 Summary:
Decent quarter - 1.8% return which brings the YTD return to 7%. The rise of CAD vs. USD hurt quite a bit but the preferred shares offer a great hedge. A nice boost from LULU and NKE towards the end as well. We bought a couple of "big ticket" items - two child car seats that together cost us $850.
The move into indexing is going very slowly but I'm not in a big rush. The LIRA has been fully converted into VOO (S&P500) so now I need to decide what comes next.


2017 Goals:
Keep our spending below my income of approximately 5k/m. So far so good.
Since my wife will (most likely) have no income next year we decided it's a good time to cash in her employer stock. It had a very nice run lately (30% in 3 months!) and she would pay not taxes on the gains. - DONE
Try for another kid.
Get to 1M! - Technically we are there but the goal is to have it without counting the DB pension. Fear is getting into my head about the market being at the top but I feel that having a 12% cash position is more than enough.


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## Saniokca

This may be the first quarter in a very, very long time where our total net worth went *down*!

Here is our summary as at September 30, 2017:
Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $453,000
TFSAs = $157,000
LIRA = $97,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $63,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $144,000
Total in investment accounts = *$914,000*

Cash outside = $43,000
Total = *$956,000* (it was 860k on Jul 1, 863k on Oct 1, 864k on Dec 31, 947k on Apr 1, $966k on June 30).

Not included in our net worth:
RESP = $6,000.
My DB pension = $64,000 (as of Dec 31, 2016)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 48% (SBUX, LULU, COF, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO).
CAD stocks = 9% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 8% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 23% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K)
Cash = 12%


2017 Q3 Summary:
The rise of CAD vs. USD keep dragging down the returns. At some net worth dipped to 925k but lately recovered somewhat. The move into indexing has stalled.

2017 Goals:
Keep our spending below my income of approximately 5k/m. So far so good.
Get to 1M! - Technically we are there but the goal is to have it without counting the DB pension.


----------



## peterk

Saniokca said:


> Here is our summary as at September 30, 2017:
> Investment accounts:
> *RRSPs = $453,000*
> TFSAs = $157,000
> *LIRA = $97,000*
> Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $63,000
> Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $144,000
> Total in investment accounts = $914,000
> 
> Cash outside = $43,000
> Total = $956,000 (it was 860k on Jul 1, 863k on Oct 1, 864k on Dec 31, 947k on Apr 1, $966k on June 30).
> 
> Not included in our net worth:
> RESP = $6,000.
> *My DB pension = $64,000* (as of Dec 31, 2016)


Holy - How does a pair of ~35 average year olds with ~10 years of work earnings, most of which is at less than the RRSP limits, have pension accounts valued over 600k??

Your investments must have more than doubled in value in that RRSP for the math to make any sense!


----------



## Saniokca

peterk said:


> Holy - How does a pair of ~35 average year olds with ~10 years of work earnings, most of which is at less than the RRSP limits, have pension accounts valued over 600k??
> 
> Your investments must have more than doubled in value in that RRSP for the math to make any sense!


We've been very lucky with returns (and salaries)  My wife's RRSP+LIRA are ~ 440k so mine are more modest.

Here are our overall investment returns (LIRA's returns were a bit higher but otherwise pretty consistent across accounts):
2013: 23%
2014: 20%
2015: 26%
2016: 13%
2017: probably about 5%
Total in $ amounts: *$406k*

Here are the contributions we made into various investment accounts:
2013: 110k (although I think 30K was a LIRA transfer so this number may be inflated)
2014: 42k
2015: 49k
2016: 121k (100k of it was deploying cash we've saved up into preferred resets).
2017: $0
Total contributions: *$323k*


----------



## milhouse

Saniokca said:


> This may be the first quarter in a very, very long time where our total net worth went *down*!


Everyone I talked to seemed to have experienced a hit between the late 2nd to 3rd quarter with the stronger Canadian dollar likely being the culprit (as you also mention) offsetting strength in the US markets with no help from the Canadian markets until the last couple of weeks. I reached a peak end of May, took a bit hit in June, and been slowly clawing back myself.


----------



## Saniokca

milhouse said:


> Everyone I talked to seemed to have experienced a hit between the late 2nd to 3rd quarter with the stronger Canadian dollar likely being the culprit (as you also mention) offsetting strength in the US markets with no help from the Canadian markets until the last couple of weeks. I reached a peak end of May, took a bit hit in June, and been slowly clawing back myself.


Yep that's exactly it. However: reached *975k* today! A new high.

The race between my Corolla to 300k (currently just shy of 296k) and our net worth to 1M is heating up again...


----------



## milhouse

Congrats on your new high. Yeah, conditions have been very good since mid-September.


----------



## kork

Saniokca said:


> Here is our summary as at December 31, 2016:
> Investment accounts:
> RRSPs = $454,000
> TFSAs = $136,000
> LIRA = $87,000
> Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $62,000
> Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $125,000
> Total in investment accounts = *$864,000*
> 
> Cash outside = $33,000
> Total = *$897,000* (it was 763k on Dec 31, 813k on Apr 1, 860k on Jul 1, 863k on Oct 1).


Ha! While we have a different asset mix, my wife and I had a net worth of 897k on Dec 31, 2016 as well! I'm a little older than you, have two children(10 and 8) and my wife has been a SAHM for the better part of a decade.

Different path, similar journey!

http://canadianmoneyforum.com/showthread.php/11838-Married-Kids-Single-income-Tryin-hard!/page5


----------



## james4beach

Saniokca said:


> Yep that's exactly it. However: reached *975k* today! A new high.


Congrats! So close to 1M.

Your growth in net worth has been amazing to watch. It's very lucky that you started right at the beginning of the current bull market (2009) and that your wife brought such a huge amount of assets to the household.

Have you thought about how you want to position yourselves longer term, especially now that you're at a comfortable spot? Consider that, with your 90% stock exposure, a serious bear market in stocks could easily knock 400K off your net worth and take you all the way down to 600K. Perhaps you might consider reducing your risk and diversifying into more of a 60/40 or 50/50 asset mix.

I'm thinking from the perspective of preservation of capital. You've basically made it, you've grown your capital tremendously. And a 60/40 mix will still grow over the years. I realize that I am more conservative than some others, but I just don't see why you should take such large risks with your nearly-1M net worth.


----------



## Saniokca

kork said:


> Ha! While we have a different asset mix, my wife and I had a net worth of 897k on Dec 31, 2016 as well! I'm a little older than you, have two children(10 and 8) and my wife has been a SAHM for the better part of a decade.
> 
> Different path, similar journey!
> 
> http://canadianmoneyforum.com/showthread.php/11838-Married-Kids-Single-income-Tryin-hard!/page5


I just read through your entire thread - *you've done really well* - especially considering your wife stayed home for so long and you have 2 children. Ever since my wife has become a SAHM I don't think we've been saving much (and my 8 month unpaid leave didn't help either). Although the employer stock and my DB pension should not be discounted, I feel like we spend almost all my after tax income. I am not too worried mainly because I feel like the race is pretty much done by now - as long as we can earn enough to pay the bills we shouldn't worry about retirement.

I think the plan is to cut down my working days once DW goes back to work so that we work 5-6 days per week combined. If we have another child that won't happen for a while. If we don't maybe in a year or so.


----------



## Saniokca

james4beach said:


> Congrats! So close to 1M.
> 
> Your growth in net worth has been amazing to watch. It's very lucky that you started right at the beginning of the current bull market (2009) and that your wife brought such a huge amount of assets to the household.
> 
> Have you thought about how you want to position yourselves longer term, especially now that you're at a comfortable spot? Consider that, with your 90% stock exposure, a serious bear market in stocks could easily knock 400K off your net worth and take you all the way down to 600K. Perhaps you might consider reducing your risk and diversifying into more of a 60/40 or 50/50 asset mix.
> 
> I'm thinking from the perspective of preservation of capital. You've basically made it, you've grown your capital tremendously. And a 60/40 mix will still grow over the years. I realize that I am more conservative than some others, but I just don't see why you should take such large risks with your nearly-1M net worth.


Thanks for the feedback!

I agree that we have been very lucky with timing. I am trying to slowly start moving towards a more stable, indexed portfolio. Although my portfolio is comprised mostly from stocks they won't necessarily move in the same direction. The preferred act a little like bonds and the fact that they are "resets" means they actually increase in value when interest rates increase. I do realize that the preferred dividend can also be suspended but first they would need to eliminate the dividend for the common shares and some of them are "cumulative" which means that they would need to pay the missed dividends (if any) before resuming the dividends for common shares.

Maybe the goal can be to commit all new money towards bond ETFs? I'll have to think about it some more.


----------



## kork

Saniokca said:


> I just read through your entire thread - *you've done really well* - especially considering your wife stayed home for so long and you have 2 children. Ever since my wife has become a SAHM I don't think we've been saving much (and my 8 month unpaid leave didn't help either). Although the employer stock and my DB pension should not be discounted, I feel like we spend almost all my after tax income. I am not too worried mainly because I feel like the race is pretty much done by now - as long as we can earn enough to pay the bills we shouldn't worry about retirement.
> 
> I think the plan is to cut down my working days once DW goes back to work so that we work 5-6 days per week combined. If we have another child that won't happen for a while. If we don't maybe in a year or so.


Thank-you. When we had our first child, I was earning $60k a year and wife was earning nothing so it's been quite the journey so far. Adding kids to the mix has made it a challenge to say the least. We can budget all we want to but there are so many expenses (many of which are unforeseen) and the emotional aspect makes it exhausting.

But there's a silver lining in those clouds. Much like you said, the race is pretty much done. For us, it's like the first 5 years we were running hard but not going very far. The last 10 years we've been running our asses off and taking advantage of the great weather and wind that's behind us. Many of our peers have been meandering, going off course, tying up their laces, buying new shoes (and perhaps too many shoes). So now that we're a good way into the race and seemingly have a long time before we need to cross that finish line, we can slow down. We don't stop, but rather than running like crazy, we can slow down to a more comfortable brisk walk...

I like the idea of cutting down working days. For myself, I get to work from home 3 days of the week which I find is "similar." I don't think I could go to working 5 days a week in an office right now. While DW is off at work and the kids are at school, working gives me something to do rather than play video games all day, lol.

Do you have plans to purchase a home? I don't think I saw that anywhere in your journey.


----------



## Saniokca

kork said:


> Do you have plans to purchase a home? I don't think I saw that anywhere in your journey.


Not at this point. We still don't really know where we want to live long term and tying up a lot of money (either via debt or cashing in investments) into a house is not very appealing. We spend most of the time either at my wife's parents' place or mine and are perfectly comfortable sleeping in a one bedroom place for now. If we (hopefully) have another child we will most likely rent something bigger.

On a happy note *our net worth has crossed the $1M mark* in the past week. I think I may cheat a little and add the value of my DB pension to give us a boost on the way to $1.1M . My actuarial skills will be handy because I should be able to track the true value on a monthly basis.

My mechanic told me that it's time to upgrade the car (our corolla should hit 300k km this year). The goal is to drive the current one until the spring/summer and then buy another one. It's possible that I won't resist and buy one before that. It's also possible that it will be a new car (looking at class like RAV4/CRV/CX-5/Forester/etc.). Buying used would be a much more frugal choice but we'll see - maybe it's time to splurge a little!


----------



## milhouse

Congrats on the $1M mark. That's a good feeling.
Got to say, I dread buying a car both from a cash outlay perspective and the whole sales and negotiation process. Corollas seem to last forever. The missus had one previously but it was pretty nice to upgrade to a small SUV.


----------



## nobleea

nobleea said:


> Good work. For sure you'll hit 1mil before getting 300K on the car.


Told you you'd hit the 1Mil first! 
Of course, it's not some end goal where one can take the foot of the gas, however, a replacement car is probably fitting. On some models that retain value well, it is almost better (or at least a wash) to buy new.


----------



## Saniokca

Haha thank you - it's a nice milestone. At some point I got my wife to agree to buy a $350k car once we hit $2M. At the time it seemed like a goal that's at least 20-30 years away. Now it seems pretty close but somehow I doubt that I will indeed spend that kind of money .

nobleea - you certainly did! After that our net worth went down to something like 925k but then roared back.


----------



## milhouse

Same here. I've always wanted to buy a Porsche or BMW M series if I was able to build up something like $2M before I retired but now I'm not sure if I can stomach spending $100k+ on a car after this journey of saving. And it's not just the initial outlay I'm concerned about but the repairs and maintenance are likely to be more expensive and I probably couldn't handle the anxiety of getting dings and scratches.


----------



## OnlyMyOpinion

Ever tried renting a similar vehicle in Vegas or Hawaii, or taken to the race track? 
It might help sooth the itch.


----------



## milhouse

I never feel comfortable in car rentals. And while booting the car around is part of the fun, the other half of it is the ego aspect of actually owning it. 
But I currently prefer the ego aspect of having that $100k+ in my bank account versus a depreciating asset. I may change my mind if I ever hit $3M and the loonie gets close to par again though. LOL


----------



## nobleea

Exotics racing in Vegas is highly recommended. It's all on track and you can push the cars and pass others on the track.

Unfortunately it doesn't remove the urge to actually own one. But it's better to push a car like that on the track rather than drive it on city roads to Costco.


----------



## Ihatetaxes

kork said:


> But there's a silver lining in those clouds. Much like you said, the race is pretty much done. For us, it's like the first 5 years we were running hard but not going very far. The last 10 years we've been running our asses off and taking advantage of the great weather and wind that's behind us. Many of our peers have been meandering, going off course, tying up their laces, buying new shoes (and perhaps too many shoes). So now that we're a good way into the race and seemingly have a long time before we need to cross that finish line, we can slow down. We don't stop, but rather than running like crazy, we can slow down to a more comfortable brisk walk...


I liked this analogy! Very similar to how we feel although a bit older and net worth in the multi-millions now we are enjoying the brisk walk and sunny days. Looking forward to a long and healthy retirement starting in a few years.


----------



## Saniokca

Based on November interest rates, my salary and service the DB pension was worth 70k on October 31. Had the interest rates been the same as Dec 31, 2016 it would have been 76k. I guess this is my "bond" allocation now...


----------



## kork

Saniokca said:


> My mechanic told me that it's time to upgrade the car (our corolla should hit 300k km this year). The goal is to drive the current one until the spring/summer and then buy another one. It's possible that I won't resist and buy one before that. It's also possible that it will be a new car (looking at class like RAV4/CRV/CX-5/Forester/etc.). Buying used would be a much more frugal choice but we'll see - maybe it's time to splurge a little!


We bought a 2014 CX-5 less than 6 months ago. Replaced a 12 year old Jeep Liberty. It's very fuel efficient. WAAAY better than the Jeep! We decided to splurge a little as well since we spend so much time in it so we got it fully loaded assuming we'll have it for another 10 years and the extra cost for comfort is worth it. Initially, we were looking for a barebones CX-5, but got a great deal on the loaded one. We took it in one day to get some service done and they gave us a loaner CX-5. Huge difference in comfort (the base model to the loaded!) So 6 months in, love the CX-5. We'll have it for a long time I suspect.


----------



## Saniokca

kork said:


> We bought a 2014 CX-5 less than 6 months ago.


I can't seem to make a decision about new vs. used. I think I'm still leaning towards used for a few reasons:
- I could potentially like it at first and then not so much - selling a car that was bought used should be easier both on the wallet and in general.
- I could buy a 2-3 year old model with all the bells and whistles (i.e. not the baseline but the highest trim).
- If I scratch/ding it that I won't be too sorry about it
- will probably save 10k-20k. On the one hand this shouldn't really make a difference in our lives at this point but on the other - it's still *10k-20k!*


----------



## kork

Saniokca said:


> I can't seem to make a decision about new vs. used. I think I'm still leaning towards used for a few reasons:
> - I could potentially like it at first and then not so much - selling a car that was bought used should be easier both on the wallet and in general.
> - I could buy a 2-3 year old model with all the bells and whistles (i.e. not the baseline but the highest trim).
> - If I scratch/ding it that I won't be too sorry about it
> - will probably save 10k-20k. On the one hand this shouldn't really make a difference in our lives at this point but on the other - it's still *10k-20k!*


Our last vehicle was brand new. Within 3 months, someone jammed a cart into the side and it caused a big deep scratch. We touched it up with paint as the "real" fix was going to be over $1k. It made me livid and angry for a long time. 

After a while, I reflected and thought "the next vehicle we own, I'm hoping it has a couple small dings or scratches that I know about getting the vehicle." 

That's the problem with new stuff. You don't want to get it messed up. And for what? Who really cares if it's got a scratch or a ding? But you pay a lot more money for the pristine looking vehicle that's brand new.

For me, new vehicles cause stress. I'd rather have an "almost new" but MUCH less stressful vehicle. Don't get me wrong. If I could have a car that I knew would never get dented, stone ships, scratches or anything then I'd rather have brand new too...


----------



## Saniokca

Another great year is coming to an end.

Here is our summary as at December 31, 2017:
Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $506,000
TFSAs = $160,000
LIRA = $104,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $64,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $145,000
Total in investment accounts = $*979,000*

Cash outside = $49,000
Total = *$1,028,000* (vs. 897k On Jan 1, 2017).

Not included in our net worth:
RESP = $6,000.
My DB pension = $81,000 (my estimate as of Dec 31, 2017)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 50% (SBUX, LULU, COF, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO).
CAD stocks = 9% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 8% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 22% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K)
Cash = 11%

2017 Summary:
Overall net worth increased by $130k which is not bad at all considering that I didn't work a full year and my wife hasn't worked at all outside the home. Most of the gain came from investment returns.

2018 Goals:
Can't think of anything at this point... Keep growing our wealth and live below our means.


----------



## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at March 31, 2018:

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $541,000
TFSAs = $163,000
LIRA = $105,000
DCPP = $3k
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $69,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $146,000
Total in investment accounts = $*1,027,000*

Cash outside = $42,000
Total = *$1,069,000* (vs. 1,028k On Jan 1, 2018).

Not included in our net worth:
RESP = $8,000.
My DB pension = $81,000 (my estimate as of Dec 31, 2017)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 48% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO).
CAD stocks = 8% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 21% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K)
Cash = 16%

Comments:
A lot has happened/is about to happen....
Overall net worth increased by $40k. Most of the gain came from investment returns and various DC/RRSP/employer stock program contributions. My salary mostly goes to pay our expenses.
Reduced individual stocks number by 1 (COF) - didn't replace with anything because I need to sit down for a few hours to figure out what to hold where. The road to indexed investing is taking longer than expected.
Got promoted. Base salary increased to about 100k and target bonus is now 15%. Should get another increase of about 7-8k in July.
DB pension plan was closed and replaced by DC. Since I don't expect to stay there until retirement (or even 10 years) I don't really mind. In total 14% of my base pay goes into it.
*We are pregnant again* and due in November. This means another parental leave (8 months with EI as our only income).
Need (aka want) to buy a new car to replace the '05 corolla. Still back and forth on new or used. May break and get a 2018 model around the time the 2019's roll out.

2018 Goals:
Still nothing


----------



## motl

Saniokca said:


> Need (aka want) to buy a new car to replace the '05 corolla. Still back and forth on new or used. May break and get a 2018 model around the time the 2019's roll out.


Look into used 2017-8 vehicles. Often these will be ex daily rentals but honestly that shouldn't dissuade you if you find the right one. Buying through a dealership certified pre-owned program helps alleviate some concern because they can verify the warranty work is up to date and the inspection is much broader than usual. It's easy to find current model year vehicles (ie. 2018 now) with 10-20k KMs and looking pretty much brand new. I actually just went this route. I wouldn't have believed the car I bought wasn't brand new if I hadn't known. Physically it's in perfect shape, was thoroughly inspected by a reputable dealership and still has 4.5 years and 80k+ KMs left on the warranty. In terms of price, I basically saved a good chunk on the first year depreciation and obviously avoided some of the new car fees (ie. freight). 

Gives you the best of both worlds. Could do the same with a ~2015 with low KMs if you aren't OK with an ex rental as there should be some low KM lease returns. For some brands you'd still have some warranty left too. Buying in these model years typically means you don't have to give up much in terms of 'latest and greatest' features.


----------



## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at June 30, 2018:

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $598,000
TFSAs = $166,000
LIRA = $111,000
DCPP = $7k
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $72,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $147,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,101,000*

Cash outside = $44,000
Total = *$1,145,000* (vs. 1,028k On Jan 1, 2018).

Not included in our net worth:
RESP = $8,600.
My DB pension = $78,000 (as of Dec 31, 2017)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 47% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO).
CAD stocks = 8% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 19% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K)
World = 1% (DCPP)
Cash = 18%

Comments:
Overall net worth increased by $76k in Q2.


----------



## Saniokca

It's been a while since I posted about a fun purchase but here it is... We just bought a car for $45k. Thought about paying cash but decided to invest the money instead so financed @0.5% over 5 years.


----------



## milhouse

Saniokca said:


> It's been a while since I posted about a fun purchase but here it is... We just bought a car for $45k. Thought about paying cash but decided to invest the money instead so financed @0.5% over 5 years.


Congrats on the purchase. I'm assuming you bought from a dealership new? 
Any suggestions or lessons learned from process? We bought new a few years back which I thought was a painful process so I'm always curious about other people's experiences and tactics.


----------



## Saniokca

milhouse said:


> Congrats on the purchase. I'm assuming you bought from a dealership new?
> Any suggestions or lessons learned from process? We bought new a few years back which I thought was a painful process so I'm always curious about other people's experiences and tactics.


It was actually quite painless. I looked on unhaggle.com and we agreed on the invoice price+3%. I went to another dealership to see if they would match it (I preferred the colour there) but they wouldn't. After several emails back and forth I was on the way to sign the paperwork.

A few years ago I tried the "normal" way and ended up spending 3 hours at the dealership with the associate going back and forth to his manager. We finally agreed on the price and when we were finalizing the paperwork the manager came out and started asking for another $500. We just walked out.


----------



## milhouse

We used Unhaggle too to get some pricing ideas for an all in price. However, we went into one dealership and ended up doing the stupid sales grunt to sales manager delay tactic dance. They wouldn't meet our price. Ended up going to another dealership to do the same dance and got our price. If we every get another new car, I think we've got to go the email route.


----------



## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at September 30, 2018:

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $650,000
TFSAs = $171,000
LIRA = $117,000
DCPP = $11k
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $75,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $151,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,175,000*

Cash outside = $42,000
Total = *$1,217,000* (vs. 1,028k On Jan 1, 2018).

Not included in our net worth:
RESP = $8,700.
My DB pension = $78,000 (as of Dec 31, 2017)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 50% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO).
CAD stocks = 7% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 21% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K, DRM-A)
World = 1% (DCPP)
Cash = 14%

Comments:
Overall net worth increased by $72k in Q3.
Added a position (DRM-A) in the Preferred shares account using the cash that has accumulated there (~30k).
Lululemon, amazon, nike - all shooting sky high
Flying very high everywhere - I wonder when all these gains will turn into losses...
Finally got my Canadian designation (Actuary) so salary increased another 5k (11k in increases this year + a 5% bump to the target bonus). 
Looking to move into a bigger apartment (2+ bedrooms) - will add another 1k/ month in expenses. Together with the car payment ($750) that's quite the increase in monthly expenses! I think we will finally be close to spending everything we make (haven't done the calculation yet). Oh well...


----------



## Pluto

Saniokca said:


> It's been a while since I posted about a fun purchase but here it is... We just bought a car for $45k. Thought about paying cash but decided to invest the money instead so financed @0.5% over 5 years.


Curious, what did you buy?


----------



## My Own Advisor

BTW - just going back to your first post:

THEN:

"Assets:
TFSA: $1,500
RRSP: $0
10% emergency: $9,000 (Savings acct, to be deposited to RRSP soon)"

NOW:
"Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $650,000
TFSAs = $171,000
LIRA = $117,000
DCPP = $11k
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $75,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $151,000
Total in investment accounts = $1,175,000

Cash outside = $42,000
Total = $1,217,000 (vs. 1,028k On Jan 1, 2018)."

Incredible


----------



## Saniokca

Pluto said:


> Curious, what did you buy?


2018 Subaru Forester XT... I have to say that I absolutely love it.


----------



## Saniokca

My Own Advisor said:


> BTW - just going back to your first post:
> 
> THEN:
> 
> "Assets:
> TFSA: $1,500
> RRSP: $0
> 10% emergency: $9,000 (Savings acct, to be deposited to RRSP soon)"
> 
> NOW:
> "Investment accounts:
> RRSPs = $650,000
> TFSAs = $171,000
> LIRA = $117,000
> DCPP = $11k
> Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $75,000
> Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $151,000
> Total in investment accounts = $1,175,000
> 
> Cash outside = $42,000
> Total = $1,217,000 (vs. 1,028k On Jan 1, 2018)."
> 
> Incredible


Haha thanks! So I was 10.5k rich? A bit later I went on a few vacations and bought an engagement ring (for a former girlfriend/fiancee) which caused quite the stir around here...

Having a wife who is more frugal than I am certainly helps! I think when we moved in I was at a small negative (10-20k?) and she had 150-200k (positive). Oh and the stock market was on quite a run.

Also, and that's the sadder part of our story, it took us 4-5 years to get pregnant which on the bright side meant two (relatively) high incomes.

I think the way this quarter is going it could be a first out of many where our net worth decreases.

This post is much more disjointed than I'd like it to be...


----------



## Pluto

Saniokca said:


> 2018 Subaru Forester XT... I have to say that I absolutely love it.


Good choice. I know a guy who had one for 10 years, gave it to his kids, and then bought another new one.


----------



## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at December 31, 2018:

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $608,000
TFSAs = $159,000
LIRA = $108,000
DCPP = $7k (some was group RRSP that I moved to personal RRSP)
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $78,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $134,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,094,000*

Cash outside = $32,000
Total = *$1,126,000* (vs. 1,028k On Jan 1, 2018).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $11,000.
My DB pension = $78,000 (as of Dec 31, 2017)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 56% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO).
CAD stocks = 6% (SRV, BCE, XEG, SCP)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 21% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K, DRM-A)
World = 1% (DCPP)
Cash = 9%

Comments:
will update later...


----------



## Saniokca

Saniokca said:


> Comments:
> will update later...


I guess I should update the comments section.

*2018 *was a busy and expensive year. Another child, a new car, a new apartment...
*Net Worth:* An increase of about $100k to 1.1M which, considering everything is still good. For reference the peak was about 1.2M but then markets became very volatile - especially in December.
*Expenses:* Generally pretty close to expectations but will be much higher in 2019. Rent increased from $1,600 to $2,700 (we moved). Car payment is $750/m (also gas is now premium and insurance edged up a bit). All in all expenses went up by about $2,100-$2,300 which is considerable.
*Income:* 
Salary rate is now 106k plus a 15% target bonus. Next increase is in April.
Child benefits will be about $500/month

*2019*
This will be another interesting year as I will start my parental leave at the end of February (until April 2020) so income will go down to EI levels and once that and whatever cash we have runs out we'll be living off dividends in the non-registered account and proceeds from selling some investments.
The drop in our household income will actually do wonders to child benefits in 2020 and we may even qualify for the Canada Learning Bond for the kids. A bit of a loophole in the system that it's only based on income but I won't say no to "free" money.


----------



## vicky1

Saniokca said:


> I guess I should update the comments section.
> 
> *2018 *was a busy and expensive year. Another child, a new car, a new apartment...
> *Net Worth:* An increase of about $100k to 1.1M which, considering everything is still good. For reference the peak was about 1.2M but then markets became very volatile - especially in December.
> *Expenses:* Generally pretty close to expectations but will be much higher in 2019. Rent increased from $1,600 to $2,700 (we moved). Car payment is $750/m (also gas is now premium and insurance edged up a bit). All in all expenses went up by about $2,100-$2,300 which is considerable.
> *Income:*
> Salary rate is now 106k plus a 15% target bonus. Next increase is in April.
> Child benefits will be about $500/month
> 
> *2019*
> This will be another interesting year as I will start my parental leave at the end of February (until April 2020) so income will go down to EI levels and once that and whatever cash we have runs out we'll be living off dividends in the non-registered account and proceeds from selling some investments.
> The drop in our household income will actually do wonders to child benefits in 2020 and we may even qualify for the Canada Learning Bond for the kids. A bit of a loophole in the system that it's only based on income but I won't say no to "free" money.



Just been reading your story! This is a truly incredible story. Congrats for the new addition to the family. Best of Luck in 2019.


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## Saniokca

vicky1 said:


> Just been reading your story! This is a truly incredible story. Congrats for the new addition to the family. Best of Luck in 2019.


Thank you .

The main post will come on the weekend but thanks mainly to Lululemon (or should I call it LulFlix now?) we've achieved another milestone today... *1.25M* in total net worth!


----------



## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at March 31, 2019:

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $686,000
TFSAs = $193,000
LIRA = $120,000
DCPP = $10,000 (some was group RRSP that I moved to personal RRSP)
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $94,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $133,000
Non-Reg (Employer) = $2,000 (will be taken out later in the year to help funding the parental leave)
Total in investment accounts = *$1,238,000*

Cash outside = $18,000
Total = *$1,256,000* (vs. $1,126k On Jan 1, 2019).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $20,000.
My DB pension = $78,000 (as of Dec 31, 2017)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 54% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO).
CAD stocks = 6% (SRV, BCE, XEG)
CAD Reit = 8% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 18% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K, DRM-A)
World = 1% (DCPP)
Cash = 13%

*Comments:*
Income is about 2k/m (EI) and mostly goes to cover my health premiums, contributions to pension, and employer stock (so I can get the match).
Expenses: Actually a bit lower than I expected. I don't drive to work which means 200km less each week (should change in the summer when we'll hopefully get out more), no paying for parking ($100/month) and no dry cleaning either.

2019 Q1
Net Worth: An increase of about $130k to $1.25M - mostly due to investment returns which were exceptional. Sold a third of my Lululemon position and will probably buy more index ETFs since my ultimate goal is to be at least 60%-70% in a boring ETF portfolio.
Cash outside investments decreased since we fully funded the TFSAs (12k), RESPs (7.5k) and RRSP (2k).
Got my comp statement - a bit disappointing but not surprising the way our industry is going - no increase in salary and the bonus was around 12% (the pool wasn't fully funded).


----------



## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at June 30, 2019:

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $701,000
TFSAs = $190,000
LIRA = $122,000
DCPP = $12,000 (some was group RRSP that I moved to personal RRSP)
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $100,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $108,000
Non-Reg (Employer) = $4,000 (will be taken out later in the year to help funding the parental leave)
Total in investment accounts = *$1,237,000*

Cash outside = $20,000
Total = *$1,257,000* (vs. $1,126k On Jan 1, 2019).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $20,000.
My DB pension = $78,000 (as of Dec 31, 2017)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 56% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO).
CAD stocks = 5% (BCE, XEG)
CAD Reit = 8% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 22% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C)
World = 1% (DCPP)
Cash = 8%

*Comments:*
Income is about 2k/m (EI) and mostly goes to cover my health premiums, contributions to pension, and employer stock (so I can get the match).
Expenses: Quite a bit higher this quarter mainly due to some large bills, insurance premiums for the year, etc.

2019 Q1
Net Worth: virtually unchanged - Higher expenses were offset by investment returns. On the investments front I loaded up some more on preferred resets which lost quite a bit of value lately (I did cash some in when they were very high). Will also be selling my bell stock - I used it to convert some USD to CAD and will be selling once the dividend is paid (I did this around the record day and don't want to be stuck with a few shares).
Cash outside investments is the same (transferred some cash out of the non-registered account to fund life).


----------



## Saniokca

We reached 1.3M in net worth yesterday. If my pension and RESPs are included it's 1.4M .

The stock market is on a tear... The YTD return is 17%. I am trying to sell some more individual equities and sold half of our SBUX position. Unfortunately I did this a week too early since they had great earnings. Obviously there was no way to know and it had a great run as of late so timing seemed good.


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## peterk

But you kept all your GOOGL right? :encouragement: I got a few grand each of SBUX and GOOGL too. Wish it was a whole heck of a lot more, though!


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## kcowan

Saniokca said:


> The stock market is on a tear... The YTD return is 17%...


Yes my big first half gainers are LULU, CSCO, PHB, Y and AAPL, all above 20% each. The rest hover around 12%. Not counting on a second half repeat!


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## Saniokca

peterk said:


> But you kept all your GOOGL right? :encouragement: I got a few grand each of SBUX and GOOGL too. Wish it was a whole heck of a lot more, though!


Yeah still have Google. I trimmed our positions on that a year ago I think. AMZN is similar - I started with 60 shares in 2013-2014ish (cost was ~$300) and now down to 30 shares. Not sure if we're going to trim further or just keep them.



kcowan said:


> Yes my big first half gainers are LULU, CSCO, PHB, Y and AAPL, all above 20% each. The rest hover around 12%. Not counting on a second half repeat!


LULU did put a smile on my face a few times this year . At this point I'd just like to not dip below 1M at the next downturn so hopefully it won't be more than a 25% dip. These numbers just don't seem very real to me to be honest. It took so little time to get where we are so I am prepared for a big setback and late last year was a pretty good indicator that we won't panic.


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at September 30, 2019:

Crazy quarter - reached 1.3M then plummeted to close to (or below) 1.1M but it bounced back up quite nicely.

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $727,000
TFSAs = $193,000
LIRA = $125,000
DCPP = $14,000 (some was group RRSP that I moved to personal RRSP)
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $106,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $97,000 (withdrew another 10k)
Non-Reg (Employer) = $5,000 (will be taken out later in the year to help funding the parental leave)
Total in investment accounts = *$1,267,000*

Cash outside = $11,000
Total = *$1,278,000* (vs. $1,126k On Jan 1, 2019).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $21,000.
My DB pension = $80,000 (as of Dec 31, 2018)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 52% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO).
CAD stocks = 1% (XEG)
CAD Reit = 8% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 21% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C)
World = 2% (DCPP)
Cash = 16%

Comments:
Income is about 2k/m (EI) and mostly goes to cover my health premiums, contributions to pension, and employer stock (so I can get the match).
Expenses: Again higher than expected at around 7-8k per month. Lots of random expenses and now our older daughter is going to daycare at around 1k/m
Sold BCE, trimmed SBUX in half

2019 Q3
Net Worth: virtually unchanged - will need to withdraw more from the pref shares account.
Cash position is at 16% now so will need to do something about it. Will buy more VOO soon.


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## Saniokca

Mid-quarter update:
-Net worth is above 1.3M again! . 
-Sold all my employer stock (~110k) - need the cash for expenses as well as next year's TFSAs/RESPs and it's a good time to realize some gains since we're in a very low income year.

Our expenses have climbed up considerably - we are spending close to 9-10k per month:
Rent - 2,700
Day care for one child - 1,000
Car - 750
Company pension and employer stock contributions - 1,200
Credit card - 3-5k/m - let's call that 4 on average. Every month we buy one or two big-ticket items which could be 1-2k (e.g. blender, dehydrator, water filter system, fancy car seats, etc)

Income is $500/m (child benefits, EI ran out). This will be the situation until May when I go back to work. Once that happens we'll be about 3-4k in red every month for a couple of more years until my wife goes back to work.

I have to say that I'm starting to understand how people struggle with cash flow/debts. I have a decent salary but in order to support a family of 4 we would have to cut lifestyle which I don't think is very "posh" - a two bedroom rental, a non-luxury car and daycare which is, from what I hear, is relatively low for GTA. We struggled to have children for 4+ years which sucked big time but the bright side of that was that we were able to put away a lot of money. That allowed us to both spend time at home.


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at December 31, 2019:

Pretty quiet Q4 with year ending around the 1.3M mark.

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $772,000
TFSAs = $195,000
LIRA = $134,000
DCPP = $18,000 (some was group RRSP that I moved to personal RRSP)
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $2,000 (sold it all in Q4 to finance life and TFSAs/RESPs in 2020)
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $97,000 (withdrew another 10k)
Non-Reg (Employer) = $5,000 (will be taken out later in the year to help funding the parental leave)
Total in investment accounts = *$1,223,000*

Cash outside = $112,000
Total = *$1,335,000* (vs. $1,126k On Jan 1, 2019).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $20,000.
My DB pension = $80,000 (as of Dec 31, 2018)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 48% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO).
CAD stocks = 1% (XEG)
CAD Reit = 8% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 20% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C)
World = 2% (DCPP)
Cash = 21%

Comments:
Income is $500/m (child benefits, EI ran out). This will be the situation until May when I go back to work. Once that happens we'll be about 3-4k in red every month for a couple of more years until my wife goes back to work.
Expenses: Very high this year at about 80k-85k.

2019
Net Worth: 2019 was very kind to us financially - our very high expenses were more than offset by incredible returns (19%!) with our net worth increasing roughly 200K!

Will probably add some comments later for 2020.


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at March 31, 2020:

What a start...

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $702,000
TFSAs = $155,000
LIRA = $117,000
DCPP = $15,000 (some was group RRSP that I moved to personal RRSP)
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $4,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $67,000
Non-Reg (Employer) = $6,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,066,000*

Cash outside = $76,000
Total = *$1,142,000* (vs. $1,335k On Jan 1, 2020).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $20,000.
My DB pension = $80,000 (as of Dec 31, 2018)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 55% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO).
CAD stocks = 3% (XEG, VCN)
CAD Reit = 8% (CHP)
CAD Preferred 16% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C)
World = 2% (DCPP)
Cash = 16%

Comments:
Coronavirus...
Income: 500/m (child benefits)
Expenses: Very so far at about 23k in the first quarter... Don't see how this is going to go down anytime soon.

2020
Net Worth: 2020 is down about 200k so far... Was much worse but came back up during last week of March
Will add more comments later...


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at June 30, 2020:

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $838,000
TFSAs = $164,000
LIRA = $135,000
DCPP = $21,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $8,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $73,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,239,000*

Cash outside = $74,000
Total = *$1,313,000* (vs. $1,335k On Jan 1, 2020).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $25,000.
My DB pension = $120,000 (as of Dec 31, 2019)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 59% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO, SQ).
CAD stocks = 3% (XEG, VCN)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP, REI)
CAD Preferred 15% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C)
World = 2% (DCPP)
Cash = 14%

Comments:
Income: 5,900/m (salary+child benefits). Back to work - it sucks (two kids at home in a two bedroom condo) but slows down the bleeding of cash which is nice.
Expenses: About 22k in the first quarter which is in line with Q1 and probably will continue at that level for a while.
Sold some LULU (250 shares @ $283. With the proceeds bough some more VOO (to keep moving more towards indexing) and a new stock, for fun (SQ, 400 [email protected]$83).

2020
Net Worth: Basically back to January 1 levels but pre-Covid the high was almost $1.4M.


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at September 30, 2020:

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $931,000
TFSAs = $170,000
LIRA/DCPP = $168,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $11,000
Non-Reg (Preferred resets) = $86,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,366,000*

Cash outside = $70,000
Total = *$1,436,000* (vs. $1,335k on Jan 1, 2020).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $27,000.
My DB pension = $120,000 (as of Dec 31, 2019)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 58% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, NKE, VOO, SQ).
CAD stocks = 10% (XEG, VCN)
CAD Reit = 6% (CHP, REI)
CAD Preferred 16% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C)
World = 2% (DCPP)
Cash = 9%

Comments:
Income(after taxes/deductions): 5,900/m (salary+child benefits). Back to work - negative cash flow of about 3k for the foreseeable future. The real number is quite a bit lower because a lot goes to pension, employer stock program, etc.
Expenses: About 23k in the third quarter and will continue at that level for a while.
Sold some AMZN (10 shares @ $3.5k. Bought quite a bit of VCN which a good step towards my indexing target. Next is to sell the NKE position.

2020
Net Worth: Was a few k away from 1.5M but then things retreated. YTD return of 10% is not too bad though.


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## Dilbert

Good job, especially with the TFSA.


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## Saniokca

Dilbert said:


> Good job, especially with the TFSA.


Thank you  It's two TFSAs though - mine and my wife's so those are actually lagging our overall returns. It just so happened that the highest returns were in the RRSPs. I won't complain too much though!


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## Saniokca

On a related note - Starting a new job in November! Base salary is up to 134k which is roughly a 25% increase but the target bonus, pension, stock and benefit plans are quite a bit lower than what I had so the overall comp increased only by about 5%-10%. Still not bad.

Another great thing is that I will be taking out/converting the defined benefit pension at a great time - interest rates are almost at all time lows. Will be a nice bump to the net worth (120k-140k) as I was not counting it in but now that it will be invested in a LIRA I will be able to track it easily.


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## scorpion_ca

Just wondering what the industry you work for and your role is...if you don't mind to share.


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## Saniokca

scorpion_ca said:


> Just wondering what the industry you work for and your role is...if you don't mind to share.


I'm a pension actuary - for the last 12 years I've worked at two consulting firms and now switching to be "in-house".


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at December 31, 2020:

Investment accounts:
RRSPs = $1,021,000
TFSAs = $194,000
LIRA/DCPP = $289,000 (moved my DB into a LIRA)
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $1,000
Non-Regs = $152,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,657,000*

Cash outside = $59,000
Total = *$1,716,000* (vs. $1,335k on Jan 1, 2020).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $30,000.
My DB pension = $0 (moved to a LIRA now)

Asset Mix (investment accounts):
US stocks = 48% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, VOO, SQ).
CAD stocks = 10% (XEG, VCN)
CAD Reit = 6% (CHP, REI)
CAD Preferred 15% (BAM-R, ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C)
World = 0%
Cash = 21%

Comments:
Income(after taxes/deductions): 7,500/m (salary excluding bonus+child benefits). Higher salary at the new job means negative cash flow should go down from about 3k to 1.5k/m. The real number a bit lower because about $700 a month is going into the employer stock program. We also have non-registered investments that generate dividends but I don't consider them here because it's all reinvested.
Expenses: About 27k in the fourth quarter. Looks like we spend about 90k-100k/year...
Sold some the funds in our DC plan and Group RRSP (33k into LIRA). Cashed in my DB (105k into LIRA and 25k after taxes in cash). Sold NKE.
We now have 360k in cash across the investment accounts so will have to think about how best to deploy it.

2020
Net Worth: $*1.7M*. Not much to say other than (probably like for everyone else here) the returns were on fire. 2020 return was *19.7%*. Also finally recognized the DB plan in our net worth (about a 130k bump). The swing this year was crazy... In March we were a few k away from going below 1M and now at 1.7M. Crazy.


----------



## scorpion_ca

Have you done any analysis for your RRSP? How long are you planning to contribute there? I am not sure but you may be paying more taxes while withdrawing from it?


----------



## Saniokca

scorpion_ca said:


> Have you done any analysis for your RRSP? How long are you planning to contribute there? I am not sure but you may be paying more taxes while withdrawing from it?


It is entirely possible but it was mostly by chance. We haven't really contributed there in the past 4 years but the returns in the RRSPs were much higher than returns in the other accounts. Because of the preferential treatment all the US companies and some of our bets (e.g. Google, Amazon, Square, etc.) were made there. To put things in perspective - out of the roughly 1M there only 250k were contributions (of which only 50k were made after 1.1.2014). The rest is all investment income.


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## peterk

^ Yup who knew - My RRSP has done the best, followed by unregistered, and my TFSA is in the red!


----------



## Saniokca

peterk said:


> ^ Yup who knew - My RRSP has done the best, followed by unregistered, and my TFSA is in the red!


Yeah ours aren't in red but also nothing to write home about. Too bad that it's not the other way around but can't complain really.


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at March 31, 2021:

*Investment accounts*:
RRSPs = $1,085,000
TFSAs = $237,000
LIRA/DCPP = $303,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $3,000
Non-Regs = $170,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,798,000*

Cash outside = $46,000
Total = *$1,844,000* (vs. $1,716k on Jan 1, 2021).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $36,000.

*Asset Mi*x (investment accounts):
US stocks = 49% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, VOO, SQ).
CAD stocks = 11% (XEG, VCN)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP, REI)
CAD Preferred 19% (ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SJR-A, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C)
World = 0%
Cash = 15%

*2021 YTD*
Net Worth $1.85M - continues to skyrocket... YTD return is 8% which is quite ridiculous. At this point I don't know what's crazier: the stock market or the real estate market.
Expenses: About $24k in the first quarter (lighter than expected!). Looks like we spend about 90k-100k/year...
Trades: Sold BAM-R (similar yields at seemingly lower risk in other companies). SJR-A shot up (from $15 to $20) due to the potential Rogers and Shaw deal and the possibility that they will be redeemed. We had about $100k in it and decided to wager another $70k (AT $19.6/share). If it pans out, we would gain about $48K, if it doesn't, will likely lose about $40k.
Cash across the investment accounts is down to 250k. I will likely purchase some dividend yielding stocks (maybe straight preferred).

*Cash flows:*
Income(after taxes/deductions): *$7,500/m* (salary excluding bonus+child benefits). 
Expenses: *About 9k-10k/m*
New Expense:* $300/m.* I want to get back into chess, so starting next week I will have private lessons once a week.
We are also thinking about moving to a nicer place (rent) and our budget this time is up to $3.5k/m (about $800/m higher than what we pay now). We might not move at all or not go so high.


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at June 30, 2021:

*Investment accounts*:
RRSPs = $1,174,000
TFSAs = $262,000
LIRA/DCPP = $326,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $6,000
Non-Regs = $190,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,958,000*

Cash outside = $44,000
Total = *$2,002,000* (vs. $1,716k on Jan 1, 2021).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $39,000.

*Asset Mi*x (investment accounts):
US stocks = 50% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, VOO, SQ).
CAD stocks = 12% (XEG, VCN)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP, REI)
CAD Preferred 8% (ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C)
World = 0%
Cash = 23%

*2021 YTD*
Net Worth *$2.0M* - well, somehow we reached 2M!!! YTD return is 17.6% which is seems unreal (maybe it is and there's a correction coming, who knows...).
Expenses: About $30k in the second quarter (lots of one time items like insurance, a new computer, camp). I expect our spending to be about 90-100k this year.
Trades: The bet on Shaw preferred paid off big time.
Cash across the investment accounts is now at 420k. Need to think what's next - probably a combination of preferreds and something else.

*Cash flows:*
Income(after taxes/deductions): *$7,500/m* (salary excluding bonus+child benefits).
Expenses: *About 9k-10k/m*
The move to a new place has stalled for now but could still happen later in the year. Need to figure out how many times a week I would be commuting once things (hopefully) reopen.


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## milhouse

Saniokca said:


> Trades: The bet on Shaw preferred paid off big time.


Congrats on this! I wanted to jump in on this too but didn't pull the trigger.


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## Saniokca

milhouse said:


> Congrats on this! I wanted to jump in on this too but didn't pull the trigger.


Thank you - it was a very nice boost to already great returns YTD. Now I need to decide what to do with all that new cash...


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at October 1, 2021:

*Investment accounts*:
RRSPs = $1,206,000
TFSAs = $263,000
LIRA/DCPP = $333,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $8,000
Non-Regs = $194,000
Total in investment accounts = *$2,004,000*

Cash outside = $41,000
Total = *$2,045,000* (vs. $1,716k on Jan 1, 2021).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $39,000.

*Asset Mi*x (investment accounts):
US stocks = 50% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, VOO, SQ, ETSY).
CAD stocks = 18% (XEG, VCN)
CAD Reit = 6% (CHP, REI)
CAD Preferred 8% (ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C, ELF-H)
World = 0%
Cash = 17%

*2021 YTD*
Net Worth *$2.04M* - YTD return is 20.1%. It was actually over 23% but there was a lot of volatility in September.
Expenses: About $25k in the second quarter which is where I would expect it to be. Spending will likely be about 100k-110k this year.
Trades: Bought 200 shares of ETSY @ $212USD as another minor bet and a bit more GOOGL to bring the cash position down slightly.
Cash across the investment accounts is now at 340k.

*Cash flows:*
Income(after taxes/deductions): *$7,500/m* (salary excluding bonus+child benefits).
Expenses: *About 9k-10k/m*


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## scorpion_ca

So you are spending more than your income or the bonus and child benefits cover the delta?


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## Saniokca

scorpion_ca said:


> So you are spending more than your income or the bonus and child benefits cover the delta?


I didn't do the full math on that but my guess is we're either slightly negative on cash flow or fairly close to zero. Bonus should be around 10k after taxes and child benefits another 5k. We're doing much better compared to negative 10k/m when we were both off . In a couple of years my wife will go back to work so we'll be back to positive. Full time she can make 125k-150k but she will more likely take a less demanding part time job for around 50-60k. I think we're in a good place so not too worried about a few years of no (or slightly negative) savings.


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## bigmoneytalks

Saniokca said:


> Here is our summary as at October 1, 2021:
> 
> *Investment accounts*:
> RRSPs = $1,206,000
> TFSAs = $263,000
> LIRA/DCPP = $333,000
> Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $8,000
> Non-Regs = $194,000
> Total in investment accounts = *$2,004,000*
> 
> Cash outside = $41,000
> Total = *$2,045,000* (vs. $1,716k on Jan 1, 2021).
> 
> Not included in our net worth:
> RESPs = $39,000.
> 
> *Asset Mi*x (investment accounts):
> US stocks = 50% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, VOO, SQ, ETSY).
> CAD stocks = 18% (XEG, VCN)
> CAD Reit = 6% (CHP, REI)
> CAD Preferred 8% (ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C, ELF-H)
> World = 0%
> Cash = 17%
> 
> *2021 YTD*
> Net Worth *$2.04M* - YTD return is 20.1%. It was actually over 23% but there was a lot of volatility in September.
> Expenses: About $25k in the second quarter which is where I would expect it to be. Spending will likely be about 100k-110k this year.
> Trades: Bought 200 shares of ETSY @ $212USD as another minor bet and a bit more GOOGL to bring the cash position down slightly.
> Cash across the investment accounts is now at 340k.
> 
> *Cash flows:*
> Income(after taxes/deductions): *$7,500/m* (salary excluding bonus+child benefits).
> Expenses: *About 9k-10k/m*


Bravo! I'm the same age and haven't achieve what you guys have done. Curious, this networth doesn't include your home? (You do have a home right?) Maybe I missed this...


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## Saniokca

bigmoneytalks said:


> Bravo! I'm the same age and haven't achieve what you guys have done. Curious, this networth doesn't include your home? (You do have a home right?) Maybe I missed this...


Thank you - I know people who have achieved a lot more than me so it's all relative . Everyone's path is different - just do sensible things your own way and you'll do very well. I sometimes reread the earlier reactions to my posts for laughs - fellow "forumers" were not very impressed with some of my decisions (which I think made sense for me and I would change very little, if anything).

Re house: we rent. We looked at some houses a few months ago but prices are too high and I would need to liquidate a lot to buy anything. We were offered a mortgage of up to 650k with my income which means we would need a down payment of about as much to buy anything detached. I prefer to wait a year or two until maybe my wife goes to work.


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## bigmoneytalks

Saniokca said:


> Thank you - I know people who have achieved a lot more than me so it's all relative . Everyone's path is different - just do sensible things your own way and you'll do very well. I sometimes reread the earlier reactions to my posts for laughs - fellow "forumers" were not very impressed with some of my decisions (which I think made sense for me and I would change very little, if anything).
> 
> Re house: we rent. We looked at some houses a few months ago but prices are too high and I would need to liquidate a lot to buy anything. We were offered a mortgage of up to 650k with my income which means we would need a down payment of about as much to buy anything detached. I prefer to wait a year or two until maybe my wife goes to work.


I'm even more impressed! Not giving in to the real estate mania these past years and putting your hard earned money to work instead. I own a home and it costs money to keep it going. Yes the house value went up (which we've benefited from) but being liquid on that portfolio is a beautiful thing...it's "f u" money...living your life on your terms. I might post my diary and would love to hear your thoughts on my journey!


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## Saniokca

bigmoneytalks said:


> I'm even more impressed! Not giving in to the real estate mania these past years and putting your hard earned money to work instead. I own a home and it costs money to keep it going. Yes the house value went up (which we've benefited from) but being liquid on that portfolio is a beautiful thing...it's "f u" money...living your life on your terms. I might post my diary and would love to hear your thoughts on my journey!


Giving in a little bit - just deregistered 60k from wife's RRSP (and will pay about 18k in tax/decrease in CCB for the pleasure). Trying to build a war chest for when the time comes to bite the bullet... Maybe in 2022, or 2023, or never . Until then we'll keep renting.

Either way I think deregistering some of the money now when my wife has no income is not a bad idea. After the withdrawal her RRSP+LIRA is already at 1.1M which, if left untouched, could easily quadruple in 20 years when she will be 61. At that point we would be paying taxes at a much higher rate...


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at December 31, 2021:

*Investment accounts*:
RRSPs = $1,175,000
TFSAs = $277,000
LIRA/DCPP = $361,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $11,000
Non-Regs = $217,000
Total in investment accounts = *$2,041,000*

Cash outside = $45,000
Total = *$2,086,000* (vs. $1,716k on Jan 1, 2021).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $45,000.

*Asset Mix* (investment accounts):
US stocks = 50% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, VOO, SQ, ETSY).
CAD stocks = 20% (XEG, VCN)
CAD Reit = 6% (CHP, REI)
CAD Preferred 8% (ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C, ELF-H)
World = 0%
Cash = 14%

*2021 YTD*
Net Worth *$2.09M* - 2021 return was 23.3%.
Expenses: About $25k in the fourth quarter which is where I would expect it to be. Spending in 2021 was 105k.
Trades: Bought some more VCN.
Cash across the investment accounts is now at 290k.
Deregistered 60k from wife's RRSP for two reasons: she has no income and to start building up a downpayment. Will invest it in some preferred shares (probably 50% regular and 50% resets).

*Cash flows:*
Income(after taxes/deductions): *$7,500/m* (salary excluding bonus+child benefits).
Expenses: *About 9k-10k/m*


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at April 1, 2022:

*Investment accounts*:
RRSPs = $1,103,000
TFSAs = $301,000
LIRA/DCPP = $358,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $14,000
Non-Regs = $214,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,990,000*

Cash outside = $25,000
Total = *$2,015,000* (vs. $2,087k on Jan 1, 2022).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $45,000.

*Asset Mix* (investment accounts):
US stocks = 47% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, VOO, SQ, ETSY).
CAD stocks = 25% (XEG, VCN)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP, REI)
CAD Preferred 15% (ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C, ELF-H, L-B, CPD)
World = 0%
Cash = 6%

*2022 YTD*
Expenses: About $24k in the first quarter which is where I would expect it to be. Spending in 2021 was $105k.
Trades: Bought some CPD and L-B.
Cash: across the investment accounts is down to 115k.
Charity: $2,150.

*Cash flows:*
Income(after taxes/deductions): *$7,700/m* (salary excluding bonus+child benefits).
Expenses: *About 9k-10k/m*


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at July 1, 2022 (Happy Canada Day!):

*Investment accounts*:
RRSPs = $924,000
TFSAs = $268,000
LIRA/DCPP = $313,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $16,000
Non-Regs = $200,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,721,000*

Cash outside = $13,000
Total = *$1,734,000* (vs. $2,087k on Jan 1, 2022).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $40,000.

*Asset Mix* (investment accounts):
US stocks = 43% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, VOO, SQ, ETSY).
CAD stocks = 26% (XEG, VCN)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP, REI)
CAD Preferred 17% (ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C, ELF-H, L-B, CPD)
World = 0%
Cash = 7%

*2022 YTD*
Expenses: About $45k in the second quarter which is higher than usual for a few reasons: paid off the car, booked a cottage (4k), charity (2k). Spending YTD is roughly 70k. Spending in 2021 was $105k.
Trades: None
Cash: across the investment accounts is 118k.
Charity: $2,150.

*Cash flows:*
Income(after taxes/deductions): *$8,000/m* (salary excluding bonus+child benefits).
Expenses: *About 9k-10k/m* 

*Comments:*
Got a 7.5% raise in April... Basically inflation but now that my older daughter is 6 the expenses are increasing - camps, piano, gymnastics, etc...
Returns YTD are obviously not great: about 14% in the red. After averaging almost 19%/year for 2013-2021 it is to be expected.


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## bigmoneytalks

Saniokca said:


> Here is our summary as at July 1, 2022 (Happy Canada Day!):
> 
> *Investment accounts*:
> RRSPs = $924,000
> TFSAs = $268,000
> LIRA/DCPP = $313,000
> Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $16,000
> Non-Regs = $200,000
> Total in investment accounts = *$1,721,000*
> 
> Cash outside = $13,000
> Total = *$1,734,000* (vs. $2,087k on Jan 1, 2022).
> 
> Not included in our net worth:
> RESPs = $40,000.
> 
> *Asset Mix* (investment accounts):
> US stocks = 43% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, VOO, SQ, ETSY).
> CAD stocks = 26% (XEG, VCN)
> CAD Reit = 7% (CHP, REI)
> CAD Preferred 17% (ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SLF-K, DRM-A, MFC-P, BAM-C, ELF-H, L-B, CPD)
> World = 0%
> Cash = 7%
> 
> *2022 YTD*
> Expenses: About $45k in the second quarter which is higher than usual for a few reasons: paid off the car, booked a cottage (4k), charity (2k). Spending YTD is roughly 70k. Spending in 2021 was $105k.
> Trades: None
> Cash: across the investment accounts is 118k.
> Charity: $2,150.
> 
> *Cash flows:*
> Income(after taxes/deductions): *$8,000/m* (salary excluding bonus+child benefits).
> Expenses: *About 9k-10k/m*
> 
> *Comments:*
> Got a 7.5% raise in April... Basically inflation but now that my older daughter is 6 the expenses are increasing - camps, piano, gymnastics, etc...
> Returns YTD are obviously not great: about 14% in the red. After averaging almost 19%/year for 2013-2021 it is to be expected.


Everyone's portfolios are down. Hard to look at but must stay focused on long term goals. Curious have you thought of maximizing your resp long time value? With over 200k non registered and 40k in resp, why not take full advantage of the tax shelter?


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## Saniokca

bigmoneytalks said:


> Everyone's portfolios are down. Hard to look at but must stay focused on long term goals. Curious have you thought of maximizing your resp long time value? With over 200k non registered and 40k in resp, why not take full advantage of the tax shelter?


Yeah I'm not too fussed about the portfolio being down - things can't go up forever.

Good question about the RESP. I have read up on that at some point but we have been increasing the non-reg balances slowly to get ready to buy a house. We only have one income for the foreseeable future so would need a healthy down payment if we want to get a detached in the GTA (Mississauga most likely). The likely timing would be either later this year or sometime next year with a budget of around 1M-1.3M. Seems like prices are retreating somewhat and if this continues we might luck out in terms of timing.


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## Saniokca

Here is our summary as at October 1, 2022:

*Investment accounts*:
RRSPs = $944,000
TFSAs = $249,000
LIRA/DCPP = $313,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $16,000
Non-Regs = $189,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,711,000*

Cash outside = $10,000
Total = *$1,721,000* (vs. $2,087k on Jan 1, 2022).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $39,000.

*Asset Mix* (investment accounts):
US stocks = 46% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, VOO, SQ, ETSY).
CAD stocks = 26% (XEG, VCN)
CAD Reit = 7% (CHP, REI)
CAD Preferred 15% (ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SLF-K, MFC-P, BAM-C, ELF-H, L-B, CPD)
World = 0%
Cash = 6%

*2022 YTD*
Expenses: About $25k in the second quarter which aligns with expectations. Spending YTD is roughly 95k. Spending in 2021 was $105k.
Trades: None
Cash: across the investment accounts is 107k.
Charity: $3,000.

*Cash flows:*
Income(after taxes/deductions): *$8,000/m* (salary excluding bonus+child benefits).
Expenses: *About 9k-10k/m

Comments:*
Passively looking for a new job and unexpectedly was contacted by an old client so have an interview soon. If I get/accept the position it would mean about a 30k-40k increase in comp which would be nice.
Returns in the quarter was pretty much flat (good returns from July were erased in Aug/Sep). YTD is still about 14% in the red. After averaging almost 19%/year for 2013-2021 it is to be expected.


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## Saniokca

Happy New Year everyone!

Here is our summary as at Jan 1, 2023:

*Investment accounts*:
RRSPs = $981,000
TFSAs = $274,000
LIRA/DCPP = $333,000
Non-Reg (Employer stock) = $22,000
Non-Regs = $176,000
Total in investment accounts = *$1,786,000*

Cash outside = $27,000
Total = *$1,813,000* (vs. $2,087k on Jan 1, 2022).

Not included in our net worth:
RESPs = $40,000.

*Asset Mix* (investment accounts):
US stocks = 46% (SBUX, LULU, GOOGL, AMZN, VOO, SQ, ETSY).
CAD stocks = 26% (XEG, VCN)
CAD Reit = 8% (CHP, REI)
CAD Preferred 14% (ENB-N, IFC-A, MFC-G, SLF-K, MFC-P, BAM-C, ELF-H, L-B, CPD)
World = 0%
Cash = 6%

*2022 Totals*
Expenses: About $25k in Q4 which aligns with expectations. 2022 spending was roughly 120k. Spending in 2021 was $105k. Main reason for the increase was paying off the car, extracurriculars for the kids and my younger daughter joining the private school. That doesn't include contributions into TFSA/RESPs.
Trades: None
Cash: across the investment accounts is 99k.
Charity: $3,000.

*Cash flows:*
Income(after taxes/deductions): *$8,000/m* (salary excluding bonus+child benefits).
Expenses: *About 9k-10k/m

Comments:*
The new job didn't pan out so staying put for now. My old employer reached out but I don't see them paying me the salary I would like to get at this point (it would be more than what people 1-2 levels above mine are getting) so didn't really pursue.
Returns for the year were quite abysmal - negative 13.7%. First year since 2013 (when we started tracking) where it's negative! Not complaining since it was bound to happen at some point.


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