Here is my December 2015 net worth update. We’re on a roll now that the stock market has been recovering a bit and now that we’re kicking our debt repayment into high gear. I’m very pleased with our progress because we already beat our net worth goal for the year!
Hitting the $745k mark means that we really blew past our 2015 goal of $725k in net worth. I couldn’t be happier with the results, especially after the lack lustre year we’ve had. A mat leave and our accumulation of so much debt this year to get some much needed home renovations done really hampered our efforts to grow our assets and our net worth. But the worst is over and now it’s time to focus on paying off our debt so we can tackle our home mortgage in 2016.
As I’ve said before, I like to track my family’s progress through monthly net worth updates. To calculate our net worth, I add up all of our household assets and subtract any outstanding liabilities (ie. debt owing). The result is simply a snapshot of what my family is worth at a particular moment in time and does not give any of the relevant details as to how or why we reached that point. For that kind of information, please refer to our dividend income and monthly highlights section.
In a previous post, I laid out a variety of financial goals for 2015. My focus for the year however, will be on achieving 3 major goals. First, we want our net worth to hit $725,000 by the end of the year. This is now complete. Secondly, we still want to aggressively pay off our mortgage so that we can be mortgage-free in 10 years or less. Other than our regular weekly payments, we haven’t made any progress on this goal to date. Finally, we want to hit the $7,500 mark in dividend income. This should be achievable if we continue to save and invest our money on a regular basis in our investment accounts and our dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs).
Assets: $1,363,957.01 (+0.95%)
Home: $815,000 (0%)
In December 2014, we purchased our “final” family home where we expect to be for at least the next 30 years.
Rental Property: $160,000 (0%)
We recently purchased our first rental property.
Cash: $1,001.19
As a matter of habit, I rarely keep a lot of cash on hand in a savings account. The reason being is that at today’s record low interest rates I’d rather put the money toward paying off my mortgage faster or invest it. That said, I do keep some cash on hand in my investment accounts in case any market opportunities arise.
Non-Registered Investment Accounts: $58,917.14 (+1.57%)
Our non-registered investment accounts include DRIP accounts with Computershare and Canadian Stock Transfer, a discount brokerage account and a work savings plan. For the most part, in these accounts, I prefer to hold Canadian companies that pay eligible dividends. The decrease in this account is a result of moving non-registered stocks into our TFSAs.
TFSA: $77,711.17 (+1.33%)
In the TFSA I like to hold growth assets, such as low-cost ETFs, TD e-series index funds or Canadian dividend paying stocks. I have finally maxed out my TFSA and my wife finally opened her self-directed TFSA.
Retirement: $220,725.62 (+3.68%)
Our retirement accounts consist of RRSPs, a small locked-in retirement account (LIRA) from a previous employer and a company defined contribution pension plan. The RRSPs and LIRA hold low-cost TD e-series index funds and other low-cost ETFs, while the company pension plan is invested in a low-cost target date fund.
RESP: $12,913.12 (+0.60%)
In the RESP we hold low-cost TD e-series index funds. We contribute the annual amount of $2,500 so we can get the 20% match from the government. Our strategy for contributing is to use the $100 we receive each month from the universal child care tax credit and make up the difference at the beginning of each year. This ensures that we receive the maximum government contribution of $500.
Other: $27,000 (0.0%)
Under the “other” category, I include an extensive coin and paper money collection. For years I collected rare gold and silver Canadian coins and Canadian paper money. The collection has a face value of $10,000 so I conservatively estimate the collection’s worth at around $27,000. For the purpose of my net worth calculations, I’ve been keeping this number constant versus increasing it over time because (a) coins and paper currency can be difficult to accurately appraise as they are subject to changing market trends and (b) can become illiquid if you can’t find a buyer for them.
Liabilities: -$630,775.69 (-0.51%)
Mortgage: -$467,036.37 @ 2.89%
Paying down our mortgage will be a high priority for 2015 and we expect to be mortgage-free in less than 10 years.
Rental Property Mortgage: -108,204.52 @2.62%
We recently added mortgage debt with our rental property purchase. Mortgage interest is tax deductible so we won’t prioritize paying off this mortgage.
HELOC: -$52,332.07 @ 3.35%
I used the HELOC to get some energy efficient renovations done to the house and for a downpayment on a rental property. This is a priority to pay off so we can get out of debt.
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