Fiscal Update Oct 2014 – Wealth Inequality

Last month was quite the roller coaster ride. But maybe all this market volatility is a good thing. The rich keep getting richer because the assets they own, like stocks and real estate, continue to grow in value. But this is a worrying signal because high levels of inequality have usually lead to recessions in the past.

14-11-inequality-income-homeless

For someone to make a lot of money it generally requires other people to work for it. For example, the CEO of a large company can’t earn a large salary if not for the hundreds of employees working under him. 🙂 And a real estate investor can’t make a living off his rental income if his tenants decide to move out or otherwise stop paying him. So in order for the wealthy to maintain their high standards of living they have to be supported by the larger base of the lower and middle class workers. But if the poor keeps getting poorer then eventually they’ll just give up supporting the wealthy. This is already starting to happen around the world as people are dropping out of the workforce. 🙁 In the U.S. the labor participation rate is only 62.8%, the lowest since 1978. But it’s also important to remember that employment circumstances are very localized. For example the unemployment rates in Oregon and Idaho are 7.1% and 4.5% respectively, which is quite a big difference, even though the two states are right beside each other. 😉

The recession in 2008 somewhat served as an equalizer of economic status where the people who owned the most financial assets lost more than anyone else, and the world became a little more equal. But the net worth gap between the rich and the poor has been growing again since 2010. So maybe a small stock market correction every now and then like we’ve seen in October is probably more favorable than having another large recession. It’s in society’s best interest to not let wealth inequality get out of control. The rich depend on the production of the working class to thrive, so if the working class becomes less productive then eventually everyone will be in trouble. 😕

At one point in mid October my stock portfolio was down by more than 4%. Luckily however the market decided to recover most of that loss. My existing investments are still down for the month but I saved some money from my income and paid down some extra debt to make up the difference. In other words both my assets and debts were down, but my debts lost more value so I still increased my wealth overall, albeit just barely. 😀

*Side Income:

  • Part-Time Work = $800
  • Dividends = $500
*Discretionary Spending:
  • Eating Out = $100
  • Others = $100

*Net Worth: (MoM)chart_14sept net worth graph market volatility inequality

  • Assets: = $832,000 total (4,000)
  • Cash = $2600 (-800)
  • Stocks CDN =$85,400 (-3300)
  • Stocks US = $52,600 (-300)
  • RRSP = $49,400 (+400)
  • MICs = $15,000 (same)
  • Home = $254,000 (same)
  • Farms = $373,000 (same)
  • Debts: = $521,500 total (-4,200)
  • Mortgage = $196,300 (-600)
  • Farm Loans = $204,300 (-500)
  • Margin Loan CDN = $27,000 (-500)
  • Margin Loan US = $23,900 (-1000)
  • TD Line of Credit = $30,700  (-300)
  • CIBC Line of Credit = $11,400 (-200)
  • HELOC = $18,400 (-100)
  • RRSP Loans = $9,500 (-1,000)

*Total Net Worth = $310,500 (+0.10%)
All numbers above are in $CDN. Conversion rate used: 1.00 USD = 1.13 CAD

Somehow I managed to come out just $200 ahead compared to the end of September, phew. October was a reminder that I am literally at the mercy of the financial markets. If global stocks fall again by over 30% like they did in 2008 then my net worth could drop by $100,000 or more in a relatively short amount of time. 😕 That’s no reason for me to get worried though. I have special friends called the Fed and the IMF who I believe will try to make sure another financial crisis doesn’t happen. 😉

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Random Useless Fact:
14-11-norway-expensive

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DivHut
11/03/2014 10:53 am

Thanks for sharing your most recent update with us. There’s no question that October was a crazy roller coaster ride. At least your dividend income is nice and stable. $500 for the month is a nice amount to earn on a passive basis. Look forward to your next update and random useless fact.

PC
PC
11/03/2014 12:07 pm

October was quite the ride for my Jumping Pennies. Watched it tumbling down then roaring back to all time highs! Wealth can come and go… most important is to always adapt to changes. BTW, you can feel better about yourself now… you’re beating me in net worth count!

Anne @ Money Propeller
Anne @ Money Propeller
11/03/2014 1:32 pm

The roller coaster ride has been… eventful! I bought some more stuff, it jumped up 6% and has now crashed down to about -6%. C’mon recovery!

My Dividend Pipeline
11/03/2014 2:31 pm

Liquid,

I was hoping the roller coaster would stay down a bit longer, but like the last couple of years corrections continue to be short-lived. Congrats on a great looking month! Also looking at some of the employment statistics you listed reminds me how fortunate I am to live in Houston where the economy has been super strong.

MDP

Investing Pursuits
11/03/2014 4:17 pm

Congrats on coming out ahead, even by a really small out. You debt has decreased so that is a win right there as your net worth increases when your liability column gets smaller. The payment of debt also reduces your expenses going forward so your net cashflow increases as well.

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Net Worth Update: October 2014 - Kapitalust
11/04/2014 4:46 am

[…] checks in for the month with an update on his financials – would you believe he has over $800K in assets before the age of […]

Mario
11/04/2014 9:06 am

Congrats on coming out ahead and especially for your debt payoff — a $4300 drop is nothing to sneeze at. Or maybe it is, I don’t know.

As for the point on inequality, I think that the one biggest driver on a macro level that’s making it worse is that politicians — and their well-off benefactors — have finally found a way to get people to consistently vote against their financial self-interest. For example, in a state as poor as Mississippi, it should be political suicide for the governor to opt out of an expansion of health insurance for the poor (Medicaid) and yet the opposite seems true. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/03/upshot/map-if-medicaid-expansion-were-not-optional.html

Tawcan
Tawcan
11/04/2014 10:38 am

I’m hoping the roller coaster ride would stay a little bit longer so I can deploy more capitals in the stock markets. Oh well I can continue to dream….

You’re making great progress. Over $300k for less than 30 year old is very impressive.

Justin
Justin
11/05/2014 4:57 pm

Please do!
I too am under 30 yrs old and would love to hear more about how you achieved such wild success!

Finance Journey
11/05/2014 6:15 am

Your asserts are really high and well diversified, and awesome $500 dividend income. Man you are rocking!!!

My stock portfolio didn’t escape from the October roller coaster ride – swing back and forth with more than $1000 in single day. So, I added $10 000 worth of stocks and stopped monitoring my portfolio to control my emotional decisions 😀 . Thankfully, I ended up with some gains in October.

Cheers,

Asset Grinder
11/05/2014 9:38 am

TSX taking a beating compared to the US markets. Charts are depressing and the cheap oil is so closely tied to it. Hopefully we get a big rise soon enough. At least your month wasnt in the red which all that matters.

Finance Journey
11/05/2014 11:49 am

By the way, your swing trade stock Avigilon Corp (AVO) on fire now :D. Averaging down worked once again… Congrats!!!!

Best Regards,

Theeighthdigit
Theeighthdigit
11/05/2014 2:44 pm

You manged to come ahead on a bad month so it’s all good.

It’s alway nice to look at those dept number going down from month to month, especially when the payment comes from other people’s money 🙂

No More Waffles
No More Waffles
11/09/2014 4:20 am

Liquid,

What I take away from all of the above is your excellent dividend income! Over $500 in a slow month like October is incredible at your age. That’ll definitely help you get rid of those loans in the future and crank up your net worth.

Keep it up, man!
NMW