Goodbye 2017. Final 2017 Update, Milestones & 2018 Goals…

2017 is over, and although it seems like it went by extremely fast, I am excited by what was accomplished, and what 2018 has in store for us.

In 2017 the following 3 things happened which shaped the way the year went for me:

1. My son Isaac was born
2. Bought our “forever” home
3. Started this blog to help track my goals, progress and keep me sane

One of my first blog posts I wrote was my goals for 2017, and although I didn’t accomplish all of them, considering I only had 6 months since writing them down I think I did okay.  Here is a quick reminder of what they were – and how I did:

Personal Goals (Completed 4/5)

1. Start setting goals! PASS
2. Sell our house & buy a new house PASS
3. Start a website & keep it updated PASS
   
4. Spend more time at home/with family PASS
5. Try 5 new restaurants (with Amber) FAIL

Oddly enough, the only goal I wasn’t able to accomplish was what would SEEM like one of the easiest.  That said there were multiple times that I did try to get out to new places, a lot of the time she was just too tired, we couldn’t get a sitter, etc.  I guess in 2018 I’ll need to try a bit harder.

Financial Goals (Completed 2/3)

1. Get Amber “set up” financially PASS
2. Eliminate all debt (not including mortgage) PASS
3. Get total portfolio Value to $320,000 by December 31 FAIL

2018 was a pretty good year for the portfolio, and I believe I would have hit all three targets if we hadn’t spent a bit more on the house than we had originally planned.  That said, we love the house and I have no regrets.

Even though my portfolio fell short of the aggressive $320,000 goal I had set, I did hit a new milestone in 2017 as my portfolio finished the year at $301,375.67 which was the first time it broke $300,000!  My portfolio started the year @ $251,880.81 which means I was about 500 dollars away from a yearly increase of $50,000!

My goals for 2018 are going to be short and sweet:

2018 Personal Goals:

1. Increase the amount of blog posts – and the range of content on this site
2. Get life insurance &  a will in order
3. Take the wife to 5 new restaurants (Going to try this again)

2018 Financial Goals:

1. Sell off my Mutual funds through my bank and replace them with low cost ETF’s and individual stocks
2. Receive $10,000 in passive dividend income
3. Increase overall portfolio to $350,000.00

Now onto the fun stuff….December Update:

 

Personal Highlights for December:

• Celebrated our first Christmas with Isaac
• Hosted our first ever Christmas Family dinners (40+ people on xmas eve and 30 on Boxing Day).
• The kids got RIDICULOUSLY spoiled, our house is filled with toys, books, clothes, and more.  We plan on going through a bunch of their old toys, clothes, and donating this month.
• Isaac has started pulling himself up on the table, and got his first 2 teeth

Financial Highlights:

• Total investment portfolio broke the $300,000.00 milestone
• Amber’s TFSA recieved over $100 in dividends for the first time and also recieved more than my TFSA for the first time.
• Continued bi weekly payments into RRSPs & Spousal RSP.
• Amber’s TFSA/RRSP are now over $20,500.  (They didn’t exist 6 months ago)

 

Passive Income Update For December 2017.

J’s TFSA:

Diversified Royalty: $9.03 (Dripped 2 new shares)

Lucara Diamond: $7.00 (have since closed this position)

Artis Reit: $49.59 (Dripped 3 new shares)

Plaza Reit: $24.62 (Dripped 6 new shares)

Ambers TFSA:

Chorus Aviation: $10.76 (Dripped 1 share)

Intertape Polymer: $49.49

Alimentation Couche Tard: $11.25

TOTAL TFSA’S:      $202.59

 

RRSP:

Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $213.01

Global Dividend Fund Distribution: $422.33

Total Passive Income July 2017:  $837.93

Portfolio Update:

With the contributions to Amber’s TFSA, my continued bi weekly contributions and this seemingly never-ending bull market our portfolio hit an all time high: $301,375.67!  Looking forward to see what 2018 brings!