Net worth
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| Mon, 07-25-2005 - 10:51am |
Now that our debt is dropping quickly (under $17k with roughly two years left in repayment), and our savings are adding up, I've started keeping track of our net worth. Anyone else do this? It's very gratifying, and it gives me something to keep track of and work on after the debt is gone.
Our current net worth: $11,000
That's a pretty number. :) It includes the equity in our home, our retirement assets, and miscellaneous other monetary assets, minus our total debt. It does *not* include our vehicles or miscellaneous sundry "stuff." It also does not include the couple grand I have sitting in a business account.
It wasn't so long ago that I was posting that our net worth had just inched into the black. Now it's more than ten grand in the black. Pretty gratifying.
For newbies: please know that you can do this too. I was once (about three years ago) in the deep, dark pits of debt h*ll, worried where our next meal was going to come from and how we were going to pay our rent. It is a long, hard road, but if I can do it, you can too!
Anyone else want to share their net worth numbers?
Blessings,
Heather

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Well no because I have none, or at least it's negative right now. I'm working on it.
I would like to add to your challenge though and see what amount of net worth everyone thinks they will need to have at retirement. I think $1 million is a pretty good number. If you own or plan to buy a home and have 30 years until retirement, that is several hundred thousand right there. Then you will need to eat for 20-30 years, depending on when you plan to retire and when you plan to die. At $2 per meal and 3 meals per day, that is $55,000 for 25 years. If there are two of you, make it $110,000. And if you plan to eat out ever and want to use an average of $3 per meal, make it $164,000. That's just for food. And even if your house is paid off, you are going to need to budget for property taxes, insurance and maintenance. Plus retirement is when you are more likely to have health problems. My mom's out of pocket prescription costs are more than a mortgage payment. She's on medicare and prescription coverage is supposed to be better in 2006 but that is not proven and who knows what it will be like when we all retire. She can't stop taking her medication, she might as well stop living. Then you want to add in activities (you aren't going to just sit around all day when you retire hopefully) and travel if you can afford it. If you ever have to go into an assisted care facility, that is several thousand per month. Just something to think about. I don't know if I can reach $1 million, but part of my current plan is to work until I'm 75, that will certainly help.
And remember, your home could easily end up being 1/3 to 1/4 of that $1 million, and you don't have to save the rest, if you start saving and investing, you can earn a good portion of that with interest.
My hubby and I have a net worth of about $175,000 only including our home equity and retirement accounts.
On our way to having a net worth of over a million by the time we are 50 I hope.
Shannon
Shannon
That's pretty much how I have done everything from the start.
When I went to refinace my home, my broker told me I have a net worth of between $50k-$60k. Not too bad for a single woman who has lived in the States for less than 4 years. I don't think it is quite that high if I don't include the paid off car, which is worth more than I paid for it currently - I learnt that cash is still king even at a car dealership! I reckon I have a net worth on these terms of around $40K. Not too bad - can't complain.
Definitely going to check out the retirement planner on MSNBC. I have a Trad IRA from a rollover. A Roth I just started on my own, and my company 401K just kicked in for me last month. I am still scared that it will never go up, I just seem to lose money every month, not gain on them. Very depressing.
Oh I know - and I can claim my 401k contributions on my taxes as well. I'm most scared of not having enough money to retire on. I started saving for retirement later in life (around 33), due to all the moving countries I have done. I have a retirement plan still in Mexico with money in it that I can't touch till I'm 65! I'm not too worried about it though.
The 401K is new, so I haven't seen what that is doing at all. I know my employers are making a contribution - 3% of what I made last year, and I currently contribute 2% of my paycheck including my commission payments. So the more commission I make the more goes to my plan. I haven't received anything about it - though I know I am making contributions. I don't even like the funds I am putting them in, but I would have to pay my actual Financial Planner to review them, so I went with the suggestions from the financial planner who has our office plan. He does not have a good reputation.
The Trad IRA is a rollover and I was contributing to that, then I realised I have to pay taxes on withdrawel as it is tax deductible, so I stopped contributing to that one and opened a Roth. I rather pay taxes on it now than later.
All this talk of a million for retirement scares me. I'm not married, I have no children to help me out in the future and my parents will probably outlive me, and they're in England. It's pretty scary sometimes being a single woman, we don't traditionally make as much as men and I am in a dubious profession - sales.
Anyways I try to be as savvy with my money as I can because I am the only person I have to rely on.
I am a single woman, too. Yes, traditionaaly we don't get paid as much as men doing the same job, but just the thought that it takes anywhere from $200,000 and up to raise a child makes me feel so much better. (Cost of raising a child calculator link attached).
Have you considered retiring in England or other EU countries? I know NHS is not the greatest, but comparing to the medical system and costs in the US, it may still be an option. And if you decide to stay in the US, you may want to consider long-term care insurance.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calc/raiseChild.asp
Every so often we do the "Hope Sheet" thing from the FPU notebook. I have been thinking about this all week, thinking, "Nah, Why bother? It's bound to be some really really depressingly tiny number. If, by a miracle, it's even positive anyway..."
Well, I really do believe in miracles...
Our net worth, as of 10 minutes ago, with a fast estimate is $77,005.
With all our assets, we have $139,286, but after subtracting all we owe, roughly $62,281, we're left with the $77,005.
Apparently, we're living on a gold mine, and I didn't even know it, lol. I've said that we live right across the street from a lake, right? Well, we have one of the last remaining true double lots in town (nearly .5 acre), and although our house isn't much to look at (it was built 115 years ago, remodeled badly), when our across the street neighbor had his house reappraised last year, the appraiser was looking around the neighborhood, and asked about our lot. When our neighbor told him that it was all one lot, the appraiser asked if we knew what it was worth. Nope. He guesstimated that just the lot was worth $125,000, $150,000 with the house. Wow! DH was fixing a guy's computer a couple of nights ago, and they got to talking about it, and the guy offered to buy our 'extra' lot for $80,000. DH said it wasn't for sale. Huh. LOL-I dunno, it'd beat having to mow it...
So, when I was figuring out our net worth, I only used $125,000 for the real estate.
This really helped me to see the BIG picture. I tend to get so focused in on what we still owe that I lose sight of how far we've come.
Lisa
**Edited to add that this includes everything off the Hope Sheet:
real estate; cars; cash on hand; checking cct; savings; retirement; jewelry, with the subtractions of all debt we owe right this second. Does not include the cash value of insurance policies, household items, or antiques (which we use as everyday stuff), or the Kitchen sink...
Edited 7/30/2005 1:05 am ET ET by luckyme03
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