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March 2021 Net Worth $1,477,210

March 2021 net worth

Hey Everyone and welcome to the March 2021 net worth update. February was a great month for the net worth and we’re up 1.63% or $24k! It’s definitely a great start to what looks like another crazy year and our net worth is the highest that it’s ever been!

The markets have been crazy lately with all the action from the WallStreetBets crowd, the Silver Squeeze and of course the sell off in the bond market last week. I see this as a sign the market is topping, so I’m being extremely cautious.

We have a decent cash pile on the sidelines that we plan to use if the market drops or, failing that, we can make a lump sum payment on the mortgage. I don’t think the markets are cheap at all by any metric, but I believe it’s important to keep equity exposure for diversification.

These are definitely strange times, but it’s still possible for the average person or family to build wealth. We are doing 3 important things to keep growing our net worth. First, we keep reinvesting our dividends. Second, we keep adding new money and keep investing. Finally, we are paying down debt. This is our recipe for success.

Why Do I Publish My Net Worth?

If you’re new to this site you’ll find that I like to track my family’s progress to financial freedom through monthly net worth updates. Now I want to say that my purpose in publishing these reports is not to gloat or give myself a pat on the back.

Lots of other bloggers are way better at this stuff than I am. My purpose is simply to see what I can achieve through my own imperfect approach to finances. I have no formal training in business or finance and haven’t worked in those fields. I’m just a guy with a day job trying to get ahead like everyone else. My hope is that I may inspire others as I have been inspired to get serious about money and do better financially.

Please note: this page contains affiliate links.  As an affiliate, this blog receives a commission for each sign up for Tangerine, EQ Bank, Borrowell, Questrade, Silver Gold Bull and Bluehost.

How to Calculate Net Worth

To calculate our net worth, I add up all of our household assets and subtract any outstanding liabilities (ie. debt owing).  The result is simply a snapshot of where we stand financially at a particular moment in time and does not give any of the relevant details as to how or why we reached that point.  For that kind of information, as well as for our monthly investment income, please refer to our dividend income and monthly highlights section.

Tracking our net worth is important to make sure that we’re headed in the right direction and achieving our long term financial goals. Our net worth fluctuates from month to month but it’s the longer term trend that we’re focused on.

How To Grow Your Net Worth

How to grow net worth

In a previous post about our financial goals for 2021, I wrote about how our number 1 priority in 2021 is to pay off as much of our mortgage as possible. That’s it, simple right?

A million in net worth is a huge milestone on the road to financial freedom and I’m happy that we achieved it!  But it’s high time we slayed the mortgage beast. If you want to know our secret financial tricks to make your first million, check out our post on How We Made A Million Dollars…and how YOU can too!

These net worth reports are all about managing our cash flow from our jobs, our financial assets, and dealing with our debt.  It’s important to be aware of our financial situation since we are homeowners with a young family. 

One of the tools that we started using recently is Borrowell’s free credit score report.  If you’re thinking about buying a home, renewing your mortgage or buying a car, you might want to Get Your Free Credit Score with Borrowell.

March 2021 Net Worth Update

Assets: $1,664,729.45 (+1.04%)

Well thanks to our approach to regularly invest our money, along with a little help from the stock market, our assets have grown to over $1.6 million!

Home: $846,000 (0%)

A few years ago we purchased our “final” family home where we expect to be for at least the next 30 years.  In June of 2016, we received the latest property assessment and the assessed value had increased to $846k!

Rental Properties: SOLD

We sold our out of town rental property due to management issues.

Cash: $74,171.13

Our day to day banking is one area where we save a ton of money because we use Tangerine as our no-fee banking service.  If you’d like to open one, then visit the Tangerine website and remember to use my Orange Key: More25 to get $50 in free bonus cash just for opening up an account!

As a matter of habit, I rarely keep a lot of cash on hand in a savings account.  The reason being is that at today’s record low interest rates I’d rather put the money toward paying off my mortgage faster or invest it.  That said, I’m still slowly building an emergency fund with EQ Bank’s Savings Plus Account.  Check out my review HERE to see why.

Taxable Investment Accounts: $60,597.24 (-2.20%)

Our non-registered investment accounts include DRIP accounts with Computershare and Canadian Stock Transfer, a discount brokerage account at Questrade and a work savings plan. 

Related: Use My Link to Sign Up For Questrade and Get $50 in Free Trades

For the most part, in these accounts, I prefer to hold Canadian companies that pay eligible dividends.  From time to time you may see a decrease in this account as a result of me moving some of these assets that are fully taxable into our registered accounts that are not subject to any immediate taxes.

Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA): $45,697.40 (+3.65%)

In the TFSA I like to hold growth assets, such as low-cost ETFs, TD e-series index funds or Canadian dividend paying stocks. 

Retirement Accounts (RRSPs, LIRA, Pension): $519,807.93 (+2.61%)

Our retirement accounts consist of RRSPs, a small locked-in retirement account (LIRA) from a previous employer and a company defined contribution pension plan.  The RRSPs and LIRA hold low-cost TD e-series index funds and other low-cost ETFs, while the company pension plan is invested in a low-cost target date fund.

Education Savings Plans (RESP): $58,425.75 (+0.99%)

In the RESP we hold low-cost TD e-series index funds.  We contribute the annual amount of $2,500 so we can get the 20% match from the government.  Our strategy for contributing is to use the money we receive each month from the universal child care tax credit and make up the difference at the beginning of each year.  This ensures that we receive the maximum government contribution of $500.

Other Assets: $60,030

Royal Canadian Mint Gold and Silver Coins and Bars
Image via www.myroadtowealthandfreedom.com

Under the “other” assets category, I include precious metals and an extensive coin and paper money collection.  Precious metals and rare coins are hard assets that add a level of diversification.

For years I collected rare gold and silver Canadian coins and Canadian paper money.  The collection has a face value of $12,000 so I conservatively estimate the collection’s worth at around $30,000. 

I’ve also been adding some physical gold and silver this year. I purchase my gold and silver from: Silver Gold Bull – Your Trusted Bullion Dealer

For the purpose of my net worth calculations, I’ve been keeping this number conservative versus quoting its market value over time because (a) coins and paper currency can be difficult to accurately appraise as they are subject to changing market trends and (b) can become illiquid if you can’t find a buyer for them.

Liabilities: -$187,519.84 (-3.36%)

We have 1 big debt to tackle: our home mortgage.  Paying this off this a priority so we can get out of debt and live on our terms!

The HELOC is used for investing and is tax deductible.

Mortgage: -$155,032.19 @ 3.34%

Paying down our mortgage will be a high priority for 2021 and we expect to be mortgage-free in less than 10 years.

HELOC: $-32,487.75 @ 3.35%

I moved $60k over to invest during the 2020 market crash. Sometimes I use the HELOC to boost my investing funds. The interest is tax deductible so I’m fine with carrying a balance. 

Thanks for reading my March 2021 Net Worth Update!

Are You interested in creating a money making blog of your own?  If so check out my step by step Beginner’s Guide on How To Start A Blog!

JC

Wednesday 3rd of March 2021

Congrats on nearly getting to that $1.5 MM mark. We passed a big milestone in February and finally joined the double comma club on the asset side of our net worth which is really awesome to see. There's still a lot more work to be done on a lot of fronts with some other opportunities possibly in the works too to diversify our income and assets a bit. It's going to be a crazy year before even accounting for the fact that my wife and I are about to be outnumbered by our kids in about one month's time.

Mr. Dreamer @ VibrantDreamer.com

Monday 1st of March 2021

These are some incredible numbers. Fantastic Job! And I am sure the market will give you some great opportunity for investing your cash. Plus, your property is worth a lot more now for sure. I'd say you might be much closer to $2M than you think. Keep up the great work. Maybe one day people like me can catch up :)

GenXinvestor

Tuesday 2nd of March 2021

Thanks for the kind words! The cash will go towards the mortgage or the market depending on where the market is. I try to keep the numbers conservative, but you're right the market value of the home is probably in the 1.5 range. I'm sure you'll succeed on your own financial journey. My advice is to read as much you possibly can on blogs like this one and check out things like the Investor's Podcast (TIP). Some really great perspectives there. Cheers!

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