Fiscal Update – Jan 2014 – New Year’s Bump

In a normal month my net worth would grow by about $2,000 or $3,000 depending on how much I save and how my investments perform. But January is often a special month where my net worth often grows by many times than usual, which I like to call the New Year’s Bump. This has happened every January for the past several years now. Anyone can take advantage of this annual phenomenon 😀 Just buy a home, and choose the right stocks! I will list the stocks I own below, but your portfolio could be different. The important thing is to do the research.

January is the time when I update my home’s worth, which is adjusted to inflation. In 2013 inflation in Canada (CPI) was about 0.9% overall, which means I add $2K to my condo’s value. Easy money right there 🙂 The real market value is probably higher, but I like to be conservative. I think buying real property is one of the fastest ways to get rich quickly and passively 🙂 Another reason for the Bump is because the stock market usually does well in January, averaging 1.5% positive return over the last 140+ years.

Some people are pulling their money out of stocks because they think there might be a pull back since we had huge gains in 2013, but I’m staying fully invested because according to historical patterns it looks like the next few months will likely yield more positive gains. Don’t try to time the market, just stay invested for the long run.

*Side Income:

• Part-Time Work = $800
• Dividends = $600

• Eating Out = $100
• Others = $200

*Net Worth: (MoM)

• Assets: = $748,000 total (+5,500)
• Cash = $500 (+300)
• Stocks CDN =$82,400 (+800)
• Stocks US = $46,500 (same) thanks to the higher U.S. dollar 🙂
• RRSP = $39,600 (+400)
• Home = $254,000 (+2000)
• Farms = $325,000 (same)

• Debts: = $531,800 total (-1,800)
• Mortgage = $200,000 (-400)
• Farm Loans = $208,300 (-500)
• Margin Loan CDN = $27,900 (+500)
• Margin Loan US = $25,000 (+1000)
• TD Line of Credit = $33,700  (-1000)
• CIBC Line of Credit = $14,000 (-800)
• HELOC = $17,900 (-100)
• RRSP Loan = $5,000 (-500)

*Total Net Worth = $216,200 (+3.5%)
All numbers above are in CAD. Conversion rate used: 1.00 USD = 1.11 CAD

I’m quite happy with the $7,300 gain. Another reason for the bump is because January is one of those rare months when many of my dividend stocks that pay quarterly and semi-annually line up their distributions so I get paid more dividends than usual. Here’s a list of all the stocks I own that gave me money this year in January. Some of these companies I recently purchased last year and blogged about them: Cameco, Encana, Premium Brand Holdings, Allied Property, Goldcorp, Rogers, RIOCAN, Pengrowth Energy, Calloway, Comcast, Annaly, Teck Resources, Canadian Natural Resources, Just Energy, Suncor, Trican, Telus, Crescent Point Energy, Keyera, Potash Corp, TD, Cineplex, Bank of Nova Scotia, Disney, and JP Morgan.

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Random useless fact: Men, don’t forget your cell phones when you go out to buy baby food.