So the whole life policies are worth $600K as a death benefit. My thoughts would be to eventually leverage it if money is needed late in life but I would guess the kids will be getting it. When I called to ensure I was fully paid up for the policy the agent confirmed I did and encouraged me to cash out. I suspect many people don't fully pay into the policy and it is in their advantage for me to cash out.
Assessing Finances at 40
41 - 60 of 74 Posts
Jan 1st 2020 Quarterly Update
It was my top billable year for work and it looks like this year will continue to be good. Not sure if I can exceed last years work profits as I am more or less capped out. Last year of my current work visa but client has just extended the contract I work through for another 5 years so hopefully my renewal works out when I apply late 2020. Market was pretty good to us this year as well although I'm not happy with my Canadian returns but I guess the US made up for it. Unfortunately I am finding our spending is creeping higher then I'd like, I wish I had the ambition to track it so I could see where we have gone off but I suspect it's not worth the anguish at this point. Maybe as I approach pulling the plug on work and continuing on after I'm no longer working I'll track spending.
Assets:
House - $577.9K
Vehicles - $50.2K
NRSP - $296.1K
RRSPs - $632K
TFSAs - $140.8K
RESPs - $117.4K
Whole Life Cash Value - $38.4
Cash - $43.5K
Business - $1520.1K
Total Assets - $3,416,400
Liabilities:
Credit Cards - $10.5K (credit cards are payed off every month)
Net Worth: $3,405,900
It was my top billable year for work and it looks like this year will continue to be good. Not sure if I can exceed last years work profits as I am more or less capped out. Last year of my current work visa but client has just extended the contract I work through for another 5 years so hopefully my renewal works out when I apply late 2020. Market was pretty good to us this year as well although I'm not happy with my Canadian returns but I guess the US made up for it. Unfortunately I am finding our spending is creeping higher then I'd like, I wish I had the ambition to track it so I could see where we have gone off but I suspect it's not worth the anguish at this point. Maybe as I approach pulling the plug on work and continuing on after I'm no longer working I'll track spending.
Assets:
House - $577.9K
Vehicles - $50.2K
NRSP - $296.1K
RRSPs - $632K
TFSAs - $140.8K
RESPs - $117.4K
Whole Life Cash Value - $38.4
Cash - $43.5K
Business - $1520.1K
Total Assets - $3,416,400
Liabilities:
Credit Cards - $10.5K (credit cards are payed off every month)
Net Worth: $3,405,900
April 1st 2020 Quarterly Update
My work year has started off strong but likely will be worse in the long run because of project cutbacks both due to Covid-19 and oil prices. Although I know markets will eventually bounce back it hurts to see that although I had my best year ever my net-worth went up $9300 this year and with investments falling over $300K in the quarter. This hurts but it could be a lot worse, I still have a job and everyone I know is healthy. I've moved some available cash into investment accounts and I expect my adviser will deploy it shortly. I plan to max my RRSPs for 2020 shortly as well to hopefully take advantage of a weakened market.
Assets:
House - $562K
Vehicles - $52.7K
NRSP - $243.2K
RRSPs - $587.8K
TFSAs - $131.3K
RESPs - $103.4K
Whole Life Cash Value - $42K
Cash - $37.7K
Business - $1332.7K
Total Assets - $3,088,800
Liabilities:
Credit Cards - $10.2K (credit cards are payed off every month)
Net Worth: $3,078,600
Down $327.3K Previous Quarter
Up $9.3K Previous Year
My work year has started off strong but likely will be worse in the long run because of project cutbacks both due to Covid-19 and oil prices. Although I know markets will eventually bounce back it hurts to see that although I had my best year ever my net-worth went up $9300 this year and with investments falling over $300K in the quarter. This hurts but it could be a lot worse, I still have a job and everyone I know is healthy. I've moved some available cash into investment accounts and I expect my adviser will deploy it shortly. I plan to max my RRSPs for 2020 shortly as well to hopefully take advantage of a weakened market.
Assets:
House - $562K
Vehicles - $52.7K
NRSP - $243.2K
RRSPs - $587.8K
TFSAs - $131.3K
RESPs - $103.4K
Whole Life Cash Value - $42K
Cash - $37.7K
Business - $1332.7K
Total Assets - $3,088,800
Liabilities:
Credit Cards - $10.2K (credit cards are payed off every month)
Net Worth: $3,078,600
Down $327.3K Previous Quarter
Up $9.3K Previous Year
July 1st 2020 Quarterly Update
I've been one of the lucky in so far that Covid hasn't negatively affected my work. In fact even though I've been working from home this is the best first 6 month stretch I've ever had. I'm a pessimist so I am still expecting some downside. This quarter I will be looking to get an extension of 3 years on my work visa, this is getting harder to do with the current US administration. If I have issues I'm hoping Covid has proven that I don't need to be there physically to be an effective member of the team.
Thankfully markets mostly recovered but I expect volatility for the rest of the year. I did put some cash into the markets when they dipped (RRSPs and Business Investing Accounts). Wish I had done more but my advisor took a cautious approach and left some cash to take advantage of more potential dips.
Assets:
House - $588.5K
Vehicles - $48.7K
NRSP - $271.2K
RRSPs - $691.1K
TFSAs - $148.7K
RESPs - $110.2K
Whole Life Cash Value - $42K
Cash - $33.3K
Business - $1649K
Total Assets - $3,582,700
Liabilities:
Credit Cards - $6K (credit cards are payed off every month)
Net Worth: $3,576,700
Up $498.1K Previous Quarter
Up $386.5K Previous Year
I've been one of the lucky in so far that Covid hasn't negatively affected my work. In fact even though I've been working from home this is the best first 6 month stretch I've ever had. I'm a pessimist so I am still expecting some downside. This quarter I will be looking to get an extension of 3 years on my work visa, this is getting harder to do with the current US administration. If I have issues I'm hoping Covid has proven that I don't need to be there physically to be an effective member of the team.
Thankfully markets mostly recovered but I expect volatility for the rest of the year. I did put some cash into the markets when they dipped (RRSPs and Business Investing Accounts). Wish I had done more but my advisor took a cautious approach and left some cash to take advantage of more potential dips.
Assets:
House - $588.5K
Vehicles - $48.7K
NRSP - $271.2K
RRSPs - $691.1K
TFSAs - $148.7K
RESPs - $110.2K
Whole Life Cash Value - $42K
Cash - $33.3K
Business - $1649K
Total Assets - $3,582,700
Liabilities:
Credit Cards - $6K (credit cards are payed off every month)
Net Worth: $3,576,700
Up $498.1K Previous Quarter
Up $386.5K Previous Year
Oct 1st 2020 Quarterly Update
Still lucky so far that Covid hasn't negatively affected my work, It has actually been my best corporate year ever. Started traveling back to the US in August for work and first trip went well. Work Visa was renewed for 3 years, It wasn't as easy as in the past as they requested more information from Lawyers that has never been asked for before but ultimately they granted it. Work is going good and it sounds like a few projects are likely to get funded that will keep me busy for 1-2 years. A house has gone up for sale in the neighborhood that we will likely make an offer on soon, its vintage 70s so we would be putting a lot more into it. I typically have never factored improvements in a property to Net Worth but will likely look into doing that for this one since it will be significant.
Assets:
House - $615.3K
Vehicles - $56.7K
NRSP - $280.1K
RRSPs - $722.8K
TFSAs - $154K
RESPs - $114.5K
Whole Life Cash Value - $42K
Cash - $48.7K
Business - $1827.6K
Total Assets - $3,854,700
Liabilities:
Credit Cards - $17.9K (credit cards are payed off every month)
Net Worth: $3,836,800
Up $300.1K Previous Quarter
Up $575.8K Previous Year
Still lucky so far that Covid hasn't negatively affected my work, It has actually been my best corporate year ever. Started traveling back to the US in August for work and first trip went well. Work Visa was renewed for 3 years, It wasn't as easy as in the past as they requested more information from Lawyers that has never been asked for before but ultimately they granted it. Work is going good and it sounds like a few projects are likely to get funded that will keep me busy for 1-2 years. A house has gone up for sale in the neighborhood that we will likely make an offer on soon, its vintage 70s so we would be putting a lot more into it. I typically have never factored improvements in a property to Net Worth but will likely look into doing that for this one since it will be significant.
Assets:
House - $615.3K
Vehicles - $56.7K
NRSP - $280.1K
RRSPs - $722.8K
TFSAs - $154K
RESPs - $114.5K
Whole Life Cash Value - $42K
Cash - $48.7K
Business - $1827.6K
Total Assets - $3,854,700
Liabilities:
Credit Cards - $17.9K (credit cards are payed off every month)
Net Worth: $3,836,800
Up $300.1K Previous Quarter
Up $575.8K Previous Year
Jan 1st 2021 Quarterly Update
Although COVID didn't negatively affect me financially this year it hit close to home as a Co-Worker of 15+ years passed away Dec 21st from it. He was a great friend and I owe quite a bit to him for the years of promoting me for the work I do. I thanked him several times over the years for his support but I regret that I never got a chance to spend time with him in his home state of Texas where we had planned to watch some SpaceX launches and go fishing.
It was my best corporate year ever. I only traveled for work 3 times this year but for longer trips partly in order to minimize the amount of times I had to self isolate in Canada. I have never in my career been home this much, it was great. Last update I mentioned that a house has gone up for sale, we made an offer but it instigated two other offers that were better. Ultimately the sale of the house fell through on inspection. They were still not interested in entertaining our offer and we were not willing to increase it at that time. The sellers decided to pull listing and wait until spring so we will see if we take another run at it then. Broke through 4 million!, 10 years ago I would have said this was my number to stop working but I no longer have a clearly defined number (Maybe 5?). My number will largely depend on lifestyle creep and whether I have enough self control to contain it.
Assets:
House - $592.2K
Vehicles - $49.0K
NRSP - $297.5K
RRSPs - $773.5K
TFSAs - $164.7K
RESPs - $124.4K
Whole Life Cash Value - $42.0K
Cash - $111.6K
Business - $1946.6K
Total Assets - $4,101,500
Liabilities:
Credit Cards - $5.9K (credit cards are payed off every month)
Net Worth: $4,095,600
Up $298.8K Previous Quarter
Up $689.7K Previous Year
Although COVID didn't negatively affect me financially this year it hit close to home as a Co-Worker of 15+ years passed away Dec 21st from it. He was a great friend and I owe quite a bit to him for the years of promoting me for the work I do. I thanked him several times over the years for his support but I regret that I never got a chance to spend time with him in his home state of Texas where we had planned to watch some SpaceX launches and go fishing.
It was my best corporate year ever. I only traveled for work 3 times this year but for longer trips partly in order to minimize the amount of times I had to self isolate in Canada. I have never in my career been home this much, it was great. Last update I mentioned that a house has gone up for sale, we made an offer but it instigated two other offers that were better. Ultimately the sale of the house fell through on inspection. They were still not interested in entertaining our offer and we were not willing to increase it at that time. The sellers decided to pull listing and wait until spring so we will see if we take another run at it then. Broke through 4 million!, 10 years ago I would have said this was my number to stop working but I no longer have a clearly defined number (Maybe 5?). My number will largely depend on lifestyle creep and whether I have enough self control to contain it.
Assets:
House - $592.2K
Vehicles - $49.0K
NRSP - $297.5K
RRSPs - $773.5K
TFSAs - $164.7K
RESPs - $124.4K
Whole Life Cash Value - $42.0K
Cash - $111.6K
Business - $1946.6K
Total Assets - $4,101,500
Liabilities:
Credit Cards - $5.9K (credit cards are payed off every month)
Net Worth: $4,095,600
Up $298.8K Previous Quarter
Up $689.7K Previous Year
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356 Posts
Congratulations. Looks like you are 1 year ahead of your target.
Yes I've always been pretty conservative in my estimates but business has done better then expected. I do a new projection once a year and estimate just under 5mil by 2023 now. That projection has me making a similar (less then average amount) in business and a return of about 6% on investments.
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356 Posts
Are your retained earnings also invested or kept as cash?
I keep a bit in cash for operations but 80-90% is invested.
Apr 1st 2021 Quarterly Update
One year into Covid now and like everyone else I'm ready for it to be over. Last year was great but I believe I am now seeing the lagging effects on my work. The first three months for the year I've billed only 153 hours with the last two months being the 2 worst months I've ever had. Work is slower but my main issue with work is due to the Canadian government instituting more travel restrictions. I have decided not to travel but only because they have been extremely unclear about exemptions at the border. I believe I should be exempt however others that have travelled in similar situations have had mixed results. It seems strange that an individual border agent can interrupt the rules to suit how they feel at that moment. The fact we don't have a system in place where we can get pre-approved for travel at this point is costing this country money when it needs it most. (Rant over)
This quarter I put more money into NRSP hoping to take advantage of speculation that the market will have a good year. We will see if that works out over the short term but the money is really there for long term anyways. The YOY increase is exceptional but not consistent with long term and due to the market downturn in the first quarter or 2020. Business assets dropped due to less incoming money but also because of the decrease value in the American dollar. My calculated real estate value is pretty much the highest I've ever had it but I feel its overvalued at the moment.
The best part of this quarter was to have plenty of free time to do what I wanted and to see that my net worth still increased without much work. I feel that this was due mostly to a great quarter in the market and not a sign that I am completely financially independent at current spend rate.
Assets:
House - $639.2K
Vehicles - $50.0K
NRSP - $424.9K
RRSPs - $785.5K
TFSAs - $183.0K
RESPs - $141.6K
Whole Life Cash Value - $45.6K
Cash - $67.2K
Business - $1922.8K
Total Assets - $4,259,800
Liabilities:
Credit Cards - $6.5K (credit cards are payed off every month)
Net Worth: $4,253,300
Up $157.6K Previous Quarter
Up $1,174.7K Previous Year
One year into Covid now and like everyone else I'm ready for it to be over. Last year was great but I believe I am now seeing the lagging effects on my work. The first three months for the year I've billed only 153 hours with the last two months being the 2 worst months I've ever had. Work is slower but my main issue with work is due to the Canadian government instituting more travel restrictions. I have decided not to travel but only because they have been extremely unclear about exemptions at the border. I believe I should be exempt however others that have travelled in similar situations have had mixed results. It seems strange that an individual border agent can interrupt the rules to suit how they feel at that moment. The fact we don't have a system in place where we can get pre-approved for travel at this point is costing this country money when it needs it most. (Rant over)
This quarter I put more money into NRSP hoping to take advantage of speculation that the market will have a good year. We will see if that works out over the short term but the money is really there for long term anyways. The YOY increase is exceptional but not consistent with long term and due to the market downturn in the first quarter or 2020. Business assets dropped due to less incoming money but also because of the decrease value in the American dollar. My calculated real estate value is pretty much the highest I've ever had it but I feel its overvalued at the moment.
The best part of this quarter was to have plenty of free time to do what I wanted and to see that my net worth still increased without much work. I feel that this was due mostly to a great quarter in the market and not a sign that I am completely financially independent at current spend rate.
Assets:
House - $639.2K
Vehicles - $50.0K
NRSP - $424.9K
RRSPs - $785.5K
TFSAs - $183.0K
RESPs - $141.6K
Whole Life Cash Value - $45.6K
Cash - $67.2K
Business - $1922.8K
Total Assets - $4,259,800
Liabilities:
Credit Cards - $6.5K (credit cards are payed off every month)
Net Worth: $4,253,300
Up $157.6K Previous Quarter
Up $1,174.7K Previous Year
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5,597 Posts
Wow....well on your way.....
I recall from the start of your thread you were hoping to hit "4mil net worth should allow me to retire..."
With no debt I would hope. Sounds like you should at least be working part-time to stay active.
Huge congrats but likely a lot of work to get there no doubt.
How are you invested? Stocks? ETFs? Mix of both? Real estate? Other?
I recall from the start of your thread you were hoping to hit "4mil net worth should allow me to retire..."
With no debt I would hope. Sounds like you should at least be working part-time to stay active.
Huge congrats but likely a lot of work to get there no doubt.
How are you invested? Stocks? ETFs? Mix of both? Real estate? Other?
Thanks, It has been a fair amount of work with time away from family being the biggest sacrifice, There has been some luck involved too.
I am working part time right now but my plan has been to work full time for the next three years at least. Hoping work picks up shortly but no guarantee.
No debt but have considered upgrading home but only if the right thing comes along as we are not actively looking.
My portfolio has quite a mix, about 5 years ago I moved my RRSPs, Business Investments, and NRSPs to RBC and Scotia Investment Managers. RBC got my RRSPs and Scotia got the rest. I initially did this to pit them against each other (without telling them that) but I've noticed that the returns tend to be similar. RBC is a Managed Portfolio that contains mutual funds, there are constant changes to the holdings which makes it impossible to track myself so I just ignore it. The Scotia account has a majority of stocks but also contains bonds and ETFs, I'm told its around a 65/35 split. I had a rental property for 7 years but I found my return wasn't good enough even before accounting for the effort so the only real estate I have now is my personal house and some corporate stock in that space. My kids RESPs are mostly in Mutual Funds, also have a crappy GIC I was conned into 15 years ago. Our TFSAs I decided to handle myself so I could see if there was any point having others manage our money. I've now moved the TFSAs in to Balanced ETFs as I've basically given up trying to beat the market. We have a couple whole life policies, I know the whole life policy thing is generally a bad idea but it now has a cash value of $10K more then we actually paid, same money invested likely would have made $30K but would we have invested it? I also have some crpto that I took a flyer on, it's quadrupled but I didn't put much.
Impressed that you have continued to resist upgrading your 600k home, with a 4M net worth and 3 growing kids!
I think if I were in your shoes I'd be breaking down by now and looking for that $1.5M 3,500sqft house with a big yard, to live so comfortably in -- but that's just me.
I think if I were in your shoes I'd be breaking down by now and looking for that $1.5M 3,500sqft house with a big yard, to live so comfortably in -- but that's just me.
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356 Posts
Are you concerned that your retained earning are such large part of your Total Asset base?
What's the concern? I guess there could be a tax change which might make it inconvenient to have the majority of your retirement assets in a corp. But if not, they should be able to invest the money and flow dividends through the share structure without triggering a tax until its in their hands. I guess there's that passive income limit of $50K.
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356 Posts
Yes. I keep hearing rumblings that there are more changes coming, perhaps lowering the passive income or raising the tax rate further etc.
I'm not very concerned but mostly because my accountant isn't. I've asked him directly about the passive income limit of $50K and he doesn't think it will be a big issue. I figure they will get me one way or the other and right now its better to leave in company. If things change I don't know if they would make it worse off to have retained earnings in company.
It has been tempting and we even made an offer last year on a house that after major renovation may have come to that price but I don't find we need more space. In fact the 3000sqft house seems too big, We already have a room that tends to get used twice a year. I also don't want the kids too comfortable or they may never leave.Impressed that you have continued to resist upgrading your 600k home, with a 4M net worth and 3 growing kids!
I think if I were in your shoes I'd be breaking down by now and looking for that $1.5M 3,500sqft house with a big yard, to live so comfortably in -- but that's just me.
I likely undervalue our house, it could be worth 700-750K. We really like the area we are in, it's somewhat secluded and has a huge lot (for city where we are) 12000sqft. House is 2400sqft 4 bedroom plus half finished basement with an additional bedroom. We like the neighbors for the most part and have trails that go through river valley area right outside the crescent. There are houses in the neighborhood that are assessed much higher (up to 3 mil) so in a lot of ways I feel like we are the poor people in the neighborhood. Some of those guys have even starting hiring our kids to do yard cleanup.
When we initially bought our house we figured that based on lot prices in new areas we paid nearly nothing for the house and really bought a lot that the house happened to be on. Our thought was to someday demolish the house and build what we really wanted for the long term but over the 12 years we've probably put in 70-100K in improvements. Seems like a shame to demolish a perfectly good house.
You likely weren't looking for me justify myself but sometimes I need to justify myself to myself.
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