Net Worth Update

As of September 1st, my net worth was $143 703 (down 2.2% from $146 887). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $97 126 (down 3.7% from $100 844). The last two months were hard on my net worth, due to expenses related to my vacation. This was compounded by the volatile markets, which cut down the value of my investments.

Assets ($239 189, down 1.5% from $242 779)

• Bank Accounts $3 782 (down 24% from 4 927)


• Emergency Funds $4 000 (up 2% from $3 922)


• RRSP Accounts $67 154 (down 3.6% from $69 641)


• Non-Retirement Investments $35 228 (up 1.3% from $34 761)


• Home $100 530 (stable)


• Car $28 041 (down 1.7% from $28 517)

Liabilities $95 486 (down 0.4% from $95 892)

• Credit Cards $4 473 (up 41% from $3 169)


• Mortgage $53 953 (down 1% from $54 487)


• Line of Credit $0 (stable)


• Car Loan $36 998 (down 3% from $38 154)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.399 (up from 0.395)


• House value / total assets: 0.420 (up from 0.414)

You may have noticed that my net worth updates are now bi-monthly instead of monthly. This started out because of the timing of my vacations over the summer, but since I have found that I've got less time to blog, I will probably keep it that way moving forward. I still track my numbers every month, though I will only report them every two months.

Chances are that my next update will also show negative results, because we are replacing the roof in September.

Net Worth Update

As of May 1st, my net worth was $150 080 (up 3.7% from $144 699). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $106 667 (up 5% from $101 550). Being paid back for my business trip to Vancouver was a factor in this big increase, as was reduced expenses this month.

Assets ($207 064, up 1.4% from $204 217)

• Bank Accounts $3 837 (up 4% from $3 688)


• Emergency Funds $1 697 (up 240% from $495)


• RRSP Accounts $69 005 (up 1.8% from $67 784)


• Non-Retirement Investments $33 980 (up 0.9% from $33 686)


• Home $98 430 (stable)

Liabilities ($56 984, down 4.3% from $59 518)

• Credit Cards $1 868 (down 55% from $4 154)


• Mortgage $55 017 (down 0.5% from $55 280)


• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.275 (down from 0.291)


• House value / total assets: 0.475 (down from 0.482)

Liquidities are getting much better, with my business travel expenses paid back and the tax returns coming in. My emergency fund should be back to its normal level by the end of the month.

We had a little plumbing problem this month, and had to call a professional to fix it. That cost us a little under $300. I've also started getting quotes for the roof. I'll continue looking at all options before taking a final decision on this front.

Net Worth Update

As of April 1st, my net worth was $144 699 (down 0.2% from $144 958). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $101 550 (down 0.5% from $102 070). This slight decrease is due to the fact that I had a business trip to Vancouver in March, and I'm still waiting for my expenses to be paid back by my employer. These were paid using my credit card, so expect an increase there.

Assets ($204 217, up 0.2% from $203 811)

• Bank Accounts $3 688 (up 9% from $3 387)


• Emergency Funds $495 (up 3% from $480)


• RRSP Accounts $67 784 (up 0.4% from $67 515)


• Non-Retirement Investments $33 686 (up 1.5% from $33 176)


• Home $98 430 (stable)

Liabilities ($59 518, up 2.3% from $58 156)

• Credit Cards $4 154 (up 62% from $2 567)


• Mortgage $55 280 (down 0.5% from $55 543)


• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.291 (up from 0.286)


• House value / total assets: 0.482 (down from 0.485)

Liquidities are still tight, since I have to pay my credit card even if my employer hasn't paid me back the expenses for my business trip. So putting back the money into my emergency fund will wait a few more weeks.

Still quite busy, between work and my involvement with a non-profit group related to my hobbies. Summer is coming soon, so activities on that side will pick up soon. I'm also planning the renovation and maintenance work on the house for this summer. Some more landscaping, ongoing repainting of the outside of the house, and the big job for this summer -- the roof.

Net Worth Update

As of February 1st, my net worth was $141 766 (down 0.1% from $141 897). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $99 141 (down 0.4% from $99 532). The the last payment for the windows has been made, so this impacted this month's numbers, as expected.

Assets ($203 811, down 0.2% from $204 124)

• Bank Accounts $6 158 (down 25% from $8 132)
• Emergency Funds $2 877 (up 3.4% from $2 783)
• RRSP Accounts $64 043 (up 1.4% from $63 134)
• Non-Retirement Investments $32 267 (up 2.7% from $31 423)
• Home $98 430 (stable)

Liabilities ($62 044, down 0.3% from $62 226)

• Credit Cards $5 936 (down 2.3% from $6 076)
• Mortgage $56 073 (up slightly from $56 065)
• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.304 (down from 0.305)
• House value / total assets: 0.483 (up from 0.482)

As usual, the beginning of the year is tight in liquidities. This is particularly tru this year because I helped my lady for her car repairs, as stated in last month's update. The coming deadline for RRSP contributions is coming, so I'll have to decide soon whether I empty out my emergency fund to make a lump contribution while there is still time.

On top of that, I've also been quite busy lately, as I began working on a new project at work. I've also been working on some small crafting projects at home, and I had some meetings to attend for my hobbies. This explain my lack of message in January, and my lateness in posting my net worth update. Things should come back to normal soon, I hope!

Net Worth Update

As of January 1st, my net worth was $141 897 (up 2.8% from $137 993). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $99 532 (up 3.8% from $95 888). However, the last payment for the windows has not been made yet, so the totals should actually be $2 500 lower. And December was a 3-payweek month, so this also boosted my assets. But the year 2010 has been a very good year. :o)

Assets ($204 124, up 3.5% from $197 251)

• Bank Accounts $8 132 (up 41% from $5 754)
• Emergency Funds $2 783 (up 3.9% from $2 678)
• RRSP Accounts $63 134 (up 4.6% from $60 361)
• Non-Retirement Investments $31 423 (up 3.3% from $30 411)
• Home $98 430 (stable)

Liabilities ($62 226, up 4.1% from $59 779)

• Credit Cards $6 076 (up 75% from $3 482)
• Mortgage $56 065 (down 0.4% from $56 324)
• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.305 (up from 0.303)
• House value / total assets: 0.482 (down from 0.498)

Just before the Holidays, there were some big unplanned expenses. First, my lady's car had some extensive repairs that needed to be done, which were a safety issue. She didn't have the cash on hand to pay for those, and was looking at a 9% financing to pay for it. So I offered to pay for the repairs and she'll pay me back. Similar story for her computer -- it had been troublesome for some time and key features began to fail, so we replaced to. Together, those two items cost about $3 000, which explains the spiking of the amount on my credit card. I'll pay this fully (out of available cash from my emergency fund) when the CC statement comes in.

If not for this, expenses for the Christmas would have been quite reasonable. Even with those, things are still running smoothly. It's good to have some margin of safety!

Net Worth Update

As of December 1st, my net worth was $137 993 (up 0.9% from $136 763). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $95 888 (up 1% from $94 916). Things are slowing down for me as the end of the year arrives. A quick dip of the stock markets at the end of November had an impact there.

Assets ($197 251, up 1.46% from $194 419)

• Bank Accounts $5 754 (up 7.8% from $5 335)
• Emergency Funds $2 678 (up 4% from $2 575)
• RRSP Accounts $60 361 (up 0.5% from $60 061)
• Non-Retirement Investments $30 411 (down 0.8% from $30 643)
• Home $98 430 (stable)

Liabilities ($60 488, down 0.6% from $60 856)

• Credit Cards $3 482 (down 9.2% from $3 834)
• Mortgage $56 324 (down 0.4% from $56 583)
• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.303 (down from 0.307)
• House value / total assets: 0.498 (down from 0.499)

There has been a delay in replacing the planned windows, so this expense has not come through yet. It is not yet certain if the cheque will be cashed before the end of the year, either, so its impact may only be felt at the beginning of 2011.

Christmas shopping has also begun, so I expect a temporary rise in credit card debt. As usual, though, the balance of all my credit cards will be paid in full each month. It is simply that during the Christmas period, I spend a bit more money -- I'm not adding any long-term debt here, it is simply a question of cash-flow since almost all of my expenses go through my credit cards. I pay no interest at all, and collect the rewards.

Net Worth Update

As of November 1st, my net worth was $136 763 (up 2.4% from $133 563). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $94 916 (up 3.2% from $91 973). Another good month, but again that's because of the stock markets. Things are chugging along, dividend gets paid, a little money is added here and there. Boring, but boring is good!

Assets ($197 251, up 1.46% from $194 419)

• Bank Accounts $5 335 (up 11% from $4 811)
• Emergency Funds $2 575 (up 4.2% from $2 471)
• RRSP Accounts $60 061 (up 2.8% from $58 407)
• Non-Retirement Investments $30 643 (up 1.8% from $30 093)
• Home $98 430 (stable)

Liabilities ($60 488, down 0.6% from $60 856)

• Credit Cards $3 834 (down 3.5% from $3 972)
• Mortgage $56 583 (down 0.4% from $56 841)
• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.307 (down from 0.313)
• House value / total assets: 0.499 (down from 0.506)

The first payment for the new windows went through, but was completely lost in the general rise of my assets. When the balance of the payment goes through, however, it will be more noticeable as the amount is bigger. The windows should be installed within the next two weeks. Cash position looks strong, so I should be able to pay for them out of my regular account, without touching my emergency funds.

Spending Money on the House

Last week, I went ahead with our plan to replace another set of windows on the house. When we started replacing the windows 2 years ago, we decided to go with a gradual approach based on the amount of cash we could afford to pay each year for those renovations instead of using the line of credit or another form of financing to replace them all at once.

So before winter we will have new windows for the 3 upstair bedrooms. This will be good for 2 reasons. First, as a quality of life issue for Princess, as the old windows were very hard for her to open and close (they were heavy and would often stick). Second, the new windows will be provide much better insulation, so this should save us some money on heating.

Still, this is a fairly big expense at slightly over $3 000, so in order to have the cash available to pay for the windows I will cut back on my monthly DRiP purchases. This means I won't reach my stated goal of dividend income for the year, but I can live with that.

Net Worth Update

As of September 1st, my net worth was $128 775 (up 1.9% from $126 412). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $87 442 (up 2.5% from $85 336). Another good month, considering that we were on vacation. Of course, we didn't spend a lot for vacation (we seldom do) and the stock markets were generally good to me.

Assets ($189 874, up 1.2% from $187 623)

• Bank Accounts $4 509 (up 1% from $4 466)
• Emergency Funds $2 368 (up 4.5% from $2 265)
• RRSP Accounts $56 426 (up 1.9% from $55 371)
• Non-Retirement Investments $27 878 (up 3.8% from $26 865)
• Home $98 430 (stable)

Liabilities ($61 099, down 0.2% from $61 211)

• Credit Cards $3 934 (up 2.9% from $3 822)
• Mortgage $57 097 (down 0.4% from $57 353)
• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.321 (down from 0.326)
• House value / total assets: 0.518 (down from 0.525)

Next may see some rise on the credit cards, as well as some additional expenses for the house. We have been late in ordering the second batch of replacement windows, and I need to get to it if we want them to be installed before winter (about $3K). My car is also being repaired right now, because the air conditioner failed and the driver's window electric motor is dying (about $700).

On the other hand, I'll soon be maxed out on the mandatory contributions to the employment insurance and Quebec Pension Plan, so my net pay will increase for the rest of the year.

Net Worth Update

As of July 1st, my net worth was $119 661 (up 1% from $118 488). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $78 839 (up 1.2% from $77 920). I'm a bit late posting this month's update because I was on vacation beginning the month, and coming back to work I was quite busy.

Assets ($182 169, up 0.3% from $181 591)

• Bank Accounts $3 699 (up 24% from $2 981)
• Emergency Funds $1 763 (down 22% from $2 261)
• RRSP Accounts $52 936 (down 0.8% from $53 375)
• Non-Retirement Investments $24 911 (up 1.9% from $24 445)
• Home $96 330 (stable)

Liabilities ($62 508, down 1% from $63 103)

• Credit Cards $4 790 (down 7% from $5 154)
• Mortgage $57 608 (down 0.4% from $57 862)
• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.343 (down from 0.348)
• House value / total assets: 0.540 (down from 0.542)

I moved some money from my emergency fund to my daily bank account at the end of the month to pay back a credit card financing plan -- that way I'll be able to close that credit card before the end of July. Total amount on my credit cards was down, and I plan on lowering it even further this month. I got paid back for the summer festival passes that I purchased for family members. Haven't had much time to work on the house and courtyard, but next weekend I should be free to do that.

Tonight I'm going to see Santana as part of the summer festival, and Friday is Black Eyed Peas. Both shows should be quite good!

Net Worth Update

As of June 1st, my net worth was $118 488 (down 0.5% from $119 075). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $77 920 (down 4.6% from $80 860). The main reason for the decrease is the stock market's stumble in May, although some unplanned expenses also contributed. Nothing to worry about, but I'll keep an eye on things.

Assets ($181 591, down 0.1% from $181 711)

• Bank Accounts $2 981 (down 14% from $3 483)
• Emergency Funds $2 261 (up slightly from $2 259)
• RRSP Accounts $53 375 (down 2.2% from $54 594)
• Non-Retirement Investments $24 445 (down 1.6% from $24 836)
• Home $96 330 (stable)

Liabilities ($63 103, up 0.7% from $62 635)

• Credit Cards $5 154 (up 16% from $4 456)
• Mortgage $57 862 (down 0.4% from $58 115)
• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.348 (up from 0.345)
• House value / total assets: 0.542 (up from 0.530)

The unplanned expenses (car repairs and purchase of the summer festival passes) mean that my credit cards werte higher this month. I should get back some of the money as family members for whom I purchased the passes pay me back for those.

On the non-financial side, our garden is now planted -- the first year we've been able to do so since purchasing the house 6 years ago. Part of the landscaping effort I did last year. For now the garden consists of 2 boxes (6.5' by 3.5' in size) in the back yard. We already had strawberries (I relocated some of them in one of the boxes), rasberry bushes along the patio, rhubarb and some herbs. The new garden is not a way to same money for us, it's more a way to get tasty and fresh vegetables -- nothing taste better than that!

Net Worth Update

As of May 1st, my net worth was $119 075 (up 3.4% from $115 128). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $80 860 (up 4.8% from $77 165). My tax return explains some of this gain, but good control of expenses also helped.

Assets ($181 711, up 1.6% from $178 923)

• Bank Accounts $3 483 (up 21% from $2 889)
• Emergency Funds $2 259 (up 80% from $1 257)
• RRSP Accounts $54 594 (up 1.6% from $53 732)
• Non-Registered Investments $24 836 (up 2.9% from $24 141)
• Home $96 330 (stable)

Liabilities ($62 635, down 1.8% from $63 794)

• Credit Cards $4 456 (down 13% from $5 104)
• Mortgage $58 115 (down 0.4% from $58 367)
• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.345 (down from 0.356)
• House value / total assets: 0.530 (down from 0.538)

I've paid some attention to my credit cards this month, starting to pay down a no-interest financing plan that will come due this summer. I plan on paying it off and closing that account in July at the latest.

Summer is coming, and with it the continuation of our home renovations. We will be replacing another set of windows this year, an expense of about $3 500. I am also continuing our landscaping project in the back yard, but that is more work than money -- only a few hundred dollars worth of expenses there. There will also be some scraping and repainting of the sidings of the house -- again a lot of work with some some expenses.

All-in-all, life is good. :o)

Net Worth Update

As of November 1st, my net worth was $101 220 (up 11% from $91 013). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $64 503 (up 2.7% from $62 822). As I mentioned a few weeks ago, our house gained a lot of value over the last couple of years, and that is now reflected in the new municipal rolls. This increased my net worth by $8 000.

Assets ($165 447, up 6% from $155 973)

• Bank Accounts $4 907 (down 24% from $6 457)
• Emergency Funds $2 040 (up slightly from $2 038)
• RRSP Accounts $42 966 (up 4.8% from $40 993)
• Non-Registered Investments $18 351 (up 0.7% from $18 231)
• Home $96 330 (up 9.4% from $88 050)

Liabilities ($64 227, down 1.1% from $64 960)

• Credit Cards $4 384(down 10% from $4 902)
• Mortgage $59 613 (down 0.4% from $59 859)
• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.388 (down from 0.417)
• House value / total assets: 0.582 (up from 0.565)

The repairs for the chimney were paid this month, which explain why available cash dropped. This brings me back to my usual range of about $4-5K in my bank accounts.

Although the markets were strong for the first two weeks of the month, the last two reflected more uncertainty. People are being told that the recession is over, so they expect things to be back to where they were before the downturn. Except that coming out of the recession is the quick part of it. The recovery, in terms of jobs and profitability, will take years. This is beginning to sink in.

Even though the markets were basically flat in October, my RRSP accounts went up. That's because one of my investments (Harvest Energy) is getting bought out at a premium to market value. As a result, the value of my investment went up.

Municipal Assessment Roll

We just received the new municipal assessment roll for our house, and the value is going up from $126K to $153K. That's a 21% increase and a bit less than I expected (apparently the average for Quebec City is about 30%).

An increase in the value of our house is both good and bad. In the short term, it is bad since it means we will be paying more taxes every year (it remains to be seen how much -- we will only know in January).

In the long term, it is good, since it means that our house is worth more. The day we sell (even though that's far in the future), we will recover the money we spent to buy it and some more. The important thing here is that the value of our house should at least keep up with inflation, so that we don't end up with less purchasing power.

But overall, this revision of the assessment is neither good nor bad news.

It will, however, have a fairly big impact on my net worth, since the value of my part of the house has just gone up by a few thousand dollars. Only half of the increase will be reflected in my net worth, since I use the average between the municipal assessment and my insurer's rebuild cost to determine the value of the house.

Still, that means an $8K increase to my net worth. Based on my latest estimates, this should be enough to push my net worth over the $100K milestone. Nice!

Net Worth Update

I realized today that I had forgotten to post my net worh update for September. It's been a bit more difficult to post since at my new workplace I cannot easily access my blog page.

As of September 1st, my net worth was $86 909 (up 3.9% from $83 682). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $58 963 (up 4.9% from $56 225).The markets kept going up in August, which explains most of the increase. We kept spendings quite reasonable during our vacation, so it had no impact on our finances.

Assets ($151 903, up 1.7% from $149 412)

• Bank Accounts $4 849 (down 4.7% from $5 088)
• Emergency Funds $2 697 (up 3.3% from $2 612)
• RRSP Accounts $38 418 (up 4% from $36 953)
• Non-Registered Investments $17 094 (up 7.2% from $15 946)
• Home $88 050 (stable)

Liabilities ($64 994, down 1.1% from $65 730)

• Credit Cards $4 706 (down 5.2% from $4 964)
• Mortgage $60 105 (down 0.8% from $60 593)
• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.428 (down from 0.434)
• House value / total assets: 0.580 (down from 0.589)

Both my registered and unregistered investments went up significantly this months, while the credit cards went down a little bit. (Remember that the amount on my credit cards is either 0% financings or thrrent balance that gets paid every month. So it is all non-interest bearing debt.)

I got the estimate for the repairs of the chimney ($1 350), which will be performed at the end of the month.

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.

Net Worth Update

As of July 1st, my net worth was $80 228 (up 2.4% from $78 372). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth is $53 014 (up 3.2% from $51 352).

The market continued its rise this month, although things became more volatile with both ups and downs. As I mentioned last month, I am not convinced that this spring's rise is solid and I expect things to weaken over the summer, as the severity of job losses impact the economy. The price of oil rose has began stalling around $70, and the Canadian dollar has move down a little from its recent peak of the beginning of June.

I have money ready to be deployed in my self-directed RRSP account, and I continue to slowly add money to my DRiPs.

Assets ($145 067, up 1.7 % from $142 605)

• Bank Accounts $3 981 (up 23% from $3 227)
• Emergency Funds $2 604 (up 0.3% from $2 595)
• RRSP Accounts $35 742 (up 2% from $35 051)
• Non-Registered Investments $14 527 (up 7% from $13 550)
• Home $88 050 (stable)

Liabilities ($64 839, up 0.1% from $64 233)

• Credit Cards $3 845 (up 26% from $3 051)
• Mortgage $60 836 (down 0.35% from $61 050)
• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.445 (down from 0.447)
• House value / total assets: 0.607 (down from 0.617)

My credit card debt went up this month because of planned expenses: new tires for the car (about $550) and materials for the work I have begun on the back yard (about $500).

The one bad news this month was that at work the project I was working on has temporarily been put on hold by our client. We are confident that it will restart within a few months -- it is a delay, not a cancellation -- but this will cause us some headaches when things restart. In the meantime, I've been assigned to another smaller project. So there is a little bit of uncertainty on this side.

Just to be of the safe side, Princess and I decided to postpone the addiitonal windows replacements. So instead of replacing three more windows over the summer (for about $3 000 -- our windows are large), we will wait until December to order this year's set along with next year's. Both sets would be installed next summer. That will allow us to take advantage of the Canada renovation tax credit announced in January, while deferring most of the expense to next year. We will review this plan in a couple of months to see if it is still viable.

Net Worth Update

As of May 1st, my net worth was $76 057 (up 10% from $69 093). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth is $49 057 (up 11% from $44 188).

That's an amazing rebound of my net worth, bringing me back to par with my highest net worth reached last September (before the financial crisis that led to the current recession). About $2K of this was due to an increase in my house's value, but another $3.7K was due to the markets rebounding. The rest was debt reduction financed from my salary.

Assets ($140 259, up 4.4% from $134 358)

• Bank Accounts $4 038 (up 6.6% from $3 789)
• Emergency Funds $3 007 (up 0.6% from $2 990)
• RRSP Accounts $32 751 (up 9% from $30 018)
• Non-Registered Investments $12 290 (up 8.2% from $11 355)
• Home $88 050 (up 2.3% from $86 100)

Liabilities ($64 202, down 1.6% from $65 265)

• Credit Cards $3 034 (up 2% from $2 964)
• Mortgage $61 050 (down 0.2% from $54 867+$6 328)
• Line of Credit $0 (down 100% from $1 000)

My line of credit is now completely paid off, and the Heat Pump loan was combined with the mortgage (thus the two amounts added together). Spending remained reasonable, as showned by the fairly stable amount on my credit cards.

In May I will have some fairly large payments to be made for the house. The second half of this year's municipal taxes (about $1K), as well as another payment for the replaced windows (another $1K). We will also begin improving our back yard, so I expect more expenses there. So I expect lower liquidities at the end of the month, and possibly a lower net worth as well.

Renewing the Mortgage

Princess and I just renewed our mortgage. I have to say that it is a great time to do this, with interest rates being as low as they are tight now.

Considering the current economic situation, and probable inflation coming in the next couple of years (as a result of so much cash being infused into the economy), we decided to go with a 5-year fixed rate mortgage. We got a fairly good rate at 4.5% (down from 5.7% we had been paying since last year).

I am well aware that this is going against oft-mentioned statistics saying that a variable-rate mortgage usually (I think the statustuc is 90% of the times) comes ahead in the long run. And the variable rate of 3.25% was also appealing. However, I think we are in that 10% period where a fixed-rate mortgage will come ahead. I wouldn't be surprised to see interest rates climbing significantly in 2010. The big question will be by how much.

In addition to the renewal of the mortgage, we rolled in the heat exchange loan into our mortgage. That was a 10-year loan (taken 2.5 years ago) at a fixed rate of 8.5%. It was an ok rate at the time, but rolling it into our mortgage will decrease that rate by 4%, which is a lot.

All told, even with adding the heat exchange loan to our mortgage, our mortgage payments remain the same as they were before we renewed -- that's a decrease of about $150 per month. :o)

So what we are also doing is increasing our payments by that $150 per month. So our payments are remaining the same, but repayment of the mortgage will be faster.

As you can guess, we are quite happy with that. We could have gotten a better rate elsewhere (ING Direct was posting a 3.95% 5-year rate), but being able to roll in the loan, and saving the trouble of switching bank was good. And our credit union usually kick back parts of the interest paid by members, so our actual rate is lower than 4.5% (probably around 4.2%).

We also have a good relationship with our credit union. We are satisfied with what we got. :o)

Net Worth Update

As of April 1st, my net worth was $69 093 (up 4.9% from $65 874). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth is $44 188 (up 7.4% from $41 149).

It feels good to have a positive month after all those negative months. Much of the increase was due to a comeback in the markets. Things have been much better on the debt side, as I paid back some of my line of credit and controlled spending more tightly on the credit cards. Let's see the details!

Assets ($134 358, up 0.3% from $133 989)

• Bank Accounts $3 789 (down 14% from $4 425)
• Emergency Funds $2990 (down 12% from $3 394)
• RRSP Accounts $30 018 (up 3.5% from $28 993)
• Non-Registered Investments $11 355 (up 5.8% from $10 728)
• Home $86 100 (stable)

Liabilities ($ 65 265, down 4.2% from $68 115)

• Credit Cards $2 964 (down 36% from $4 642)
• Mortgage $54 867 (down 0.2% from $54 989)
• Heat Pump Loan $6 328 (down 0.9% from $6 386)
• Line of Credit $1 000 (down 50% from $2 000)

So my bank accounts have come down from last month, partly due to planned expenses and partly from paying down half of my line of credit. The other big item was credit card debt, which went down substancially this month as a reined in spending. It shows too. so I'm happy with that.

My plan to concentrate on debt reduction for a couple of months is going well. I will keep doing that this month, but I expect May to be harder on liquidities, because of planned expenses for the house (second municipal tax payment and the last payment on the windows we replaced last fall).