Welcome to my net worth update for November 2021! These numbers represent my wife and I’s net worth as of November 1st. If you haven’t already, check out our previous net worth update.

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Spending

Last month we took a break from our minor home maintenance projects and picked up a few items for our kitchen and living room. We bought a dinnerware set and a small rug from Bed Bath and Beyond. These expenses added up to a cool $532 after taxes and delivery.

Other expenses of note include a couple dress shirts and pants for the few times a month I go into the office. We also spent about $300 on gifts for friends and family and $339 towards some upcoming travel. Noticeably absent is our car payment, which I explained is now completely paid off in our last net worth update.

Overall, it was a pretty low-spending month for us. Expect that to change as we get into Christmas shopping mode in the weeks ahead. Some expensive purchases, like potentially an exercise bike, could be on the horizon. Also, we expect to take delivery of some new furniture soon, which means we’ll need to pay the remainder of of their purchase price.

Passive Income

Last month we earned $350 in dividend income from a variety of sources. The largest source of dividends was our 501 shares of VCN that we own in multiple of our investment accounts. If you’re interested in the exact breakdown, check out our portfolio deep dive I shared recently.

XDG and XDIV continue to pull their weight, earning us about $75 per month in dividends.

Some people dislike XDIV because it has so few holdings. I agree, but since we hold the highly diversified VCN, having a concentrated ETF like XDIV doesn’t bother me too much. We bought XDIV because we want to be overweight quality dividend stocks without buying them all individually. Read more about it in my post on the best dividend ETFs in Canada.

Overall, I’m delighted with the dividends we’re accumulating lately. We’ve earned over $200 in dividends in four of the past six, despite not being overly dividend focused. For example, some of our holdings, like VTI in my RRSP, pay less than 2% in dividends. If we converted this into dividend stocks, especially Canadian dividend stocks, our dividend income would be higher.

Net Worth Increase

I’m happy to report that our net worth increased to $437,500 from $424,600 in the previous month. This $12,800 increase is attributed to us saving $5,600 of our income and our investments recovering from the previous month’s slump.

Overall, our net worth continues its slow, upward trajectory. There have only been a few minor blips along the way, which makes me wonder when this bull run we’ve been on will peter out. Regardless, we’ll keep saving and investing our money through good times and bad.

Home Equity Adjustments

One metric of note, our home equity, may be due for an adjustment. Back in January, I shared how our property assessment increased by $45,000. Based on sale prices for homes on my block this year, I expect the increase to be a little more dramatic. As such, I’m trying to work out how to best capture this information in our net worth calculation.

Depending on our property assessment, I’m also considering whether it will soon be the right time to pull the trigger and apply for a home equity line of credit. But the question remains, what should I invest in? Expect to hear more on these questions in the months ahead.

Thanks for Reading

Thank you for checking out my net worth update for November 2021. A few questions I have for you include:

• How accurate are property assessments in your area?
• What would you do with a $200k home equity line of credit?
• Should we adjust our portfolio to increase our dividend income even more?

I recently wrote a few articles that you may be interested in. This includes my post on TFSA contribution limits for 2022 and my income report from my first year blogging. Consider giving those a read if you think they’ll help you on your financial journey!

As always, please consider following me on social media or signing up for my newsletter if you’d like to be notified periodically (less than once per month) with a list of my recent articles.