Fiscal Update August 2014 – Growing Economy

It’s the first day month of Autumn 🙂 It’s hard to believe another month has gone by already. The U.S. economy grew at a brisk 4.2% in the second quarter of 2014, and Canada’s increased to 3.1%, which is the fastest pace since 2011. Consumers are spending more, exports are up, and stock markets are reaching all times highs! But for many people it still feels like a struggle to get out of a recession because their real wages have stagnated since 2008 yet the real cost of food, shelter, and other goods are higher. Grinding away at a job, saving some money, and relying on the government have always placed people at a disadvantage.

Those who want to actually get ahead economically have to make the right decisions with their money. Thankfully this is not hard to do. All investors who use a simple indexing strategy have seen the fruits of this recovering economy. Strong GDP growth usually means more discretionary spending, more profits for businesses, and more expensive houses. It’s hard to lose money in the markets when stocks, real estate, and bonds have all gone up over the last few years.

*Side Income:

• Part-Time Work = $1,200
• Dividends = $400

• Eating Out = $100
• Others = $200

*Net Worth: (MoM)

• Assets: = $839,900 total (+1,600)
• Cash = $2200 (+200)
• Stocks CDN =$94,000 (+1400)
• Stocks US = $53,200 (+500)
• RRSP = $48,500 (-500)
• MICs = $15,000 (same)
• Home = $254,000 (same)
• Farms = $373,000 (same)

• Debts: = $531,000 total (-3,700)
• Mortgage = $197,300 (-400)
• Farm Loans = $205,200 (-400)
• Margin Loan CDN = $29,700 (-700)
• Margin Loan US = $24,200 (+300)
• TD Line of Credit = $32,000  (-200)
• CIBC Line of Credit = $12,000 (-700)
• HELOC = $18,600 (-100)
• RRSP Loans = $12,000 (-1,500)

*Total Net Worth = $308,900 (+1.75%)
All numbers above are in $CDN. Conversion rate used: 1.00 USD = 1.09 CAD

That’s about $5K increase from the previous month. Not bad 🙂 I had 3 pay periods at my part time job which is rare but always nice. The Canadian stock market set a new record high, partially due to Tim Hortons shares shooting up 27% in August 😀 I have about $2K of cash in my RRSP account. I might invest in some media companies in September.

Besides the regular side income sources I’ve listed above I also made $186 from selling stock options in August 🙂 At the beginning of this year I didn’t really understand what options were. But I learned about them, experimented with them, explained how writing options work, and now I plan to trade options on a regular basis and make $1000 to $1500 from option premiums every year. This would certainly help increase my net worth over time 😉  Writing options can be less risky than trading stocks, but it’s guaranteed to make a premium every single time. So far my options have never been exercised before.

Earning extra income is literally as simple as learning a new skill, trying it out, and becoming comfortable enough with it to turn it into a habit. The hard part is building up the confidence to trust your own judgement. And there’s only one way to do that; by doing 😉

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Random Useless Fact:
Dwarf hamsters are prone to diabetes so avoid feeding them sweet treats and fruit.