October 2013 Net Worth update:(+1.94%) Defending spending habits
SPENDING TOO MUCH – ARE YOU DEFENSE SPENDING?
Using our budget as a spend tracker has been our saving grace this past couple of years but recently we’ve been spending more money.
In our budget update for October we recognized the need for a flexible spending plan but also a plan to continue saving our money.
If you always have to justify your purchases then chances are you likely don’t need to spend the money and your defending your spending habits. I don’t think we went too far overboard in October but we certainly spent far more than anticipated once again.
In our October budget update I talked about romance and money and how that affected our budget this past month. I also wondered whether many others feel the same crunch with seasonal spending.
Seasonal spending is where you spend money just because you think you need to buy something for someone or yourself because the weather starts to get cold, you are indoors more and the holidays are right around the corner.
If you spend money just because you think you have to it could really dent your budget and your overall net worth like it has for us although we are keeping a level head when we whip out our credit cards to pay for what we purchase.
Spending cuts
In November we have decided to make a couple of spending cuts to our budget in hopes of driving up our net worth since it’s been slow the past two months.
Since we have been spending more time in the mall lately we are going to ‘step away from the mall’ for the month of November as well I will drop my allowance.
Now dropping my allowance means that I’ll be making more coffee at home and not buying it on the road. I’m working on getting rid of the extra cups of coffee I drink during the day because my body really doesn’t need it.
I’ve also just recently stopped drinking beer so that will help out as well. I no longer wish to consume alcohol as I’ve been working out pretty hard and want to fill my body with all things healthy. Since quitting smoking almost 2 years ago I’ve overcome many challenges in my life but keeping my body fit will always be a priority and I don’t want to lose sight of that goal.
I know that in order to grow our net worth we must spend some money whether it is on renovation materials or investing in ourselves. Sometimes it’s hard to see the money disappear from the radar but if you have a plan when the money goes you should know it’s going to be invested in a smart way.
Changes to Net Worth
This month we saw our Net Worth jump $10,145.42 mainly due to increases in pensions and investments. The markets have been relatively good considering all that has been going on with various economies. The pound gained strength against the Canadian Dollar to sit at $1.6792 on Oct 31st 2013. This is our biggest monthly percentage increase we’ve had at 1.94%.
Do you find that you are defending your spending habits?
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- 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 new recipe index on the blog)
- To sow and grow more vegetables/herbs in the garden to save money- garden is done for the season.
- 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 has now been completed, finally!
- 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- Landscaping is pretty much completed as of the end of September. Next is bathrooms.
- To continue with educational training to further careers- More training for me coming up in the next month.
- To save money for big renovations- I’m starting to tear out 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 and now have OSAP loans to pay back. 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%)
- August 2013 (+1.90%)
- September 2013 (+0.72)
Overall: Considering what we spent in the budget in October we did fairly well this month in terms of net worth increase according to our personal goals. We could have done better but you know to be honest we are well on our way to reaching our goals and that’s the focus of this post and will continue to be. Sometimes we need to learn to live a little and even if you feel your are defending your spending habits it likely means your plan is not working so well for you or you might need to tweak it.
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Impressive! I usually figure, if there is progress month-to-month in your networth, its a step in the right direction and you are certainly doing something right despite the increased spending. Kudos too on quitting alcohol, as much as we don’t like admitting it, its a sinkhole for our hard earned dollars and probably not so good for our health done in excess.
Looks like you’re in great financial health! Are you saving for something big with your emergecny savings? A rental property? A new home? Or are you just socking cash away for a rainy day (which I hope never comes!)?
Would you / have you consider(ed) investing a portion of your $123,000?
Hi Brent,
The emergency savings will go towards the balance of the mortgage which we will pay in full as soon as I transfer my UK funds over to Canada. The exchange rate is what has been the cause of the delay for us at this time.
You are looking great, financially, that’s clear. We also plan on cutting down a lot of expenses these weeks, since some big ones were already covered in October. Let’s hope December will also be a frugal month, so that we can secure a bigger EF>
Way to go with the increase this month (even if it is due to investments).
I am looking forward to your renovation of bathrooms. Both of mine will be worked on this winter.
Yes most of it was due to investments. Had we not of spent so much money we would have seen a higher jump but oh well, what can you do….. can’t live in a box without some fun!
Sounds like things are going very well. You are on track to have the mortgage paid off soon! That will be a red letter day for sure!!! The landscaping is done out front for the year, the back next year??? I don’t envy you the renovations in the kitchen and bathrooms…… been there, done that… and lived to tell the tale.
Hubby has had to give up his beer and wine a while back, but the younger boy still has a beer most days. He also knows what his brother drinks so he can get him something nice for Christmas and birthdays. He also knows what his Uncle likes and if he comes with us to visit he brings some beer for his favourite uncle. Hubby used to make his own beer and wine and we still have most of the stuff here, so the younger boy made himself some dandelion wine this year, just a small batch. Tried a bottle at Thanksgiving and it packs a wee punch there, should be a little smoother by Christmas he figures and really nice by his birthday next July.It’s cheap fun for him making it.
I think we all have to adjust things with the budget along the way. It’s not something that can be carved in stone, but something that can change one day to the next as things change in your life. It’s like anything else in life, you fall down …you get back up and keep going…Life deals the cards there, we play them as best we can and a budget can give us a better footing to do so.
That is true about the budget always changing. We work pretty hard to stick to it but know that it’s impossible to always nail down every expense but we try our hardest to do just that. The beer I stopped drinking because I just don’t want the extra calories in my diet and it’s been working well for me.
Very nice! I love your quote in the box above- my husband and I have a similar mantra- “It’s not about how much you make, it’s about how much you keep!” Essentially same thing. Great job making progress toward your goals this month!