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 November’s 2020 Net Worth:
Assets: 1,399,558
| Principal residence | 860,000 |
| Condo overseas | 137,500 |
| Pension | 34,054 |
| Investments (RRSP, TFSA, foreign) | 195,285 |
| Smith Manoeuvre | 172,719 |
November 2020 – Assets
Liabilities: 742,885
| Principal residence | 624,697 |
| Condo overseas | 98,837 |
| Car | 19,351 |
November 2020 – Liabilities
Net Worth: 656,673
Our net worth has increased by 7.74% over October 2020. Due to the market fluctuation over the past several weeks, our investments went up and down like a rollercoaster! As a result, you will see an increase in our net worth by 7% compared to October 2020. Through the ups and downs, we kept adding money to our accounts (around $5,000).
A few considerations since we started tracking our updates (first update in July 2020):
- Assets return increased by 4.44%
- Liabilities decreased by 0.59%
- Smith Manoeuvre is up 39.68%
- The Total Investment portfolio is up 5.64%
Our strategy for financial independence remains the same: keep investing in dividend-paying stocks and ETFs.
2020 Summary
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).
