Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Back from Vacation

I came back to work on Monday, after 2 weeks of vacation. Had a really good time this year, with a good mix of days away from home and days spent at home tinkering outside (taking advantage of the sun and fresh air). In the end, our vacation cost us very little (less than $500 for both Princess and I), with dining out coming in first while gas came out second.

I did keep an eye on my finances during my time off, but for the most part I avoided posting anything on my blog or on other discussion lists. I did make a purchase in my RRSP right before I started my vacation -- I'll post about it soon.

On the work front, I started on a new project also on Monday, so I expect the next couple of days to be filled with a lot of reading, listening, and organizing new information to get a good picture of what I'll have to work on. Looks like a very interesting but challenging project.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Net Worth Update

As of August 1st, my net worth was $83 682 (up 4.3% from $80 228). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth is $56 225 (up 6% from $53 014).

This was a month with 3 pay weeks, so I expected a nice rise this month. But I also spent more money than usual, as we replaced our mattress with a new, high-quality one. We got it at half the price, but it still cost us about $1 400. This went on a credit card no-interest 15-month financing, which we will gradually pay down over the next year.

The stock market also kept rising this month, so this was positive to my portfolios. How long will that optimism last? And how deep will the correction be?

Assets ($149 412, up 3% from $145 067)
  • Bank Accounts $5 088 (up 28% from $3 981)
  • Emergency Funds $2 612 (up 0.3% from $2 604)
  • RRSP Accounts 36 953 (up 3.4% from $35 742)
  • Non-Registered Investments $15 946 (up 9.8% from $14 527)
  • Home $88 050 (stable)

Liabilities ($65 730, up 1.4% from $64 839)

  • Credit Cards $4 964 (up 29% from $3 845)
  • Mortgage $60 593 (down 0.4% from $60 836)
  • Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

  • Debt / assets: 0.434 (down from 0.445)
  • House value / total assets: 0.589 (down from 0.607)

My credit card debt went up this month because of the new mattress, as well as ongoing expenses for the landscaping I am doing on the yard. I will probably have another big expense in August or September, as we have to make repairs on the outdoor part of the chimney. I should have an estimate of the costs soon.

On the work front, I will move to another project within the company for a couple of months -- things look like they will be on hold for a while on my previous project, and I have skills that made me perfect for the other project. This will be good for me, since the new project will allow me to learn quite a bit while at the same time allowing me to make full use of skills (UML certifications) I acquired two years ago.