August 2013 net worth update: (+1.90%) The calm before the storm

Take Charge Of Your Money

I say this month is the calm before the storm because even though we are up 1.90% that we spent quite a bit of money in August and September will reflect those expenses. In August we went a bit overboard on the shopping like I mentioned on Saturday so my wife could have a bit of a shopping spree, and that she did. We also picked up a brand new laptop that set us back well over $1000. I will be talking more about that disaster in the upcoming week.

I’m currently on the hunt to replace our PC as it is far too old and slowing down the rest of our system. That means I’ll be spending at least another $1000 to get a new system for our office which is fine. I think there is a point where you have to say something has provided all it can to you and you either get rid of it or buy yourself something new. I’ve learned over the years to make sure that I spend money on quality items but have also experienced that an item that costs lots of money isn’t always the best choice. I’ll be doing lots of research into what new personal computer to buy and really it’s a great time with the students going back to school.

I think for any of you that track your net worth you know that it’s an exciting time to see that your net worth has gone up if even a little bit. Having said that I realize that even if we have a month where the increase isn’t as high because we had expenses that were beyond our control that we at least had the money saved in our projected and emergency savings. Now that the mortgage will be paid in full we still are left with a healthy emergency savings. I think we may stick around $5000 in emergency savings and the rest will go to renovations and anything else coming in will be split between our investments and the renovation savings account which I will create for us.

There is so much that will change for our budget once we kill the mortgage but until then we still have to savvy shoppers but know that even though we might bend the rules we aren’t spending more than we earn. That is always the most important part of personal finance for us. There’s no point going into debt to spend money on items you haven’t saved up for unless the return on investment is worth it to you. I guess only you can answer that question as it will be you that will have to pay for the expenses at the end of the day when the bills come in.

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

How To Determine 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- Update: Money has been moved to my bank account now I have to transfer it to Canada. I hope to have this done with-in the next month as I’m watching the exchange rate.
  
• 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!)- This should be completed in September. I’ve seen my new site and we are putting the finishing touches on it. I know it’s taken almost a year to get this done but sometimes things happen but it will be worth it for all of us.
• 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- I’m starting to tear the bathrooms and measuring up the kitchen to purchase new cabinets and counter tops and do a full makeover. 
• 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%)
• July 2013 (+1.00%)

This month was great for us as we were able to save more money than we have since last year in and around October where out net worth went up 1.91%. We hope to see a steady rise once the mortgage is cleared completely but know that our renovations will set this back a bit but the return on investment when we sell the house will be worth it.

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