This is something that I want to talk about as I’ve been getting questions on this lately.  One particular question is, what are you going to do if you don’t reach your one million by 35?

My million dollar net worth goal is just that, a time based goal.  If I reach the 1 million in net worth by the age of 35, then great!  It will be a great sense of achievement.  If I’m not quite there, then no big deal.  In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter either way.  I don’t plan to retire or plan on any significant life changes when I reach the $1 million mark.  I consider personal finance fun, and keeping score via my net worth helps push me in the right direction.

My real financial goal is financial independence.  Financial independence is achieved when your passive income is enough to meet your expenses which gives you the choice of whether to work for money or not.  While on my pursuit of high net worth and passive income though, we aim to live a balanced life.

Life shouldn’t be all about money.  Life is about experiencing new things, relationships, people and following your dreams.  At your funeral, will your eulogy include all of the “material things” that you have accumulated?  Of course not, it’s going to be about the relationships you formed, how you affected people, and the kind of person you were.

What I consider more important than the financial destination, is the journey itself.  So far, my million dollar journey has taught me that:

Life

• It’s important to enjoy life and to find fulfillment in what you do.
• Building online communities that focus on personal finance and investing education is something that I love to do.
• Giving back feels a heck of a lot better than receiving.
• Continual learning is one of the keys to success in any niche.
• Being courageous isn’t about eliminating fear, it’s about acting despite the fear.

Personal Finance

• Money is important, but it’s not everything.  It’s all about finding the balance.
• Saving money is important, but so is spending where your values are.
• I enjoy tax optimization strategies more than I thought, however, investing purely for the tax benefits is usually a bad idea.
• Estate planning should not be overlooked.
• Building a house is fun but stressful at the same time.

Investing

• Even though we can try to predict long term market averages, market returns in any particular year is impossible to estimate (see 2008).
• Index investing is the best choice for 99% of the investors out there.
• Asset allocation is essential to help weather market down turns.
• Before starting this blog, I believed in shooting for the stars when picking individual stocks and that investing (gambling) was much better than paying down a mortgage.  I now believe that paying down debt is likely the best bet for most people before investing.
• Successful technical trading is challenging!  I’ve learned that technical trading is not absolute but helps increase the odds of obtaining gains.
• Options can be used to reduce risk in a portfolio, but it takes a while to wrap your head around them.

What have you learned while on your financial journey?

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Canadian Money Forum Winners

Earlier this month, we launched the Canadian Money Forum to provide a place for readers to get their questions answered and to provide a convenient place to discuss financial topics.  As promised, we have chosen 8 random registrants out of about 500 for $25 gift cards.  The winners are listed below:

• 469: sivadharsan
• 441:rtask
• 44: bcjek
• 77: Bullseye
• 234: iamphysio
• 206: gemma119
• 63: bjfence
• 76: buffet

Top 5 Articles of March 2009

1. Is Your Home an Investment? – This question generated a lot of discussion as there seems to be a lot of differing opinion on this one.  What do you think?  Is your home an investment?  Be sure to check out the comments.
2. Irrational Market Pessimism? – Ed Rempel has some evidence that the severe market correction is due to irrational market pessimism.  What do you think?
3. Wealth Strategy: Track Your Net Worth – As you may know, I’m a big fan of tracking net worth as a way to increase wealth.  If you’re not tracking your net worth now, check out the article to see how easy it is.
4. It’s a Great Time to Buy Your First House – With housing prices lower, government incentives, and low mortgage rates, it may be the ideal time to purchase your first home.
5. American Express Business Gold – Free Flight for Signing up! – This article turned out to be a bit more popular than I had anticipated.  For a limited time, American Express Business Gold is offering 25,000 aeroplan points for new sign ups which is enough to fly anywhere in North America.  In addition to that, they are waiving the annual fee for first year ($180).  This means that you get a free flight for nothing out of pocket!

Top Comment Contributors

• DAvid (29)
• Ray (29)
• archanfel (22)
• CanadianFinance (20)
• Ed Rempel (20)

Top Referring Sites

1. Canadian Capitalist
2. Canadian Mortgage Trends
3. Four Pillars
4. My Dollar Plan
5. Lazy Man and Money

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• Red Flag Deals – Canada’s largest bargain community.
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• Globe Investor – Canada’s premier investment news portal.

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