Welcome to my first of an ongoing bi-weekly series, Money Tip Tuesday!
Every second week, I will share with you some practical money tips to help you on your path to more wealth, success and happiness. Every money tip has an actual task for you to complete.
This Money Tip is all about knowing how much you are worth
Knowing your net worth is a very important aspect of personal finance. How can you know if you are getting ahead financially if you have no way to track or measure your wealth? If you want to have a benchmark for wealth, retirement or financial fitness, make sure your starting point is your net worth.
I equate knowing your net worth for wealth management to knowing your weight for weight management. Creating a net worth statement is a basic skill you should know and practice regularly.
How to calculate your worth?
Down below, I will give you a list of tools and resources to help you figure out your net worth but really all you need is a pen and paper.
Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle of the page from top to bottom. On the left side of the page write down all the assets that you think contribute positively to your financial well-being (not depreciating assets). On the other side of the page, list all your debts or liabilities. At the bottom of the page, take your total assets and subtract your total liabilities and you will have your net worth.
Once you have this starting point, every year, you should redo this calculation to see if you are moving in the right direction. Understanding your net worth is the starting point to financial planning and wealth management.
Personalize your net worth statement
There is no shortage of tools and resources out there to help you figure out your worth. In my opinion, use the one that works best for you.
Here’s a link to a net worth statement I give out to people who attend my financial workshops. It’s not the best or the worst but a great starting point.
Net Worth Statement (504)Here’s a link to some excel spreadsheets. Don’t expect much. There’s nothing fancy about these worksheets but that’s realty the point. It does not have to be fancy. Incidentally, this is the spreadsheet I’ve been using for years (the long term tab). Mine is personalized for my needs and I would encourage you to do the same for yourself. Take this template and personalize it to your assets and liabilities.
Excel spreadsheet to track net worth (603)For those of you that prefer links to online calculators, here’s a couple to start with.
o http://www.canadianbusiness.com/my_money/planning/retirement_rrsp/net_worth_calc.html
o http://www.taxtips.ca/calculators/networth.htm
I don’t use online calculators to calculate my personal worth so does anyone that wants to share what they have found helpful, please share in the comments.
Your Homework
If you’ve never tracked your worth, it’s time to get started. Using any of the strategies above, make it a priority to complete your net worth statement.
For those of you who are more seasoned at this, help others by sharing he tools, calculators and strategies your use to calculate your net worth.
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I use Excel monthly. After much thought I leave my home off the list. Why? I don’t plan on selling it anytime soon. The price fluctuates year to year. Any price I use is an estimate, as what it is worth is really only determined when I sell. Finally, I fear it ‘distorts’ the view of my net worth. In a concession to tracking I have the market value assessment of my home (once per year) after I calc. my NW. I also leave off my vehicle (paid for anyways) and furnishings.
So the focus is on my liquid assets and investments. I do include my mortgage since I have to pay that off. However I can control the risks with investments and how much I pay my mortgage. It works for me. and that’s the main point.
Thanks for sharing Bill. Many people debate the items that belong on the Net Worth Statement. Personally, I do not include depreciating assets like cars. I also do not include personal assets like furniture, clothes, etc. I call these lifestyle assets and I do not think they contribute to my wealth.
I do include the house in my net worth statement because it is a significant asset and although I do not plan to sell it, I still can access the equity if needed.
It’s important to use the net worth statement the way you think it should be used. In other words, it is personal. That’s why I appreciate you sharing as it will help other people think.
Jim
Great explanation of figuring out your net worth. One thing I would add is that it’s a good idea to check your net worth every year or so, and see how well you are doing at increasing it. That way you’ll spot problems before they have time to really hurt your financial situation.
thanks Nate!
I could not agree more. If you look at the down-loadable excel sheet in the post, you can track your net worth year by year using one worksheet. This is what I use.
Have fun!
Jim
Nicely formatted! What do you include in “other assets”? Do you bother including retail consumer items – laptops, tvs, etc?
I started keeping track of my net worth two years ago and have found it to be an excellent motivational tool.
Hey CF, I like that you find it a motivational tool. Some find it depressing (Ha Ha). I don’t include those items because they really have no value to my wealth. I call these things Lifestyle assets:
http://retirehappyblog.ca/financial-success-come-is-putting-your/
Cheers!
Jim
interesting BUT also read this http://tips-money-managememt.blogspot.com/ its never to early to learn
[...] – How organized are you? Are you dealing with the basics of money management like using the net worth statement, cashflow statements, budgeting and paper [...]
[...] you will be halfway to retirement and you will need to assess your success. Make sure you know your net worth by taking your assets minus your debt. It is likely that you have built up some net worth. If not, [...]