What have I been up to? Q3 Financial Update
What have I been up to?
My family and I have continued to enjoy being outside. It was a great summer as I had a couple of weeks off that we spent at the family cabin. The kids played in the lake and on the beach, improving their swimming and comfort in the water.
I also went on a fishing trip up north with some friends, which was fantastic! Picture a set of cabins overlooking rapids with the constant rumble of water in the background.
It was a slow summer for FI content. I think most people were out enjoying themselves as well, so I took some much needed time to focus on other priorities. I found a little motivation to write over the summer, but being outside and spending time with family and friends was so much more exciting.
This September I started sinking my teeth into a new role I took for a volunteer organization. It’s been interesting to learn how the organization runs. I’ve been having lots of conversations trying to uncover the history of the club.
I haven’t mentioned it previously, but another big part of my time this year has been my education on diversity and inclusion. I’ve taken part in a few study groups and lots of conversations. To put it mildly, it has opened my eyes. My understanding of my place and privilege in society has changed a lot. It’s an important topic which I will continue to learn and grow to be an advocate for.
Blog Update
My focus in this quarter was to complete my DIY investing post. I’ve also been brainstorming and have a bunch of ideas in the queue for this fall and winter. If you have suggestions for things you would like to see or enhancements to existing posts or calculators, please reach out.
I’m happy to collaborate with MillionDollarJourney who has added my MER Calculator to their list of their favorite personal finance apps. Check out the link below!
Podcasts
With my regular FI podcast hosts taking a break for the summer (FI Garage and Explore FI Canada), I’ve been sticking with my favorite science and skepticism podcast – The Skeptics Guide to the Universe (SGU).
Here are some of their recent episodes and I’ve listed my favorite segments from each. Their best-loved segment is always Science or Fiction.
- SGU Ep. 845 – Fact Checking Misinformation
- SGU Ep. 846 – Philosophy and Science Denial
- SGU Ep. 847 – Name that Logical Fallacy
Reading/Audiobooks
I’ve read or listened to two (2) finance related books plus others related to my current interests.
Advice that Sticks – Dr. Moira Somers
Personal Finance
This books is directed at financial advisors which I recommend they all read/listen to. For myself, I’m interested in the psychology side of money and how to help people. I want to encourage others to better their financial positions so this book was a good fit for my interests.
Highly Recommended if you’re in the financial industry!
Master Your Mortgage for Financial Freedom: How to use the Smith Maneuver in Canada to Make Your Mortgage Tax-Deductible and Create Wealth – Robinson Smith
Personal Finance
Overall, this is a great resource to understand the basics and accelerators of the Smith Maneuver (SM). It walks you through an example and continues to add onto itself which is a great way to explain in.
But, the book is also is repetitive in its pitch to use Smith Maneuver Certified Professionals (SMCP). It attempts to paint the picture that you shouldn’t do the SM yourself. With that said, if you’re interested in knowing about the SM, it’s a great resource to have.
The Scout Mindset – Julia Galef
Critial Thinking | Skeptism
I really enjoyed this book and the insight the author brings. She does a great job of explaining and giving examples of how our biases play into our everyday thinking. She had a TED Talk as well.
Highly Recommended!
Scout mindset is what allows you to recognize when you are wrong, to seek out your blind spots, to test your assumptions and change course.
It means always being open to changing your mind in response to new information.
Halfbreed – Maria Campbell
Diversity and Inclusion
This book tells Maria’s story about growing up Mètis in Western Canada. It helped me better understand indigenous culture and the racism she incurred.
This is an unflinching look at the injustices faced by the Mètis people of Western Canada, and one woman’s struggle to escape the traps of poverty within that context. It can be hard to read because Maria Campbell really faced one difficulty after another after another… I am in awe of the grit and determination she shows in not giving in to despair and in telling her story so honestly. An education in Canadian racism against aboriginal people – A Goodreads review
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents – Isabel Wilkerson
Diversity and Inclusion
Pulitzer Prize–winning author. Need I say more?
I learned so much about the history of racism in America from this book. I can’t recommend it enough.
Highly Recommend!
This is an astonishing book with a bold premise—that race in America is a caste system like those in India and Nazi Germany. Well-written, well argued and provocative. Wilkerson made me think and taught me so much. You think you know the history of racism and then a book like this reveals that it’s so much worse than you could have also imagined. – A Goodreads review
Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace – David Smith, Brad Johnson
Diversity and Inclusion
This book has quite a few examples and some great summaries at the end of each chapter on how men can be better allies for women in the workplace.
The scope of this book is to give guys the tools and understanding to help women in the workplace, but I found the tips and sentence-starters useful for any stereotypes, biases, or micro-aggressions that happen.
Buy it, read it, highlight it.
Health and Wellness
It was nice to receive positive feedback about my last health and wellness update. Last time I mentioned that I had a great first half of this year because of my self-care. I was very consistent with working out, lost weight, and also spoke to how my mental health was improving.
My goal for the summer was to maintain my weight and enjoy myself while trying for moderation.
Well… that didn’t quite happen.
For the last three months, I’ve really enjoyed my summer. Family vacation time, visiting friends, and being a lot more social that I had the entire previous year. As expected, I put on some pounds – I throughly enjoyed my food and craft beer!
The fall and winter are time for course-correction – less alcohol, consistent physical activity and sticking to my meal plan.
Mental Health
On the other hand, my mental health has been the best it has been in 3+ years.
I’m connecting more socially, expanding my circle of friends, meeting with new people I want to get to know better. I’ve added a few more Money Buddy’s to the list as well!
I’m now treasurer of a non-profit service club, which has frequent meetings and all the camaraderie that comes with it. It has been a lot of fun meeting with people to learn and understand my new role and understand the history. Plus, it’s finance related, so I get to work that muscle too.
Work has also been going great as I started on a couple of new projects in July for which I have been delivering high-quality work and people are noticing.
Another part of my mental health bump is because of the personal journey I’ve been on learning about diversity and inclusion. This year, a close colleague of mine got me involved in our company’s Diversity and Inclusion book club and the conversations have been broadening.
Those experiences have really opened my eyes as I’ve learned a lot already. I hope the parallels between diversity and inclusion and critical thinking are obvious. This is a lifelong learning topic where you need to continually challenge yourself, challenge your biases and assumptions, and operate out of your comfort zone to have uncomfortable conversations and reflection.
In short, to have a Scout Mindset.
Q3 Financial Update – The Numbers (September 30, 2021)
Q3 Net Worth: +$18,734
Liquid assets for Q3 are up $15,598. Our year-to-date (YTD) net worth has increased by +$56,019 and liquid net worth up by +$46,486.
While updating my numbers, I noticed that the markets have softened a bit as of late. I’m glad to be in that position that I don’t even notice what the markets are doing most days. It has taken a few years to get to this point, as I used to log into my brokerage every day and with little point to it. I’m an index investor, so I was just spinning my wheels where my time is better spent elsewhere.
Part of the financial numbers we have this quarter is because of my parents giving us some money. Being future-minded, most of the living inheritance was immediately put into long-term investments and the rest we plan to use for family experiences and household items.
Q3 Savings Rate: +51.92%
My personal savings rate for Q3 is 47.33% and YTD savings rate of 43.37%. Again, this was pumped up with my parents help.
My wife’s savings rate for this quarter was 84.01%. She made lump-sum RESP payments with little-to-no income over the summer. I don’t include RESPs in any of our net worth numbers, but I find it useful to include it in our savings rate.
That brings our combined family savings rate to 51.92% for Q3 and YTD of 46.84% YTD. My goal of 40+% has been achieved!
Final Thoughts
I want to finish with some final thoughts to help put things into perspective. Although this post has been very positive and my quarter has been educational and entertaining, I don’t pretend to have everything figured out.
Some days I still struggle mentally. I get frustrated and anxious. I stress eat and spend money on conveniences because I don’t have the mental bandwidth to do it the frugal way. But that’s OK, it’s a process. I’m always learning.
You can tell from the space given to the sections in this update, my personal learning and experiences weigh more on my happiness than the money does. I’m fortunate and privileged to be in my position and I wish the same for you.
How did your quarter go? Let me know about your successes and challenges in the comments.
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