Net worth update – January 2012

I know there are a lot of bloggers out there who post their actual net worth values and I enjoy following their progress. I will continue to post just percentages for now but this may change in the future.

Assets:

-          Cash – 1.06% of assets (-0.08%)

-          Savings – 20.60% of assets (-2.89%)

-          US cash account – 14.97% of assets (-0.24%)

-          Investments (Stocks) – 45.60% of assets (3.22%)

-          Investments (Other) – 18.89% of assets (+0.08%)

Liabilities: 0

Total Net Worth: +1.65%

I know it’s a lot of numbers, but it is interesting to me to see how things are moving. The increase is mainly due to how well the stock market performed in January.

Quick notes:

-         I made my TFSA contribution for 2012!

-         As a result of not earning an income last year, I am not eligible to make a RRSP contribution. With no contribution room carried forward, any contributions I make this year will be to my non-registered accounts. The added complexity of this is determining which investments to shield within an RRSP and which ones to purchase within a non-registered account. Cost will also be a factor as I invest in ETFs, which have transaction costs whenever you buy or sell.

How was the start of the year for you financially? Are you on track for your financial goals thus far?

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Net worth update – December 2011

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas break! I have to apologize for not writing for almost a week; tis the season! As the year is wrapping up and I am doing my year-end analysis, I decided to do a quick post on my net worth as it has been an interesting year for me. Taking a year off is great, and I highly recommend it, but I want to understand what impact it has on my financial situation. How could I determine what the year off cost me? Change in my net worth calculation of course! I’m a huge advocate of calculating your net worth; it is like taking inventory of all your workers (every dollar you have has the potential to work for you) and making sure they are working instead of on an extended coffee break.

Assets:

-          Cash – 0.77% of assets (-26.36%)

-          Savings – 23.61% of assets (-56.91%)

-          US cash account – 15.06% of assets (-1.45%)

-          Investments (Stocks) – 41.95% of assets (46.68%)

-          Investments (Other) – 18.61% of assets (+100.00%)

Liabilities: 0

Total Net Worth: -0.74%

I know it’s a lot of numbers, and since this is my first post about my own net worth, I decided to start off with just percentages. The change in brackets aren’t very good indicators either, since most of change has been a result of allocation rather than actual increases or decreases. Going forward, the changes should be more reasonable, or at the very least, make some sort of sense.

Quick notes:

-          I originally had a lot of money sitting in savings which I have allocated towards investments this year; this corresponds to the large increases in my investment categories. More workers working and not on extended coffee breaks!

-          I have 15% of my assets in US cash as a result of selling my company stock (I was forced to) when I left my job. I have been keeping this as a cushion for my ‘retirement’ but I may decide to start investing this piece this year.

The biggest thing I got out of this exercise was the total change in my net worth since last year. Even without pulling in a paycheque, my net worth has only decreased by 0.74%. I know there were a lot of factors that helped (tax refund, excess pension plan contributions refund etc) that I won’t be receiving this year, but it’ll be interesting to see how this year pans out.

How was the year for you financially? Have you set any goals or resolutions for the year? Do you have any financial goals for 2012?

Thanks again for reading! I hope that you and your family have a wonderful New Years Eve and a wonderful year filled with love, health, and laughter!