I’m utterly speechless 😐 Words cannot even begin to describe my grandiose euphoria right now! 😀 ♪♬♫ Because I’m happy ♬♫♯ Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof ♪♬♫ Lol 😛 This is beyond my wildest expectations. My net worth increased by more than 10x my total income in April, including dividends. 
*Side Income:
- Part-Time Work = $400
- Dividends = $500
- Eating Out = $100
- Others = $200
*Net Worth: (MoM)
- Assets: = $809,900 total (+52,800)
- Cash = $300 (-200)
- Stocks CDN =$89,700 (+2700)
- Stocks US = $51,100 (+1700)
- RRSP = $41,800 (+600)
- Home = $254,000 (same)
- Farms = $373,000 (+48,000)
- Debts: = $528,400 total (-200)
- Mortgage = $198,800 (-400)
- Farm Loans = $207,000 (-400)
- Margin Loan CDN = $28,000 (same)
- Margin Loan US = $26,300 (+1800)
- TD Line of Credit = $33,400 (-600)
- CIBC Line of Credit = $13,600 (-100)
- HELOC = $17,800 (same)
- RRSP Loan = $3,500 (-500)
*Total Net Worth = $281,500 (+23.2%) All numbers above are in CAD. Conversion rate used: 1.00 USD = 1.10 CAD
I Invested in some Dollarama in my TFSA in early April, which is in the black so far 🙂 I also bought some U.S. stocks on margin (debt.) I adjust my farmland value every April based on the average rates between the annual FCC report and inflation. The new FCC Report shows Saskatchewan farmland prices rose 28.5% in 2013. Inflation (CPI) was about 1% in 2013. Therefore, I have increased the value of my farms by 14.75%
How do I feel about this capital appreciation?
After nearly 6 long years of careful planning and patiently waiting, my wealth has finally crossed a quarter million dollars! My tenacious focus never wavered as I was determined to create the financial reality I dreamed of having for myself.
Over the last month I have not only surpassed $250K for the first time, but have shot so far past it that I’m actually closer now to $300K. I’m still trying to process what happened because it feels a bit like winning the lottery（ ﾟдﾟ）The universe sure works in serendipitous ways. First quarter complete. Three more quarters to go until I’m a millionaire! I’ll keep trying for as long as it takes, but it’s not over until I WIN! 
“There are winners. There are losers. And there are people who have not discovered how to win. All they need is some insight, or different strategy, a plan of action. To make some adjustments that will open up the key to a whole new future to them. That will give them access to the unlimited power that they have within themselves.
…Most things don’t happen as soon as we think they should happen. The messenger of misery might drop in on you to say hello. Murphy’s Law might come by and thump you on the head. Any number of things can happen to interrupt your flow. But it’s okay. Don’t take it personally. Just acknowledge what’s going on is called LIFE, but keep working on your dream… Don’t judge [the set backs.] Why? Because if you judge it you invest emotion in it, and that emotion can be anger. And guess what? That hurts YOU. That doesn’t hurt anybody else. So don’t take yourself out early by internalizing things.
Don’t allow other things or people or circumstances to determine what your reaction is going to be…. You don’t need anyone to approve your dream. If they can’t see it that’s because it was not given to them. It was given to YOU. Hold it, nurture it, cultivate it, work on it. It’s yours. It’s your baby. Work on it until it comes into fruition… Because this is your dream. This is your passion. This is your life.”
~Les Brown
I’m glad I can share my financial dream with others, and live in a democratic society where passive investment opportunities like index ETFs and farmland funds are available to anyone! And I’m extremely grateful to all my readers like you 🙂 who have continued to believe in me over the years despite some of my *ahem* more questionable investment decisions (-_-;) Couldn’t have done it without the support (^_^)
————————————————————————
Random Useless Fact:
Congrats!
Thanks dude 🙂 I totally lucked out this past year. The rising cost of beef has pushed up the values of other agricultural resources like land.
That’s killer!!
Thanks SSS 🙂 Definitely a killer month in April. The research shows most of the gain was in the beginning of 2013 so technically my net worth pop would have actually spread out over the year instead. Too bad there’s no month to month data on land prices.
You really did a good job! Congratulations to you!
Thanks Clarisse 🙂 I just let the economy do its thing and got lucky because I was in the right place at the right time. These record increases in land values over the past several years have never been seen before in Canada. A truly interesting time we live in today :0)
Congrats on the killer increase…I would of never thought farmland would increase so much in a year.
I didn’t think it would either. My original financial model when I invested in farmland expected a 2%-3% increase per year, not far off from the long term inflation rate. Boy was I pleasantly surprised 😀 5 years ago foreign investors slowly trickled into buying Canadian farmland. But there’s a lot more today and bidding wars are very common now. Makes me wonder how long this trend can continue before it hits a ceiling.
Wowsers! That is gigantic. And totally crazy at the same time. 🙂
Also, regarding your fun fact – I don’t understand why all gas tanks aren’t just on the same side of the car across the board.
Not sure why there isn’t a standard. Cars are generally symmetrical so the opening of the tank should be able to go on either side. Good question 🙂
Yay Liquid! You’re an investment superstar! Can I have your autograph? Seriously though, that’s awesome work – good for you! 🙂
Thanks GMD 🙂 We all have our moments. Hopefully the next chapter of my financial journey into the world of options trading will be fun and exciting as well :0)
Congrats! I wonder if farmland will continue to appreciate at the same rate going forward. In 2012, corn was $7 a bushel and last year it was down to $4 a bushel. That has affected farmland prices here.
I heard the weather had been a big factor to the production yields across the corn belt 🙁 Going forward I believe farming profits and land prices will become more volatile as climate change, government policies, and technologies in corn ethanol will continue to shape the agricultural “landscape” 😆 It’s generally too cold up here in the great north to grow corn, but the farms I have do grow wheat and oil seeds, which, like other soft commodities, are also susceptible to the same kind of geo-economic changes.
I’m so jealous!! But nice to see how well u r doing in raising your net worth from month to month. Mine is relatively flat and my jumping pennies have performed poorly.
Thanks PC 🙂 I’m surprised not only at land prices, but stocks have also performed unexpectedly well since 2011. With so much of my net worth tied up in investments even a small 1% decline on the total value of my assets will mean a $8,000 drop to my net worth 😕 (before savings) lol. Yet, it just hasn’t happened yet. I wonder if the proverbial Sell-in-May psychology will happen this year. There’s a part of me that wants it to happen because it might be better to have a small stock correction now than a major one later down the road.
Excellent progress my friend. Soak in the win, as you deserve it for acting on what others only wish for. Breathe deep and enjoy, but don’t let your ego or the accolades cloud your long term focus. – Cheers.
Great advice as always Phi 🙂 Sometimes we need to be reminded how important it is to keep ourselves grounded in reality. Thanks for being one of my longest time readers 😀
HEY! That’s my tomato joke!
LOL, I just saw Nelson’s weekend dump in my Feedly. Funny coincidence that our posts went up on the same day 🙂 I recycle the jokes on my blog sometimes and I first used this particular image in my previous farmland values report back in April 2013. I actually grabbed mine from quickmeme (hence the watermark.) They have a nice collection. Everyone should check out the meme if they enjoy this kind of humour too. The puns are hilarious 😀 The tomatoes joke is one of the best ones.
Yay!! Congratulations! That’s great progress!
Cheers Ms Laura 🙂 It appears the financial landscape is going well on your side of the pond too. I recently read in a BBC article that Britain’s farmland values have increased by 3 times over the last 10 years according to Knight Frank consultants.
Just keep at it. Can’t complain about your progress. I do like one unique aspect of your blog. Your attention to farmland investing. For many this may sound very unorthodox but in really carries some pretty sound investing advice. I’m happy you are bringing this sector some much needed attention.
Thanks pal. I figured everyone likes to eat so might as well try to find ways to hedge against rising food costs, which is the main reason I invested in farmland 🙂
Wow, well done. You’re not even 30 yet?
Mark
Not quite 🙂 I was born in the same year that Canada introduced our $1 coin, the Loonie.
Obviously, that’s awesome! Great job on your huge net worth increase!
Thanks Holly 😀 Investing has definitely paid off for me. As Amelia Earhart once said, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”
Wow!!! Man this is an amazing gain, this is the power of leverage. Keep rocking!! May be in 5 to 10 years, $50 000 monthly gain will be the normal gain for you 😀
I am in the early stage, my net worth increased by 10.24% or $4600.
Thanks! This month was a fluke for me but I almost never get double digit percentage gains anymore. Great job to you as well 🙂 If your momentum keeps going you could break the $100K mark by the end of this year 😉
Congrats! That’s amazing news, good job! 🙂
Thanks 🙂 Probably won’t see this kind of increase again any time soon.
Congrats on the win! Do you think the farms are a long term hold, or do you have a sell price in mind?
Thanks, they will probably be a long term hold for me, at least until I’m 35 😀
Haha, good point. Or maybe that was the point 🙂
“I may not be there yet, but I’m closer than I was yesterday”. LOVE that!! Huge congrats to you on nearing the 300k mark!!! Can’t wait to see what next quarter brings. 🙂
Me neither. Hopefully more good news 🙂
Congrats! What’s your target net worth by age 35?
Thanks Brian. My target is $1 million 🙂 And I have 8 years from now until then.
Looks like you’ll have a comfortable amount of retirement income 🙂 Are you worried about inflation though? Or have you already built it into your calculation? You could potentially have a retirement horizon of 55 years so inflation will be a huge factor down the road.
I’m not really worried about inflation right now :0) I feel like I have enough precious metals, real property and other hard assets to withstand any risk of inflationary pressure in the foreseeable future. I also don’t have any long term bonds at the moment 🙂
Nice to hear a fellow div investor has some precious metal in their portfolio. Sometimes I feel like I am the only “crazy” one out there who owns an asset that doesn’t produce income 🙂
Congrads. It is making even more exciting on how you are going to achieve your financial independence. Keep in touch.
Thanks FI 🙂 Looks like your financial journey is going pretty well too.
[…] About $50K is from property appreciation. Hurray for Vancouver real estate and Saskatchewan farmland! […]