This is enough action, I'm going to stop looking at personal finance things and excel spreadsheets until 2022 and focus on my life. Everything is set now and any more planning will just be taking time away from actual productive activity or sleep.
Friday, August 13, 2021
Check-in: net worth $834k ($609k), gain of $60k
An update to my accounting method, as half my assets are in one country and the other half in the other. It's too much work to report on this every month so I'm going to go back to quarterly, I think, since I ended up making a new sweet Excel sheet to track my net worth.
This time I managed to look at my investment accounts and sweet Jesus everything is going well right now. It might look like I have sudden jumps this month but it's mostly because I've just done some accounting and am actually accounting for investment returns for the last 8 months. What a time to be alive.
I plowed $145k into my retirement accounts this last month, 5k still sits in cash (don't know why - if I leave it I'm leaving gains on the table). I've informally decided that $20k of this belongs to E, given we don't have tax sheltered accounts where I could save for kids's education. I don't have a house yet but there is no way we can buy this in the next year anyways given our location, so I would rather not have cash sitting around and will use future earnings for a downpayment instead.
I have also:
1) Divested from my bonds and buy stocks instead. 100% stock portfolio for growth. I have cash reserves to last me 1 year, and "survivability" income technically forever or until I become paraplegic so the chances are pretty good that I don't need to cash out until I really decide to retire in 30+ years.
2) Organized more clinical work on my plate for next month. Keep the license alive and get more income.
3) Moved money back to Canada to take care of my expenses, using Transferwise.
Given other planned expenses, I will not be able to take half of the year's working days off and will instead have to work 20 more days if I want to meet my savings goals (not total portfolio growth goals) of $100k CHF this year. First world problems. I hope my supervisor is ok with this. I'll bring it up sometime later in the summer.
I will be able to reach $1m CAD, personally, at age 36, so I am on track at least to meet my first financial goal. The next goal, $1m CHF personally, sounds reachable by age 40.
But again, this is still my bare minimum and I feel in the current climate that I can do better. Yay for perfectionist tendencies. So let's see how much I can hustle this year to improve this.
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Check-in: Net worth $774k (595k)
Current net worth: $595,000 CHF or $774,000 CAD
The increase from 582 to 595 ($13k in one month, or $17k CAD) comes entirely from income. I don't know if there were other investment gains and I don't check.
Upcoming expenses till 1 July 2021:
I pay my partner for my half of expenses, which is around $2600
Taxes: $8000 (Property tax and general income tax)
Total: $10600
Upcoming income (till 1 July 2021):
Job 1: $34000 $18500 from the month's work, plus $15700 pending from TWO YEARS AGO. Don't ask.
Job 2: $0 Still doing this other gig. Making some money but I'm just breaking even (or less). I don't think I want to ramp up work here because it will just cut into my other income.
Job 3: $1500 Still pending from side work.
Total: $35500
Total increase in NW = $24,900 CHF or $33,767 CAD
Expected net worth July 1, 2021: $619,900 CHF or $840,838 CAD
1-month forecast
Income - ~$4000. I will probably only work a week next month.
Expenses - ~$4000 (+1400). With increased expenses from travel I will just break even for next month.
12-month forecast
Income - around $110k: I've signed a contract for working half the days of the year, for just over $100k. Another $7k or so will come from the capital gain on paying down my mortgage. (I don't count potential capital gains from stock right now). This is good enough for me for now, as all the income is tax-free. I could work more to earn another $16k or so but I'm not sure if it's worth it - this way I can either work 4 days a week and take 3 months off, or I can work 5 days a week and take 6 months off. I'll also try to work more doing Job 2, where I need to fulfill some hours. But it is flexible, so if I want to work more later I can.
Expenses - probably around $30,000: Expenses for next year might be slightly higher than prior because I do want to spend more time travelling with E.
Total gain: around $80k (or 108k CAD). This will meet my minimum goals of annual gain of $100k CAD. If I work more and get an increase of $96k ($130k CAD) I can even push this more - and be close to $1m CAD ($960k)! Let's see how this goes.
Again my long-term financial goals are to get to $1m CAD, or $1m CHF (stretch goal) by the time I am 40; and then up to $8m net worth by the time I retire with at least $2-3m in retirement savings. The best (and fastest) way to get there is to keep working hard - do as much as possible in my job, keep staying positive and bringing positive energy to work, which will help me to get a stable contract with all those sweet benefits, or get a better job in another organization.
I'm really looking forward to being able to invest better while we're in Switzerland and Canada. By next month I will have over $100k that I want to put away in a "shopping spree" so looking forward to doing that.
The strategy has not changed for increasing my wealth:
1. Better investing - still haven't found a good way to keep doing this while abroad.
2. Find a full-time job in public health - UN agency, consultancy, or university
3. (back-up) learn German, then work as a doctor
Saturday, May 15, 2021
Check in: Net worth $757k ($582k)
Current net worth: $582,000 CHF or $757,000 CAD
The increase from $457 to $582 (a $125k jump!) has come from:
- Getting the money from the sale of the house I inherited - $50k
- Increased valuation of my apartment in Canada - $40k
- Income from work - about $20k
- Investment gains - about $15-20k
Many of these things I did not take into full account last time I did this valuation. So I'm including it now.
Upcoming expenses till 1 July 2021:
My monthly living expenses are hovering at around $2600/month according to our finance split, but I expect this will go down as we get more efficient with our spending. $2600 (only one month left till July!)
Trip to Canada (to see grandparents): $4500
I really wish we could have gone sooner. But COVID. It will only be me and E. Part of this plane cost will be subsidized by the travel subsidy we get, but I estimate we will be spending on other things (like car rental, travelling to see friends) so expecting that this amount will even out to roughly $2000. We will also need to pay for a hotel quarantine stay, which will be about $1300 for me and E. A COVID test to fly back will also cost $150. Other miscellaneous expenses will likely equal $1000.
Trip to Switzerland: $3300
The flights are covered, baby! But this is still going to be an expensive trip. I'm booking one week in a hotel with points which helps, and we'll be staying with M's parents or with friends, so most of the accommodation costs are accounted for. We'll still likely spend money booking another hotel for about 4 nights ($800), there will also be train trips ($700). Other shopping, miscellaneous expenses can easily total $1500. COVID test costs will also equal about $300.
The flights are covered, baby! But this is still going to be an expensive trip. I'm booking one week in a hotel with points which helps, and we'll be staying with M's parents or with friends, so most of the accommodation costs are accounted for. We'll still likely spend money booking another hotel for about 4 nights ($800), there will also be train trips ($700). Other shopping, miscellaneous expenses can easily total $1500. COVID test costs will also equal about $300.
Taxes: $8000 (Property tax and general income tax)
Total: $19600
Upcoming income (till 1 July 2021):
Job 1: $50000 I'm expecting an income adjustment of $15k, finally! Plus I'm expecting a lot of money coming in at the end of this contract.
Job 2: $0 Although I'm working, the money will be offset by the costs to keep this job. Is it worth it? Apparently it is.
Job 3: $1500 Doing some additional side work here and there.
Total: $51,500
Total increase in NW = $31,900 CHF or $42,837 CAD
Expected net worth July 1, 2021: $613,000 CHF or $799,000 CAD
37% of this is in home equity, another 25% in pension accounts, and the rest is in liquid cash or ETFs.
I've already reached 600k net worth (Or $800k in my home currency, CAD) before age 35; I'm happy with that. Again my long-term financial goals are to get to $1m CAD, or $1m CHF (stretch goal) by the time I am 40; and then up to $8m net worth by the time I retire with at least $2-3m in retirement savings. The best (and fastest) way to get there is to keep working hard - do as much as possible in my job, keep staying positive and bringing positive energy to work, which will help me to get a stable contract with all those sweet benefits, or get a better job in another organization.
Next year, I can save about $80k or so give or take at the current pace. I'll be taking nearly 3 months off over the summer while expenses will hover at $31,200, or will even go down (Although, given I'm dying to go to a few countries in this region the travel budget for the rest of the year might be higher.)
I'm really looking forward to being able to invest better while we're in Switzerland and Canada. By next month I will have over $100k that I want to put away in a "shopping spree" so looking forward to doing that.
The strategy has not changed for increasing my wealth:
1. Better investing - still haven't found a good way to keep doing this while abroad.
2. Find a full-time job in public health - UN agency, consultancy, or university
3. (back-up) learn German, then work as a doctor
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Updated Makeup Essentials
Time for me to do an update on what my makeup routine looks like. This is tried and true after like 5-6 years of the same routine. It is mom with young kids friendly (only takes me about 5 minutes to do the whole thing, which I sometimes find myself doing before the next videoconference).
This does not include skincare, which I am still working on perfecting! If anyone has any good ideas for skincare routines in high sun exposure areas hit me up.
I don't believe in spending more than you need on makeup. If you have the basics, you're set. Sometimes spending $20 gets you the same results as spending $60 on a makeup kit. Sometimes it's even better.
1. Eyeshadow palette with 3 colors: 1 dark shadow, one warm medium brown/almond, and 1 white/shiny highlight color. Should come with its own mirror and brush for maximum portability and durability. I don't like palettes with 8+ colors because who has time to decide on colors in the morning? You'll end up using 3-4 daily anyways. My palette was maybe $30 from MAC (MAC Look in a Box - All About Beige), I've used it for almost 7 years and it still has a year or two left in it. One of my best purchases. Here it is below (it is no longer on sale unfortunately).
2. Foundation - $20-30. Right now I use a powder foundation from Everyday Minerals. I use this because I am in a hot climate. This is a more cost-effective version of Bare Minerals and works beautifully. Costs $17, with a $17 kabuki brush (so $32 total). I've used it now for 1 year and it looks like it still has another 5 years left.
3. Concealer stick or liquid concealer, $15-20. Still looking for a good one with the right amount of cover.
4. Occasionally, lipstick or tinted lip balm, $5. Lipstick is everywhere! I don't do more than natural lips so I don't need something more long-lasting, although if lipstick is your trademark you will probably be spending more here.
I don't use an eyeliner anymore but I might start again. This would bump up the sum by another $20. Mascara just doesn't do it for me - I inevitably get the color transferred to my lower eyeline at some point and it becomes a pain to remove.
Total: $85, or $105 with an optional eyeliner.
Check in: Net worth, $612k ($457k)
Current net worth: $457,000 CHF or $612,000 CAD
6 months ago I was at $539k, now an increase of $73k (largely from house sale).
Upcoming expenses till 1 July 2021:
My monthly living expenses have really gone down. They are hovering at around $2000/month. $2000 x 3 months = $6000
Our costs abroad:
Our costs abroad:
Daycare $800/month
Nanny $250/month
Cook $250/month
Driver $250/month
Subtotal = $1550/month
My half of the above = $775/month
Food and other things, $500/month
Rent (my half)- $928
Health insurance (my half) - $240
Trip to Canada (to see grandparents): $3100
Trip to Switzerland (to see grandparents): $6000
Total: $15100
Trip to Canada (to see grandparents): $3100
Trip to Switzerland (to see grandparents): $6000
Total: $15100
Upcoming income (till 1 July 2021):
Job 1: $64000 I'm currently working 5 days a week and a bit more. The work pace is fine and I have a good set up. I need to put more boundaries in place between work and home so I'm not sitting at my desk when I don't need to be.
Job 2: $0 Probably not much, I don't see myself working very much and the licensing costs will eat up any money made.
Job 3: $1000 Doing some additional side work here and there.
Still waiting on: (I am leaving this out because I have no idea when this will come through)
$15000 from proof of tax return - my employer is inexplicably holding back $15k on proof of my final tax return. This is a very strange business model especially since I have already given them proof that I have to pay taxes as per many clear email conversations with the cantonal government. Anyways we managed to scratch this condition out of the new contract.
Total: $65,000
Total increase in NW = $49,900 CHF or $66,848 CAD
Expected net worth July 1, 2021: still around $520,000 CHF or $697,000 CAD
If I can get that $15,000 owing to me this will be even higher, $530k. That is still fine with me. No change from prior, no news really. Still hoping to get to $1m CAD, or $1m CHF (stretch goal) by the time I am 40; and then up to $8m net worth by the time I retire with at least $2-3m in retirement savings.
Right now less than 30% of this is in home equity / pension, the rest is in liquid cash or ETFs.
This trajectory was boosted by the sale of a house. How much can I make next year? Well, I'll have about 150 days guaranteed, so $118,000 of income tax free. Expenses will hover at $34000. So I'll be able to save still maybe 80k or so, bringing net worth to 600k (or 800k CAD) by the time I am 36. I will really need to ramp this up if I want to hit $1m by 40.
Investing while abroad and unable to access my accounts has been tricky; I need to do better at taking advantage of the times we go back to Canada. I did manage to thankfully open an investment account which allowed me to take advantage of some of the excellent stock market performance (a modest amount but still!). I just need to plow a lot more of the liquid I have into ETFs, maybe put another $70k in there when I go back (getting it up to $130k).
The strategy has not changed:
1. Better investing - get on top of this again. How do I do this while not in Switzerland?
2. Find a full-time job in public health - UN agency, consultancy, or university
3. (back-up) learn German, then work as a doctor
Investing while abroad and unable to access my accounts has been tricky; I need to do better at taking advantage of the times we go back to Canada. I did manage to thankfully open an investment account which allowed me to take advantage of some of the excellent stock market performance (a modest amount but still!). I just need to plow a lot more of the liquid I have into ETFs, maybe put another $70k in there when I go back (getting it up to $130k).
The strategy has not changed:
1. Better investing - get on top of this again. How do I do this while not in Switzerland?
2. Find a full-time job in public health - UN agency, consultancy, or university
3. (back-up) learn German, then work as a doctor
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