First Year
My Wealth Money has been live for a year, and what an incredible year it has been – I’ve learned so much.Ā This site started as a way for me to share my investing experiences.Ā But somewhere along the way it flipped and it has grown into a platform where others share their unique experiences and how they have become successful.Ā Ā
I’ve learned what it was like to live through the crypto winter of 2018, how to invest in farmland, how to save up $1MM before 30, what is it like to run your own AirBNB, and the experience of living through ZimbabweĀ hyper-inflation.Ā
Equation for Building Wealth
Building wealth and achieving our financial goals is not an easy endeavor.Ā However, it is a very simple equation:Ā Leverage your skills, monetize your time, manage your budget and invest into quality assets.Ā Repeat this equation over long periods of time, say 10-15 years, and we will achieve great levels of wealth.
A struggle with disclosure
One of the struggles of hosting a wealth and finance blog is the feeling you should share your trades, your net worth, and details of what you invest in.Ā Ā
I‘ve especially struggled with it this week as I’ve vacillated between sharing or continuing to keep my numbers private.Ā @Grow_With_Clint gave me my catalyst.
Your actions will always speak louder than your words.
— Grow with Clint (@Grow_With_Clint) August 31, 2021
Asset Allocation
Profile
Before we start, and to put things in context, you need to know a little about me.Ā I’m 43 years old and I’ve been budgeting and investing since I was 25 in late 2003.Ā That was the year I graduated from University and started my career in IT.
I live in Canada, so my index investing portion will include some Canadian ETFs and assets, but I’ll adjust those values into USD for even comparisons.
I’m also married, I have 3 kids, and I am self employed.Ā My wife works very hard and runs a preschool which brings in a good side income as well. I’ve never rented, never been divorced, and I was raised to be prudent with money.Ā Also, keep in mind that both my parents and my in-laws are thankfully still alive so there is no inheritance money or economic out-patient care here.Ā Ā
Major asset classes
I accumulate wealth through 3 major asset classes: stocks, real estate, and crypto.Ā Below you can see how I spread my bets across these three.Ā I hope it comes as no surprise that I place the bulk of my assets and wealth into stocks.
Wealth Breakdown & Net Worth
Here is a further breakdown of the asset allocations.Ā A few key points:- My only debt is against real estate
- No car loans, no CC debt, no consumer loans, never any student debt
- These asset values are aggregated form my brokerage and two retirement accounts
- I do have some other positions such as ZFL, XEF, ITOT, but I’ve rolled them under their respective equivalent ETF to simplify.Ā
Summary and Notes on Each
Real Estate – $353,903
I own a rental property and my primary residence.Ā These are my only assets that have a loan, or in this case, a mortgage against them.Ā The rest of my assets are unleveraged.
Crypto – $222,150
I believe the right crypto currencies have a promising future.Ā Yes, they are risky and volatile, however, they offer an incredible asymmetric bet.Ā I stick to Bitcoin and Ethereum only. My goal is to get Bitcoin up and on equal value in my portfolio with Ethereum.Ā
Stocks – $536,577
No other asset class has performed better for me nor captures my investing confidence more than the stock market.Ā I’m not a natural trader.Ā I tried when I started investing but I just don’t have what it takes.Ā So I resorted to investing into index funds and that is where I found my groove.
Bonds – $105,314
I rag on bonds, hate them, and not only have zero expectations, I have negative expectations for them.Ā But what if I’m wrong? Plus I’m in my 40’s so I have a small allocation to them.
Gold – $21,785
Since my earliest days as an investor I’ve always had an affinity for buying and holding precious metals.Ā I started with silver and later moved into gold.Ā Ā I’ve owned everything except a 1KG bar of gold, and now I own no physical.Ā Everything I own is in an ETF so it can be easily balanced and I don’t have to worry about storage or security.
Cash – $19,443
I usually love holding ample loads of cash; sometimes upwards of 14%.Ā However, with my recent affinity for Bitcoin and bearish stance with inflation around the corner, this has slipped down to 1.5% of assets.Ā This is my emergency fund too, so I recognize the need to get this back up.
Method Summary
I got started by investing 10% of every paycheck and investing that into silver, stock mutual funds, and then later into index funds.Ā As I got raises, I would put most of them into investing more and so my savings rate would increase. I also got some early stock option bonuses from my employer who went public.Ā I invested all of that into real estate and it has grown tremendously.Ā Also remember, I’ve never rented, so I’ve always been growing home equity.Ā When the stock market crashes, I have also tapped into this equity and put some into the market and “bought the dip”.Ā You can imagine just how effective this has been.
I also went self-employed in 2008 and this drastically changed my tax game and overall ability to generate income.Ā This is important in Canada where we have a higher tax regime than the U.S.
Investment Outlook
Okay, let’s start look ahead.
I think the next big milestone is 2030.Ā A lot of my targets and goals center around this year.Ā I believe the combination of climate change, government spending, out of control money printing, along with workers resisting the call back to work will continue to fan the flames of inflation and the currency will debase further.
High Inflation Indicators I watch for
— Stephen Wealthy (@mywealthmoney) August 24, 2021
-CPI (w/ grain of salt)
-Oil prices
-Meat and produce prices
-Bond prices lowering
-Gold prices
-Rent controls
-Workers refuse to work
-Restrictions on forex
-Bank withdraw limits
-Rare artwork prices
-Mansion prices
Quality Assets will Always Win
I believe most investors would be best served by investing along with inflation and trying to take advantage of it.Ā Much like a surfer trying to paddle ahead and catch a wave, eventually the surf can take over and deliver you to the shore.Ā Inflation can act in much the same way.
To that end, here are my best bets to invest along with inflation.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin will continue to become the scarcest of all assets we could own in the coming years. I understand its controversial, not well understood, and often looked down upon.Ā However, I believe this asset deserves our attention at this time, and is a singular opportunity for investors.Ā
It is decentralized meaning it is not controlled by a central authority like the Federal Reserve.Ā This will become crucial in the coming decade when countries, companies, or powerful individuals attempt to control or manipulate it.Ā The hope is that the protocol and programming stands tall and resists this influence.Ā I’m betting that it will.
Next, the total supply is capped at 21,000,000 and only 900 are mined each day.Ā Bitcoin’s price inelasticity is perfect.Ā This means that regardless of price only 900 will be mined today.Ā Even if the price doubles and the number of miners doubles only 900 will be mined tomorrow.Ā Every 4 years the daily mining rate is halved.Ā So in 2024 the daily rate will fall to 450.Ā By 2050 only 7 will be mined each day.Ā Imagine what this will do for the price going forward against currencies that are inflating.
Fast forward thru 2030 and we will see more countries adopt the “The Bitcoin Standard”.Ā This has already started in Latin America.
Gold
I started investing with silver right out of University.Ā Precious metals have always been a part of my portfolio but things have shifted.Ā I only invest in gold and I do not hold or own any in physical form.Ā I like gold because it is timeless and has been valued through the ages.Ā From the ancient Egyptians to our modern times, it has always found a strong bid.Ā I believe it will continue to do so going forward.
Rewind to 1971, when we we removed the dollar from “The Gold Standard”.Ā A lot of current problems can be traced back to this decision by President Nixon to go off this standard.Ā This is the genesis block of our current money printing problem.
Real Estate
One of the easiest ways to build wealth is by investing in real estate. Real estate has created more millionaires that any other asset class. It is the best asset a middle-class person can invest into and leverage for building their wealth.Ā
As governments continue to print you will want to have some in your portfolio because this asset is highly resistant to inflation. Just mind the effects and impacts of climate change in the area you are considering, and do your best to find a good deal. REITS are also a viable option.
Every millionaire I know, and interview, owns Real Estate.
— Stephen Wealthy (@mywealthmoney) August 24, 2021
If you rent, and you're currently a millionaire, please DM me. I would love to hear from you.
You are a rare find!
Innovation Assets will Guide Us Out
Of all the tools available to fight inflation, one of the very best is innovation.Ā Technological advancements dramatically lower input costs and increase production efficiencies.Ā Taken together the total cost to produce a desired product or service is lowered.
Here are my best bets for investing through inflation.
Disruptive Technology
Industries and companies that rest on their former success and methods will be dethroned; few industries are safe. I’ve recently opened a position inĀ ARKKĀ for this specific purpose.Ā Cathie Wood and her team of experts are trained at finding the next disruptive opportunity and investing heavily into them.Ā This is the first active fund I have bought in years.
Green Energy Innovation
Carbon emissions will be addressed in the coming decade any company that could help will profit and give outsized returns to investors.Ā This will also act as an inflationary hedge as the cost to produce and deliver these will increase.Ā Think aluminum, copper, lithium, and anything to deliver clean power generation or clean transportation.
On the other side of the equation we want to avoid companies who are seen as the offenders or those who get directly impacted like insurance companies.
Ethereum
In my opinion, Ethereum is one of the most promising investments to ever come along. Once I learned about the disruptive potential this platform brought to the table I was all in and I have invested very heavily into it.Ā Ā
It delivers near instant settlement of assets.Ā It does this through smart contracts.Ā In a smart contract, a currency or asset can be programmed with logic conditions.Ā When the conditions are validated true, an agreed upon action on the the asset takes place.Ā For example, when date equals tomorrow, move the assets from one user to another.Ā Or when the value of a particular asset falls to a certain price, sell the asset and transfer the proceeds to another.
So a business application of smart contracts include simple transfers of currency, bond payments, insurance agreements, estates, trusts, real estate transactions, and money lending.Ā On top of this, the daily settlement value for Ethereum is over $30B a day.Ā By comparison, PayPal settles $2.5B a day.Ā Ā
Going forward, I don’t believe people will utilize the Ethereum platform directly, but rather companies like Visa, Goldman Sachs, FedEx, Disneyland, and so forth will use this super computer to their advantage.Ā Visa could settle international transactions instantly, Goldman move assets around the world, FedEx remit payment across borders, and Disneyland prove ticketing to their amusement park and control the resale of the tickets.Ā Ā
Tickets? Yes, NFT’s is another strong point for Ethereum.Ā So when you hear of NFT’s in the news or on social media, they are more than likely using the Ethereum network.
Learn more about Ethereum
If you would like to learn more about my conviction on Ethereum,Ā I was interviewed on theĀ Road to Wealth podcastĀ andĀ Justin was a great host.Ā I also have an article where I cover what it is like to operate and run an Ethereum validator.
Conclusion
Writing for My Wealth Money for the last 12 months has been an honor, a discovery and a journey. However, the best part was meeting so many inspiring individuals who are striving to build wealth and lay their foundations for a brighter future.
When I look forward I always feel excitement and enthusiasm. I always feel a draw and a pull towards something beautiful that I cannot wait to meet. I 100% believe the Universe conspires in the background for our benefit.
I hope revealing my net worth and asset allocation has been of benefit for you so you can see the results of steady and dutiful saving and investing. If you have any questions or want to know more please don’t hesitate to reach me on Twitter.
Until next week!
10 comments
Bonds 105K – “I have a small allocation to them.”
Happy for you, but your “small” bond allocation is larger than my entire stock allocation XD
Hope that in about 10 years I will call 100K “small” too š
I’m surprised that you have more in bonds than in bitcoin though, I would not have expected that.
Thanks for sharing the allocation! I’m not quite as brave yet, but maybe some day I will share hard numbers too. It’s definitely helpful context. And I’m really glad that you seem to be doing extremely well!
All the best
Thanks LadyFire – It was a difficult article to write and I had a few trusted peers look it over first to see what they thought and if I should go through with it. They told me to do it, and share it. That perhaps it could help someone see the results of long term consistent saving and investing.
Definitely a good point.
I think for me, there are two reasons that I write:
#1 – for myself – it helps me to structure my thoughts and keep myself on track
#2 – for others – i hope that my experiences, mistakes, learnings and wins can help others in some way
I think I’m just not quite ready to leave anonymity or share “full numbers” yet. Maybe some day š
Good job brother a real inspiration for me. š
Thanks Martin
Wow. All I can say, congratulations. I hope to join you on that double comma club soon. At times, it feels like it’s an eternity away. I just have to stay patient and know that I’m going to get there some day.
I could become one of those rare millionaires without real estate in my portfolio š
You will brother – adjusted for age you’re ahead of me. Now you know why I want to meet up with you when you’re 30 — let’s go celebrate your accomplishment.
Great article Stephen, can’t believe I missed this last week.
Love to see the diversification paired with simplicity and low risk like ETF.
[…] published a recent article outlining my assets and net worth so if your readers are interested they can learn exactly what Iām invested in and how […]
I have to say I love reading people’s net worth updates, as I find it interesting to see how others have built their wealth. You have done very well, and should be very proud of your accomplishments thus far.
Personally, I struggle with revealing my own net worth number. Sometimes I feel like I may be revealing too much already with the dividend income updates I post and the specific stocks that I own. There’s a fine balance between privacy and revealing information to help others in their journey and I can understand the internal struggle that you went through prior to this post. Thank you for being so open and sharing these very private numbers with your readers.
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