Savings: $2,706.40
Stocks and Units investment portfolio $CAN
Others: $1,159.90
NBI Income Fund: $1,326.90
On date of January 18, 2025
Because life is all about money and a bunch of other things
Savings: $2,706.40
Stocks and Units investment portfolio $CAN
Others: $1,159.90
NBI Income Fund: $1,326.90
On date of January 18, 2025
My non-registered portfolio closed today’s session at $151,487.68, my US portfolio at $5,853.47 USD, my RRSP stocks-only portfolio at $83,258.29, and my TFSA portfolio at $137,662.08. Overall, my stock portfolio gained $2,500 today—a nice little jump in the right direction while waiting for Donald Trump’s inauguration this coming Monday. However, I can’t say I’m very optimistic about how things might turn out. In a way, this uncertainty is why I’m primarily focusing on building up my savings. It’s my way of unplugging from the chaos. Thankfully, I can do so freely because I no longer have a margin debt in play.
On a personal note, my father has been feeling unwell lately, though not excessively ill. He has no fever at the moment. I still have some COVID tests at home, and he took one—it came back negative for now. I have no idea where he caught this bug. I haven’t been sick in a while, so he certainly didn’t catch it from me. He had COVID a few months ago, so this is probably just a sore throat. Winters here can be rough and tough. That said, winters aren’t what they used to be; we used to get a lot more snow. I’d be curious to see the statistics for New Brunswick. Climate change is affecting the world in many different ways.
With the New Year comes new resolutions. Last year, I paid off my margin debt—a feat I still can’t quite believe! This year, I’m aiming to build up savings, ideally $20,000. Once I hit $10,000, I’ll be thrilled. I should be able to save $5,000 by the end of February, which is a great start. In my spending spreadsheet, I’ve marked March as the month I return to Montreal. Because of this, I’ll likely only save $500 that month.
I have an Excel sheet—nothing fancy, very simple—where I track my expenses, upcoming bills, rent, and any anticipated costs for the next few months. I’ve created a couple of versions with different scenarios but decided to stick with a realistic plan I can follow. That’s what budgets are supposed to be. The good news is that if I stick to my plan, I should easily reach my $20,000 savings goal this year.
Here’s my budget for when I’m in Montreal:
Groceries: $400This is the most realistic budget I’ve come up with so far. I’m considering canceling my Crave subscription and keeping only Netflix. Once I maintain a balance in my chequing account, my banking fees will be waived. I have a basic cable subscription but would like to suspend it, if possible, and keep it only when my parents visit. At some point, my rent will likely increase—maybe by $10 or $15 per month. With $100 a week for groceries, I should manage, but steak and salmon won’t be frequent items on the menu, that’s for sure!
My "Extra" category includes fun money and my daily espresso.
Actually, it’s more of an expresso with a bit of steamed milk, but I’ve forgotten its name. When I’m in Montreal, I usually go out for one almost every day. It’s probably one of my favorite things in the world, followed by swimming and going to the movies. Montreal is blessed with various free festivals and activities, so I often enjoy myself without spending much. My daily espresso costs about $5.50 after a 20% tip. Some might think that’s excessive, especially since I go nearly every day, but I view tipping 20% on an espresso as a small but meaningful gesture.
After accounting for my daily espresso, I’ll have about $61.50 left each week for fun activities. That should cover a few enjoyable things over the weekend, but I’ll see how it goes—money can disappear quickly!
I honestly don’t remember the last time I worked so tightly within a budget to save money. Usually, I’m not very restrictive and still manage to save, but never with a strict plan. This new approach could be beneficial for me, especially since inflation is reshaping financial priorities. Having little to no savings, as I’ve done in the past, isn’t sustainable anymore.
I took this picture in Montreal on Saint-Laurent boulevard - or the Main if your prefer. It's one of my favorite picture that I took last year.
One thing that I missed from Montreal is the coffee shop.
I have been monitoring the situation in California. I’ve listened to many testimonies and watched several live streams on TikTok. Unfortunately, too many creators are spreading conspiracy theories. In my opinion, these fires are simply caused by climate change. The winds have worsened the situation, along with the lack of water supply. Many beautiful communities are being affected, and it’s truly heartbreaking to see. I’m only watching from a distance, but even so, I find it morally exhausting. These fires are incredibly difficult to contain. I had never really heard of the Palisades before this. Maybe I had, but it wasn’t something I had paid much attention to. From what I’ve seen, the Palisades were a really special place.
Today was a busy day at work, and I didn’t have time to take advantage of the market. I currently have over $13,000 in cash waiting to be invested in my RRSP. I think the TSX could drop further, so I’m not in a rush to invest. However, I may start making small investments over the next few weeks.
What a great way to kick off the first trading week of the year! As I watched the TSX close this past Friday's session at an impressive 25,073.54 points, I knew it was time to update my investment portfolio—and I did just that. My net worth has nearly reached 460k, closing Friday's session at $459,983.13. Thanks to some dividends rolling in through DRIP, my dividend income now stands at $910, excluding the dividends earned within my RRSP portfolio.
At the moment, none of my stocks are involved in National Bank Direct Brokerage’s Fully-Paid Securities Lending Program. Some of my stocks had been active in the program over the past two weeks, ever since I paid off my margin debt. I'm eager to see how much money I earned from it. It probably won’t be much—maybe just enough for a medium coffee at Tim Hortons?
Since October, I've been in New Brunswick. Lately, I’ve been craving a really good espresso with hot milk. While there are coffee shops nearby, they’re not within walking distance, and the ones I’ve visited so far don’t seem to understand the concept of a proper espresso with hot milk. I love it when my espresso has a creamy texture, just like this:
Back in October, my espresso perfectly matched my brand-new wallet.
Lately, the weather has been unusual. We experienced some rain, but now winter is back in full force. Over the past couple of days, we’ve been dealing with feels-like temperatures of -20°C. Despite the cold, the scenery remains beautiful.
This winter is the perfect time to spend browsing Stockopedia. I’ve been using Stockopedia for a few years now and renewed my subscription this past November. Since then, I’ve been enjoying exploring Stockopedia's screens and all the features they offer.
In a recent post on her blog, Susan Brunner announced that she had invested in 100 shares of Propel Holdings Inc. (PRL). She warned her readers that PRL is a risky pick. Naturally, I was curious to find out Stockopedia's opinion on the subject. Stockopedia has a ranking system for stocks called StockRank™, which is based on three metrics: Quality, Value, and Momentum. While I won’t reveal Propel Holdings Inc.'s (PRL) overall StockRank, I can share that its Value score is below 50 (the rankings range from 1 to 100, with 100 being the best score). However, I will disclose another interesting detail: Propel Holdings Inc. (PRL) appears in Stockopedia's screen titled "James Montier 'Unholy Trinity' Screen."
James Montier is a well-known financial expert, author, and behavioral economist. He is particularly recognized for his work in value investing, behavioral finance, and market psychology. Montier has written extensively on topics such as the psychology of investing, the pitfalls of emotional decision-making, and strategies for long-term investment success. He has been a member of the asset allocation team at GMO, an investment management firm known for its research-driven approach. Before joining GMO, he worked at Dresdner Kleinwort and Société Générale, focusing on equity strategy and global research.
I don’t know if you’re familiar with the name Jérôme Kerviel, but I’d be quite curious to find out if Montier and Kerviel ever worked together at Société Générale or if they happened to know each other casually. In the movie L'Outsider, based on Kerviel's story, the actor playing the role of Kerviel’s supervisor at the Société Générale, François-Xavier Demaison, kind of reminds me of James Montier...
I currently have over $13,000 in cash sitting in my RRSP portfolio, waiting to be invested. However, I am in no rush to deploy it.
Stocks and Units investment portfolio $CAN
2025
2024
2023
2022
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 14 000+ points, and I 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 $60 000 in assets! (not in net worth yet).