Comments on: January 2009 Net Worth Update (+2.94%)

By: FrugalTrader

FrugalTrader — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:59:01 +0000

Tejinder, how is she getting a tax refund on her contribution if she only made $2k in annual income?

By: Tejinder

Tejinder — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:42:26 +0000

Hi million dollar journey,
My daughter’s RRSP limit was 1562, she purchase from vancity, but later I come to know that she made only 2000 dollars income. Well her RRSP won’t go waste. As per calculation by put or without putting RRSP she is getting refund of $ 241.00. Well she did mistake or there is still some solution to correct it.

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:09:27 +0000

Julie –

Let’s say that Current Net Worth is in J50 and last month’s net worth is in H50. In another cell, type:
=(J50/H50)-1

After entering the formula in the new cell, format it as a percentage with one or two decimal places.

Bill

By: FrugalTrader

FrugalTrader — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 12:00:26 +0000

Hey Julie,

This is the way I calculate my % increase/decrease:
(Current Networth/last months networth)-1
or
(current assets/last months assets) -1

Basically the current number/previous number -1
Hope this helps!

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 03:17:48 +0000

Hi FrugalTrader,
I really enjoy your newsletter even though some items are not relevant to Australia.
I would like to include your very useful %increase or %decrease in my own net work balance sheet but I am having difficulty getting the formula right in Excel.
Would you be kind enough to help?

By: FrugalTrader

FrugalTrader — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:45:49 +0000

Hey Jack! If you dig back a little into the net worth updates, you’ll notice that I stopped adjusting the pension amount early in 2008. The pension is my wife’s and she is currently on maternity leave.

By: Jack

Jack — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 03:58:50 +0000

I’m wondering about your pension amount. I’ve noticed that this number hasn’t changed much, if at all, since the inception of your blog. Is this a defined benefit or defined contribution plan? If it’s a defined contribution, I’m wondering how you have it invested? My defined contribution plan allows me to invest in certain mutual funds which rise and fall with the market. I’m curious why you don’t adjust this amount to its market value?

A good pension plan can be a great way to have money for retirement and can be an important part of increasing your net worth – especially if it comes with some free money!

By: Stock Investing Guru

Stock Investing Guru — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:03:19 +0000

I’m working on thinking about what will generate my passive income. Most likely real estate and stocks/bonds, but maybe buying a business that needs little management.

By: Lakedweller

Lakedweller — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:21:05 +0000

I saw your blog referenced on Rob Carrick’s personal finaince slide show of “Ten ways to make the most of your money”. Good work! On the Net worth too.

By: TheFatLossAuthority

TheFatLossAuthority — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:56:54 +0000

ahh… I see, that makes more sense. Thanks for the clarification and congrats on the positive net worth update!

By: FrugalTrader

FrugalTrader — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 01:16:30 +0000

FatLossAuthority – I will be maxing out my RRSP contribution room come March along with soon opening up 2 TFSA’s with a discount brokerage.

By: TheFatLossAuthority

TheFatLossAuthority — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:53:58 +0000

30k sitting around in savings?? Outside an RRSP or a TFSA? Is that a misprint? You must be saving up for a substantial purchase, no?

By: Carlos

Carlos — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 23:43:48 +0000

Despite saving $4K in January my net worth is down for the month. You are very fortunate indeed.

By: DAvid

DAvid — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:40:54 +0000

nobleea asks: “i’ve always wondered when the best time to put money against your mortgage is. is it when rates are high? or when they’re low?”

Generally the advice is to preferentially pay down your mortgage any time the tax advantaged reduction exceeds the return you might get in the market. Thus if mortgage rates were at about 5%, and you are in the 40% tax bracket, you would have to earn about 8.3% in the market to beat simply paying down the mortgage. (You have to earn about $1660 to pay each $1000 of interest).

The advantage of holding your mortgage for the longer term is you pay down later portions with cheaper inflation devalued dollars.

DAvid

By: FrugalTrader

FrugalTrader — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:41:24 +0000

Nobleea, that’s an interesting question that may warrant a second look. Personally, it almost pains me to pay down the mortgage when my interest is in the 2% range.

DBennett, you make a good point! Perhaps I’m more conservative than what most people think! :)

DGI, it’s luck. :)

Victor, I locked in my mortgage in late 2007, but closed in 2008. At the time, discounted variable rates were the norm. I happened to get a 3 year open @ P – 0.85%.

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:39:59 +0000

+1 to the low mortgage rate question. I would love to have a rate that low!

By: Victor

Victor — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:24:12 +0000

Just curious how you scored such a low mortgage rate. You’re well below even the variable rate right now…

By: Dividend Growth Investor

Dividend Growth Investor — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:18:35 +0000

I am amazed that your dividend portfolio is up for january despite the fact that most major indexes fell.

By: DBennett

DBennett — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:17:57 +0000

I think you should include the value of both your properties. Your posted net worth is not really an accurate representation of your actual net worth. Realistically, if you valued your property at the value the city assessed your house, it is quite conservative. Especially considering the recent boom in real estate in St. John’s.

By: nobleea

nobleea — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:11:50 +0000

i’ve always wondered when the best time to put money against your mortgage is. is it when rates are high? or when they’re low? i’ve kind of been thinking when rates are low is better. why? since they’re at historical lows right now. eventually you will have to get another mortgage when your term is up and it will likely be at a higher rate. they base your payments on the rate at signing. so might it be better to try and minimize your principal when rates are low?