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.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Increases

Like clockwork, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) has announced its yearly dividend increase, from $0.4818 to $0.525 per quarter. That constitues a 9% increase, always a nice boost. I own shares of PG in my RRSP account.

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.

My Recent Dividend Increases

Since the beginning of the year, I've gotten a series of dividend increases from the companies I hold in my different portfolios. Here's a quick run-down of those.

Bank of Nova Scotia (Toronto: BNS) has just announced that after a 2-year freeze of its dividend, it was again on the rise with a 6% increase (from $0.49 to $0.52 per qurter). I own BNS in my TFSA account and in my DRiP portfolio. [Sector: Financials]

A few weeks ago, TransCanada Corp (Toronto: TRP) announced a 5% increase (from $0.40 to $0.42 per quarter). TRP kept icreasing its dividend steadily even during the worst of the financial crisis. I own TRP in my DRiP portfolio. [Sector: Utilities]

Another company was Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), which increased its quarterly dividend 9% (from US$0.44 to US$0.48). Abbott is another company in my DRiP portfolio. [Sector: Pharma]

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) also announced a dividend increase, bumping it up 11% (from US$0.18 to US$0.20 per quarter). Againg, I own some Pfizer shares in my DRiP portfolio. [Sector: Pharma]

In a different sector, 3M Company (NYSE: MMM) raised its quarterly dividend 4.7% (from US$0.525 to US$0.55). My 3M shares are in my RRSP account and in my DRiP portfolio. [Sector: Industrial]

Hasbor (NYSE:HAS) played its part with an impressive 20% increase (from US$0.25 to US$0.30 quarterly) in my DRiP portfolio. [Sector: Consumer discretionary]

All told, these increases will add about $14 to my dividend income for 2011. This may look small, but that's because my holdings in most of these companies are small. Still, it means an additional 0.126% to my dividend yield.

Net Worth Update

As of March 1st, my net worth was $144 958 (up 2.3% from $141 766). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $102 070 (up 3% from $99 141). All of this increase came from my investments, both registered and not.

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

• Bank Accounts $3 387 (down 45% from $6 158)
• Emergency Funds $480 (down 83% from $2 877)
• RRSP Accounts $67 515 (up 5.4% from $64 043)
• Non-Retirement Investments $33 176 (up 2.8% from $32 267)
• Home $98 430 (stable)

Liabilities ($58 156, down 6.3% from $62 044)

• Credit Cards $2 567 (down 57% from $5 936)
• Mortgage $55 543 (down 1% from $56 073)
• Line of Credit $0 (stable)

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.286 (down from 0.304)
• House value / total assets: 0.485 (up from 0.483)

Moved money from my emergency fund to my RRSP, to complete my contributions for 2010. Liquidities also moved down because I paid back my credit card bill where the car repairs and new computer for Princess.

I'm still very busy, moving to another new project at work. This is taking me a lot of energy, as I'm learning another new business domain and the delivery schedule is quite tight. I barely have time to update my spreadsheets, let alone blog about them. But things are going well! That's one good thing about dividend investments and DRiPs -- once they're set up they run themselves for the most part.

Future blog posts that I plan on doing: Recent Dividend Increases, and My Portfolio in Details (maybe split in a series of posts).