The Current Exchange Rate Makes A Difference
The currency markets are always up and down and the exchange rate has done a whirlwind leaving us unsure where it’s going to end up at. No one ever really knows, do they? This past couple of weeks the weak pound against the strong Canadian dollar took another hit when it reached 1.55 just as I was pulling the figures for end of month. Seven days later and the exchange rate had a bit of a run and is now currently at 1.62.
Money exchange rate
It’s amazing the difference it can make when you have money stuck in another country, like I do in the UK. This months net worth went up by $5,029.03 but if I had used today’s current exchange rate it would have gone up by $8009.51. That would have left us with a net worth of $511, 391.13 for the month of July. I could have used this figure to show you all how well we did but I’d be “cooking the books” so to speak. I’d rather let you see the up’s and downs our figures have just like everyone else.
Our money in the process of getting transferred to Canada so we can close the door on the battle of the pound and worrying if the exchange rates today will be the exchange rate tomorrow. Currently our net worth from July 2012 to July 2013 has gone up $74,409.37 with an average year on year increase of $76,142.70. I may start to put the year on year increase into the net worth update so we can track what’s happening.
I’m not sure what the average net worth of Canadians is but since I am still young and new in my career I also expect to see some decent pay rises over the years which will help grow the figure even more. The more data the better, for us at least. It’s better to be prepared and realistic rather than hope everything is going to be OK when it comes to retirement.
How was your month for net worth?
Understanding net worth
What Does Individual Net Worth Mean?
Net Worth is a snap shot of your financial health sort of like a picture or debt to net assets. In simple terms it’s a total of the value of your assets minus your liabilities.
Determining net worth
Net Worth = Assets – Liabilities
Figuring out net worth is fairly easy as long as you know your personal numbers or monthly finances. Net Worth is simply adding up all your assets (what you own) then taking away your liabilities (what you owe) which will give you a net worth number. Understanding your net worth will help you determine if you are on track to meeting or beating your personal financial goals. It doesn’t get any easier than that.
Do you know how to calculate your own Net Worth?
Now you can stop asking yourself , how do you find out your net worth because it’s easy to determine. Why not go ahead and calculate your own using our Free Money saving Tool Net worth Calculator (Canadian Budget Binder 2012)
Our short-term goals 2013
- To pay off our mortgage with-in the 5 yr term ending in April 2014- Just waiting for paperwork
- Focus on TFSA and other investing- will look at this once the mortgage is paid in full
- To Save money for smaller renovations- trying little by little
- Continue to meal plan, create new homemade meals- I’m always whipping up something new in the kitchen (check out all my recipes on the blog)
- To sow and grow more vegetables/herbs in the garden to save money- garden is in full-swing
- To take vacation somewhere in Ontario this summer- planning this now!
- To take this blog to self-hosted and get a redesign (happening 2013!)- any day now, really I promise this month!
- Learn more about Passive Income- working on this one
- To Read a new Personal Finance Book- working on this, slowly
- Learn more about SEO and Blogging- I’m always learning something new but it’s all beneficial and has helped Canadian Budget Binder grow the way that it has. My eyes and ears are open.
Our long-term goals 2013
- Continuing to educate ourselves on personal finance and investments
- Continue to network with other like-minded individuals
- To finish renovating our home
- To continue with educational training to further careers.
- To save money for big renovations
- Start thinking about saving for a second-hand vehicle in the next 5-7 years
- Save up for a European Adventure in the next couple of years
- Potentially save for a second home to rent out or build/move to our dream home
Our financial numbers
When budgeting anything is possible, we are proof of that although we still have a long way to go in our journey. These are our numbers and our goals, not a means of comparison towards your own goals. We don’t care how much money others make or if their net worth is lower or higher as it’s not a competition. I hope our experiences perhaps will help guide you along your financial path working towards debt freedom.
Different paths
Not everyone has the same path in life. Some of you may have had to start over like I did or go to school a second time. Others may have divorced, lost money in the stock market or other investments, lost a job, fell ill and so on but you can’t let that stop you, I didn’t. Some of you may have been given trust funds, paid-for homes, paid educations or perks in life that give you a financial kick-start and that’s OK too. Remember what I said, “It’s not about how much money you make, it’s how you save it”.
Focus on you and don’t let the evil eye of money jealousy or keeping up with the Joneses cloud your vision. No one cares about your money as much as you do so don’t waste your energy trying. The only reason people accumulate wealth is because they know how to save or invest it wisely even if they did inherit money or win the lottery.
The smallest improvements should mean big strides in working towards reaching your goals. Sometimes we have to fail in order to learn and we’ve all been there. Money can be an evil force for some people especially those who are negative towards their own situation. I urge you to be optimistic and little by little with determination you too should see improvements, that is if you want that to happen.
Our net worth
We are always looking for ways how to increase our savings and by tracking our net worth these numbers below show us how well we are doing or what areas we should put a bit more focus in.
Net worth updates 2012-2013
- March 2012
- April 2012 (+0.94%)
- May 2012 (+1.19%)
- June 2012 (+1.17%)
- July 2012 (+1.51%)
- August 2012 (+1.67%)
- September 2012 (+1.61%)
- October 2012 (+1.91%)
- November 2012 (+0.96%)
- December 2012 (+1.76%)
- January 2013 (+1.39%)
- February 2013 (+0.75%)
- March 2013 (+1.61%)
- April 2013 (+1.42%)
- May 2013 (+1.77%)
- June 2013 (+0.09%)
Overall we expected to have a better month than we did in June with all the expenses we incurred, I’m expecting in the upcoming months to see more money being spent on renovations but that’s what we are saving money for in our projected expenses. Have a great August everyone. Mr.CBB
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Photo credit : Grant Cochran freedigitalphotos. net
Pauline says
I don’t update the currency rate every month in my NW because it changes too often and would not be a clear indication of progress. I track progress in each currency and add up the total, updating the rate when it changes a lot. I try to take advantage of currency moves like when the pound was strong during the olympics I exchanged a good bit and now the dollar is strong so I will transfer back to euros.
Holly@ClubThrifty says
Hey, your net worth is definitely heading in the right direction! Great job! I cant wait to see your new site.
Thomas | Your Daily Finance says
I really like the yearly updates on the home prices. Sine most of us aren’t really looking to move anytime soon I don’t think really matter to check it every month. Nice movement and cant wait to get our mortgage balance down that low. Glad you decided to not cook the books!
Canadianbudgetbinder says
Thanks mate. Ya it makes no sense to fudge numbers just to look good or make ourselves feel better. It is what it is and there’s no race to a finish line that doesn’t exist unless we die.
Pension Retirement (@PensionRetire) says
Yup, exchange rates can be great or horrible depending on where your home money is and what you’re trying to do with it. On a recent trip to London, everything cost about as many dollars as it does pounds, but it’s 1.55 dollars for each pound.
In the way back days, US folks could go to Canada and basically get half off of everything. Heck, books generally still have a US and a Canadian price that is higher, even though the dollars are about par.
Kim@Eyesonthedollar says
I can’t wait to see the new blog design. I am in the process of selecting a designer myself. It’s very exciting, kind of like painting the house a new color. Always inspiring to see your net worth grow.
Cat Alford (@BudgetBlonde) says
Awesome! Keep moving on up!
Mrs. Pop @ Planting Our Pennies says
That’s a big change in the exchange rate in just 1 week! Just out of curiosity, have you guys ever talked about why you’re leaving some money in the UK if you’re not planning on moving back?
Canadianbudgetbinder says
The money is already being moved over. I believe I talked about that in the post. It was tied up in investments not just sitting in a bank account.
Christine Weadick says
Things are certainly looking up for paying off the mortgage and for the new site!! After all this time we have all been waiting for the new site it will be so nice to finally see it!!
Your talk of the changing exchange rates reminds me slightly of mortgage rates back in the early to mid 80’s…. I can remember waiting every week to see what the new rate was going to be when it was announced…. We had a mortgage coming up for renewal at the time so it was very important to us!!! We had been lucky with that one as we had locked in for 5 years at 13% when we bought the house (I know that sounds terrible compared to today but…) a year after we closed rates were around the 19%-20% range!!!!! This time we are just off prime but it will be up for renewal in 3 years, and I’m not holding my breathe on rates then.
Good luck with the exchange rates between here and back home and on getting the mortgage paid off with a minimum of penalties…..
Canadianbudgetbinder says
My mother in law told me about what happened to them in the 80
as well with their interest rates. It can be scary and probably why we want to pay off the mortgage as fast as we can. It’s a sure thing.
Liquid says
Awesome possum Mr. CBB 😀 Showing a year on year increase would be great because it reveals the rate of growth 🙂 which could be more important than the actual growth itself. I have both US and Canadian funds so I calculate the balances separately but combine everything in the end to $CAD using the current exchange rate of when I calculate my net worth. Many international companies deal with the problem of exchange rates too. When 80 Japanese Yen was worth $1 US last year, Sony’s profits were hurt pretty bad and they even lost money during a short period of time. But today 100 Yen trades for $1 US. Too bad for people who have a lot of Yen savings which just lost 20% of its value in one year, but great news for a lot of their businesses and the economy in general 🙂
Canadianbudgetbinder says
If I was smart I would have just cashed in when it was 2.35 but we all believe that there is going to be more, more more. Risk is a terrible thing sometimes.