Spring has finally arrived here in the Maritimes, and although the evenings are often still chilly enough for a fire, the grass is greening up and the restaurant patios are open.
The new season brings on a new series of expenses, and which in turn made April a depressing month for my net worth. All in all my net worth dropped by a painful 6%. Here’s why:
- Taxes – I paid out $4,450 in taxes this month for my side business.
- All season tires – the Subie needed new tires
whic cost $700. - Travel – As a gift to ourselves, my husband and I are going to Montreal in August, after he graduates but before he starts working full-time again. I booked our Airbnb this month, which cost $500.
- Plumber – The day before I was due to host 12 people for Easter dinner, our sink started leaking. $100 later and we’ve got a new basket strainer installed, and dinner went off without a hitch.
Spending all of that money stung a little, but it did feel good to finally pay my taxes and get these looming expenses out of the way. Now I’m free to completely focus on my next goal, which is to pay for my husband’s next and final (!) round of tuition with cash. Unfortunately, I don’t yet know when it is due or how much is due, so I’m budgeting $3,500 (it’s only 3 courses) with a deadline of ASAP.
And if you’re wondering whether I constantly pester my husband to find out the when and how much is his next tuition round because I can’t deal with uncertainty, yes. Yes, I do.
Here are the details of how my net worth shook out this month:
(If I say “my” below, I mean “our” because my husband and I have combined finances, including retirement savings.)
Net Worth: $127,939 (-6%)
Ouch. My net worth dropped almost $8,000 this month. This drop is mostly due to paying taxes on my freelance income. I’ve always kept my taxes in a savings account with the rest of my money, and counted it as part of my net worth. 2018 is that last year I did that, and going forward my business money now has its own savings account and is excluded from my net worth. This will prevent a similar drop in my net worth next year, which is just demoralizing.
Liabilities
Consumer Debt: $0
My husband and I share a Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite credit card that we use for most of our daily spending, with a Tangerine Money-Back credit card for the occasional Costco run. We earn cash back rewards, and we make sure to pay off the balance every few weeks.
Mortgage: $227,886 (-0.25%)
My regular monthly mortgage payment is $1,089, which uncovers about $645 per month in equity on my home. Right now about half of our
I’m not in a hurry to pay down my mortgage right now because my mortgage interest rate is just 2.29%, so I’m not making any extra payments. I also don’t have the spare cash to make additional contributions, as long as my husband is still in school. The recent interest rate hikes have changed things for me a little though, and once my husband is back to work full time, we’ll begin making extra payments.
Assets
Home: $291,000
Two years ago we bought our home for under market value ($270,000) because it needed some work that the seller was unwilling to complete before the sale. One year after that our real estate agent estimated our home was worth $285,000. This year I added the region’s growth of 2.1% to that number, bringing us to a home value of $291,000.
Since then, the real estate market in my
Car: $18,871
Two years ago I basically impulse purchased a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek. I paid it off in 2017, and since then I’ve been periodically updating the value. Some people don’t include their car in their net worth updates because they “need it” and while I do need a car in my life, I don’t need a $20,000 car. If I needed to, I could sell this car and buy a beater.
Retirement Savings: $27,708 (+5%)
Oh retirement savings, you are the bright spot in my otherwise bleak financial update. In April I squirreled away another $600 of freelance income into this account, and it just feels so good to see those numbers moving up again. I had paused my RRSP contributions in 2018 because we were living on one income as my husband returned to school full-time to upgrade his education. Getting back to long-term savings feels good.
TFSA: $4,304 (+2%)
I opened this account in 2017 and it has slowly grown as I’ve contributed about 10% of my freelance income every month. Since my husband has returned to school, I’ve suspended those contributions, and the growth within this account has slowed significantly.
Big Pile of Money: $11,743 (-23%)
The Big Pile of Money (nicknamed the BPM) is a no-fee, high-interest savings account at EQ Bank earning 2.30%. EQ Bank is where I’m hoarding cash at the moment. This account holds my emergency fund, $1,000 for a lawn renovation, and the beginnings of my savings for my husband’s next round of tuition.
Other Money
If you’re doing the math, you know that there is some unexplained money in my net worth. I’ll tell you where that money is: in my planned spending account for budget deficits, mortgage payments, gas, the internet, etc.
I keep this money in a combination of chequing and savings accounts at Tangerine Bank. I use Tangerine for my daily spending because they have no fees on any of their accounts and the online platform is excellent. You can sign up for Tangerine using my Orange Key: 38939199S1 and we’ll both earn a bonus $50.
Previous Net Worth Updates
2018 (Age 28)
This time last year my husband had one week of work left before quitting his job to go back to school. We had a net worth of $115,000 and had recently paid off our car loan. My mortgage was sitting at $235,000 and my retirement savings was growing at $32,000.
2017 (Age 27)
Two years ago my net worth was $88,332 and I’d just managed to increase it by almost $4,000 the month before. My husband and I were deep into our backyard renovations and were diligently paying off our car, which had a remaining balance of $13,600. Our mortgage sat at $243,243, and we had $25,000 saved for retirement. My TFSA investment account was still a baby at $1,300, and our emergency fund was fully funded at $10,000.
2016 (Age 26)
In 2016 I had a very respectable net worth for a 26-year-old. I was sitting at $53,000. $15,000 of that was in my retirement savings and $25,000 made up my blooming house down payment fund. I was still living in my third-floor apartment and had recently returned from Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I also had a newly minted New Car Fund with $292 in it. Little did I know that after trying to save for a new car for 20 months I would only end up with about $700 saved, thanks to a litany of car repairs in my future.
2015 (age 25)
On May 1st, 2015, I had a net worth of $30,305. I had started saving for a home in earnest, and my house fund was sitting at $2,938. My retirement account was nearing the $10,000 mark, and I had a tiny bit of debt from booking a trip to New Orleans.
2014 (age 24)
On May 1st, 2014 I was still living in New Brunswick. I had a nice little net worth of $17,599 and was working on building up my emergency fund to $10,000. My RRSP was teeny-tiny at just $2,827.
2013 (Age 23)
In 2013, I was madly preparing for the most frugal wedding on the planet. I had $11,470 in debt, mostly car loans, and a barely positive net worth of $1,760. I had no real savings beyond money for the wedding, and I still lived in a 400 square foot cottage in the country.
You can read all of my net worth updates here; those early ones are pretty hilarious.