Dividend Increase for MacDonald's

Yep, MacDonald's Corp (NYSE: MCD) is doing it again this year, increasing its quarterly dividend 15% from $0.61 to $0.70 per share.

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 July 1st, my net worth was $146 887 (down 2.1% from $150 080). If I exclude house-related assets and liabilities, my net worth was $100 844 (down 5.5% from $106 667). The significant decrease in my net worth is due to the purchase of my new car and how I record its value. That impact is muted somewhat because my last net worth update was for May 1st, and May was a good month with a tax return and a slight increase in the value of our house.

Assets ($242 779, up 17% from $207 064)

• Bank Accounts $4 927 (up 28% from 3 837)


• Emergency Funds $3 922 (up 130% from $1 697)


• RRSP Accounts $69 641 (up 0.9% from $69 005)


• Non-Retirement Investments $34 761 (up 2.3% from $33 980)


• Home $100 530 (up 2.1% from $98 430)


• Car $28 517 -- New!

Liabilities $95 892 (up 68% from $56 984)

• Credit Cards $3 169 (up 70% from $1 868)


• Mortgage $54 487 (down 1% from $55 017)


• Line of Credit $0 (stable)


• Car Loan $38 154 -- New!

Ratios

• Debt / assets: 0.395 (up from 0.275)


• House value / total assets: 0.414 (down from 0.475)

As you can see, purchasing a new car has had a big impact on my financial situation on paper. One reason for this is how I evaluate the value of the car vs the amount of the car loan. While the car loan includes the taxes various fees associated with a new car, I do not include these in the actual value of the car. Above that, I immediately remove 10% off the value of the car. So, even though it cost me $38 000, I record its actual value at $28 500. That's almost $10 000 removed from my net worth right there.

Going forward, I will decrease the car's value by 9% of its original value every year (or 0.75% per month). This means the car will be worth $0 after 10 years. Meanwhile, the car loan will be paid back in 5 years. This means that the net value of the car will rise with time, as the car loan is paid back fater than the car itself devaluates. Then, once the car is fully paid back in 5 years, depreciation will keep reducing its value until it reaches $0 in 10 years. This, I think, reflects reality fairly well.

Another Dividend Increase (Telus)

This morning, Telus (Toronto: T, T.A) has announced that it was boosting its dividend again (that's the second time in the last year), from $0.525 to $0.55 per quarter, a 4.8% increase. I own Telus in my DRiP portfolio.

More Dividend Increases (EIF, JNJ, SU, PEP)

Three more of my companies have recently increased their dividend payments.

Exchange Income Corporation (Toronto: EIF) announced in early April that it was raising its dividend from $0.13 to $0.135 each month, a 3.8% increase. The company was also announcing the acquisition of Westower Communications, a company that designs, builds, maintains and services wireless phone and other communications towers throughout North America.

Last week, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced a small 5.6% boost to the quarterly dividend, from $0.54 to $0.57 per share.

On Monday, Suncor (Toronto: SU) also announced an increase to the quarterly dividend, from $0.10 to $0.11 per share, a 10% increase.

Finally, this morning PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) announced a 7% increase to its dividend, from $0.48 to $0.515 per quarter.

I own shares of EIF, JNJ and SU in my DRiP portfolio, whereas most of my PEP shares are in my RRSP.