Category: Monthly Review

Hello!

I’m still in the process of writing my next post about the importance of investing our savings, and how to go about it. There is a lot to talk about and I had underestimated the task a bit! In order to deliver quality content, let me take a little break from our programming. It’s a good thing, we’re ready for the October monthly review!

Net Worth as of October 31, 2020

Assets: Checking Accounts: Questrade TFSA Questrade LIRA Questrade RRSP FTQ RRSP Fondaction RRSP Total assets:	$1,625.62 $21,760.97 $38,907.15 $29,979.45 $5,182.00 $12,090.86 $109,546.05
Liabilities: Car Loan: Line of Credit: CIBC VISA: Tangerine Master Card: Total liabilities:	$11,017.66 $0.00 $111.74 $0.00 $11,129.40
Net Worth	$98,416.65
Difference	+ $622.00

 

October started strong, but ended in a disaster. 🙂 After a slow September, October had initially regained its footing… until its last week. Stock markets sustained their worst week since March! It was to be expected, with the second wave of the pandemic in full swing in Canada and creeping up on the U.S., not to mention next week’s U.S. presidential election. A nice little mix that should make waves in the stock markets!

Despite all these ups and downs, we’re staying the course! We continue to invest on a regular basis. At the end of the day, if you can unlock funds to invest more, even better! We like sales, especially on the stock market. 🙂

Thus, despite putting $800 towards debt repayment, investing $1,600 and saving $500, my net worth increased only by $622. On the other hand, if you look only at my investments, I’m down $595. It’s a case of drawing back in order to leap better.

Also, I am happy to report that my net worth actually reached the $100,000 milestone on October 7, while the markets were in full force! I knew it wasn’t going to last, but I enjoyed the moment. It’s important to appreciate the milestones. Especially since I read plenty of times that the hardest part of the journey is to reach the first $100,000. 🙂

Savings

Here are the details of my October savings, per pay:

• October 7: $1,100 out of $1,892.51 net (58% savings)
• October 21: $1,000 out of $1,892.52 net (53% savings)
• Total savings: $2,100 

This is an excellent savings rate in October with 54%, which is 9% more than in September. This is mostly attributable to living in a red zone in Québec. I couldn’t do much of anything costly during the whole month anyway. There’s an upside to being in lockdown, I guess! In addition, my income slightly increased compared to September, since I have reached the maximum QPP contribution.

Out of that $2,100, I invested $1,600 and set aside $500 in the hope of a future trip.

Before all hell broke loose last March, I had planned a two-week trip in Hawaii for April. After my plans fell through, I invested all my savings while the market was down. I (naively, perhaps) hope that I will be able to go in April 2021. So I have to rebuild my travel fund. 🙂

However, if the markets keep going down until the end of the year, I may sacrifice my travel fund again in order to buy more ETF on sale. Only time will tell!

Expense Report

Date	Amount	Description
2020-10-01	$ 497.50	Rent
2020-10-02	$ 7.15	Spotify
2020-10-03	$ 10.00	Donation
2020-10-04	$ 35.69	Hosting
2020-10-05	$ 14.39	Home Insurance
2020-10-05	$ 48.04	Car Insurance
2020-10-08	$ 106.97	Groceries
2020-10-09	$ 7.70	Netflix
2020-10-09	$ 403.85	Car Payment
2020-10-19	$ 15.23	Logo
2020-10-21	$ 99.01	Groceries
2020-10-22	$ 11.50	Bike Shop
2020-10-22	$ 31.57	Cellphone
2020-10-23	$ 44.93	Gas
2020-10-23	$ 403.85	Car Payment
2020-10-23	$ 29.50	Hydro-Québec
2020-10-26	$ 54.73	Tire Change
2020-10-29	$ 28.17	Home Internet
Total	$ 1 849.78

 

As I mentioned earlier, I had very little expenses this month mostly because of the second wave of COVID-19. So with $1,849.78 in total expenses for October, that translates to annualized expenses of $22,197.36. More than acceptable for me, considering that $10,500 of it is meant for my car loan repayment. Can’t wait for it all to be repaid!

That’s it for my October Review. I can’t wait to see what the stock markets have in store for us before the end of the year! It’s nice to have a high risk tolerance. I am always optimistic, regardless of the state of the markets. Bull market? Great, I’m getting wealthier! Bear market? Great, I get to buy at a discount!

There’s a positive side to everything. It just takes a positive mind to see it.

See you!

Hello!

Here is my first monthly review. A promise is a promise: you will already have access to my numbers, including my net worth, my savings, my income and my expenses for September 2020. By publishing my monthly review, I will be able to track my progress and give a concrete example of what a month can look like in my pursuit of financial independence. I don’t pretend to have THE best method. On the other hand, if I can bring other people to reflect on their own financial situation, it will be a start.

I will not go into the smallest detail of the previous months, but, for FYI, here is my net worth at the end of each month of 2020:

Month	Net Worth	Difference
January 2020	$58,798	$3,354
February 2020	$61,111	$2,313
March 2020	$66,795	$5,684
April 2020	$76,419	$9,624
May 2020	$80,802	$4,383
June 2020	$84,824	$4,022
July 2020	$90,635	$5,811
August 2020	$97,378	$6,743

We quickly notice that despite the stock market crash of March 2020 because of COVID-19, my Net Worth has the wind in its sails! This can be explained particularly by a significant decrease in my spending, massive investing, a stable income despite precarious times and the stock market bouncing back.

Now, here’s the breakdown of my Net Worth as of September 30, 2020:

Assets: Checking Accounts: Questrade TFSA Questrade LIRA Questrade RRSP FTQ RRSP Fondaction RRSP Total assets:	$1,250.31 $20 744.70 $39,764.49 $30,733.07 $5,182.00 $12,090.86 $109,765.43
Liabilities: Car Loan: Line of Credit: CIBC VISA: Tangerine Master Card: Total liabilities:	$11,825.00 $0.00 $57.49 $88.35 $11,970.84
Net Worth	$97,794.59
Difference	$417.53

I want to specify that I will not include my car’s value as an asset for my Net Worth calculation. Like Robert T. Kiyosaki explains in Rich Dad Poor Dad: “An asset puts money in your pocket.” My car, although of some value, will never be a source of passive income and will never, in and of itself, add money in my pockts. Adding it to my Net Worth would be an illusion. 🙂

So, we notice that September was less generous than the previous months. Indeed, there has been a decline in the stock market. Actually, I theoretically lost money this month! Let’s compare the difference in my Net Worth between August and September with my savings:

• Sept 9, 2020 Paycheck: $800 out of $1722.04 after-tax (46% savings)
• Sept 23, 2020 Paycheck: $800 out of $1854.61 after-tax (43% savings)
• Total savings: $1,600 for September

In addition, my Net Worth also directly benefits from repaying my only large debt that is my car loan. Car I had bought new… I had clearly not yet read Do you really need it? by Pierre-Yves McSween at the time. 😉 Payments on my car loan for September 2020 totalled $753.85.

Thus, without market fluctuations, my net worth should, theoretically, have increased by $2,353.85, while it actually increased by $416.53 only. The positive side of it? Staying the course on my regular scheduled investments, despite the slight decline in the market, and taking advantage of investing at a discount. 🙂

I would also like to share my expenses for the month. That way, knowing that I give you this kind of information at the end of each month, I might think twice before making frivolous expenses! So here’s the breakdown:

Date	Amount	Description
2020-09-01	$497.50	Rent
2020-09-01	$4.03	McDonald’s
2020-09-01	$98.80	Oil Change
2020-09-02	$7.15	Spotify
2020-09-02	$68.99	Groceries
2020-09-03	$10.00	Donation
2020-09-08	$14.39	Home Insurance
2020-09-08	$48.04	Car Insurance
2020-09-08	$545.46	Brake repairs
2020-09-08	$10.01	Gas
2020-09-09	$7.70	Netflix
2020-09-09	$97.93	Groceries
2020-09-11	$35.04	Home Internet (Videotron)
2020-09-11	$350.00	Car Payment
2020-09-13	$13.66	Michael’s
2020-09-15	$19.41	Cellphone (last month with Fido)
2020-09-17	$58.63	Mondou
2020-09-17	$11.50	Decathlon
2020-09-19	$63.24	Home Internet at my mom’s
2020-09-21	$8.00	Gift for a colleague
2020-09-22	$11.50	Fizz SIM card
2020-09-23	$29.50	Hydro‑Québec
2020-09-23	$31.57	Cellphone (1st month at Fizz)
2020-09-23	$37.50	Groceries
2020-09-25	$403.85	Car Payment
2020-09-28	$28.75	Home Internet (1st month at Fizz)
2020-09-29	$14.30	Amazon
Total	$2,526,45

We notice from my expenses that most are related to my car. Fortunately, this is not a typical month. It’s not like I need my brakes repaired every month! Still, it’s striking that 57% of my September expenses are related to my car. Fortunately, my sister offered to pay for gas! If I spent that much each month, we would be talking about annual expenses of $30,317.40.

In comparison, my expenses for August were $1,714.62, which is much more reasonable and on target. That amount means annual expenses in the amount of $20,575.44.

You probably noticed that my car payments have increased along the way. Indeed, I decided to repay that debt faster. $403.85 is actually the maximum amount that my bank allows me to repay every two weeks. This is double the original payment I was making when I took out the loan. The deadline was originally scheduled for December 2023. With the maximum payments, we are now talking about November 2021. Yippee!

The thing to consider here is that once my car loan is fully repaid, it means that my annual expenses will decrease by $10,500! I will go into more detail in a future post about my current level of spending and my projections on my future level of spending and how this will bring me drastically closer to my goal of financial independence!

So that was my first monthly review. It remains to be seen if the idea of making these reviews every month on this blog will help me stay on track! How about you? How did your personal finances go in September? Have you made any progress towards your goals? Don’t hesitate to leave me a comment!

Above all, don’t forget: Save Long and Prosper. 😉