Thursday Task: Determine Your Net Worth
Many people have never taken the time to calculate their net worth. For some, it is because they believe only the rich do that sort of thing. For others, they think that their net worth says something about their personal value as individuals in the world, that it’s some sort of judgment about whether or not they are worthwhile people. Neither of these beliefs is true.
Your net worth is simply a snapshot of where you are financially today. The first time you calculate it, you may be surprised to find that your numbers are higher than you had guessed. That can be good if it’s your assets but bad if it’s mostly debt. The numbers will show you what areas need work, and that’s precisely why you need to know your net worth.
To get started, go to the Personal Weath Estimator on AmericaSaves.org. This form can be filled out online, or you can print it out and fill it in yourself. If you decide to do it manually, simply add up all the financial and non-financial assets and total the debts, then subtract the debt total from the assets total. What’s left is your current net worth. If it’s a negative number or a small positive, you may need to work on building assets and/or eliminating debt.
It’s that simple. Really. Now tell me again why you haven’t done this yet?
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