Million Dollar Journey

Building Wealth through Saving and Investing

Jan 2008 Net Worth Update (+1.04%)

Time for the first net worth update for 2008! 

January was ANOTHER volatile month in the markets and my portfolio was hit hard.  Even though my non-registered portfolio is mostly cash right now (for the upcoming house and Smith Manoeuvre), my RRSP account took a beating.

This month, I took the advice of the readers and took out the insurance as a liability.  What I did though, was subtract the equivalent amount off my savings so that there is no gain in my net worth because of it. 

In terms of spending, this was not the greatest month.  During the boxing week sales, we bought a new washer/dryer set (for the new house coming), along with a new laptop (Christmas gift for myself).  On top of that, we starting buying some baby stuff.  The upside is that our expenses are currently still low with our frivolous spending kept to a minimum.

Here are the numbers:

Assets: $ 384,500.00 (+0.23%)

  • Cash: $4,500 (+0.00%)
  • Savings: $120,400 (+2.03%)
  • Registered Investment: $46,700 (-3.31%)
  • Pension: $21,900 (+1.86%)
  • Non-Registered Investment Account: $45,500 (+0.66%)
  • Real Estate: $ 124,500 (investment property) (0.00%)
  • New Home Deposit: $5,000 (+0.00%)
  • Vehicles: $16,000 (2 vehicles) (-3.61%)

Liabilities: $ 102,300(-1.92%)

  • Mortgage Debt(investment property): $94,300 (-0.21%)
  • Other Liabilities: $8,000 (-0.00%)

Total Net Worth: ~$ $282,200 (+1.04%)

Started 2008 with Net Worth: $279,300

Year to Date Gain/Loss: +1.04%

Not a bad way to start 2008 considering how the markets are moving these days, but still a long way to go in order to reach my financial goals for the year. 

Starting March, I'll be initiating my Smith Manoeuvre adventure.  Do you think it would be a good idea to post my portfolio updates and progress?



14 Comments, Comment or Ping

  1. Hey, I bought a laptop for myself for Christmas too…great minds… The good news is that expenses for the baby are really not as bad as you might anticipate, and you’ll save lots of money once the baby comes as you’ll probably eat out less or spend less on entertainment.

    Good progress on net worth in a down market, and I’m always up for posts about portfolio progress etc., so keep it up.

  2. 2. Jordan

    I’m starting my own SM around that time, so I’d love to hear your progress to compare notes.

  3. 3. MunEconomist

    I too would like updates.

  4. 4. Cisco Kid

    That would be amazing to see your progress in performing the SM, as I was planning on doing it in the future & to see the progress would be tremendously invaluable

  5. 5. Gary

    Keep the up-dates. Like seeing the progress. It’s very interesting.

  6. 6. The Reverend

    Somewhat unrelated question, but does anyone use the SM on a small scale basis? I have Manulife One account and make small monthly contributions into some non-reg investments which I’m tracking separately for SM purposes, but it seems kinda funny to do it on a small scale.

    For time being I’m just leaving myself borrowing room for other purposes and don’t want to withdraw any big lump sums. Any thoughts?

  7. Nice month FT!! I say post the updates man, no doubt :P

  8. Wow, nice month. Looking at your investment accounts, it seems that you have significantly outperformed S&P 500 if it only represents gains, other than your contributions. I am a new reader, so I am wondering why do you keep such a large amounts of savings (120k)? I presume it’s in cash, but i could be wrong..

  9. Hey DC, we’re in the process of building a home so we’re hoarding cash for a down payment. So yes, most of the $120k will be used as a down payment.

  10. Have you thought of deducting your laptop as a business expense ? After all, you can use it for generating blogging income, so it would make sense to deduct it.

  11. EC, the business expense was the factor that pushed me over the edge to actually make the purchase. Without that, I probably wouldn’t have bought it.

  12. 13. George

    I’m curious as to what the “savings” account is invested in – it isn’t an RRSP (that’d be the registered retirement account) and it isn’t a non-registered investment account. It’s also not “cash”, since that’s listed separately. Is it just in a bank account, or is it invested in something?

    Also, why no payments on the “other liabilities”?

  13. Nice month FT, you the man.

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