August update

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but yesterday was Labour Day. I'm still trying to figure out where the summer went, but even so, it was very nice to have such a beautiful long weekend to cap things off. We're now well into September, with fall on the horizon.

Let's take a look at how I did last month:

• Reduced my revolving debt to $10,940.26 - At this rate, I'll likely be a few hundred dollars shy of my $7,500 target for year-end, but progress is progress, so I'll take it.


• Emergency Fund grew to $1,781.57 - I had to move some funds around for a few reasons last month. Citizens Bank, which I had joined last winter to take advantage of their welcome bonus, is shutting down its deposit-taking business, so I had to withdraw my funds from that account. I also decided that I would start carrying $100 in emergency cash in my wallet. This gets treated as part of my Emergency Fund (I don't spend it if I can avoid it, and I replenish it as soon as I can when I do), and provides me with a buffer if I need some cash before I can get to a bank machine. This amount is denominated in $20, $10 and $5 bills, so I can also make change if needed.


• Wedding Fund grew to $4,026.73 - Nothing too exciting here; just slow, steady progress toward what we hope will be a cash-only wedding.
  
  NOTE: Since this money is earmarked to be spent on our wedding next year, any valid wedding expense that we pay for from this account will not reduce my progress on this goal. This may seem like funny accounting, but the real goal here is to pay cash for the wedding, so I don't plan to penalize myself for using these funds as intended.


• Reduced our mortgage to $294,437.11 - Ever since we renewed at 2.65%, we're burning through the mortgage much more quickly. It's nice to see such strong progress on this loan, especially with all the news coverage of "upside-down" mortgages.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $1,919.02
Self-Directed RSP - $43,737.55
Employer Group RSP - $19,762.56

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $10,940.26
Student Loans - $18,070.60

Net Investable Assets: $36,408.27
Net Liquid Assets: ($27,091.84)

The market recovery of 2009 continued in August, with my RRSP increasing well beyond my monthly contributions. Liquid savings were basically flat, for a net increase of $3,228.53 in my investable assets, accompanied by a $1,144.15 drop in my non-mortgage debt.

Overall, my net investable assets increased by $4,372.68, and my net liquid assets increased by $1,199.36. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage).

July update: In which our blogger takes his sweet time posting

Happy August. Sorry to be posting this so late (theoretically, it should have gone up over a week ago). At any rate, I hope you enjoyed Civic Holiday last Monday. Toronto residents should also be enjoying the fresh air now that the CUPE strike is over, and basking in the afterglow of Caribana and Taste of the Danforth.

As we head into the home stretch of our Canadian "summer", let's see how I did last month:

• Reduced my revolving debt to $11,511.39 - Good, solid progress here. We had no real unexpected expenses in July, so I was able to stick to my debt reduction schedule.


• Emergency Fund grew to $1,730.07 - After the cash outlay for car repairs in June, I'm back on-track with forward motion in my Emergency Fund. $2,000 by year-end still looks achievable.


• Wedding Fund grew to $3,662.86 - July was a strong month on the nuptial front, getting us back in the black with our wedding savings. We're also starting to finalize some of the details of next summer's affair, and we should be able to hit the $6,500 target by year-end.
  
  NOTE: Since this money is earmarked to be spent on our wedding next year, any valid wedding expense that we pay for from this account will not reduce my progress on this goal. This may seem like funny accounting, but the real goal here is to pay cash for the wedding, so I don't plan to penalize myself for using these funds as intended.


• Reduced our mortgage to $295,673.67 - Make no mistake; this is still a freaking big amount of money to owe. The important thing to note, though, is that this is a drop of $1,135.84 from a month ago. Compare that to the $794.73 in monthly principal reduction that we've been averaging over the last two years, and you can see why I'm happy. The new rate on our mortgage has everything to do with this jump. When we renewed in June, we basically cut our interest rate in half, but kept our payments the same. This sends a lot more of our payment toward principal on the loan, and represents the first time that we've really been "ahead" on the mortgage. In three years, when it's time to renew again, we will have made some very strong progress.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $1,863.81
Self-Directed RSP - $42,719.10
Employer Group RSP - $17,607.69

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $11,511.39
Student Loans - $18,643.62

Net Investable Assets: $32,035.59
Net Liquid Assets: ($28,291.20)

This is getting repetitive, but I won't complain. Once again, my RRSP was buoyed by market growth. Liquid savings were basically flat, for a net increase of $3,505.19 in my investable assets, accompanied by a $1,242.07 drop in my non-mortgage debt.

Overall, my net investable assets increased by $4,747.26, and my net liquid assets increased by $1,164.64. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage).

More milestones this month, as my net investable assets cracked $30,000, and my net worth crossed the $80,000 mark. Things may not always move forward as quickly as I'd like, but I've made tremendous progress over the last two years, and I'm looking forward to the day in the not-so-distant future when my only debt is our mortgage.

June update

Happy belated Canada Day! We're now halfway through 2009 (today is the 183^rd day of the year), Canada is 142 years old, and the country has mourned the passing of a pop icon.

Now that summer is well under way, let's see how I did last month:

• Reduced my revolving debt to $12,182.64 - We had some financial hiccups this month, so progress was slower than we might like, but we still managed to carve away more than $500 in revolving debt.


• Emergency Fund dropped to $1,678.36 - Some car repairs and other expenses needed to be paid from savings. My Freedom Account was able to bear most of the burden, but the Emergency Fund took a small hit as well. We should still be able to hit $2,000 by year-end.


• Wedding Fund dropped to $2,958.88 - I had to pilfer the wedding account for some of the car expenses. We should still hit the $6,500 target by year-end.
  
  NOTE: Since this money is earmarked to be spent on our wedding next year, any valid wedding expense that we pay for from this account will not reduce my progress on this goal. This may seem like funny accounting, but the real goal here is to pay cash for the wedding, so I don't plan to penalize myself for using these funds as intended.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $1,941.24
Self-Directed RSP - $40,640.05
Employer Group RSP - $16,104.12

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $12,182.64
Student Loans - $19,214.44

Net Investable Assets: $27,288.33
Net Liquid Assets: ($29,455.84)

Once again, my RRSP was buoyed by the market rally this month, although the stumble in the third week of June kept the investment growth in check. Liquid savings took a substantial hit, for a net increase of $1,267.21 in my investable assets, accompanied by a $1,102.58 drop in my non-mortgage debt.

Overall, my net investable assets increased by $2,369.79, and my net liquid assets increased by $494.60. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage).

One additional metric that I track (on top of my net worth, net investable assets, and net liquid assets) is my after-tax net investable assets. Since my retirement investments would be taxed at the full marginal rate if I withdrew them, I assume the maximum Ontario MTR of 46%*, and only count 54% of the value of my retirement accounts. This essentially adds 54% of my retirement savings to my net liquid assets number. This month, for the first time since I've been tracking my finances, my after-tax net investable assets are actually positive, coming in at $1,186.01. That means, if I were to sell everything in my RRSP and use it, along with our cash savings, to pay off our student and revolving debts, we would end up with nearly $1,200 in the bank. That's another milestone on the road to solvency, a step up from when I first came out of the red last April.

* I'm not actually in the top tax bracket, but using the current maximum of 46% gives me a "worst-case" scenario for the taxes I would have to pay if I cashed out my RRSPs.

Some times are harder than others

Over the past two years, I've successfully trained myself to spend only the money that I currently have in the bank. I've gone from a mindset of "it's only $20, and I'm getting paid next week" to a strict "cash-only" regimen. I use quotes around cash-only because I actually use my credit card, but I pay off each purchase almost immediately from my chequing account.

The positive result of this change is that, over the same two-year period, my revolving debt has decreased by more than 50%, and my net worth is now more than nine times as high as it was in 2007. I have a small emergency fund, and I save up for planned expenses like birthday and holiday gifts, car repairs and clothing purchases. All in all, although I still have a substantial chunk of revolving debt to pay off, I feel as though my financial house is in order.

The negative result of this change is that, when I deplete my savings to cover significant, unavoidable expenses, I feel as if I'm flat-out broke.

Last week, I took our car into the mechanic for an oil change and general check-up. After various small repairs and some sizable new parts, the bill came in at $1,400. Now, my Freedom Account has a "Vehicle Repair" category, which sat at just over $700. This meant that, in order to pay the bill, I needed to move some cash from some other savings accounts. I was able to pull $180 from my Emergency Fund, and $520 from our wedding savings. We've effectively paid cash for the repairs, but our cash savings are now diminished by $1,400. Our cushion is reduced, and with some other smaller expenses over the weekend, I'm left feeling a little naked.

The funny thing is, I almost enjoy this feeling. I know exactly where we stand financially, and that's a huge change from two years ago. Back then, the repairs would have gone on the line of credit, having the same net effect on our net worth, but a vastly different psychological impact. Shelling out $1,400 from your bank account can feel a lot more painful than adding that amount to your debt, and that pain forces you to be more watchful with your spending.

We'll rebuild our wedding and emergency savings. The vehicle category in the Freedom Account will be replenished, and the line of credit will continue to shrink.

We just have to get through this lean patch first.

May update

What a difference a bullish market makes! After what felt like ages bemoaning the monthly decimation of my investment portfolio, we've had three straight months of continuous market growth. Combine that with the improving weather we've had lately, and I am one happy camper.

Let's see how I did last month:

• Reduced my revolving debt to $12,716.58 - Since I started tracking my finances over two years ago, I've only had one month where my revolving debt increased. Otherwise, I've been making consistent forward progress, and although I'm still in "slow-and-steady" mode, I feel as though I've kicked the habit of blind spending on credit. Now whenever I make a purchase, it's effectively a cash purchase whether I use a credit card or not; either way the money is almost immediately debited from my chequing account, so I always know how much I can afford to spend before my next paycheque. I've still got the hangover from my reckless spending days, but I've learned my lesson, and things look better every day.


• Grew my Emergency Fund to $1,832.23 - I upped my bi-weekly contributions by $10 in May, and I'll continue to do this going forward.


• Grew our Wedding Fund to $3,160.79 - Steady progress on this front, and I'm crossing my fingers that we'll be able to pay cash for most, if not all, of the wedding.
  
  NOTE: Since this money is earmarked to be spent on our wedding next year, any valid wedding expense that we pay for from this account will not reduce my progress on this goal. This may seem like funny accounting, but the real goal here is to pay cash for the wedding, so I don't plan to penalize myself for using these funds as intended.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $2,549.22
Self-Directed RSP - $40,635.38
Employer Group RSP - $14,233.60

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $12,716.58
Student Loans - $19,783.08

Net Investable Assets: $24,918.54
Net Liquid Assets: ($29,950.44)

Once again, my RRSP was buoyed by the market rally this month; along with over $600 in contributions, this rally lifted my investment balance by $5,733.85. Liquid savings took a slight dip, for a net increase of $5,673.38 in my investable assets, accompanied by a $1,183.38 drop in my non-mortgage debt.

Overall, my net investable assets increased by $6,856.76, and my net liquid assets increased by $1,122.91. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage).

Who knows if this market rally will last, but for as long as it does, I'll enjoy the ride.

Two years of progress: How am I doing?

Although I only started the blog 23 months ago, I've been tracking my finances to the penny since April 30, 2007. That means that, as of today's recap of April 2009, I have two years of progress to report. Just as I posted charts of my various metrics when I had built up one year's history, I thought I would post a graphical review of my progress to date.

Net Worth

As before, the fluctuating curve in my Net Worth represents my actual monthly numbers, while the smooth line represents the best straight line approximation of my progress over time. As you can see, the straight line doesn't do too badly at fitting the curve; it's still a generally increasing trend, although for the first half of 2008 I appeared to be over-performing, and for the last several months I've been under-performing. This can be tied to the market performance during this period, but it's interesting that my most recent month falls right on the line.

Retirement Savings

A look at my Retirement Savings confirms that most of the "off-trend" variation in my net worth over the past year can be explained by swings in market performance. Although I've been contributing steadily to my RRSP accounts over the entire period, this chart shows just how volatile the market has been over the past twelve months. The late-2008 crash is particularly evident, as is the current rally that has been buoying my bottom line for the last two months. A straight line turns out to be a terrible approximation of my retirement savings.

Cash Savings

Cash savings fare better in adhering to a straight line, although some periodic events still throw the curve off the linear approximation. You can see the build-up in October and November, followed by an abrupt drop in December, due to that constant annual surprise, the Christmas shopping season. Although I've successfully navigated through two cash-only Christmases, the impact of the holiday season can still be seen in my cash balances. It's interesting to see how, after my Emergency Fund hit $1,000 in October 2007, my cash savings have never dropped below this value, and since I set my sights on $2,000 last year, this has become my new effective cash "floor".

Revolving Debt

In spite of (or perhaps because of) its status as my most important goal, Revolving Debt has the most boring chart of the bunch. It's almost a perfect straight line, improving by a consistent $20 or so each day over the past two years. It's thanks to this trend (and two very similar trends in my Student Loan and Mortgage repayments) that my net worth has increased so consistently despite substantial fluctuations in my retirement and cash savings. This serves as a terrific illustration of the importance of focusing on the factors you can control: if I can throw $20 a day at my debt, that will always improve my net worth, no matter what the markets are doing. It's a risk-free return on investment, and more than you'll get in any savings account or GIC.

The Last Twelve Months

Over the past year, the overall trends have been comparable to what I see in these two-year views: net worth increasing, and all debts steadily decreasing over time. However, when I look at my retirement and cash savings over the last twelve months, I see something different:


Both these charts show a negative trend over the last year, although the trend is very slight for cash savings. Now, this is not really cause for alarm, since both charts show me currently outperforming the trend, and the trend for my retirement savings is clearly driven by market performance. However, it does indicate that I should continue to keep an eye on my liquid savings. Spending too much on holiday shopping, or dipping into the Emergency Fund to cover some car repairs, could leave me in a bit of a tight spot if I'm not careful.

April update

Well, this is a bit late. We're almost a week into the month of May, and I still haven't posted my April numbers. I don't really have a good reason for the delay, aside from a full plate at work and enjoying the nice weather we've been having. At any rate, let's see how I did last month:

• Reduced my revolving debt to $13,333.48 - This means that I am finally below 50% of the $27,610.74 that I started with two years ago. It also means that it's taken me twice as long as expected to pay off my revolving debt, but I've had two years of consistent, strong progress, and there's nothing wrong with that.


• Grew my Emergency Fund to $1,780.85 - This progress is very slow and steady, but until the debt is gone, this fund is more of a "nice-to-have" cushion than a true Emergency Fund, so it can't be my priority at the moment. Still, I'll continue throwing $25 into it every two weeks, until I'm able to get more serious about building up a few months' expenses.


• Grew our Wedding Fund to $2,643.23 - We should be in good shape for our wedding next summer, at the rate we're saving for it. Ms. Loonie has been building up her own wedding cache on the side, which is not reflected here, and we're pretty much neck-in-neck at the moment.
  
  NOTE: Since this money is earmarked to be spent on our wedding next year, any valid wedding expense that we pay for from this account will not reduce my progress on this goal. This may seem like funny accounting, but the real goal here is to pay cash for the wedding, so I don't plan to penalize myself for using these funds as intended.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $2,609.69
Self-Directed RSP - $37,831.13
Employer Group RSP - $11,304.00

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $13,333.48
Student Loans - $20,349.56

Net Investable Assets: $18,061.78
Net Liquid Assets: ($31,073.35)

Once again, my RRSP was buoyed by the market rally this month; along with over $600 in contributions, this rally lifted my investment balance by $4,530.09. Liquid savings also rose, for a net increase of $5,138.56 in my investable assets, accompanied by a $1,581.23 drop in my non-mortgage debt, helped along by April being a three-pay month.

Overall, my net investable assets increased by $6,719.79, and my net liquid assets increased by $2,189.70. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage).

Not a bad month.

March update

April has arrived, and we're firmly into spring, so let's see how I did last month:

• Reduced my revolving debt to $14,069.07 - Still chipping away... I'm within spitting distance of $14,000 (my 2008 year-end goal), and almost half-way through my debt elimination. Over the next month, I'll be ramping up my bi-weekly payments to get a bit more aggressive with paying this off.


• Grew my Emergency Fund to $1,718.86 - Slowly but surely closing the gap to my $2,000 goal for the end of the year.


• Grew our Wedding Fund to $2,110.11 - I owe less income tax than I was expecting, so I was able to transfer some cash from the tax savings bucket in my Freedom Account over to my Wedding Fund. Ms. Loonie is working on her own savings account for the wedding, so by the end of the year we should have a nice bundle built up.
  
  NOTE: Since this money is earmarked to be spent on our wedding next year, any valid wedding expense that we pay for from this account will not reduce my progress on this goal. This may seem like funny accounting, but the real goal here is to pay cash for the wedding, so I don't plan to penalize myself for using these funds as intended.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $1,875.90
Self-Directed RSP - $35,174.22
Employer Group RSP - $9,430.82

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $14,069.07
Student Loans - $21,195.20

Net Investable Assets: $11,216.67
Net Liquid Assets: ($33,388.37)

For a change, my RRSP actually grew this month, thanks to the recent market rally and over $600 in contributions. Liquid savings are down a bit, for a net increase of $3,879.42 in my investable assets, accompanied by a $905.41 drop in my non-mortgage debt.

Overall, my net investable assets decreased by $4,784.93, and my net liquid assets increased by $569.97. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage). I recently re-checked the Canadian Black Book® value of my car, and found that it has dropped substantially since I last checked two years ago. I've reflected this change in my overall net worth calculation going forward.

February update

For such a short month, February seemed to last forever. Between work and personal commitments, I felt like I was being pulled in about fifty directions, but I did accomplish a few things since last month:

• Reduced my revolving debt to $14,413.42 - This was just keeping up with my regular bi-weekly payments. The drop of $377.82 was a little lower than last month, because I had to pay off my 0% credit card. This ended the "interest amnesty" I've been enjoying on my revolving debt since last January, and meant that the banks carried more heft in the tug-of-war of my debt reduction. Still, less than $30 in interest is nothing to gripe about. I'm looking into starting a new round of 0% offers this month, so let's see what I can find.


• Grew my Emergency Fund to $1,686.35 - Just a $33.06 increase this month, but even in slow-and-steady mode on this goal, I'm still on track to make $2,000 by year-end.


• Grew our Wedding Fund to $1,684.29 - I have just over $600 of this in a TFSA with ING, but the rest is available for any deposits we need to make over the coming months.
  
  NOTE: Since this money is earmarked to be spent on our wedding next year, any valid wedding expense that we pay for from this account will not reduce my progress on this goal. This may seem like funny accounting, but the real goal here is to pay cash for the wedding, so I don't plan to penalize myself for using these funds as intended.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $2,211.34
Self-Directed RSP - $32,949.57
Employer Group RSP - $7,440.61

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $14,413.42
Student Loans - $21,756.26

Net Investable Assets: $6,431.84
Net Liquid Assets: ($33,958.34)

My liquid savings (which don't include our Wedding Fund, since this money is already pretty much spoken for) grew slightly, mostly through contributions to my Freedom Account. This month saw yet another slide in my RRSP, in spite of over $600 in contributions. These changes translated to a net decrease of $2,057.05 in my investable assets, along with a $936.74 drop in my non-mortgage debt.

Overall, my net investable assets decreased by $1,120.31, and my net liquid assets increased by $1,397.63. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage).

January update

January is over, and we're into the second month of 2009. Let's take a look at how I did with last month's goals:

• Reduce my revolving debt to $14,800 - Bingo. I ended January at $14,791.24, a drop of over $400. Not a bad start to my year of debt reduction.


• Grow my Emergency Fund to $1,650 - Another triumph: I'm currently sitting at $1,653.29. Not a huge growth from December's $1,589, but it's moving in the right direction.


• Grow our Wedding Fund to $1,260 - I hit this one, too, ending the month at $1,318.03. We'll likely need to put down a deposit for a photographer within the next month or two, so it's nice to have this cushion set aside.
  
  NOTE: Since this money is earmarked to be spent on our wedding next year, any valid wedding expense that we pay for from this account will not reduce my progress on this goal. This may seem like funny accounting, but the real goal here is to pay cash for the wedding, so I don't plan to penalize myself for using these funds as intended.


• Run an average of twice per week, and play squash at least once per week - Whoops. I did manage to play squash once a week, but only ran once, and briefly at that.


• Try two new recipes, with a focus on doing as much as possible from scratch - Another flop. Our weekends ended up being far more chaotic last month than we anticipated, and although we weren't too bad about eating out, we didn't get to be creative in the kitchen.


• Write detailed posts on three subjects - I did manage to churn out three posts (besides my update posts), but hardly the treasure trove of insight I was hoping to produce. Shall I now throw down the gauntlet and attempt to redeem myself during the year's shortest month?

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $1,750.45
Self-Directed RSP - $29,744.12
Employer Group RSP - $13,164.00

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $14,791.24
Student Loans - $22,315.18

Net Investable Assets: $7,552.15
Net Liquid Assets: ($35,355.97)

My liquid savings (which don't include our Wedding Fund, since this money is already pretty much spoken for) held steady, with some expenses coming out of the Freedom Account offsetting the Emergency Fund growth. This month saw a jump in my RRSP, due to my year-end bonus and some payroll contributions. These changes translated to a net increase of $4,590.72 in my investable assets, along with a $987.62 drop in my non-mortgage debt.

Overall, my net investable assets increased by $5,497.34, and my net liquid assets increased by $850.72. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage).

December update; 2008 in review

Happy New Year! I don't know about you, but I'm happy to see the end of 2008, and I certainly hope that 2009 has a little more sunshine to offer.

This is the my second New Year's post, and the end of my first complete year of blogging, so let's take a look at how I did with my 2008 goals:

• Propose to Ms. Loonie - I did this in November, and we are now engaged to be married in 2010. We couldn't be happier; this was probably my most important goal for the year, and the only reason it took so long was that I really wanted to pay cash for the ring. Long story short, I now have a beautiful fiancée with a paid-for ring, a tentative wedding date, and a whole lot of planning to do.


• Reduce my revolving debt to $14,000 - Not quite. I ended the year with $15,204.77 in revolving debt, a drop of $8,192.94 that put me at 87.2% of my debt reduction goal for the year. I would have liked to hit this target, but 87% is a lot better than the 75% of progress I made last year. The good news regarding my debt reduction is that I managed to have my second cash-only Christmas, thanks to my Freedom Account. It's amazing how good it feels to start the year without a holiday debt hangover.


• Grow my Emergency Fund to $1,500 - My Emergency Fund is meant to be small for the time being, until I pay off my revolving debt. However, I'm still looking to make continuous, small contributions to this cushion, just to keep the saving-for-saving's-sake habit alive and well. I closed the year with $1,588.90 in emergency savings, an increase of $425.94 that put me at 126.4% of my savings goal for the year. This is the net increase in my Emergency Fund, after taking out a few hundred dollars toward the end of the year to top-up Ms. Loonie's engagement ring fund and some car repairs.


• Give $2,000 to charity - I don't buy into the notion of a religious tithe, but I definitely believe that it's important to give. I contribute to a number of United Way charities through bi-weekly payroll deductions, and also make monthly donations to a local listener-supported radio station. On top of this, we sponsored a few friends in fundraising activities, and bought into casual Fridays at work. All told, we made $2,002.00 in charitable donations this year, which nails my goal for the year, and is a big improvement over the $1,300 we gave in 2007.


• Grow the readership of Loonies And Sense to 100 RSS subscribers - At this point, it starts to look as if I simply stopped reading my list of goals. I currently have 54 RSS subscribers, which is a far cry from 100. That's really my fault, however, because my posting schedule really fell off in the second half of the year.


• Lose 25 pounds - Things looked so promising, as I started running and playing squash on a regular basis, as well as walking consistently to and from work and eating a healthier diet. However, I got laid up with some really bad heel blisters just before the holidays, and coupled with a bounty of Christmas treats I'm back to square one. All is not lost, however; I received a digital scale as a prize through work, and I'm well-equipped to get back into the saddle in January. Let's see those pounds disappear!


• Adopt and maintain a version of Getting Things Done - D'oh! I'm well shy of having this system in place. I have made some improvements in my organizational system at work, including using more folders to manage my paper, but I still struggle with staying on top of my to-do list. This really needs attention in 2009.

A few significant misses on this list, but my finances made significant progress in the right direction, and I've taken my relationship with Ms. Loonie to the next level, so I'm happy with what I got accomplished (especially considering how much bad news was flying around throughout the year).

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $1,887.35
Self-Directed RSP - $31,092.25
Employer Group RSP - $7,169.25

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $15,204.77
Student Loans - $22,889.27

Net Investable Assets: $2,054.81
Net Liquid Assets: ($36,206.69)

Holiday shopping and car repairs put a $1,661.98 dent in my liquid savings this month. However, my retirement savings finally had a flat month, growing by $2.57 after three straight months of multi-thousand-dollar drops. Combined with debt reduction, my net investable and net liquid assets decreased by $415.59 and $418.16, respectively. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage).

2008 in review

Besides the financial progress detailed above, here are the rest of my 2008 milestones:

• I knocked off 35% of my revolving debt from the beginning of the year. This leaves me with only 55.1% of the $27,610.74 in debt I had in April of 2007. That's a significant chunk of cash, averaging $682.75 per month.


• We've paid off $9,646 in mortgage principal, and $7,209 in student loans. This is all due to our automatic bi-weekly payments, with no lump-sum prepayments.


• My retirement savings have dropped by $3,732, in spite of over $11,000 in RRSP contributions. This rather sizable black cloud has two silver linings: 1) I'm getting my first taste of a serious bear market, and a chance to see how I react to a period of horrible market performance; and 2) I've spent a good chunk of the year buying stock and mutual funds at a deep discount, holding up the "buy-low" side of the investor's mantra. Since I have no need of these investments for at least two decades, I'm content to sit back and enjoy the ride. Besides, it's hard to imagine 2009 being any worse in terms of market performance.


• My net worth has increased by $21,396 (72%), while my net investable and net liquid assets have increased by $11,750 (124%) and $15,482 (30%), respectively.

Goals

I'm getting back on top of posting my monthly goals. Over the next couple of days, I'll be posting my goals for January, as well as my year-long goals for 2009. Stay tuned!

How much are you up or down? One ugly chart, and one that's not so bad

When I calculate my net worth for the month, the data get fed into some dynamic charts that I've created, to provide a visual representation of my progress over time. I've posted these charts a couple of times, but this month's output really stopped me in my tracks. Behold the majesty of my retirement investment performance since I started tracking in April of 2007:

Despite contributing roughly $18,500 to my retirement accounts since April 2007, my investments have gained only $2,171.50 in value.

Yippee.

Now, I need to point out a couple of things here:

• This chart only shows the month-end value of my investments - I haven't done any adjustments to show "what $10,000 invested on April 30 of 2007 would be worth today", or the like. This is a very basic "what was my investment portfolio worth on X date?" view of my RRSP's value over time.


• This graph starts at a value of $36,087.43 - Although a quick look at the chart makes it look like I've come full circle, there is actually another 6 years of progress prior to April 2007 that got me up to that point. I have to keep in mind that I'm really "up" by $38,258.93 over where I was at the beginning of my career (namely $0).

Since the beginning of the year, my retirement investments are down by 7.9%. I'm OK with that, since this money is for the long term, but it still hurts to see such a pronounced drop-off over such a short period.

A post at Clever Dude made me stop and think about how I'm really doing this year. True, my investments are down (by a lot), and my net worth has been slowly declining the last couple of months as a result. However, I've been making consistent progress on paying off my revolving debt, and tucking some cash away in my Emergency Fund and Freedom Account. As a result, my net worth is actually up by 71.8% over where it was at the end of 2007, my revolving debt is down by 32.1%, and my cash savings are up by 96.0%:

There's no question in my mind that I'm moving in the right direction, and although net worth has been stagnant the past few months, I'm laying a very solid groundwork for the future. By starting with a small base, and sticking to the plan, I've survived a huge drop in the market and actually grown my net worth by over 70%. That's not too shabby.

How is your big picture looking? Is market performance overshadowing the rest of your financial life, or are you seeing small changes add up to something better?

November update

Somehow, December is already here. I'm not entirely sure how this happened, but the holiday season is upon us, and we're in the final stretch of 2008. How are your holiday savings coming along? Have you been planning ahead for the shopping season? Are you scaling back on your purchases this year?

I didn't set specific goals in November (two months in a row equals a big slap on the wrist for Mr. Loonie), but here's a summary of my progress for the month:

• I reduced my revolving debt to $15,892.86 - This $498.99 drop pales in comparison to the $1,041.94 I paid off in October, but it's still a good-sized chunk of debt that's now gone. Not much new to see here, but it's movement in the right direction.


• My Emergency Fund dropped from $2,067.70 to $1,701.46 - What happened??? Did I have car repairs? Did I need to cover a health emergency out of pocket? No, things are fine in the Loonie household, which brings us to the third point...


• I proposed to Ms. Loonie, and she said yes! - The slowdown in debt repayment and the slight dip in my Emergency Fund are due to my purchase of an engagement ring last month. For most of the year, I've had some money stashed away in a savings account, and I finally put it to good use to pop the question to the woman of my dreams. We're looking at dates in early 2010 for the actual wedding, but for now we're just basking in the glow of being engaged.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $3,549.33
Self-Directed RSP - $31,128.93
Employer Group RSP - $7,130.00

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $15,892.86
Student Loans - $23,445.00

Net Investable Assets: $2,470.40
Net Liquid Assets: ($35,788.53)

My liquid savings grew slightly in November, which reflects some substantial contributions to my Freedom Account, offset by the withdrawal from my Emergency Fund. This month had a much smaller drop in my RRSP, which shed only $2,789.20 (as opposed to $6,200.26 in October). Still, the last time my retirement savings were this low was July 2007. These changes translated to a net decrease of $2,590.82 in my investable assets, more than offsetting the $1,066.52 of progress I made in reducing my non-mortgage debt.

Overall, my net investable assets decreased by $1,524.30, and my net liquid assets increased by $1,264.90. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage). The market took a much smaller bite out of my retirement savings this month, which is a relief. The continuing forward motion in my net liquid assets is good to see, considering that the Loonies have a wedding to plan. Let's keep building those savings and shrinking that debt!

October update

Hello there. Remember me?

I don't know if you've noticed this, but a lot has been going on during the past month. Between the bailout in the U.S., the injection of cash into the Canadian mortgage market by the CMHC, and the rest of the turmoil going on in the markets, it's been really tough to keep on top of everything that's going on. Frankly, it seems to have turned me from a commenter to a spectator, as I try to wrap my head around it all. It's taken all my "finance sense" just to reassure myself while watching the decimation of my retirement accounts, and I just haven't had the wherewithal to post on any of the financial goings-on in October.

In spite of my complete radio silence this month, I have still been bringing in a paycheque, and I have been doing things with that money, so let's take a look at how I did. I didn't get around to posting any goals for the month, but I can still post my financial progress:

• I reduced my revolving debt to $16,391.85 - A three-pay month is always welcome when looking at my debt elimination progress. I was able to knock more than $1,000 off my debt, which feels good. I'm not sure whether I'm going to hit my $14,000 target for the end of the year, but at least I'm maintaining forward momentum.


• I grew my Emergency Fund to $2,067.70 - I'm well above my year-end target of $1,500, so I have a nice cushion for the days between my payday and Ms. Loonie's paycheque.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $3,350.95
Self-Directed RSP - $32,794.73
Employer Group RSP - $8,253.40

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $16,391.85
Student Loans - $24,012.53

Net Investable Assets: $3,994.70
Net Liquid Assets: ($37,053.43)

My liquid savings grew substantially in October, thanks to the three paycheques that fell during the month. However, my RRSP shed another $6,200.26 in value, bringing my retirement savings below where they were one year ago. I'm thankful that I'm dealing with this market crash so early in my saving process; as long as the markets do rebound, the coming years should provide some very favourable rates of return. It still hurts to watch my balance sheet decrease by thousands of dollars each month. These changes translated to a net decrease of $5,270.17 in my investable assets, which dwarfs the $1,888.72 of progress I made in reducing my non-mortgage debt.

Overall, my net investable assets decreased by $3,381.45, and my net liquid assets increased by $2,818.81. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage). I'm glad that I calculate my net liquid assets each month, because this metric keeps me focused on the items I actually control: debt reduction and cash savings. Other than setting an asset allocation I'm comfortable with, my investment performance is largely out of my hands, so being able to see the impact of my behaviour on my bottom line is very important. It's been well over a year since I had a month-over-month drop in my net liquid assets, so I must be doing something right...

September update

For a month with only 30 days, September seemed to go on forever. Now we're into October, and the Christmas merchandise is already starting to crop up in stores everywhere. Have you been setting aside cash for holiday shopping? If not, now might be a good time to start.

Let's take a look at how I did with my September goals:

• Reduce my revolving debt to $17,500 - I nailed this one, closing the month at $17,433.79 in revolving debt. That's still a lot of revolving debt to have, but it's $644.41 less than I had a month ago, so I'm happy with the progress.


• Grow my Emergency Fund to $2,000 - Done. After interest posted to my accounts, my Emergency Fund balance was $2,018.33. That puts me at a point where I can ease off my emergency savings and focus on other areas that need the funds.


• Run at least twice per week - Not quite. I did get out running five times this month, which is more than once per week, but unless my math is wrong, it falls short of twice a week. We also played squash a few times, so my activity level wasn't bad, but I didn't quite get there.


• Try two new recipes for foods that we would usually buy prepared - Not so much. We've been a tad lazy on the cooking front this month, and haven't been flexing our creative muscles in the kitchen.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $2,420.86
Self-Directed RSP - $38,853.91
Employer Group RSP - $8,394.48

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $17,433.79
Student Loans - $24,859.31

Net Investable Assets: $7,376.15
Net Liquid Assets: ($39,872.24)

Due to some items being paid out of savings this month, even with the growth in my Emergency Fund, my cash savings dropped by $187.45. Also, thanks to the shenanigans on Wall Street this month, my retirement investments once again showed a month-over-month decrease, dropping by $4,343.09 in spite of over $600 in RRSP contributions. This translates to a net decrease of $4,530.54 in my investable assets, which more than offset the $1,205.93 of progress I made in reducing my non-mortgage debt.

Overall, my net investable assets decreased by $3,324.61, and my net liquid assets increased by $1,018.48. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage). Over the 17 months I've been tracking my progress, this is only the fifth time I've had negative growth in my net investable assets, and each time this has been driven almost entirely by a drop in investment value. The silver lining to this is that I'm maintaining forward progress on the items I can control (like debt reduction and cash savings), in spite of the factors I can't control (like investment returns).

August update

August is over, Labour Day has come and gone, the CNE is closed for another year, and the 2008 school year has begun. How did last month treat you?

Let's take a look at how I did with my August goals:

• Reduce my revolving debt to $18,000 - I missed this one by nearly $80, coming in at $18,078.20. August had us hosting friends from the U.S. for a week, as well as spending some time up at the cottage, so there were a number of exceptional expenses that needed to be covered. Excuses are all well and good, but the end result is that I paid down the debt by less than I was hoping for. Still, a $576.02 reduction is nothing to sniff at.


• Grow my Emergency Fund to $1,900 - Once again, things look rosier on the savings front than on the debt reduction front. I ended August with an Emergency Fund of $1,912.41 in total. This gives me a nice cushion between my bi-weekly paycheque and Ms. Loonie's semi-monthly payday, while also putting me comfortably above the $1,500 target I set for the year.


• Run at least twice per week - Fail. Between hosting our friends, traveling to the cottage, and getting caught up at work, my exercise plans were thoroughly derailed. I did do a fair bit of waterskiing and swimming at the cottage, but I didn't manage to fit in any running.


• Try two new recipes for foods that we would usually buy prepared - I'd call this a success. Ms. Loonie and I made gazpacho this weekend, and I whipped up a few batches of guacamole throughout the month. The soup was delicious, as well as being easy (and fun) to make, so I think we'll be making it again soon. I think I'll be setting more goals like this, to give myself some "project" meals to prepare over the months to come.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $2,608.31
Self-Directed RSP - $44,073.75
Employer Group RSP - $7,517.73

Debts:
Revolving Debt - $18,078.20
Student Loans - $25,420.83

Net Investable Assets: $10,700.76
Net Liquid Assets: ($40,890.72)

A number of irregular expenses and gift purchases hit my Freedom Account this month, so even with the growth in my Emergency Fund, my cash savings dropped by $245.55. However, thanks to a market uptick at the end of the month, my retirement investments finally showed a month-over-month increase, growing by $1,290.77, for a net growth of $1,045.22 in my investable assets. I was able to knock $576.02 off my revolving debt, in addition to progress made on our student loans.

Overall, my net investable and net liquid assets increased by $2,180.39 and $889.62, respectively. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage). It's nice to see my RRSP grow by more than my monthly contributions for a change, and the substantial growth in all three net worth metrics is encouraging.

July update

Well, we're into August now, and I have to wonder where the summer has gone. It seemed just yesterday we were celebrating Canada Day, and now here we are heading into the Civic Holiday long weekend. August should be a fun month, but I can't believe how fast everything's moving!

Let's take a look at how I did with my July goals:

• Reduce my revolving debt to $18,500 / Grow my Emergency Fund to $1,450 - I'm grouping these two together today in order to tell the full story. I fell $154.22 short of my debt reduction goal, which is not great (although it still represents a $582.23 reduction in revolving debt). However, I managed to push my Emergency Fund up to $1,713.67, which simply blew this goal out of the water. The reason for the focus on my Emergency Fund is to build a cushion of a few hundred dollars to manage the float between my payday and Ms. Loonie's. As a result of this, my Emergency Fund came in $263.67 over target, which means that I beat my overall financial goal by more than $100. Not too shabby.


• Decide whether I will convert my retirement portfolio to ETF versions of the index funds I currently hold - I've decided to wait until early 2009 to make this switch, and make rebalancing an annual task. Expect an update on how this goes next February.


• Update my Equifax credit file with my correct postal code - This is finally done. I was putting this off for no good reason whatsoever, and when I finally tackled the task, it was easy as pie, and I had my updated report in my hands within just over a week. What exactly took me so long? Dunno. But at least it's done, and I can move on.


• Continue to walk to and from work every day, and pack my lunch at least 20 days this month - Done and done. There's not much more to say than that. I don't even think of hopping on the subway in the morning anymore, and making lunches has become very much a part of the morning routine. I like this; it saves money, and it's healthier.


• Blog 31 times in July - So close. I came in at 28 posts for the month of July. Still, this is the most I've had since February, and it's almost as many posts as April, May and June combined. Thanks to everyone who's stuck around over the past few months.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $2,853.86
Self-Directed RSP - $43,511.10
Employer Group RSP - $6,789.61

Debts:
Credit Cards - $17,506.73
Line of Credit - $1,147.49
Student Loans - $25,979.98

Net Investable Assets: $8,520.37
Net Liquid Assets: ($41,780.34)

This month's movement was due to a $302.93 growth in my cash savings, primarily through increased Emergency Fund contributions, and a reduction of my revolving debt by $582.23. My retirement investments took another dive this months, shedding $1,162.90 in value despite over $600 in RRSP contributions.

Overall, my net investable and net liquid assets increased by $279.04 and $1,441.94, respectively. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage). It's nice to see my net investable assets increase again, if only by a couple hundred dollars, after last month's drop.

June update

Well, I hope everyone had an enjoyable Canada Day, and that those of you south of the border are gearing up for Independence Day on Friday. Let's see how the month of June treated us.

First off, you may have noticed that I didn't post any goals for June. This was an oversight, as I was lapsing pretty badly in my posting schedule. By the time I hit mid-month, I figured it was too late to post meaningful goals, so I figured I'd wait for July to come. However, I did accomplish a few things last month, so I'll give a quick run-down:

• Reduced my revolving debt to $19,236.45 - This was a drop of $586.62 from May 31, which is fairly typical for a two-pay month.


• Grew my Emergency Fund to $1,405.76 - I'm still slowly chipping away at the goal of a substantial emergency savings cushion, and with bi-weekly contributions of $15, I'm on track to beat my $1,500 goal by year-end. The Emergency Fund currently consists of $1,021.75 at HSBC Direct (with debit card access), $84.01 in other online savings accounts, $100 in a separate account at my primary bank, and $200 in cash hidden at home.


• Walked to and from work every day - I've thoroughly beaten the habit of taking the TTC to work in the morning. A ride on the subway costs $2.25, and the cars are always so packed that the ride is really miserable in the summer heat. That, plus the fact that it cuts less than ten minutes off my travel time, has made me a dedicated foot commuter.


• Brought my lunch to work almost every day in May - I had two days this month where I needed to buy lunch at work. Other than that, I either brought my own lunch from home, or had a work lunch that was provided for me. I do have to admit that I've been frequenting Tim Hortons a little more often during the workday this month, so that's something to keep an eye on.

Nothing really out of the ordinary here. I'll be posting some goals for July sometime this afternoon.

Now, on to my month-end financial update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $2,550.93
Self-Directed RSP - $45,102.86
Employer Group RSP - $6,360.75

Debts:
Credit Cards - $17,988.59
Line of Credit - $1,247.86
Student Loans - $26,536.76

Net Investable Assets: $8,241.33
Net Liquid Assets: ($43,222.28)

This month, in spite of a trip to the U.S., my cash savings increased. However, my retirement savings got positively hammered by the slide in the stock markets. Despite over $400 in RRSP contributions, my retirement balance decreased by over $2,000. This is the first time since last November that my retirement savings actually dropped from one month to the next.

Overall, my net investable assets decreased by $1,213.96, although my net liquid assets increased by $870.20. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage). Despite the slide in my retirement investments, I'm happy to see my net investable assets stay positive.

May update

May has come and gone, and we're heading toward summer. Although this past month has been a nearly complete hiatus for me, I'm back and ready to tackle the decisions that come with Ms. Loonie's upcoming career change.

To start off the month, let's look at how I did with my May goals:

• Reduce my revolving debt to $19,850 - I managed to beat this goal, coming in at $19,823.07. It's nice to nail this goal for a change, given the number of times that I've fallen just short of my debt reduction targets in the past few months.


• Grow my Emergency Fund to $1,370 - Once again, I made this one happen, ending the month with $1,372.95 in dedicated emergency savings.


• Update my Equifax credit file with my correct postal code - I got pretty badly sidetracked in May, with Ms. Loonie going through her interviews for her new job, and a hectic month of my own at work. I've got the paperwork on my desk, so I'm planning to check this one off this week.


• Walk to and from work every day, and work out at least three times a week - I've got the walking thing down, but I need to work on actually getting some real exercise on a regular basis.


• Lose 4 pounds - I got half-way to this goal, dropping two pounds to 205lbs.


• Blog 31 times in May - I've fallen off the wagon. I posted 7 times in May, with only two of those being actual topical posts, rather than monthly/bi-weekly updates. Fortunately, Ms. Loonie's job decision will give me lots of material to write about this month, as we work through the implications of switching careers and getting a salary bump.


• Bring my lunch to work every day in May - I nailed this one. I prepare a lunch (usually a simple sandwich, some fruit and yogurt) every day before leaving for work. Combined with free coffee at work, I don't feel the need to spend on lunch or snacks during the workday.

Now, on to my month-end update:

Assets:
Online Savings - $2,821.77
Self-Directed RSP - $47,149.56
Employer Group RSP - $6,398.21

Debts:
Credit Cards - $18,038.55
Line of Credit - $1,784.52
Student Loans - $27,091.18

Net Investable Assets: $9,455.29
Net Liquid Assets: ($44,092.48)

Thanks to a three-pay month, my cash savings received a nice bump of $939.25 this month, mostly in contributions to my Freedom Account. The three paydays also translated into nice debt reduction, with $947.16 going toward my revolving debt. My retirement savings were helped out by market performance, increasing by $3,250.48 from their April 30 balance. Overall, I saw an increase of $4,189.73 in my investable assets, and a decrease of $1,774.37 in my non-mortgage debts.

Overall, my net investable and net liquid assets increased by $5,964.10 and $2,713.62, respectively. My NetworthIQ profile has also been updated (including loose cash, home, car and mortgage). I've widened the gap nicely since my net investable assets first became positive last month, and if I keep up my debt reduction, I should be able to keep this number above zero from here on out. That's a good motivator.

One year of progress: charting the trends

In last week's post of my April month-end status, I noted that, for the first time since I've been tracking it, my Net Investable Assets became positive. During the month of April, my NIA went from ($1,100.67) to $3,491.19. This is a significant milestone, and it's fitting that it should come at exactly the one-year mark. I've only been blogging my progress since last June, but I've been keeping detailed Net Worth records since last April 30^th.

I was curious about the pace of my Net Worth growth, so I though I would throw together some charts plotting my progress over time. My NetworthIQ profile includes a graph like this for the overall Net Worth, but I wanted to dig a little deeper and look at the components that make up the metric.

As I touched on in an earlier post, there are several things that go into my Net Worth calculation:

• Assets
  
  
  • Liquid savings - All my chequing and savings account balances, as well as any cash I have on hand, get lumped together here. This includes my Emergency Fund and Freedom Account, as well as my day-to-day chequing accounts.
  
  
  • Retirement savings - My group RSP and self-directed RSP get added in here. At the moment, this is the bulk of my life savings, since I've been throwing a good chunk of money in here ever since I started working.
  
  
  • Non-financial assets - I include a rough estimate of our home value, as well as a slightly more informed estimate of our car's resale value. I don't update these estimates on a regular basis; they're really just placeholders to represent our most significant possessions.


• Liabilities
  
  
  • Revolving debt - This is my credit card and line of credit debt. Basically all of the debt that I would really call "consumer" debt; this is the "what was I thinking??" souvenir from my spendthrift days.
  
  
  • Student loans - Ms. Loonie and I each have student loan debt, which we have both consolidated with my bank at a very good interest rate. We're slowly but surely chipping away at these loans.
  
  
  • Mortgage - Our mortgage is my main justification for including our home value in the calculation; the estimated value of the condo really just serves to offset the huge liability represented by the mortgage. If we didn't have the condo, we wouldn't have the mortgage, so it makes sense to me to include both.

The Net Worth number is simply calculated as the total of all assets minus the total of all liabilities. I also calculate a couple of variations on this metric:

• Net Investable Assets excludes the home and car as assets, and the mortgage as a liability, leaving me only with my true "financial" holdings.


• Net Liquid Assets goes one step further, by excluding retirement savings from the asset side, leaving only the truly liquid portion of my financial position.

After one year of trying hard to make smarter choices, I've managed to increase my Net Worth by $37,364.61, my Net Investable Assets by $28,372.85, and my Net Liquid Assets by $14,162.99. Here's a representation of my Net Worth over this one-year period:

The irregular curve represents the actual month-to-month variations in my Net Worth, while the straight line represents a straight-line approximation of my Net Worth growth. The equation on the chart shows how the straight line is calculated: for every day of the past year, my Net Worth has increased by $96.30 on average.

Although it's not shown on the chart, there's a statistic called R², which shows how closely the actual observed fluctuations are represented by the straight line. The closer the R² gets to a value of 1, the more "accurate" the straight-line approximation is. This line has an R² of 0.98, which means that my Net Worth progress is matched quite well by a consistent upward trend of $96.30 per day.

This is all well and good, but where is this $96.30 increase actually coming from? I decided to plot the components of Net Worth individually, to show how each piece has contributed to the overall growth. Note that, because my estimated home and car value have not changed in the past year, I will not include them in this trend analysis.

My biggest asset is my retirement savings, so let's start there. By plotting my savings over time, I see that my investment balances have fluctuated quite a bit over the past year, with market movements. The market dips in July and the November-December time frame are clearly visible. However, despite these variations, the fitted line of $33.67 per day still has a respectable R² of 0.9, so the consistent upward trend is once again a reasonable approximation of the actual investment growth. This balance growth accounts for 35% of my Net Worth increase.

Cash savings are another story. When I plot my liquid savings over time, I see much more of a boom-and-bust cycle. This is partly due to the fact that I include my Freedom Account, which is really meant more for planned spending than actual saving, in this number. You can see that, during our trip to the US last June, and my brother's bachelor party in October, I really depleted cash savings. The upward spike in November is also interesting: this was me gearing up for holiday shopping. The R² for this chart is only 0.56, so this is the weakest straight-line approximation. Still, the daily growth of $3.45 indicated here does represent real forward progress, and the trend is consistently positive.

There is less to say about the progress against my debts. Revolving debt has been diminished at a pace of $17.34 per day. The R² for this chart is 0.98, which indicates a very good linear approximation. In fact, comparing the charts for Net Worth and revolving debt, the two appear to move almost completely in concert. This suggests that revolving debt is the factor most closely tied to Net Worth progress: when one goes up or down, so does the other. Student loans and mortgage have diminished at paces of $16.95 and $24.90 per day, respectively, and since these loans have fixed payments, they each follow a virtually perfect straight line.

The upshot of this is that, by maintaining a focus on paying down my revolving debt and contributing to my retirement savings, and by gradually growing my cash savings, I should be able to continue this Net Worth momentum. These three factors contribute 56.5% of the Net Worth growth, so it is very important that I keep moving on these fronts.

It's nice to know how far I've come, and it's even nicer to have a clear idea of how I got here.