Net Worth Update June 2010 (+1.45%)
Welcome to the Million Dollar Journey June 2010 Net Worth Update
With summer underway, it’s the time of year where vacations are plenty and things slow down a bit in online world. Trading volumes decrease, markets slow down, and blog followers are busy enjoying the sunshine. On the same note, my net worth increases continue to be slow, steady and predictable. Once again, the markets have been volatile this past month, but savings continue to be the strength on the balance sheet.
With regards to my investment accounts, I’m still sitting on quite a bit of cash. I picked up a couple new positions in my Smith Manouevre account as discussed in my last update, but my RRSP and TFSA have seen very little action lately. It’s going to be interesting to see when most income trusts convert to corporations. It will give us dividend investors much more selection come 2011.
On another note, I have my vacation days booked, but no real plans yet. How about you? Do you have an annual budget set aside specifically for vacation?
On to the numbers:
Assets: $ 526,610 (+0.99%)
- Cash: $4,500 (+0.00%)
- Savings: $45,900.00 (9.29%)
- Registered/Retirement Investment Accounts (RRSP): $76,300.00 (+1.46%)
- Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA): $19,994 (+0.12%)
- Defined Benefit Pension: $29,950.00 (+1.70%)
- Non-Registered Investment Accounts: $12,216.00 (-6.75%)
- Smith Manoeuvre Investment Account: $54,500.00 (+0.93%)
- Principal Residence: $283,250 (+0.00%) (purchase price adjusted for inflation)
Liabilities: $69,700.00 (-1.97%)
- Principal Residence Mortgage (readvanceable): $15,500.00 (-9.36%)
- HELOC balance: $54,200 (+0.37%)
Total Net Worth: ~$456,910.00(+1.45%)
- Started 2010 with Net Worth: $399,600.00
- Year to Date Gain/Loss: +14.34%
Some quick notes and explanations to net worth questions I get often:
The Cash
The $4,500 cash are held in chequing accounts to meet the minimum balance so that we pay no fees (accounting for regular bill payments). Yes, we do hold no fee accounts also, but I find value in having an account with a full service bank as the relationship with a banker can prove useful.
Savings
Our savings accounts are held with PC Financial and ING Direct. We usually hold a fair bit of cash in case “something” comes up. The “something” can be anything that requires cash such as an investment opportunity that requires quick cash or maybe an emergency car/home repair. We also need cash to cover any future tax liabilities.
Real Estate
Our real estate holdings consist of a primary residence plus a rental property. The value of the principal residence remains valued at the purchase price (+inflation) despite significant appreciation in the local real estate market.
Pension
The pension amount listed above is the value of both of our defined benefit pension plans. I basically take the semi annual statement and add the contribution amounts (not including employer matching) on a monthly basis.
Stock Broker Accounts
Another common question is which discount broker do I use? We actually have accounts with multiple institutions. I’m hoping to reduce the number of accounts that we hold in the near future. Here is a review of some of the more popular online stock brokers.
Secure your Web Experience and Prevent Online Identity Theft
This is an article by regular columnist Clark. Although perhaps a bit off topic, it’s very relevant to readers.
With the use of the Internet for many tasks these days, a primer on securing your web experience would not be out of place. Please note that this article deals only with web browsing security and if your computer is already a hub of malware (short for malicious software) like trojans, worms, viruses, etc., then the system is compromised, no matter your measures to secure the web experience. If you suspect that your system may be infected with malware, use one of the free antivirus tools given below to scan and remove them.
Any antivirus application is useful only when it stays updated. The above tools have automatic update features included; just ensure that they are turned on, so that they get updated on a daily basis. It is prudent to schedule periodic automatic scans of your system to utilize those automatic updates.
Web Browsing Security
Any bank, discount broker, insurance, shopping or email account website that you access must use atleast a 128-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol (it is the predecessor to Transport Layer Security) for transmitting data over a network. SSL has a two-fold benefit:
- It verifies the authenticity of the website to which you are connected and
- It protects your personal information (name, address, credit card details, SIN, username, password, etc.) by encrypting them and providing a secure end-to-end transit medium. It can only be decrypted by the receiver, which would be your intended target website.
A screenshot of the Gmail login page when using Internet Explorer 8 is shown below with key points highlighted.
If the website you are connected to starts with https:// but missing the padlock symbol, then it indicates that the website connection is only partially encrypted. It could mean that the transit data is encrypted but the identity of the website owner cannot be verified. So, if the owner of the website is unknown, then how could one trust that the data they receive and decrypt is not being misused? SSL certificates issued by third-party Certificate Authorities establish authenticity.
Most of the websites that use your personal details for providing their service will have this SSL protocol enabled. While many bigger companies like Amazon and eBay are no slackers when it comes to data security, certain smaller online shopping providers do not offer the required security. It could be due to a lack of awareness by the system administrator or negligence to data protection. An astute consumer will pay attention while browsing and logging into websites – it is your data (identity) and money (credit history) after all!
Some tips worth remembering…
- Keep your computer(s) and browser(s) updated.
- Bookmark the websites that you visit regularly – especially ones that utilize your personal information (banks, utility companies, shopping sites, brokerage accounts and others that you can think of!). Do not click on links in emails (not just phishing ones but even from legitimate sources, if you can identify them) and use your bookmarks (favorites) to check the site.
- Always keep an eye to check if websites requiring logins are fully encrypted; the missing padlock symbol is a giveaway that the SSL has holes.
- Block ads on websites (you can always allow ones on websites that provide value to your bottomline!); InPrivate Filtering that accomplishes this task. Firefox users have the Adblock Plus extension that banishes ads and the NoScript extension that prevents JavaScript, Flash and other plugins from running automatically. Alternately, you can try the Google Chrome browser that runs in a sandbox offering an extra layer of security along with the AdBlock extension to get a similar reprieve from ads.
- If you are buying from a relatively unknown shopping website, look out for the encryption criteria mentioned above. If you suspect a problem, conduct an Internet search to see if others have reported similar issues and decide if you still want to buy from that site.
- If PayPal is not accepted, buy prepaid credit cards to use on questionable sites (though I wouldn’t recommend giving your business to a company that does not use the necessary encryption). This way, the liability is limited to the value of the card ($25, $50, etc.) in case your credit card details are misused by the company or stolen during transit.
- Avoid doing important transactions (including checking account balances) on unsecured WiFi networks (coffee shops, airports, etc.). There are workarounds such as using a virtual private network but they are beyond the scope of this article.
And, please upgrade from Internet Explorer 6 to version 8, if you are still using it!
Have you got any other tips to share for securing the user’s browsing experience and preventing online identity theft?
About the Author: Clark is a twenty-something Saskatchewan resident employed in the manufacturing sector. He repaid around $20,000 in student loans and has been working to build his investment portfolio as a DIY investor (not trader) while nurturing plans to retire early. He loves reading (and using the lessons learned) about personal finance, technology and minimalism.
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