In the beginning of 2013 I set out 6 financial goals to complete by the end of the year. Time to recap.
1) Increase net worth by $50,000. Pass 😀
- North American stock markets had double digit gains in 2013.
- Bumper crop in the prairie provinces pushed farmland values to new highs 🙂
- Real estate market in Canada also performed well.
- US dollar strengthened against our Canadian Loonie which was a nice unexpected bonus 🙂
My net worth grew by roughly $68K in 2013 🙂 This is why it’s important to stay invested, because you never know which asset class will perform well.
2) Make at least $6,000 more income than last year. Pass 😀
Made more than $5,000 extra from my farm rental income 🙂 Plus I got a $1,000+ raise at work this year so yay!
3) Put $5,000 into my retirement account. Pass 😀
In late November as a desperate attempt to complete this goal I borrowed $6,000 from the bank to put into my RRSP. The RRSP loan is at 4% interest rate. Maybe this is cheating because I didn’t use my own savings 😕 But the goal didn’t specify where the money had to come from 😛
4) Put $5,500 into my TFSA. (Roth IRA equivalent) Fail 🙁
Didn’t make any new contributions this year. Used all my savings for better opportunities elsewhere and TD wouldn’t give me a TFSA loan.
5) Put at least $18,000 towards other investments Pass 😀
Made a $20K down payment on the $172K purchase of my second farm. Funded the remaining $152K with bank loans.
6) Bring the total value of my non-registered accounts to $100,000. Fail 🙁
Although my portfolio is worth over $120,000 it wouldn’t be fair to count it entirely as mine since roughly $50,000 of that is margin debt.
Looks like I passed most of my goals (4 out of 6,) so overall I’d say it was a pretty successful year 🙂 Below are a couple of stretch goals, which I didn’t expect to reach anyway.
2013 Stretch Goals
1) Pay down at least $1,000 of my debt. Fail 🙁
I started the year with $357,000 of debt. I tried to reduce it down to $356,000, but somehow my debt has actually grown to $531,000 today 🙁
Oh well. It’s not my fault 🙄 I’m addicted to cheap credit like a fat kid is addicted to candy 😛 When money is cheap it distorts the markets and people dig themselves deeper into debt than they otherwise would. Just like if candy was practically free everywhere then a lot more children would probably develop diabetes and tooth decay that otherwise wouldn’t. Is it fair to blame the kids? If the Fed wants people to stop borrowing so much money then maybe it should stop printing so much of it. But oh wait. It can’t 😛
2) Make $90,000 of pre-tax income. Fail 🙁
The new rental income helped but it wasn’t nearly enough.
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Random Useless Fact: Vatican City is both a city and an independent state. It is the smallest internationally recognized country in the world with an area of 110 acres, and a population of just 840. Official language – Italian. Currency – Euro (€)
Overall I think it was a pretty good year for you. I’d love to be completely debt free but with our shiny new mortgage and hopefully at least one more coming for a rental property, that’s just not going to happen anytime soon. Happy 2014!
Sounds like all your new debt are going to help you accumulate much more wealth in the long run so it’s all good :0) There’s always time to be debt free once we’re retired 😉
That’s solid progress on some pretty ambitious goals. Here’s hoping 2014 is as good to us all as 2013 was!
Yes. I wouldn’t mind another 20% appreciation in the stock market again heh 🙂
You have made excellent progress this past year. I think the farms will payoff big time in the next 10 years.. People need to eat and with the population exploding, the price of farms will increase over the years. Looking forward to reading your blog in 2014..
Thanks. Good job with your net worth increase last year. I think it was a great year for investors all around.
67% is a great goals rate. It’s all about progress right?
That’s how I see it too. We just have to be further ahead now than this time last year.
You are doing GREAT! Happy New Year!
Thanks. Happy New Year to you as well 🙂 Be safe with you and your family.
looks good, i will be back to check your progress frequently over the next while haha. it looks like you are in the same boat as myself. I will be posting my latest update soon! cheers
Looking forward to seeing your updates too 🙂
Nice work. The nice thing about closing out a year is you have another one coming right after it! Hopefully 2014 is just as good to you, if not better!
I have a feeling 2014 is going to be another great year 🙂 The global economy appears to be doing better and policy makers are willing to do what it takes to keep liquidity going.
Nice net worth growth. I completely agree with you in staying invested because you never know which asset will out perform.
Thanks Charles. This was my best year yet, but it’s not nearly as impressive as your performance last year. You literally increased your net worth on average by $1,000 every single day in 2013 😀 Yeah it’s good to stay invested in multiple asset classes.
More smilies than frownies – a successful year in my book! Happy new year!
Thanks. Happy new year :0)
You are far braver than I am to gorge on cheap credit to the point where you have so much in debt..
I’d just wake up sweating bullets hoping the interest rates don’t rise so it doesn’t crush me in a vise of increased debt payments.
Gorging is fine when you’re gorging on it and enjoying yourself, but it’s the tummy ache that isn’t worth it to me.
That’s a good analogy. I seem to have that problem with food. Sometimes I eat after a big meal I regret eating so much right after lol. My hope is that the prime lending rate will stay the same until at least next year. In the meantime, I will slowly pay down my debt until it reaches $500K by mid 2015. Each 0.25% interest increase equals $1,250 more interest I have to pay each year. I should really be more nervous than I am lol.