When I first decided to join many others on the quest to become financially free I had read many many books and blogs on the subject of Net Worth. I decided that one the best ways to help me achieve my goals (and hopefully inspire others) was to share my Net Worth with you all. I must also admit I am a little voyeuristic when it comes this so of things (I think secretly we all are) so I figure it is only fair that I share my own. If you are interested in a comprehensive list of other online finance bloggers Net Worth check out Rockstar Finance’s Ultimate List of Bloggers Net Worth it really is fascinating and also a great place to find new blogs you may not be reading. Each of these blogs have a wonderful story to share and lessons to pass on.

Up until just before I started this blog I had never calculated my Net Worth before and I have to say it was a powerful experience. It really does empower you to make decisions and to know where you stand in relation to our overall financial position. Good or bad it gives a starting point from which measure how your goals have a material affect on your net worth. It really does feel like you are taking your financial bull by it’s horns.

People tend measure how successful someone is by how much they earn and what material possession they own (big house, flash car!). Obviously this is a flawed concept as you can have a person on a lower wage who saved and invested studiously and grown their net wealth and then a person on a higher wage who spends all their money on material things, going into large debt to give others the impression of wealth. We all know at least one of those people.

So what is Net Worth?

Expressed as a dollar amount your Net Worth is a current snapshot of your financial health and is essentially the result of your earnings and spending to date.

Calculating your Net Worth is quite simple, just add up the value of all the things you own and take away all your debts, the result is your Net Worth. Whilst some people like to include every fork, spoon and appliance they own I prefer to stick to the big stuff like house(s), car(s), antiques etc but you can make your assessment as  you see fit.

Whilst it is beneficial to calculate your net worth at any point in time the real power of it comes when you measure it often (but not too often) and use it as a tool to motivate you. You should consider your Net Worth when you set your financial goals to ensure you make decisions that will get the needle moving in the right direction. Once you are doing this regularly you find it becomes part of your everyday thought pattern and will really help you make the best decisions on your financial journey.

On this blog I will be documenting my Net Worth on a monthly basis. My current plan is to break it down into a few sections and provide commentary for each section every month, to provide insights into the things I am doing to increase my net worth and reasons why it may not have.

Please follow this link to my Downloads page where I have added a the TSD Net Worth tracker (and its totaly FREE!). It is a fairly simple spreadsheet that you update on a regular basis, with some nice visuals to motivate you. Also, in the link provided earlier, Mark from Rockstar Finance provides some references (at the bottom of the page) to some other great examples.

Happy Calculating!

The Spreadsheet Dad