February 2022 – Net Worth Update – Peak Fear

February net worth Update... peak fear

Peak fear…we hope

By MeTheMillenial

February Monthly Net Worth Update

Boy was February the month to readjust financial expectations!

The stock market has continued its fall back into correction territory and as of time of writing, early March, is down well over 10% from last year’s highs.

But look, I am here for the long term – and you should be too, focused on keeping my savings rate high, my expenses low, and consistent investing.

So in this turbulent year that is 2022, how has my portfolio performed?

Before we get there ….life update.

This is my 10th official entry in this series, and to be honest it has been tough to write the last couple of entries. 

When all you see is green in the markets and that little or big net worth number consistently increases, you want to shout it from the rooftops of how great you are!

I looked forward to publishing this every month showing my investment growth. It’s exciting.

Now though, we are seeing a different story.

It’s tough when you lose ground on your financial goals. 

But that’s part of investing, now is the time more than ever to knuckle down, stay consistent and continue to follow a solid well diversified investing approach.

Learn how to cope with losing money in the stock market. It happens all investors even the great ones, and I am putting those principles into practice right now.

So, if you didn’t already know I’m bringing you along for my financial freedom journey, and 2022 has been a rocky start.

I hope you find these worthwhile, I would love some feedback in the comments section.

Let me know if you find them useful and anything further I should include. 

*As always, I am not an expert or financial advisor, so nothing on this website should be considered financial advice. These are just my opinions, everyone is different. Always do your own research and have your own independent thought process.

Life Update: February 2022

I turned 31 in February… and yes the grey hairs are starting to appear no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise.

But I am feeling a lot more content in life. Having quit a hellish job working in strategy consulting a few months ago, I am feeling myself again.

Getting outside and enjoying life to the max! 

I spent the month of February skiing, swimming, cycling, hiking and exploring! 

…and even re-joined a rugby team, which I may come to regret knowing how bad the injuries can be.

I’ve included a couple of snaps below – Vancouver truly is the most amazing place I’ve lived!

If you are ever planning a visit, let me know – I will share my top picks of places you have to visit!

My little brother also came to spend some time here all the way from London which was super cool too. 

See some of my favourite pictures below.

I’m doing all I can to take those evenings and weekends where I used to be grinding it out as part of the rat race. 

I am now using that free time to focus on the stuff I genuinely want to do!

As I’ve said before, financial independence shouldn’t come at sacrificing your happiness or well being.

If that is the case, re-adjust.

Whether that’s your expectations or timeline, don’t put so much pressure on yourself.

Revisit your goals and modify them as needed. They never should be static, life does not always follow a straight path.

Anyhow that would be boring!

I am guilty of it too. But seeing the events in Ukraine unfold has put a lot in perspective, of how lucky many of us have it.

Safety, security, living in an open democratic society is something we should all be grateful for.

My brother enjoying a snowy hike in Lions Bay, Vancouver
Stanley Park, Third Beach, Vancouver

Net Worth Update (February, 2022)

As of early March, my net worth is now $310k. 

That’s a whopping $34k reduction since last month…

… or in percentage terms my portfolio has decreased by just under 11%! 

Phew, that’s tough to take.

But this is market wide, all major indices like the S&P 500 are down significantly (>10%).

We are in a bear market right now.

Inflation is high, and the Russian v Ukraine war is creating huge uncertainty in the markets.

Also, I have readjusted my portfolio – taking on some higher risk with individual stocks.

I bought the dip on Meta and Paypal.

They have continued to drop another 10% since I have bought them, but long term over the next 5+ years I believe there is huge growth potential at their current valuations.

2022 could be the best year to start investing and start dollar cost averaging in every week, month.

The CNN Fear and Greed index is currently set to ‘Extreme Fear’ and what history has shown – now is the time to BUY.

That is why my strategy of continuing to have most of my exposure in stocks right now will not change for the next 10, 20 years.

I am in for the long haul – as the market continues to drop that means more discounts and opportunities to buy in. 

This is the mindset you should have, especially the further from retirement you are.

If you want more detail on a well diversified lower risk portfolio that produces stable income in the form of dividends, check out my perfect dividend stock portfolio here.

Read on for a breakdown by category, and also what I spent for the month of February.

– Checking: $2.1k (no change) – No change here – as always I hold very little cash, especially when we are being penalized roughly 7% every year due to inflation.

– Brokerage: $261k (-$34.4k) – Decrease of a whopping $34k this month! The market continues to decrease but I’ve also taken larger higher risk positions in Meta and Paypal along with JD.com and Alibaba. 

I believe these stocks will outperform the market over the next 5years+. 

No contributions this month as I recently bought a new car and all additional income went towards a downpayment. I don’t include my car in my net worth for simplicity and also its a depreciating asset which I’m planning on holding long term.

My brokerage is made up of the following (approximate % allocations):

Regarding the above allocation, it constantly changes. My individual stock holdings is definitely too high, but I believe the opportunity to take positions in solid high growth companies was too big to pass up.

In the future as I get older I will definitely increase my index funds and REIT allocation further and reduce my single stock exposure to below 15%.

This is an approach I’d recommend for the vast majority of investors.

– RRSP (Pension)  $54.3k (+$0.7k) – No real change in my pension – its down this month overall but has marginally increased due to increased contributions and dividends reinvested.

– Car loan (bank) $5.5k  (-$0.5k) – As mentioned in last months update – I recently bought a brand new car – will update you in a future post why I bought new over used. The reduction in the loan represents the monthly payment for financing the car. 

– Rent and Credit Card: $1.9k (no change)– I managed to get a reduction in my monthly rent. Piece of advice always ask your landlord if there is an opportunity to haggle. e.g. if you are looking to stay another year, seek a reduction in your monthly bill. 

Win win for both you and the landlord.

You don’t get what you don’t ask for!

The monthly reduction is offset by now having to pay monthly car insurance, which sucks.

February 2022, I am now worth, financially at least ~$310k.

Which is a decrease of of approx $34k (11%) since last month’s update.

I am still 20% of the way there to my $1.5m goal by age 35.

The experience from now doing this for many years, gives me the mental strength to not panic during a down day or week. This is how I cope with losing money in the stock marketespecially for those investing in college or in your 20’s.

Calculate Your Own Net Worth

If you haven’t worked out your net worth before, or even if it’s just been a while since you’ve checked, do it now! Open up your accounts, and list down the key buckets of assets and liabilities (don’t sweat the small stuff to start, you can worry about this later).

The first step is having visibility into what your own financial breakdown looks like, and you can plan accordingly. Will also give you a realistic view of what you can achieve, and also what you need to cut back on to achieve your goal.

Let me know what you think of these net worth updates below and post in the comments where you are on your financial independence journey.

I would love to hear from you guys+gals!

I hope you find some of these areas helpful in your own journey to whatever your goal is. Follow along on my journey and subscribe to my newsletter and never miss a post, I keep my net worth updated here.

Have an awesome rest of your week 🙂 

MeTheMillennial

3 thoughts on “February 2022 – Net Worth Update – Peak Fear”

  1. Great minds think alike, I bought PYPL on 3/7 before reading this post. The company is in good hands with the current CEO, he gave a great interview during the Dean’s Speaker Series at Berkeley. I also really like that you offer a snapshot into your financial journey, it makes your blog more memorable.

      1. I got in on Meta and believe there is still a huge amount of upside there. I didn’t see Alibaba or JD.com so I’ll check those out!

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: