Saying thank you and goodbye to all my BCE Inc. (BCE) shares!

I won’t have time to update my investment portfolio this evening, but my stock portfolio grew by $2,000 today. Here’s how my portfolios closed at the end of the session:

• Non-registered portfolio: $150,565.05
• US portfolio: $5,986
• RRSP stocks-only portfolio: $73,574
• TFSA portfolio: $150,229

Today’s gain brings my net worth to $455,000. My highest net worth ever was $467,000, which I reached on November 29. While I’m currently over $10,000 behind that peak, it doesn’t bother me much. Of course, I would have preferred to maintain that level, but investing the vast majority of my money in stocks means embracing volatility. This is especially true as we head into January with potential new drama surrounding Donald Trump—and it’s already starting! On top of that, I’ve been dealing with some personal financial drama of my own (in regards of my stocks only).

Today, I made some strategic decisions in my TFSA portfolio, I sold all BCE shares. I decided to sell my remaining BCE shares because I was dissatisfied with the company’s management. Holding these shares no longer aligned with my strategy. This sale resulted in a capital loss of $5,000. I also partially sold Boyd Group Services Inc. (BYD) shares. I reduced my BYD position because I was overweight in this stock. Additionally, its 0.285% dividend yield is not very appealing, and the returns have been relatively flat lately. I still hold some shares but opted to reallocate part of this investment.

In total, these sales generated over $10,000, which I plan to transfer to my non-registered account and use to make an $11,000 contribution to my RRSP. By doing this, I expect to receive a tax break of $5,000 to $6,000 when I file my 2024 tax return in early 2025. This strategy helps me offset the $5,000 capital loss from selling BCE shares while taking advantage of the tax benefits offered by an RRSP. I should receive the tax refund—between $5,000 and $6,000—in March or April, depending on when I file my return.

I’ve never been a big fan of RRSPs. The main reason is that you can’t access the funds before retirement without facing penalties. Investing for my retirement has never been a particularly exciting part of my investment journey. I prefer the TFSA because it provides more flexibility. That said, one advantage of an RRSP is the tax break, and I decided to leverage this benefit for 2024.

I see this plan as a great way to start building savings. By April, I aim to have $7,000 saved, and with the expected tax refund, my savings will grow to $13,000. I’m confident I can reach at least $21,000 in savings by the end of 2025 if I stick to this strategy. I may even have around $5,000 available to invest in stocks or other opportunities. For most of my adult life, I’ve invested nearly every dollar I could in stocks, leaving little to no savings. While this worked for a long time, I now realize that building savings is essential to remain debt-free in the long run.

Saving has always been challenging for me because I tend to invest every spare dollar, keeping only the bare minimum in my chequing account for expenses. However, this is not a sustainable way to live, especially in today’s volatile market environment. While I still plan to invest, I’m committed to creating more room for other priorities, like building financial security through savings.

Now that I no longer hold BCE shares in my TFSA, my dividend income has decreased slightly. However, it’s still solid, with monthly income from my non-registered and TFSA portfolios exceeding $900.