Hello my precious readers! Welcome to my end of July net worth update.

You are not mistaken. This is typical winter in Canada.
I cannot believe how fast time has been flying. I have been enjoying Toronto’s summer with my family quite a bit but I am already worried about terrifying Toronto’s winter.As you may know, Toronto has really long, snowy and cold winter, very short spring and fall and short but fantastic summer. I should not complain as People in East coast such as Boston and Halifax had devastating snow falls last winter but still I am not fussy about Toronto’s winter. That explains why so many Canadians retirees move to Florida and California during winter to enjoy the sun throughout the year. Well I am jealous but I will catch you guys up soon.
I should enjoy the summer when it is still here. 🙂

Our dog knows exactly how to deal with the heat during summer.
This is my seventh 2015 net worth update. Net worth update is posted monthly to keep track of the progress of my journey to become a millionaire. I believe anyone can be a millionaire with good saving habits and smart investing plans. If you would like to join the journey, please follow me through my Facebook and twitter pages and subscribe your email for free updates. It has been one year since I started tracking my net worth. My net worth on July 31 2014 was $79,352 but it is now $133,389. That was $54,037 (68%) astonishing growth during last 12 months period. Can you believe it? My net worth grew by $4,503 per month on average. Keep it steady and slowly which is the key to become a millionaire.
I cried a bit as my net worth decreased for the first time last month since I tracked my net worth but I turned it over to positive this month. Yay!! My portfolio suffered quite a bit but I purchased more quality stocks during the month taking advantage on the discounts that were offered. Regardless how economy and stock market performs, my million dollar journey continues.
Cash
My cash balance has increased from $1,921 to $3,697. I am building cash position at this point to open Interactive Broker account. Since the interest rate is super cheap and the Canadian economy is shaking a bit, I think it would be a good idea to get my margin account ready just in case. That means, ironically, I want the market to dive. That will bring down my portfolio value and of course hurt my feeling temporarily but that’s when leveraged margin account will shine. Haha bring it on bull and bear! I don’t care what comes next as I will be ready either way. If you happen to use Interactive Broker margin account, please let me know what you think of it.
My credit card debt is at around $900 which is the level that I am quite comfortable of. I am close to debt free and I like it that way. I just love the feeling of keeping my credit card balance low as I feel empowered to be debt free.
My majority of cash is sitting in President choice Debit account. I use it for the most of the money transfer, bill payments, cheques etc… as there is no transaction fee in this amazing card. Due to its partnership with CIBC bank, I can use their extensive CIBC ATMs network which is awesome. Their customer service is great as well.
I use TD bank card as well which is mainly used for investment fund transfer purpose as it is connected to TD warehouse brokerage account which gives me some convenience of transferring fund and invest. Check out the following section to see what credit cards and debit cards options we have in US and Canada.
Investment
My wife purchased Westjet stocks again to average down as currently Westjet is being hated by investors. Even though the fundamentals are still very strong and showing stronger than expected results, it keeps being dropped. Well good for us as we will keep buying more stocks as long as their strong fundamental exists!
Other than that, my TFSA has dropped by $1,500 (2%) but RRSP increased by $450 due to stronger US dollar against Canadian dollar due to my VTI holding. Check out my portfolio page to see what stocks I own and the following article for more investment tips-How to Simply Invest and Get Richer for Dummies in 8 Easy Steps.
If you are also a dividend investor like me, then you should check out the following page to see how other dividend investors are doing. You won’t regret a moment of reading their valuable and inspirational articles.
The Financial Bloggers Dividend Income List
Credit card
We tried to minimize spending over last couple of months and it worked out pretty well. We use Capital one Costco credit card as it gives us 3% cash back on restaurants (6% on first 3 months). I spend about $500 per month on my team meals at work so that would be $15 ($30 for first 3 months) cash back per month. Remember. Everything adds up.
We also have MBNA cash back card that we use mainly for grocery and gas for 2% cash back and everything else for 1% cash back (5% on first 6 months) without any annual fee. Unlike capital one cash back card and all other cash back cards out there, MBNA card is well beyond expectation. First of all, MBNA pays cold hard cash back (not points toward purchasing goods and services) and secondly, MBNA directly deposits the cash right away to your bank when it hits $50 mark. That’s great as I don’t have to wait until the end of the year to collect cash. Check out the following links if you are interested in getting awesome credit cards like MBNA and Capital one credit cards.
Spending
We have been tightening up spending. We set up two major rules and following religiously so far.
- My wife added some more healthy option after watching some documentary films about how chickens, milk cows etc… are raised so we have been purchasing quality organic ingredients, cook home meals most of time and go out and enjoy restaurant meal once a month together in a mutually agreed restaurant.
- We shop at Costco once a month for majority of grocery (They are always fresh and love their AAA beef so much for very attractive prices) then for urgent needs, my wife goes grocery nearby our place for eggs, milks, vegetable and fruits as in need basis. Our monthly grocery budget is $500 per month. I know it is high for just two people but we love healthy and good quality food and I am a meateatarian.
- We will keep being frugal on all other expenditures. See the following links for excellent ways to save money.
- 30 most important tips to be a millionaire no matter how much you make.
- Renting vs Buying
- 16 most important tips to save on car insurance by 40-60%
- Norbert’s Gambit- Save thousands of dollar from foreign exchange conversion fees
- What’s in my wallet
- Needs vs Wants
- 20 smart moving tips that will save you time and money
- How to save $1,000 annually from your TV cable bill
Hope you enjoyed this month’s net worth update. Remember, if you haven’t, set your saving & investing plans up and try to see how much net worth you have reached as of now and how much it has fluctuated in the past. Knowing where you are and where you will be headed will be a great starting point to be a millionaire and retire comfortably. Hang on there. I will be on the journey with you.
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Awesome progress BSR. Trend is moving upwards! It’s wonderful tracking your Net worth and Dividend Income every month. What you focus will expand. Thank you for sharing and glad to be sharing this journey with you. Thank you. Take care my friend.
Hi Tyler, I am very glad that things are getting better and I am getting closer day by day. It is going to take a while but I won’t stop as I have so many companions that are in this financial independence project together. Thanks for stopping by Tyler and congrats on your progress on dividend income. I can only imagine how I would feel to have that dividend income every month 🙂 Cheers my friend!
It’s always nice to see the net worth growing! Great job BSR. It sounds like you’re growing your dividend income at a decent rate too! Keep up the great work and I look forward to reading next month’s update.
Have a great weekend!
Thanks My Road to Wealth and Freedom. As you said, I have been growing dividend income as well and I will probably share that from this month. 🙂 I feels good to track my net worth as I am more focused to achieve the financial independence. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
Nice steady increase of net worth. Gotta love seeing that chart. You might hit $150k by end of the year. That’d be a good milestone to aim.
160K is my stretched goal but yeah 150K is a good milestone for me to reach by the end of the year. Thanks for your kind words as always Tawcan.
BeSmartRich
Keep the updates coming. Am reading them with great interest. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Ged Ward. I am glad that you find it interesting 🙂 Have a great day!
Those are some sweet gains in just 12 months. I agree that the market is great – going up or going down. I wish I had invested more in 2008/9 but at least we held our ground and didn’t sell as the market fell and we are in a better place because of that.
I am surprised at the gains last 12 months as well. Things are on right track for sure! I wish I had invested in 2008/9 as well but I was a student by then 🙂 Next 1-2 year will be interesting and I will start to get ready! Thanks for stopping by May.
BSR – Way to continue climbing that ladder of success! Looking at your chart, it appears you’ve done quite well this past year. The chart and year-over-year number are quite impressive. Continue to keep a good grasp on the spending and you should have no problem growing your net worth month after month.
Best wishes and continued success on your personal journey! AFFJ
Thanks AFFJ. I feel great to see the graph as well. Although market isn’t really helping lately but I will think it as I am picking up stocks at discounts. Thanks for stopping by AFFJ and I wish you continued success as well!
Cheers!
BSR,
Up, up and away! Glad to see your net worth climb back up after last month’s minute slide.
Keep it up, you’re doing great!
Cheers,
NMW
Thanks NMW. Although I should be more focused on dividend growth rather than net worth growth, I was very glad to see the net worth growing. Hope this continues! Thanks for stopping by NMW!
Awesome gain for the month BSM!
I thought about picking up some west jet stocks. Looks like it is recovering though. If there is any airline stock I would invest in, that would be air Canada. Looking forward to your next update!
Yeah Westjet has been hit hard lately and I thought it was recovering but it went down again significantly. Haha well. I don’t have control over the market so I will try to ignore the noises and keep buying undervalued stocks. Thanks for stopping by Jeff!
“My net worth on July 31 2014 was $79,352 but it is now $133,389. That was $54,037 (68%) astonishing growth during last 12 months period. Can you believe it? My net worth grew by $4,503 per month on average. Keep it steady and slowly which is the key to become a millionaire.”
Absolutely!
Keep up the great work.
Mark