As you know, we are planning to achieve F.I.R.E in 2028, and part of reaching that goal is tracking not only our spending but our net worth. We want to share our progress with you.
What is Net Worth and why is it important?
Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia:
For individuals, net worth or wealth refers to an individual’s net economic position, the value of the individual’s assets minus liabilities. Examples of assets that an individual would factor into their net worth include retirement accounts, other investments, home(s), and vehicles. Liabilities include both secured debt (such as a home mortgage) and unsecured debt (such as consumer debt or personal loans). Typically intangible assets such as educational degrees are not factored into net worth, even though such assets positively contribute to one’s overall financial position.
Let’s examine December’s 2020 Net Worth
Assets: 1,408,378
| Principal residence | 860,000 |
| Condo overseas | 137,500 |
| Pension | 34,054 |
| Investments (RRSP, TFSA, foreign) | 199,653 |
| Smith Manoeuvre | 177,171 |
Liabilities: 740,646
| Principal residence | 624,998 |
| Condo overseas | 96,450 |
| Car | 19,198 |
Net Worth: 667,732
Our net worth has increased by 1.68% over November 2020. The market fluctuation was the star one more time. When we compare with the first month we shared the net worth (back in July 2020), with December, our net worth increased by 10.73%.
2020 Summary to Financial Independence
A few considerations since we started tracking our updates (first update in July 2020):
- Assets return increased by 5.10%
- Liabilities decreased by 0.48%
- Smith Manoeuvre investment is up 43.28%
- The Total Investment portfolio (all accounts, including RRSP, TFSA, Margin Account, and Smith Manoeuvre) is up 22.14%
Our strategy for financial independence remains the same: keep investing in dividend-paying stocks and ETFs.
Where do we invest to achieve Financial Independence?
Principal Residence
Currently, we are living in Toronto, a rather expensive city! But that high cost of living also means that our house has appreciated over the past few years quite a bit. Our home was purchased in 2016 for $615,000 but was recently valued in 2020 at $860,000.
Condo overseas
Last year we bought a condo in Brazil as an investment property. This price was paid in Reais (Brazil’s currency) but we have converted this to Canadian dollars to keep things simple.
Pension
Kristine works for the municipal government and we are using the same number every month based on her best five years.
Investments
This is the total of our investments in both of our RRSPs and TFSA’s, our margin accounts, and Gean’s investments overseas. We are 100% invested in equities (dividend and growth stocks) and ETFs.
Smith Manoeuvre
Since renewing our mortgage in 2020, we are using the HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) to invest in dividend-paying stocks (100% Canadian stocks).
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Wow, you’ve done well—both recently and since July. That’s a very healthy increase in net worth! Keep up the hard work you two. You’re making amazing progress!
Thank you, Chrissy! We learn every day, and thanks to you for helping us along the way.
Congrats on your progress with your net worth and debt reduction! That is amazing appreciation in a short period of time with your principal residence. I’m not surprised at all though as I live in Toronto. And that is interesting about your property in Brazil. My gf is from Brazil and that is something she may consider down the road. Best of luck in 2021!
Hi Graham, thank you. It really is amazing, and we are keeping our foot on the ground with Mr. Market 🙂 Happy to hear she’s from Brazil – tell her the property is located in “Joao Pessoa”. Let us know what are her thoughts. Stay safe, and we’re looking forward to being part of your journey.
She is from Porto Alegre, so she said she is not too familiar with the area. I’m looking forward to being part your journey as well. 🙂
Thank you, Graham. So, she is a “Gaucha” 🙂 I hope she likes bbq as I do haha
I’ve been reading through your posts and they are very encouraging. We are also a little late to the FI movement (late 40s). The one number in your assets that puzzles me is the pension number as I am not sure what it means. The only thing that makes sense to me is that would be the amount of income you would get per year if you retired? If that is the case it seems like a strange way to include it in the assets since none of the other assets would be calculated in this way. Or maybe it is something else entirely.
We are also tracking our net worth each month and I am tracking another metric that I made up myself that I call “Current Position”. Current position tracks only liquid assets versus debt. Essentially if you had to liquidate everything within 1 – 2 days would you come out positive or negative and by how much? So that means pensions are not included as assets, neither are houses or vehicles, jewelry, etc. What is included on the liabilities is all credit card debt, mortgage, loans, lines of credit, etc.
I really like this metric as it is easier to track and I feel it gives you a true picture of where you are actually at.
I started this metric in January of 2021, and we had a current position of $2,448.88
I updated it again for February and it went to $16,414.78 so that was an almost $14k in one month!
Keep on posting, I am enjoying your blog!
Hi RJ, thanks for your comment. And the best thing is that you start. Remember, we have lots of years ahead of us, and I see it somewhat as a benefit, especially an established career and experience.
Kristine works for the municipal government, and as a result, once she retires, she will receive a pension plan. This is the money we consider as an asset – and we consider a “bond,” since we won’t be able to make any decisions on the investment.
The amount is fixed, and the calculation is based on her best five years of work. There are a few variables to the formula, but overall, she will receive a pension plan once she retires. As of last year, it will be the amount you see in the assets.
The current position seems like a good calculator, and what a jump from one month to another. What was the main result of this increase?
Thanks again, and I am looking forward to participating on your journey. Stay safe!