Summer Adventures and Financial Milestones: Could My Net Worth Be $430,000 Right Now?

I hope you all are having a nice summer! I just returned from a 10-day vacation at the beach in New Brunswick. Overall, it went well, but the accommodation didn't match what had been advertised, and the wireless wasn't working. This was quite annoying because I had planned to show some movies to my elderly parents when they needed a break from the beach. Unfortunately, the wireless wasn't functional, so their only options during their rest time were listening to the radio and reading. Personally, it didn't bother me much, but it was certainly frustrating for them. I've never had any issues renting accommodation in New Brunswick before, but this year was disappointing. Next year, I'll probably plan a vacation closer to home for them—7 days should be sufficient, and it'll cost a bit less.

When I arrived home, one of the first things I did was check on my investment portfolio. If I evaluated everything correctly, my net worth is now around $430,000. The last time I updated my portfolio was on May 10, 2024, when my net worth was $413,741.80. Achieving a $430k net worth is great—it's my highest ever, which makes me happy, though I would have liked it to be a bit higher. I'm aiming for a $450,000 net worth by my 44th birthday at the end of August. That's the challenge with investing—once success starts, it's never quite enough. I won't update my investment portfolio this evening, but here are my current numbers as of July 19, 2024:

- Non-registered portfolio: $141,896.75

- TFSA portfolio: $147,270.62

- RRSP portfolio (stocks only): $67,927.76

- US portfolio: $5,822.60 USD

Have you noticed that the value of my TFSA portfolio now exceeds my non-registered portfolio? My margin account debt is currently at $6,300. I won't be paying it down by the end of this month because I spent a lot of money before and during my vacation. Right now, I'm just $19 short for July, including my rent for August. I should be able to cover that $19 with dividend money, and if not, I'll deduct it from my margin. I'm sharing this to give you an idea of my current financial situation. I plan to spend significantly less in August and September. By the end of September, I aim to reduce my margin debt to $3,000. This way, I might be able to pay it off by the end of 2024 and start 2025 debt-free. Not a bad plan at all.

As far as I can recall, I've never been debt-free in my adult life. It would be a first for me. After becoming debt-free, I'd like to build up some savings because I simply don't have any right now. I don't recommend anyone adopt the same approach. For years, I've invested every penny I could. I didn't care about having debt or not having savings, though I did accumulate some savings from time to time, only to invest them shortly after... I started investing in stocks shortly before the 2008 stock market crash. For a long time after that, interest rates were low, so I took full advantage by linking a margin to my non-registered portfolio. Things are different now, and I wouldn't advise anyone to invest on margin due to the high interest rates. That's why I've been actively working to pay down my margin debt. It hasn't been easy, but at the same time, I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. I don't feel the same urge to invest my money these days as I did before.

Recently, it was announced that Park Lawn Corporation (PLC) intends to leave the TSX to become a private business. I'd welcome that, as it could provide a nice amount to help pay down my margin debt.

That's all for now.