I realized something earlier this month. I've been contributing money to my RRSPs through work, but I never actually took the money into account when I was doing my month ends. Oops. Looks like I have about $600 more in assets than I thought I had :)
Sweet.
Anyway, here's how the month panned out:
| 31-Mar-10 | 31-Jan-11 | 28-Feb-11 | |
| Chequing | $116.66 | $149.68 | $661.78 |
| Savings 1 | $0.24 | $0.26 | $0.26 |
| Savings 2 | $100.00 | $0.90 | $0.90 |
| Savings 3 | $500.00 | $0.07 | $0.07 |
| Investment | $2,189.67 | $1,154.89 | $1,256.02 |
| TFSA | $0.00 | $2,423.86 | $2,522.19 |
| RRSP 1 | $1,525.96 | $1,632.31 | $1,642.74 |
| RRSP 2 | $3,868.08 | $4,016.41 | $4,038.05 |
| RRSP 3 | $0.00 | $444.94 | $667.42 |
| ASSETS | $8,300.61 | $9,823.32 | $10,789.43 |
| Car Loan | ($13,138.27) | ($9,397.49) | ($9,034.03) |
| LOC | ($10,000.00) | ($11,000.00) | ($11,000.00) |
| Credit Card | ($5,155.65) | ($4,433.32) | ($4,301.76) |
| DEBTS | ($28,293.92) | ($24,830.81) | ($24,335.79) |
| Net Worth | ($19,993.31) | ($15,007.49) | ($13,546.36) |
While I didn't backslide anywhere, I didn't exactly pay anything off by leaps and bounds. It's disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. I'll go into more detail on where the money went in tomorrow's post, because it would make for far too long of a post if I put it in today's. I'm utterly miffed by how small the change in my credit card was, but it's my own fault.
I really need to consolidate my RRSP accounts, I don't need to have 3 of them. I've been meaning to do that for about 6 months now, I just... haven't. It's right up there with writing a will and buying more life insurance. I know better. I'll probably do it when I get all of my tax slips in, that way I'll have all the information I need to switch things around. I'll set that as a goal for April. The will and life insurance will probably be goals for May and June.
How did you guys fare this past month?
4 comments:
Are your 3 RRSPs residing at 3 different banks? Because I really think it might be a good thing if they are. I mean, sure it's a bit inconvenient... But different banks have different initiatives and different styles and different managers. Depending on what savings vehicle you're choosing and at which bank, it might be better to stay that way.
That's a fair point, I hadn't thought of it that way.
Score 1 for laziness? :D
In addition to consolidating the RRSP I would consider consolidating some of the savings accounts. Makes the information a lot easier to track and interest rates are generally more favourable for larger balances.
The other thing I would note is that given your income/asset level, existing credit experience, a rate of 8.5% on your line of credit is ridiculous. Assuming you don't have a bankruptcy in your recent past you should be closer to 4.5% unsecured in the current rate environment. First step to wealth building would be to get a line of credit at market rates and roll all of your high interest debt into it (i.e. credit card, etc). When you renew your mortgage a heloc product should be a consideration to further reduce the cost of borrowing.
When looking at the value of your RRSPs don't forget the future tax obligation that you commit to in return for the current tax break.
You have a good point on the savings accounts, but I'm not too concerned about them right now. The interest rates only start coming into play once you have a few thousand in there, and that won't be for a while yet.
If you can show me a bank that's offering 4.5% on an unsecured line of credit, please do! That looks more like a secured rate to me. I'm having a hard time finding the rates online right now, but now that you've pointed it out I am going to call my bank and see if I can get my rate lowered.
I'm aware of the future tax obligations with the RRSPs, but for the time being I have to deposit at minimum $1000 a year into my RRSPs due to my obligation to the new homebuyer's program. That and any tax return I receive will be put towards my emergency savings and debt, which are quite high priorities for me. The small quantities of money I'm putting in my RRSPs at the moment shouldn't cause appreciable tax implications when I retire.
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