Talk Personal Finance – January 2015

Hello and welcome to my second edition of Talk Personal Finance!

If this is your first time visiting Million Endeavour, I would like start off by taking the opportunity to thank you for visiting my blog.

Talk Personal Finance is a monthly post where I discuss random financial stuff that is relevant to my personal life. Whether you find any of this information useful for your life is beyond me!

Here is what’s up this month:

My Portfolio Plans

TFSA Portfolio

At the start of 2015, I have made it my goal to receive $10,000 in returns for my TFSA. Since then, I have been debating whether I should focus on capital gain or dividend growth.

The inputs from the valued commenters suggest that it may be too rash for me to dismiss a dividend growth strategy. As a result, I have decided to approach my investments through a hybrid strategy of both capital gain growth and dividend investing.

Additionally, I am also in the process of transitioning the US stocks out of my TFSA. Currently, I still hold 7 US equities in my portfolio in which I may decide to sell in the near future.

To my knowledge thus far, only dividends from US equities are subjected to a 15% withdrawal tax. If this is the case, holding US equities that focus on capital gain growth in the TFSA instead of dividends may not be the worst idea. In any case, I will look into this further and determine a proper course of action from there.

RRSP Portfolio

In terms of my RRSP portfolio, I have only just discovered that my Defined Pension Plan will affect my RRSP contribution limit. With a pension adjustment in play, I will have to be more vigilant in my contributions.

In the meantime, I will focus on maximizing my TFSA until my T4 reveals my actual contribution limit for my RRSP. This should keep me busy for a couple of more months.

Independence Venture

One of the more exciting things that I have planned for 2015 is the venture into the real estate market.

Although the plan for this venture is independence and to finally moving out of my parent’s house, I am not dismissing the idea of generating positive cash flow by investing in a rental property.

However, I really do believe that it is time for me to be out in the world on my own without having to rely on my parents for anything. As much as I would love to live at home and save up all of my money, I feel that I am lacking the life experience required to make financial freedom happen by 2020.

Financial Plans

As it stands, the plan right now is to move out by the end of 2015 even though I have every intention to do so before then.

After I maximize my TFSA, I will start making regular contributions to my RRSP and eventually activate the Home Buyer’s Plan for the down payment of the property.

I am also in the process of applying for a line of credit and a mortgage pre-approval from my bank.

This prep work will help keep me honest in my real estate goals and will give me something to look forward to before I start the process.

Of course, this is just a general overview of my plans and there is so much more about moving out that I do not know. In the upcoming months, I will do some serious research into the subject matter as to make sure I don’t mess anything up in this endeavour.

A New Perspective on Life

Before I end things, I would also like to talk about some non-finance related issues that have been on my mind.

As of late, I have been doing a lot of thinking and self-reflection. After hours of just looking at my life and where it is heading, I came to realize that there is much more to living than just crunching my net worth.

I am committed to becoming a better person and making a positive life change in this new year. After all, what good is having all that money and still be miserable?

My personal goal this year is to become a better son, brother and friend to those around me. Additionally, I will try harder to meet new people, start building lifelong relationships and think about others for a change.

Although this may seem like an easy goal for most, it is no walk in the park for an introvert like myself.

Perhaps this goal of becoming a better person will finally attract a special girl into my life. 🙂

What is one non-finance related goal you would like to accomplish for this year? I’d love to hear all about it!