[high octane]

I am a 25 year-old single homeowner. Here is a detailed list of my 2009 finances which I track closely with Quicken. I don’t share this with anyone I know as finances are taboo and I don't think my peers save money the way I do

2009 Net Worth +$15k ($70k)

2009 Salary $70k

Taxes/CPP etc $30k (Quebec)

Household expenses $6.5k (mostly paying off no-interest debts on furniture/appliances)
Mortgage interest $6k
Home Equity $8k ($5k lump sum from previous savings)
Home Insurance $600

Entertainment $5k (home theater > drinking > other)

Food $3k (I don’t make my lunches and I’m not frugal with food, but when I travel for work food is paid)

Utilities $2k (hydro > internet > voip) I have a work BB and I don’t watch TV

Cash $1500 (small misc expenses) not sure where this goes

Clothes $300

1997 Honda Accord $2k (maint > ins > gas > reg )
2005 Ski Doo $3.5k (accessories > maint > gas/oil > reg)
2005 Kawasaki z750 $1500 (accessories > reg > speeding > ins > gas)

Travel $500 (Trips home. I travel too much for work already)

RRSP contribution $5k (from previous savings, RRSP maxed on HBP)
TFSA contribution $5k (from previous savings)

Charity $200 (looks pretty bad now that I make this list)

Savings $10k

The biggest diff for 2010 is I won’t spend $8k on furniture/appliances/entertainment debts and my salary will go up a bit. So in 2010 I plan to save more money on a monthly basis and I will earmark it for a new.. (to me) dream car and 2011 RRSP/TFSA



The expenses I constantly think about are my vehicles:

How long can I put up with that 97 Honda? The car maint could go way up in 2010 as I’ve put off a lot of repairs.

The motorbike allows me to put off buying a new car; it gets me around most of the summer. It should cost the same in 2010. I could sell the bike to buy a newer car

Ski Dooing is my worst financial habit. As a high performance toy in a harsh environment, things wear and tear. They are less reliable and efficient than other motorsports, but so much more fun!

The frugal in me cringes at Ski Dooing but what else would I do with my money? It doesn’t affect my retirement goals and it makes me happy now.

I justify it to my frugal side by pointing out most people spend as much on new cars as I do on my 4

 

[FrugalTrader]

Great job for a young guy! Why justify your spending habits on your ski dooing? You have great savings habits, no consumer debt, and a growing portfolio. Ski dooing makes you happy and if it takes a bit of money to be in the sport, then so be it.

 

[the-royal-mail]

Just reading some of the threads and came across this one with not many replies. I agree with the response posted. You're fine. Not a worry in the world, in my opinion. My questions/comments:

1. What is the $10K savings for? Is that a rainy day fund? If not, do you have a rainy day fund? That would be a wise thing to do, if not. But in your case it does not have to come in lieu of your watersports! Enjoy life!

2. Great question about the car. Mine is a 1998 and I have recently spent about $1000 bringing it up to date and performing the work on deferred items from the past few months. Now that I've spent the money I want to enjoy the car. It's reliable, has no rust, runs well and all maintenance and repairs are up to date. Why sell it? You and I will get nothing for our cars at this point AND every month we keep them means the money stays in our pockets instead of going to monthly or downpayments! I also live in the city as I presume you do, so one accident and door ding and that shiny new car won't seem so great anymore. Might as well keep your car if the body is not rusted and you have maintained it properly through the years. If there's all sorts of stuff broken on it, well...

 

[high octane]

1. What is the $10K savings for? Is that a rainy day fund? If not, do you have a rainy day fund? That would be a wise thing to do, if not. But in your case it does not have to come in lieu of your watersports! Enjoy life!

Thanks for the comments

The $10k is what I managed to add to savings in 2009. I actually have $30k sitting in cash while my finances settle out and I try to figure out where to put it. This is the first year I actually tracked my finances and have an idea of the future

I intend to have this money invested and hold a LOC in case of emergencies because my job security is pretty solid

2. Great question about the car. Mine is a 1998 and I have recently spent about $1000 bringing it up to date and performing the work on deferred items from the past few months. Now that I've spent the money I want to enjoy the car. It's reliable, has no rust, runs well and all maintenance and repairs are up to date. Why sell it? You and I will get nothing for our cars at this point AND every month we keep them means the money stays in our pockets instead of going to monthly or downpayments! I also live in the city as I presume you do, so one accident and door ding and that shiny new car won't seem so great anymore. Might as well keep your car if the body is not rusted and you have maintained it properly through the years. If there's all sorts of stuff broken on it, well...

I agree with you completely on having an old car but I also drool over the new Subaru WRX. The only real inconvenience of the old car is the time I spend on maintenance and dealing with mechanics. It also takes some research because I wouldn't trust a word a mechanic says. I definitely like the fact that all the winter abuse is happening to this old car and not a shiny WRX. Next time though I want a 2-5 year-old car because the maintenance is getting very expensive, and like you said our cars aren't worth anything

I'm automatically transferring the amount I would be paying on that new WRX to a specific ING acct. This motivates me to keep the old car

 

[HaroldCrump]

I am a 25 year-old single homeowner. Here is a detailed list of my 2009 finances which I track closely with Quicken. I don’t share this with anyone I know as finances are taboo and I don't think my peers save money the way I do

2009 Net Worth +$15k ($70k)

You didn't include your home equity as part of your net worth?
Normally it is included, even if you consider the original purchase price.
If it's included, net worth should be higher than $70K.

 

[ssimps]

You didn't include your home equity as part of your net worth?
Normally it is included, even if you consider the original purchase price.

Is it normally included? I do not include it because I figure we need somewhere to live. I include a cottage original purchase price in net worth, but not principal residence.

If it is normally included, we are worth ~20% more than I thought I was! Yahooo!

 

[Berubeland]

Is it normally included? I do not include it because I figure we need somewhere to live. I include a cottage original purchase price in net worth, but not principal residence.

If it is normally included, we are worth ~20% more than I thought I was! Yahooo!

Feel free to include the value as an actual current value. For example if you bought your home 20 years ago for $53,000 use today's price of $450,000 for your asset. As well as your cottage.

 

[high octane]

You didn't include your home equity as part of your net worth?
Normally it is included, even if you consider the original purchase price.
If it's included, net worth should be higher than $70K.

Yea I guess I didn't write this in the standard way I found it interesting to break out where exactly all my money went in 2009

Liabilities

BMO Mastercard $1000 (always paid in full)
BMO LOC $0
MCAP Mortgage $100000
Total $101k

Assets

BMO Chequing Acct $5300
ING Savings Acct $1500
ING WRX Acct $6000
Sub Total $12800

BMO GIC $1000
Questrade TFSA $10000
Questrade RRSP $4200
Sub Total $15200

House $127 000
Car $4000
Motorbike $4000
Ski Doo $4000
Motorbike $2000
Home Theater $2000
Sub Total $143 000

Total $171k

Net Worth $70k (+27%)

I also have a pension that I don't know how to count. It's 50% of salary if I retire at 43 or an additional 2% per year

The increase was only from savings and home equity. I opened the Questrade acct in July and just watched stocks go up up up since then

 

[Jon_Snow]

As a resident of Vancouver, the very concept of a $127000 house blows my mind... our 900 sq ft. condo was just assessed at $300000.

I've always included home equity into my net worth calculations. Like most people living on the west coast, it comprises the majority of our wealth (or debt). Fortunately, our mortgage is almost paid off, and once it is, almost all of our income will be going into savings/investing.

 

[George]

I also have a pension that I don't know how to count. It's 50% of salary if I retire at 43 or an additional 2% per year

Take a look at your pension statement and it should list a "Transfer Value". This is roughly what your pension would be worth if it was cash in an RRSP account. A pension isn't the kind of asset that you can easily access, but it makes sense to track it on a net worth statement - it is an asset that will grow over your working life, and when you retire it's basically the same as if you purchased an annuity.

 

[George]

As a resident of Vancouver, the very concept of a $127000 house blows my mind... our 900 sq ft. condo was just assessed at $300000.

I've always included home equity into my net worth calculations. Like most people living on the west coast, it comprises the majority of our wealth (or debt). Fortunately, our mortgage is almost paid off, and once it is, almost all of our income will be going into savings/investing.

As somebody who lives in a not-crazy-real-estate city, the very concept of a $300k, 900sqft condo blows my mind.

Good for you for getting your home close to paid off! That's quite a feat in Vancouver!

 

[steve_jay33]

At 25 already worth 70K. Nicely done.
I think your spending habits are great.

 

[Sampson]

As somebody who lives in a not-crazy-real-estate city, the very concept of a $300k, 900sqft condo blows my mind.

From what I understand, during the Fall of 2006, prices for new 2 Bdrms in Edmonton were close to that. I'm thinking all the redeveloped land near White Ave and even all the newer units near Oliver Square.

Our 2-Bdrm condo in DT Calgary has roughly the same 'specs'.

 

[Jon_Snow]

Our place isn't even in downtown Vancouver.... its in the burbs'. If our place were in the city it would probably fetch half a mill...

The prices here are nice when you decide to do a personal net worth statement (which I do monthly), but when you think about it logically, it is truly insane here. How an average family with children can afford a SFH I can't even comprehend.

 

[high octane]

I have never seen a Pension Statement with a "Transfer Value" however I collected all my Notice of Assessments to add up the pension adjustments and it came to $35k

Where I live the houses are very cheap. Mine was built in 1997 in a very nice area as well. I consider it a huge perk that I don't have to live in a large city because I hate interest and traffic

Vancouver is beautiful though I can see the attraction. I'll be out there for the next 2.5 months. Don't fly in my airspace or I'll send an F18 after you

 

[George]

I have never seen a Pension Statement with a "Transfer Value" however I collected all my Notice of Assessments to add up the pension adjustments and it came to $35k

Sometimes the transfer value is referred to as an early-payout amount, or the amount that you'll receive if you leave the pension plan before retirement. Every defined-benefit pension statement I've ever seen has this amount listed somewhere.

Although I suppose adding up all of our pension adjustments from T4 slips would work as well. Hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense if you're trying to determine how much the pension is "worth" as compared to an RRSP.

 

[John_Michaels]

kudos!
not quite on topic...never.sell.the.bike.
Sold mine when I graduated. I was at first amazed with the utility of a car (imagine - no wind, not cold, not hot, comfort!) but that soon grew boring. I figure I can die when the kid turns 18 so I can't wait to buy a 900RR or something similar.

 

[high octane]

kudos!
not quite on topic...never.sell.the.bike.
Sold mine when I graduated. I was at first amazed with the utility of a car (imagine - no wind, not cold, not hot, comfort!) but that soon grew boring. I figure I can die when the kid turns 18 so I can't wait to buy a 900RR or something similar.

Haha I know what you mean! Being in a car is like watching tv now. 900RR is my dream bike but yea they are dangerous. Some day I want to do track school on one I think you learn valuable skills in a safer environment

 

[m3s]

Updates in red

2009 Net Worth +$15k (+28%)
2010 Net Worth +$33k (+28%) exact same % that's eerie

2009 Salary $70k
2010 Salary $75k

Household expenses $6.5k $2.5k less big ticket furniture etc
Mortgage interest and property tax $6k $6k
Home Equity $8k ($5k lump sum) $4k
Home Insurance $600 $800

Entertainment $5k $5k

Food $3k $3k

Utilities $2k (hydro > internet > voip) $2k

Cash and Misc $1500 $500

Clothes $300 $750

1997 Honda Accord $2k (maint > ins > gas > reg ) $4k (new suspension, bushings and tires + the usual)
2005 Ski Doo $3.5k (accessories > maint > gas/oil > reg) $1.5k mostly depreciation
2005 Kawasaki z750 $1500 (accessories > reg > speeding > ins > gas) $2k

Travel $500 (Trips home. I travel too much for work already) Didn't track, work took me exciting places

RRSP contribution $5k (from previous savings, RRSP maxed on HBP) $6k
TFSA contribution $5k (from previous savings) $5k

Charity $200 (looks pretty bad now that I make this list) $500 and already $250 in 2011

Realized gains and dividends $1k


The biggest diff for 2010 is I won’t spend $8k on furniture/appliances/entertainment debts and my salary will go up a bit. So in 2010 I plan to save more money on a monthly basis and I will earmark it for a new.. (to me) dream car coming soon and 2011 RRSP/TFSA accomplished



The expenses I constantly think about are my vehicles:

How long can I put up with that 97 Honda? The car maint could go way up in 2010 as I’ve put off a lot of repairs. it doubled, haven't accounted for depreciation of car either

The motorbike allows me to put off buying a new car; it gets me around most of the summer. It should cost the same in 2010. I could sell the bike to buy a newer car

Ski Dooing is my worst financial habit. As a high performance toy in a harsh environment, things wear and tear. They are less reliable and efficient than other motorsports, but so much more fun! Selling, moving, looking for a new bad habit

Few things I noticed from this:

House ownership costs $775 per month. I couldn't rent for this and I haven't accounted for appreciation of the house (or depreciation?)

I spent $750 on clothes?? How did that happen?