Almost at my $25k RRSP goal

Okay, so the book value of my RRSPs are sitting at $24,440. The market value is $23,350. That’s not a good sign. I think that being out only $1,090 in this kind of market means that my portfolio has been way too conservative. I’ve done a lot to re-allocate my funds over the past month and I think I’ve got a good balance now. But that’s a whole other story. Right now, I want to focus on what I’m going to do when I hit my $25k RRSP goal for the year.

I am $560 away from my $25k goal (based on book value, because I don’t have any control over what the market does). My original plan was to stop contributing to retirement and re-focus that $150/bi-weekly into my Emergency Fund. That would ensure my 2009 goal of a $5,000 EF would be met.

But … the idea of not contributing to my RRSP makes me a little anxious. Especially because if you think about it, I wouldn’t be contributing to my RRSPs again until 2011. That’s a long time. Basically I’d be losing 2 years. So now, I’m not too sure what to do.

If I keep contributing, I’m not sure I’ll be able to make my $5k EF goal. And really, having cash when we come back from traveling is a must. Spending saved money while we try to find work is a more important immediate goal than saving for 30 years from now. I hate to say it, but it’s true. Because if I have to go into debt trying to support myself when we get back, then that sets me back on all of my personal finance goals.

I think a good balance might be to scale back my RRSP contributions to $100/month once I meet my goal. That’s barely anything, but it’s better than nothing. And that should free up $200/month to put into my Emergency Fund, along with my regular EF contributions of between $50-200/month.