June 2023
are we in a bubble?
Consistency is everything in Investing….
By MeTheMillennial
June 2023 – Net Worth Update
Hey everyone! It’s been a hot minute since I last posted and I’m back with a vengeance!
I’m excited to continue to share my personal finance journey with you all and provide some insights into how I’ve managed to grow my net worth to an all time high as of today, June 19th, 2023 at the ripe old age of 32.
I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted but trust me, it’s been worth the wait!
In this post, I’ll be sharing updates on my portfolio along with the current stocks I like and watch-outs in the market today. You can grow your net worth too and avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made along the way (there have been plenty!).
If you’re wondering how I managed to grow my net worth, let’s just say that it involved a lot of ramen noodles and penny-pinching ….. Kidding – It absolutely did not involve penny-pinching, although I do actually like ramen noodles!
So grab your favourite beverage and let’s get started on this journey together, or if you’ve been here for a while enjoy the latest update!
As always I’ll do my best to throw in some cringe worth jokes along the way too!
I hope this helps! Let me know if there’s anything else you need help with in the comments or reach out to me directly through my contact page.
*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
Since my last post in January, I’ve been keeping busy with all sorts of adventures!
I went on a Bachelor party trip to Leavenworth in Washington with 15 of my friends where we drank endless amounts of wine. I feel like I shortened my lifespan by about 6 months, but the fun made up for it! Who knew there was a whole German themed town in Washington of all places!
I spend the first few months of the year ski’ing too, mainly at Cypress Mountain close to Vancouver but also to Whistler and my personal favourite Big White Mountain – I’m not exactly an expert skier, but I managed to stay upright for most of the trips and finally hit the blues ready for my first black slope! I’ve included some photos below.
One of the highlights of my year so far was a trip to Vancouver Island where I got to see an Orca on the ferry ride over from Vancouver – it was truly an unforgettable experience.
That combined with a trip home to Ireland to see my parents, two weddings and a christening with extended family meant that the last few months have been hectic.
Of course, it hasn’t all been fun and games – I’ve also been spending a lot of time fretting over the market with inflation concerns and worrying about what Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve will do with next with interest rates. For anyone who still doesn’t know who Jerome Powell is and what the FED does, start reading up … their changing of interest rates directly affects your investments.
Instead of worrying I should be just practicing what I preach which is consistently invest every month in the stock market, buying high and buying low.
But hey, that’s life and what makes us all human! You never know what’s going to happen next.
Running a Marathon!
Speaking of which, let me tell you about my latest adventure – I decided to take up marathon running!
It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do but never had the spare time to try until now. Given that I quit my $200k a year high paid job over a year ago now, and moved to lower paying job but better work life balance… I now had the time and energy to dedicate to it.
I picked my local Vancouver Marathon and with just under 3 months training I was worried going in.
But I am glad to say I finished in just over 4 hours, my official time was 4:10, which I am extremely proud of.
I also got to raise money for a charity close to my heart, BC Cancer.
The training was gruelling, but also exhilarating at the same time. There’s nothing quite like pushing your body to its limits and feeling that sense of accomplishment when you cross the finish line. But it goes to show you that if you are smart with your investing and on top of your personal finance, you can then afford to seek out jobs with better work/life balance and focus on yourself and supporting great causes.
Of course, not everything has gone according to plan this year – I’ve had my fair share of mishaps as well.
All in all, it’s been an eventful year so far and I’m excited to see what summer has in store for me.
As always if you’re looking for some inspiration for your own personal finance journey or just want to read more about my experiences, be sure to check out my previous blog posts all here! With topics ranging from travel and adventure to finance and investing, there’s something for everyone.
And if you have any comments or questions about my adventures or anything else for that matter, feel free to leave them below!
Net Worth Update – June, 2023
My last net worth update was January, 2023, 5 or so months ago.
During 2022 my portfolio went through some big highs and many many lows. Lows that made me feel like I was sucker-punched in the gut by Mike Tyson.
But that’s just part of the process. If you keep a cool head and stay the course you will be rewarded.
My net worth dropped to $290k in June 2022 from a high of $347k December 2021. That is a nearly ~$60k drop, which for me is a lot of money!
So as of June, 2023 where am I sitting at?
I am now worth, financially at least ~$383K.
Which is an increase of $62K or 20% versus last Januarys update.
The S&P has increased roughly 15% since then, so I have outperformed the market including the monthly investment contributions I make to my portfolio every month. See below table for a complete breakdown.
But thankfully, we are back on track and so close to $400k, which would be an awesome milestone to hit. $425k is my goal for this year – I need only another 12% increase and I would hit that mark through either my stocks going up in value and/or from additional money being invested every month.
But secretly I have a stretch goal of $500K for December 2023, guess its not so secret anymore.
Let’s see how close I get.
My goal for the end of the year is to get above $425k by December 2023 and even at a stretch break $500k. I need to to stay on track for my goal of early retirement by age 35. Now only 3 years a way!!!
And look, if I don’t hit it at 35… no big deal, I can push it to 36 or 37.
The key thing, starting on this journey is getting me a hell of a lot closer to retiring early than the typical “retire at 65” life that everyone is so willing to accept.
My portfolio is definitely on the higher risk side given the size of my single stocks allocation, but I am comfortable with this given my age, responsibilities and goals. And I also believe there is a once in a decade opportunity to own great companies and huge discounts.
Asset Breakdown:
– Checking:$1.8k; As you now I don’t follow the very good advice of keeping a cash buffer, mainly because of my age and lack of a mortgage or kids. So I am pretty much investing all disposable income as I earn it, something I would recommend for people in a similar circumstance.
– Brokerage:$312k (+$53k); Increase of $53k since January, this is a huge increase, and was mainly down to increases in some risky single stocks that I highlighted in my previous posts. One such stock is META, this stock price went from a low of $88 dollars in November, 2022 right up to $281 as of today. That’s a 216% increase in just over 6 months. I highlighted this in a previous post – WHY I BOUGHT THE DIP ON META, and thankfully that paid off which is driving the large increase in my brokerage account.
As always I continue to contribute on average $3k a month to dollar cost average into the stock market. I will never stop investing, in my view (and many others) the stock market and Real Estate are the biggest ways to generate wealth and become rich.
I have also made some changes to my single stock allocations, I sold my META position and took defensive positions in Enbridge and Barrick gold. My prediction for the rest of this year is a 10% pullback and having some defensive stocks will reduce my risk somewhat.
Over the last couple of months I also took on some more Chinese exposure – purchasing Alibaba. I think this along with JD.com are massively oversold at the moment.
I have a significant holding in JD.com and Alibaba which I thing will more than double over the next year/two. That along with Paypal are my predictions of stocks to rip up over the next year.
As normal, I also continued monthly contributions over the intervening months back into my normal index funds. I chose VCN, as I am a big believer in the Canadian stock market long term.
My brokerage is now made up of the following (approximate % allocations):
- Index Funds – 45%
- Individual Stocks – 50%,
- Gold – 5%
Regarding the above allocation, it constantly changes. But as I’ve mentioned before in 24-48 months time I want to continue to reduce my single stocks into Index Funds – my favourite Index/ETF funds are here.
– RRSP (Pension) $71.5k (+$8k); My pension increased this month, given the monthly contributions and it being a much safer investment (no single stocks), up $8k. As mentioned in previous updates I opted for a mutual fund that is 100% US equities. And I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon.
Liability Breakdown:
– Car loan (bank) $1k (-$1k); Down to 1k on the car loan. I don’t include my car as an asset on my net worth. Curious to know if you do? Let me know in the comments.
– Rent, insurance and credit card $0.6k; No real change here.
We are back on track and getting so close to my immediate goal of $400k.
How was your start to the summer and what changes, if any, have you made to your portfolio in 2023?
Let me know in the comments.
I genuinely believe there is a bubble in the NASDAQ at the moment, and I would caution anyone out there from buying into some of the big player like Tesla, Amazon, Google etc… I think a major pull back is on the way, as the FED continue to hike interest rates towards the end of the year and the ever impending recession finally hit.
Take a look at your own portfolio and make sure you aren’t taking unnecessary risk and caught with your pants down!
Appreciate you getting to the end, that was a long one … whew!
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Thanks and have a lovely week everyone!
MeTheMillennial
