The Dividend Girl: 2022

Friday, December 30, 2022

Closing the year 2022 with a net worth of $337,875.65

I hope that you all had a nice Christmas. It hasn't been an easy one for many, with power failures and many problems with train and plane transportation. Where I am located in New Brunswick, we didn't experiment with any of those. The only problem I had for a couple of days was a quick interruption of the Internet, only a couple seconds from time to time. Last week Friday, many of my co-workers suffer from power failure and were not able to work. I am just glad I didn't have to miss any days at work.

Today was the last trading day for 2022. I invested around a thousand in the JFT Strategies Fund (JFS.UN). I already had that investment inside my RRSP, so I just add to the number of shares I already had. I had updated my debt situation sheet, as well as my investment portfolio. I am closing the year 2022 with a margin debt of $46 726,64 @ 7.75% interest rate, which is super high, and a net worth of $337,875.65. I began the year 2022 with a net worth of $340,128.37 and I closed it while being in the $337,000. It's kind of a status quo that had led this year 2022 to basically nowhere but hey, don't be so quick to judge me.

After all, in 2022, my annual dividend income exceeded $12,000. I think I am in the $12,000 for good.

I am not closing the year 2022 on a super high note, but at least my net worth is within $330,000. I am actually really close to the $340,000. 2022 hasn't been an easy year, but I have to admit, I had everything for myself. I had worked full-time, being paid for many hours of overtime while working from home, in Montreal or somewhere in New Brunswick. For 2022, my work income before tax got super close to $70,000. In 2022, in April, I reached my highest net worth value ever: $361,442.422. 2022 had been a super volatile year and it had been hard to follow. Anyhow, since that I had reached - even for a short period - a net worth of $360,000, I know I can go back there again. It's just a matter of time.

The state of recession might need to be declared before I can get back to my highest value ever. Or not, I really don't know. It's been said that the year 2002 closed with no direction. It's not fun to be in a such stock market environment. It doesn't give me the vibes to buy or do anything, sincerely. But since today was the last trading day of 2022, I wanted to place at least one last investment for 2022. I decided to invest in some shared of JFT Strategies Fund (JFS.UN) for my RRSP portfolio. I still have a few hundred dollars left available in my RRSP portfolio to invest, as well as a few bucks in my TFSA for investment.

2023, here I come.

Historic of my Total assets and Net worth values on date of December 30, 2022

2022

Total in assets: $384,602.29/Net worth $337,875.65: December 30, 2022

Total in assets: $394,205.35/Net worth $347,621.02: November 25, 2022

Total in assets: $383,659.43/Net worth $337,227.95: November 11, 2022

Total in assets: $373,493.10/Net worth $327,061.62: November 4, 2022

Total in assets: $356,147.14/Net worth $309,920.82: October 11, 2022

Total in assets: $396,620.95/Net worth $350,590.82: August 14, 2022

Total in assets: $369,523.83/Net worth $323,815.43: June 24, 2022

Total in assets: $367,287.71/Net worth $321,579.31: June 20, 2022

Total in assets: $364,145.55/Net worth $318,437.15: June 18, 2022

Total in assets: $398,010.84/Net worth $352,164.94: June 2, 2022

Total in assets: $385,843.39/Net worth May 20, 2022: $340,156.47

Total in assets: $407,547.23/Net worth $361,442.42: April 20, 2022 - My highest net worth value EVER!!!

Total in assets: $405,658.35/Net worth $358,941.11: March 29, 2022

Total in assets: $403,792.28/Net worth $357,075.04: March 25, 2022

Total in assets: $402,081.01/Net worth $355,363.77: March 22, 2022

Total in assets: $400,979.64/Net worth $354,262.40: March 21, 2022 - First time I ever hit on the $400,000 in total assets!

Total in assets: $398,652.13/Net worth $352,071.24: March 18, 2022 - First time I ever hit on the $350,000 in net worth value!

Total in assets: $396,355.91/Net worth $349,713.01: March 10, 2022

Total in assets: $393,037.13/Net worth: $347,573.53: March 4, 2022

Total in assets: $391,766.36/Net worth: $345,622.80: February 9, 2022

Total in assets: $382,726.19/Net worth: $341,862.36: February 2, 2022

Total in assets: $386,320.32/Net worth: $340,128.37: February 1st, 2022

2021

Total in assets: $385,979.66/Net worth: $339,434.39: December 31, 2021

Total in assets: $382,726.19/Net worth: $336,268.16: December 23, 2021

Total in assets: $388,421.37/Net worth: $340,312.77 - FIRST TIME I EVER REACHED A $340,000 NET WORTH!
November 8, 2021

Total in assets: $387,068.51/Net worth: $338,959.91: November 5, 2021

Total in assets: $384,785.92/Net worth: $336,781.52: October 20, 2021

Total in assets: $382,580.80/Net worth: $334,576.40: October 19, 2021

Total in assets: $379,263.95/Net worth: $330,680.17: October 14, 2021

Total in assets: $364,072.52/Net worth: $315,407.64: July 26, 2021
Total in assets: $358,867.59/Net worth: $311,858.22: June 15, 2021
Total in assets: $354,774.64/Net worth: $307,559.30: June 10, 2021
Total in assets: $348,042.77/Net worth: $300,799.45 - FIRST TIME I EVER REACHED 300k in net worth, on May 26, 2021
Total in assets: $346,583.88/Net worth: $298,486.93: May 20, 2021
Total in assets: $349,651.45/Net worth: $298,435.31: May 7, 2021
Total in assets: $347,002.53/Net worth: $297,614.64: April 16, 2021
Total in assets: $338,188.16/Net worth: $287,914.75: March 11, 2021
Total in assets: $333,970.92/Net worth: $283,675.99: March 9, 2021
Total in assets: $328,881.12/Net worth: $279,611.57: February 10, 2021
Total in assets: $326,670.02/Net worth: $278,758.37: February 8, 2021
Total in assets: $324,891.52/Net worth: $276,979.87: February 4, 2021
Total in assets: $322,236.52/Net worth: $274,318.36: February 3, 2021
Total in assets: $327,639.01/Net worth: $274,298.23: January 19, 2021
Total in assets: $316,192.85/Net worth: $268,180.14: January 7, 2021
Total in assets: $313,003.95/Net worth: $264,915.22: January 6, 2021
Total in assets: $310,587.36/Net worth: $262,498.63: January 5, 2021

2020
Total in assets: $310,392.38/Net worth: $259,661.24: December 31, 2020
Total in assets: $307,812.05/Net worth: $259,070.79: December 24, 2020
Total in assets: $306,444.25/Net worth: $258,948.73: December 4, 2020
Total in assets: $304,701.39/Net worth: $257,331.58: November 27, 2020
Total in assets: $300,956.84/Net worth: $253,587.03: November 24, 2020
Total in assets: $298,903.01/Net worth: $251,533.20: November 23, 2020
Total in assets: $296,643.60/Net worth: $249,158.71: November 20, 2020
Total in assets: $294,514.87/Net worth: $247,145.87: November 11, 2020
Total in assets: $291,172.40/Net worth: $243,802.59: November 10, 2020
Total in assets: $287 803.13/Net worth: $240 433.32: November 9, 2020
Total in assets: $277,872.92/Net worth: $226,678.26: August 5, 2020
Total in assets: $276,627.27/Net worth: $227,745.47: June 6, 2020
Total in assets: $263,304.63/Net worth: $211,395.63: April 29, 2020
Total in assets: $241 461,13/Net worth: $194 558,29: March 13, 2020
Total in assets: $282,640.61/Net worth: $235,284.72: February 21, 2020
Total in assets: $304,955.72/Net worth: $257,187.44: February 12, 2020
Total in assets: $296,200.07/Net worth: $250,595: January 16, 2020
Total in assets: $292,715.58/Net worth: $244,970.41: January 9, 2020

2019
Total in assets: $288,237.52/Net worth: $239,582.44: December 31, 2019
Total in assets: $278,823.27/Net worth: $230,902.04: September 17, 2019
Total in assets: $271,896.19/Net worth: 226,137.05: June 24, 2019
Total in assets: $269 950.21/Net worth: $222 942.87: April 5, 2019
Total in assets: $251 634.94/Net worth: $206 278.84: January 18, 2019
Total in assets: $238 656.07/Net worth: $191 009.83: January 4, 2019

2018
Total in assets: $270 679.86/Net worth: $204 306.57: November 16, 2018
Total in assets: $332 750.88/Net worth: $232 609.15: August 3, 2018
Total in assets: $331 413.83/Net worth: $232 280.40: June 20, 2018
Total in assets: $326 085.75/Net worth: $226 801.92: June 3, 2018
Total in assets: $322 479.23/Net worth: $222 850.15: May 4, 2018
Total in assets: $319 644.86/Net worth: $217 246.23: March 16, 2018

2017
Total in assets: $318 544.64/Net worth: $221 989.65: December 29, 2017
Net worth on the date of November 17, 2017: $211 430.89
Net worth on the date of October 27, 2017: $212 633.39
Net worth on the date of September 29, 2017: $206 352.49
Net worth on the date of April 24, 2017: $204 277.66
Net worth on the date of March 31, 2017: $200 325.69
Net worth on the date of March 29, 2017: $198 299.73
Net worth on the date of March 18, 2017: $193 969.21

2016
Net worth on the date of December 30, 2016: $184 074.35

Net worth after debt on the date of January 1, 2014:
$101 172.99 (yes, finally, IN NET WORTH!).

On the date of February 16, 2011, the TMX hit the 14 000+ points, and I had exceeded the 150k in assets! (Not net worth yet).

On September 9, 2010, I reached $100,000 in assets! (not in net worth yet).

On the date of August 5, 2009, I reached my investment goal: I reached $50 000 worth of assets! (NOW, net worth).

On the date of December 5, 2009, I had exceeded the $60 000 in assets! (not in net worth yet).

My investment portfolio on date of December 30, 2022

Cold cash: $11,820.17

Stocks and Units investment portfolio $CAN

Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS)

Methanex Corporation (MX)

Fortis Inc. (FTS)

Pembina Pipeline Corporation (PPL)

iShares S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index (XRE)

New Flyer Industries Inc. (NFI)

TMX Group Inc. (X)

K-Bro Linen Inc. (KBL)

TransCanada Corp (TRP)

Canadian National Railway Co (CNR)

Enbridge Inc. (ENB)

Emera Inc. (EMA)

Loblaw Companies (L)

Savaria Corporation (SIS)

WSP Global Inc. (WSP)

George Weston Limited (WN)

Power Corporation of Canada Subordinate Voting Shares (POW)

BCE Inc. (BCE)

Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce (CM)

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Class A Limited Voting Shares (BAM.A)

TOTAL: $140,377.42

Stocks and Units investment portfolio $US:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B)

General Mills Inc. (GIS)

Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund (VONG)

Pfizer Inc. (PFE)

TOTAL: $5,318.87 US: $7,235.26 CAN

Tax-free savings account (TFSA):

Dumont Nickel Inc. (DNI)

CT Real Estate Investment Trust (CRT.UN)

Canadian National Railway Co (CNR)

Exchange Income Corporation (EIF)

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (BIP.UN)

Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners L.P. (BEP.UN)

Andrew Peller Limited (ADW.A)

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)

Boyd Group Services Inc. (BYD)

Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CAR.UN)

Data Communications Mgmt (DCM)

Royal Bank of Canada (RY)

Park Lawn Corporation (PLC)

Toromont Industries Ltd (TIH)

BCE Inc. (BCE)

Boralex Inc. Class A Shares (BLX)

Savaria Corporation (SIS)

Northland Power Inc. (NPI)

Calian Group Ltd. (CGY)

Canadian Utilities Limited (CU)

WSP Global Inc. (WSP)

Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (GRT.UN)

Cargojet Inc. (CJT)

Nutrien Ltd. (NTR)

TFI International Inc. (TFII)

Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce (CM)

SIR Royalty Income Fund (SRV.UN)

ATCO Ltd. (ACO.Y)

Aecon Group Inc. (ARE)

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Class A Limited Voting Shares (BAM.A)

Metro Inc. (MRU)

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD.A)

Fortis Inc. (FTS)

CGI Inc. (GIB.A)

TMX Group Limited (X)

Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation Class A Exchangeable Subordinate Voting Shares (BIPC)

Brookfield Renewable Corporation Class A Exchangeable Subordinate Voting Shares (BEPC)

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU)

Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B)

Telus Corp (T)

JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN)

Bitcoin Fund The Class A units (QBTC)

Purpose Bitcoin ETF CAD ETF non-currency hedged units (BTCC.B)

3iQ CoinShares Ether ETF (ETHQ)

Tilray Inc (TLRY)

North West Company Inc. (The) (NWC)

Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS)

National Bank of Canada (NA)

Stelco Holdings Inc. (STLC)

Hammond Manufacturing Company Limited Class A Subordinate Voting Shares (HMM.A)

Saputo Inc. (SAP)

Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corporation (LIF)

Intertape Polymer Group Inc. (ITP)

Parex Resources Inc. (PXT)

Wescan Energy Corp. (WCE)

Verde Agritech Plc Ordinary Shares (NPK)

Wajax Corporation (WJX)

Whitecap Resources Inc. (WCP)

Goodfellow Inc. (GDL)

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (AQN)

TOTAL: $119,302.78

RSP investment portfolio:

Emera Incorporated (EMA)

Ovintiv Inc. (OVV)

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)

Telus Corp (T)

Royal Bank of Canada (RY)

Savaria Corporation (SIS)

Thomson Reuters Corporation (TRI)

Park Lawn Corporation (PLC)

Richards Packaging Income Fund (RPI.UN)

Toromont Industries Ltd (TIH)

CAE Inc. (CAE)

CGI Group Inc. Class A Subordinate Voting Shares (GIB.A)

Boralex Inc. Class A Shares (BLX)

Quebecor Inc. (QBR.B)

Logistec Corporation Class B Subordinate Voting Shares (LGT.B)

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (BEP.UN)

Leon's Furniture Limited (LNF)

Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS)

Brookfield Renewable Corporation Class A Exchangeable Subordinate Voting Shares (BEPC)

Cascades Inc. (CAS)

JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN)

AirBoss of America Corp. (BOS)

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU)

Pender Growth Fund Inc. (PTF)

Rogers Communications Inc. Class B Non-voting Shares (RCI.B)

ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. (ATA)

Algoma Central Corporation (ALC)

Finning International Inc. (FTT)

Guardian Capital Group Limited (GCG)

Information Services Corporation Class A Limited Voting Shares (ISV)

Interfor Corporation (IFP)

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI)

National Bank of Canada (NA)

Nutrien Ltd. (NTR)

Open Text Corporation (OTEX)

Taiga Building Products Ltd. (TBL)

Vitreous Glass Inc. (VCI)

Power Corporation of Canada Subordinate Voting Shares (POW)

North West Company Inc. (The) (NWC)

Whitecap Resources Inc. (WCP)

Parex Resources Inc. (PXT)

North West Company Inc. (The) (NWC)

Wajax Corporation (WJX)

Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce (CM)

Total: $61,651.16

CIBC Dividend Growth Fund + CIBC Emerging Markets Index Fund + CIBC Monthly Income Fund: $3,278.02

Others: $1,159.90

NBI Income Fund: $1,213.03

Manulife Fidelity NorthStar GIF CAP

Manulife Simplicity Growth Portfolio

Maritime Life CI Harbour Seg Fund

Maritime Life Fidelity True North Seg Fund

Manulife GIF MLIA B World Invest

Total: $8,016.70

Other various: $30,484.50

TOTAL: $105,803.31

Social Capital at Desjardins Membership share: $35

Online money: $28.35

Savings + Stocks, units, mutual funds + Tax-free Savings account + RRSP:

TOTAL: $384,602.29

On the date December 30, 2022

My debt situation on date of December 30, 2022

Margin account debt: $46 726,64 @ 7.75%

Annual interest: $3,621.32

On the date December 30, 2022

**For a complete update regarding my debt, click on the label "Debt situation" located in the right column of this blog.

Sunday, December 18, 2022

An easy solution for my latest RRSP contribution: JFT Strategies Fund (JFS.UN)

I enjoyed a few days off. The weather is actually nice in New Brunswick these days, it's really not too cold. We have received some snow today, but nothing much compared to other locations like Montreal. A few days ago, all of our snow was almost gone.

While enjoying myself, the TSX wasn't doing so great. It's not fun to be behind the 20,000 points, especially now that we are about to close the year 2022 in the next two weeks. My non-registered portfolio closed this past Friday's session at $140,131.10, my US portfolio at $5,349.29 US, my RRSP stocks-only portfolio at $62 037,25, and my TFSA portfolio at $121,823.02. This is quite rough because I was just doing so well and I could easily imagine my non-registered portfolio jumping into the 150k without too much effort - until recently.

A few days ago, I made a contribution to my RRSP inside my National Bank Brokerage account. The money had arrived, but I didn't invest it yet. Now that stocks are trading lower, it's a good time to buy. My RRSP contribution for 2022 is now a bit over $6,000. I hope it will be enough to receive a reimbursement of $1,000. At work, they are pretty good dealing with taxes and stuff. I have always been able to receive a tax reimbursement while adding only an extra 2 or 3 thousand to my RRSP contribution. I had been doing so in recent years.

Since I now have some fresh new cash to invest in my RRSP portfolio, the time has come to invest! I am trying to making sound fun, but at the same time, I am not quite sure what to invest in. I am already heavily exposed to stocks overall, and for my RRSP, I like the idea of investing in something that may be more conservative, even if most of what I hold in my portfolios are, in my opinion, conservative stocks. I guess overall my idea is to have some money invested more safely.

Unfortunately, I didn't come up with many ideas. I am no longer subscribed to Stockopedia and it could be a bit more difficult for me to come up with some very awesome stock ideas. However, I don't have any regret. I could subscribe again in a few months, and I will probably take one or two months later on in 2023 - or until I cannot stand it anymore. I had subscribed to Stockopedia for several years.

and the money got transferred to my RRSP portfolio for several days now. I am not in a rush, but I like to have my money invested.

My easy way out would be to invest in JFT Strategies Fund (JFS.UN). JFS.UN is not a stranger to my investment portfolios. I already own some JFS.UN units in my TFSA portfolio and RRSP portfolio. I was looking into the Timelo Investment Management Inc. Web site, and I find out that they offer not one, but two funds: Timelo Strategic Opportunities Fund and the JFT Strategies Fund. From my understanding, the Timelo Strategic Opportunities Fund is a closed hedge fund. Both Timelo Strategic Opportunities Fund and JFT Strategies Fund (JFS.UN) appear to have similar performance, and both funds share similar holdings, including Total Energy Services Inc. (TOT). The fact that TOT is both from Timelo Strategic Opportunities Fund and the JFT Strategies Fund means something.

I could invest a few dollars into TOT as a small investment. In my non-registered portfolio, my main investment is Pembina Pipeline Corporation (PPL). I am also invested in ENB, and TRP. I am already quite invested in the oil sector, but I don't see any hurt to invest in TOT, but maybe not for my RRSP. Overall, I already have a big exposure to stocks. For now, I think investing in some JFT Strategies Fund (JFS.UN) units for my RRSP portfolio could be beneficial.

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Welcome in my US investment portfolio Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP Class A Subordinate (BIPC)!

I had some money available in my US portfolio account so I place a little super tiny investment in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP Class A Subordinate (BIPC). I currently have a small amount of cash lying in my RRSP portfolio so I could place another small investment soon.

The TSX closed today in the 20,000 points, but it was a short one. During the day, the TSX fell down within 19,900 points. However, I didn't have time to watch for very long. We are receiving a heavy load of work at my job and it's keeping me ultra busy, which I don't exactly dislike at the present time because I can certainly use the money. I am expecting two other very nice paychecks for December. I should be able to save over $2,800 by the end of December even after considering money to pay my bills for January 2023, so I am quite happy with that. It's quite easy to save money around here (in New Brunswick) while having nowhere to spend my money. This morning, we saw a fox outside and it was the event of the day.

I recently proceed with an RRSP contribution of over $1,000. For 2022, my RRSP contribution is around $6,000. This is enough to save me from any extra taxes payment and I don't plan to inject more money than that into my 2022 contribution. When you take a minute to actually think about it, $6,000 represents $500 per month. It's quite a sustainable amount of money.

One of the reasons why I am not looking forward to investing more in my RRSP is because I had set myself a $20,000 in savings for 2023. This mean I need to put away $10,000 in savings for 2023, and that $10,000 represent $833.33 per month! It's a lot of money if not too much! But the good news is, since I will have an extra $2,600 by the end of December, I will only have around $6,600 to save for 2023 to make it to my $20,000 in savings. If lucky enough, I may be able to make that happen before leaving New Brunswick for Montreal sometime in the Spring of 2023... It's a viable plan.

Other than reinvesting my dividend earn in my investment portfolios, I am not that tempted to invest in new stocks. I am not very in the mood to invest more sustainably in stocks. I had always lived paycheck to paycheck so I welcome the idea to have a bit more in cash. I currently have over $10,000 in savings, but that's not a lot. However, I can say that I feel less stuck while dealing with my expenses with $10,000 available in hand. Eventually, $30,000 in savings would be my ideal number to cover emergencies and stuff, but let's start with 20k.

These days my portfolio is doing ok, but my numbers could be higher if the TSX was gaining a bit more points. It's quite rough and I really dislike seeing the TSX going under 19,000 points. Today, my non-registered portfolio closed the session at $145,225.15, my TFSA portfolio at $124,924.11, my RRSP portfolio at $61,904.58, and my US one at $5,456.73 (in US dollars of course).

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

My money plan for the upcoming year - or not

Too bad, the TSX closed today below 20,000 points so don't count on me to check on my investment portfolio and provide you the numbers. It won't just happen tonight. Yesterday morning, Jean-François Tardif was a guest at BNN's The Open. You can watch the interview here. I note two stocks: Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (CTC.A) and Total Energy Services Inc. (TOT). Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (CTC.A) is also a Susan Brunner stock. The last time Susan review Canadian Tire was on March 2022.

As for me, I find CTC.A to be interesting - the dividend yield is certainly interesting - but the stock is super expensive, close to $150 per share, for 4.4% dividend yield. I always find CTC.A to be super expensive, despite my interest. That's the reason why I had - several years ago - invested in CT Real Estate Investment Trust (CRT.UN). That investment is still in my portfolio, in my TFSA portfolio actually. CRT.UN is kind of the REIT version of Canadian Tire Corporation. You can find out more about my CT Real Estate Investment Trust (CRT.UN) investment by clicking right here?

While the TSX is losing some points, it could be worth it to watch closely CTC.A the next coming days in order to invest a bit in it. After all, I don't have any CTC.A shares in my portfolio. There's nothing much that I like more than investing in brand-new stock for my investment portfolio. Recently, a stock that I had been thinking a bit more of is North West Company Inc. (NWC). I already have that one in my portfolio, but its currently a very small investment in my portfolio. I could add more shares without any problems.

Over the years, I never came up with a real structure plan for my money. I always invested my money whenever I felt like it, with no rule order than my goodwill. The no-plan always worked well for me, but for the year ahead, I would like to do things a bit differently. I sometimes gave myself some budget rules, but I never really respected them, to be honest. Or if I did, it was only for a couple of months. Like last year, I did set up some saving rules but I skipped them - or forgot about it after a few months. Now, I am getting older and maybe I will be able to respect some rules of my own - or not.

I think a financial plan could help me to keep my expenses under control. And I came on with quite a plan, a super ambitious one. It's achievable, especially knowing that I earn some valuable dividend income from my non-registered and TFSA portfolios. If I spend more during certain months, I will be able to take some money from my non-registered or TFSA. However, usually I never withdraw money from my TFSA, I am actually very proud of that.

I currently have a bit over $10,000 in savings. In recent years, I think it's among the highest I have ever reached in terms of savings. $10,000 is a good amount, but knowing that I have a net worth somewhere in the $350,000, and that I only have 10k in cash, it's not a lot. I would like to have at least $20,000 in savings. For that, I will be missing another 10k. When you take a moment to think about it, a 10k is quite a sum.

Usually, I invest in my RRSP only at the end of the year. I invest in my RRSP during the year with my employer, but it's not a huge amount. To compensate, in recent years, I tried to invest a couple extra thousand in my RRSP portfolio. For the upcoming year, I would like to make that extra contribution to $4,000. Also, I would like to contribute a $3,500 to my TFSA for the upcoming year.

Basically, for 2023, I would like:

A $10,000 in savings ($834 per month)

A $4,000 RRSP contribution ($334 per month)

A $3,500 TFSA contribution ($292 per month)

Those are quite big amounts, especially all combined together, but it's achievable.

Sunday, December 4, 2022

Welcoming an annual $12,040 dividend income

It's now official, my dividend income now exceeds $12,000! This happens this past Friday. In my non-registered portfolio, Enbridge Inc. (ENB) is one of my major holders, and on December 1, I received some fresh new dividends coming from ENB which roll over to create more baby shares - and more dividends - because of the magic of the DRIP. In my investment portfolio, everything that I can put on a DRIP is on one. Over the years, the DRIP that I enroll on really paid off. One of the most recent investments that I can now enroll on a DRIP is BCE Inc. (BCE).

Unfortunately, with National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB), the DRIP is a one-on-one stock thing, which means that as soon as one of your stocks qualifies for a DRIP, you need to call NBDB - or write them an email via your account online. And that needs to be done every single time. When it comes to the DRIP subscription, things were a lot easier with TD Waterhouse - or TD Direct Investing, where the DRIP was an account situation, where you just needed to ask to be set up for a DRIP for each of your accounts, non-registered, US, RRSP and TFSA account and voilà, you were all set. Some little things like that differ from broker to broker.

I used to have only had TD Waterhouse as a broker, so now I can say that I am somewhat "experimented" with both TD Waterhouse and National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB). I have to say, between National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB) and TD Waterhouse, I prefer TD Waterhouse because it was easier to have access to customer service with TD Waterhouse (back in the days), and also, with TD Waterhouse, I could view the value of my portfolio in real-time.

With National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB), I never can see the value of my portfolio in real-time and I have to say, it's quite extremely annoying and not satisfying at all for me not to be able to view the value of my investment portfolios in real-time. There's always a 15 minutes delay with NBDB. Let's say that the opening, the TSX gains, I don't know, 200-300 points - it doesn't happen frequently, but it happens. However, when those beautiful events arrived, National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB) deprived me of getting any feeling of major satisfaction when an actual "event" happens.

However, I can live with that. But I feel that National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB) is depriving its retail investors of something that is extremely important: self-satisfaction. And for me, it seems like National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB) is not taking their retail investors very seriously. I am not a millionaire, but I am not garbage, and I deserve the same treatment as any millionaire. And so do any retail investors, no matter the number of dollars they have in their account. I don't regret my switch from TD Direct Investing to NBDB because with NBDB, I don't pay any commission fee. I buy and sell stocks for free, which is a huge benefit.

I also received lately some dividend distribution inside my TFSA This past Friday, I invest that money in one share of each of the following companies: Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce (CM), The North West Company Inc. (NWC), BCE Inc. (BCE), Enbridge Inc. (ENB), Telus Corp (T), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) and Goodfellow Inc. (GDL). Those new investments make it possible for me to push my dividend income to the $12,000 and even exceed it a bit, which is quite nice. It feel like a glass ceiling had been broken.

Several years ago, Enbridge Inc. (ENB) was Derek Foster's stock. Back in the days, we had both Enbridge, and a .UN associated with Enbridge. At one point, I had both ENF.UN and Enbridge Inc. (ENB) in my non-registered portfolio. Eventually, the two entities merged into one, which makes a lot of sense. I never understood why we had Enbridge and an Enbridge .UN fund - the old ticket used to be ENF.UN if I remembered correctly run over the TSX. So we had both ENB and ENF.UN as an investment option when it came to Enbridge. There are actually a lot of things I don't understand about the stock market, but obviously, that doesn't stop me from investing.

Friday, December 2, 2022

It's now super official, I am now a Dividend Queen

Other than the saga that is still going on between Saputo Inc. (SAP) and a short seller freak Spruce Point Capital Management, two days ago, 3 of my major holders in my investment portfolio announced back-to-back dividend increases: Enbridge Inc. (ENB), Royal Bank of Canada (RY) and National Bank of Canada (NA). It was quite amazing to watch.

During that time, my investment portfolio grow by over $3,000, which means that I probably had closed yesterday's trading day with a net worth of over $350,000. Yesterday, my non-registered portfolio closed the session at $148,015.59, my US portfolio at $5,450.68, my RRSP portfolio at $61,754.96, and my TFSA portfolio at $126,457.30.

Yesterday, I was quite happy to learn that both the Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce (CM) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) also increased their dividend distribution today! That's quite satisfying news.

With all those increases, my dividend income coming from my TFSA and non-registered portfolio is now exceeding $10,000 by 40 bucks and my overall dividend income is getting super close to the ao wanted $12,000. I am now only missing exactly an annual $14.34 before seeing that happen. I always taught that earning the equivalent of $1,000 per month in dividends. It's about to happen really soon, it's just that a little part is coming from my RRSP portfolio, money that I cannot really touch in case of need.

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Saying hello to a $347,000 net worth and a bunch of other things

I got a very quiet Black Friday here in New Brunswick. I wasn't in need of anything in particular so I just skipped it. If I would have been in Montreal, I would probably have done a bit of shopping. A few days ago, I cancel my subscription to Stockopedia. Not that I didn't like it anymore, but the annual subscription and even their monthly subscription don't come cheap. I just didn't feel like I needed to renew it, at least not for now. However, I am not closing the door to Stockopedia. My plan is to subscribe for a month or two later on during the year 2023, when it will make a long time since I didn't consult it. Or whenever I really miss it.

I could afford to keep Stockopedia, especially since I will be receiving very soon a $400 credit coming from the Quebec government, but I prefer to stay on the safe side when it comes to my expenses. Here at home in New Brunswick, a few windows are in great need of changes and I will probably give that $400 to my old folks, to change the very old window that is in my bedroom. We have at least 3 other small windows that are in critical need of a replacement. It makes my old folks laugh when I tell them that I am a Quebecker. Here in New Brunswick, nothing is being given to the population in terms of an "inflation" bonus. I make less than $100,000, but more than $50,000 per year, which qualifies me for the $400, and not the $600 bonus. However, for 2023, I can already say that I won't be earning as much as I did so far in 2022. It's not necessarily a bad thing.

Anyway, despite the fact that I am really happy to receive that extra $400, I feel the Quebec government is not doing the right thing. With that money, they should cover the education cost for young adults who want to become a nurse or doctor, or for whatever profession in the healthcare industry. Giving money to give money is not doing any good to fight inflation. Giving away money for just the heck of it - and that's really what the Quebec government is doing - doesn't serve any social purpose. While having the luxury to hold to so much money like the Quebec government does, it would be nice to see that money working at making things better. A lot can be done, and I am excessively jealous of Quebec society, to have as much as they have. Currently, I feel that New Brunswick is kind of falling apart. The province is dealing with many problems, homelessness in the big cities, lack of care - some people had died at the emergency room in Moncton, lack of apartments available - we have some foreign students who have a really really hard time just finding a place to live etc... None of those problems are brand new, but now, it feels like the problems are hitting the population in a harder way.

The end of the year is coming in a hurry and soon enough, it will be time to invest a bit in my RRSP contribution. Again this year, I did several extra hours at work and the only way not to pay extra in taxes or ease the process is to invest in my RRSP. I already invest in my RRSP at work, but it's only a small amount. I would need to invest I guess another $3,000-$4,000 inside my RRSP to make a positive difference. Now that I have a good amount in my non-registered and TFSA portfolio, I can certainly afford to invest in my RRSP, but I never find RRSP to be very interesting.

I updated my investment portfolio this weekend. I was quite pleased to find out that my net worth is now in the $347,000. The old $360k doesn't appear to be that far anymore. Today wasn't a very good day for the TSX. I was listening to BNN this morning, just to learn that RBC is looking forward to buying HSBC Canada. As result, RBC closed today's session on a little +0.42% gain. It's better than no gain at all. My non-registered portfolio closed today's session at $146,796.70, my US portfolio at $5,341.23, my RRSP stocks-only portfolio at $61,243,21, and my TFSA portfolio at $125,113.04.

Other than RBC, Saputo had to deal with some troublemakers. I hold some Saputo Inc. (SAP) shares in my TFSA portfolio. Recently, I was looking into the holdings of JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN), as I taught maybe find in there something that will blow my mind, but I just find some really basic boring stuff. Among others, JFS.UN is invested in Telus, Wajax, BCE... and Saputo. You can find a more detailed list right here. Today, because of this, Saputo's value decreased by -5.92%. It's a major drop. But it didn't seem to affect my investment in JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN), which gain today by +1.195%.

I don't know how things will turn out for Saputo, but that saga between Saputo and Spruce Point Capital Management reminds me of what I went through a little while back between Exchange Income Corporation (EIF) and Exchange Income Corporation (EIF) and Marc Cohodes. In both cases, we are dealing with some American idiots who are looking forward to destroying some valuable Canadian businesses with their short-selling shitty business. This will pass. Just like it did for Marc Cohodes. Do you ever hear of Marc Cohodes these days? The answer to that question is no.

Sometimes, you have Americans like Cohodes who are short-selling loudly our Canadian businesses, but that's more noise than anything else. People like Marc Cohodes and the other guys are just big on noise, but at the end of the day, the offensive is limitless, just like their brains. Don't be scared of the noise. Next to the TSX, those little guys are worthless.

Sunday, November 27, 2022

My debt situation on date of November 25, 2022

Margin account debt: $46,584.33 @ 7.25%

Annual interest: $3,377.36

On the date November 25, 2022

**For a complete update regarding my debt, click on the label "Debt situation" located in the right column of this blog.

Friday, November 25, 2022

Historic of my Total assets and Net worth values on date of November 25, 2022