May 29th, 2009.
My first entry. Hopefully I can update at least once per week. Since I have no liability, I will have two sections: net worth and spending.
Net Worth: +6.21%. YTD: +14.33%
After two great months, May was a bit disappointing. The first week was great, but things stalled after that. S&P 500 failed to break the 200 days moving average or it's Jan highs. However, the biggest pain came from Canadian dollar. It soared from 83 cents to 91 cents and knocked about 1.5% from my net worth growth. On the other hand, May had three pay days, so that helped. Overall, a volatile month with very little to show for it.
I was extremely worried about the gold price, so I started to track my net worth in term of gold and silver. Surprisingly, gold didn't change much in Canadian dollar despite the spike of the US price. Silver, on the other hand, went up significantly this year. In term of silver, my net worth dropped 8.84% this year. Grrrr....
I stopped my dollar averaging plan in the middle of this month since I need to rebalance my portfolio and move to ETFs. To avoid the superficial loss rule, I have to stop buying for 60 days. I am going to use TD managed aggressive growth as a intermediate vessel for 30 days since I am not sure whether the efunds and ETFs are considered identical investments. It's a very expensive transaction, but I have little choice due to the stupid tax law.
Looking forward, S&P 500 is running out of waggling room. The 50 days moving average is less than 70 points below the 200 days moving average and the gap is closing fast. Overall, I am still very bearish since the economy is showing no signs of recovery. Therefore, I think it's more likely S&P 500 will tank than breaking upwards. I do not consider the March low as a bottom until the 50 DMA passes 200 DMA decisively. Not that it has any bearing on my investments. My net worth will possibly drop next month.
Spending: +22% above budget.
This is the first month of my new budget and there are some one time items, so I will give it the benefit of doubt for now. Food is clearly over budget though and I will have to cut back dining out. Mass transit turned out to be both expensive and time consuming. I will move back to car next month and see how that would work out.
My first entry. Hopefully I can update at least once per week. Since I have no liability, I will have two sections: net worth and spending.
Net Worth: +6.21%. YTD: +14.33%
After two great months, May was a bit disappointing. The first week was great, but things stalled after that. S&P 500 failed to break the 200 days moving average or it's Jan highs. However, the biggest pain came from Canadian dollar. It soared from 83 cents to 91 cents and knocked about 1.5% from my net worth growth. On the other hand, May had three pay days, so that helped. Overall, a volatile month with very little to show for it.
I was extremely worried about the gold price, so I started to track my net worth in term of gold and silver. Surprisingly, gold didn't change much in Canadian dollar despite the spike of the US price. Silver, on the other hand, went up significantly this year. In term of silver, my net worth dropped 8.84% this year. Grrrr....
I stopped my dollar averaging plan in the middle of this month since I need to rebalance my portfolio and move to ETFs. To avoid the superficial loss rule, I have to stop buying for 60 days. I am going to use TD managed aggressive growth as a intermediate vessel for 30 days since I am not sure whether the efunds and ETFs are considered identical investments. It's a very expensive transaction, but I have little choice due to the stupid tax law.
Looking forward, S&P 500 is running out of waggling room. The 50 days moving average is less than 70 points below the 200 days moving average and the gap is closing fast. Overall, I am still very bearish since the economy is showing no signs of recovery. Therefore, I think it's more likely S&P 500 will tank than breaking upwards. I do not consider the March low as a bottom until the 50 DMA passes 200 DMA decisively. Not that it has any bearing on my investments. My net worth will possibly drop next month.
Spending: +22% above budget.
This is the first month of my new budget and there are some one time items, so I will give it the benefit of doubt for now. Food is clearly over budget though and I will have to cut back dining out. Mass transit turned out to be both expensive and time consuming. I will move back to car next month and see how that would work out.