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My Net Worth - April 2008 (updated 04/09/2008)
By JD Bluefield | April 8, 2008
My Net Worth for April 2008: As promised, I listed my net worth at the top and will update it on a monthly basis. Since people have asked how to calculate net worth and what it means, I’ll give a simple explaination. Your Net Worth is simply your Assets minus your Liabilities, assets being things you own of value and liabilities being things debts you owe.
How do I calculate Net Worth? Below is an excel spreadsheet which you can download and use to calculate/track your net worth. On it you’ll find two spreadsheets, for tracking net worth by month, the other by year. Click on the link to open/save the file.
Net Worth Calculator (UPDATED: 4/09/2008:2300)
How does this Spreadsheet work? I’ve filled out the first several rows with example numbers to help you get started and understand how it might look. If you look closely you can see how event changes affect net worth, such how a student loan being paid-off, the decreasing value of a car, etc. Input your own number and see if you are heading towards your goal.
- Delete example numbers and input your own into the non-shaded fields.
- The yellow shaded blocks contain formulas which will compute the totals automatically, and have been protected to prevent you from accidentally deleting them.
- You can customize/rename the asset/liability titles (ex. change “car value” to “truck value”)
- You can add additional columns for more assets/liabilities as needed, but do this carefully as they can’t be deleted. As long as you haven’t saved, you can hit “Ctrl” + “z” to undo any mistakes. But if you make a mistake or lose the file, you can always come back and download the file again.
- Pass the calculator on so others can figure out their net worth.
My Monthly Net Worth: Figure 1 shows my net worth from 2007 to present, with monthly data-points. If you notice, there are many fluctuations in the chart. Your net worth usually don’t move in a straight line. The peaks and valleys can reflect many different things, changes in home values, stock prices, car purchases, mortgage loans, etc and this is perfectly normal. If you manage your investments (and liabilities) properly and do not panic these dips should be nothing to worry about. Click on the chart to enlarge.
Figure 1: My Monthly Net Worth
Stay on course: One of the main things that I try to do is to stay focused and stick to my investing plan/strategy. If you look at September 07, you can see a drop due to the decline in certain stocks. Rather than freak out, I stayed put. Had I panicked and moved out of those companies, I would have missed out on gains straight through the first quarter of 2008.
My Yearly Net Worth Changes: Figure 2 shows my rise in net worth from college/starting work to present day. Although there were many changes in the month-to-month chart, plotting the averages of yearly data points produces a much smoother curve. If I ever get around to inputting all the monthly points, the chart would look much more haphazard. Click on the chart to enlarge.
Figure 2: My Yearly Net Worth
Topics: Calculators, Net Worth |
One Response to “My Net Worth - April 2008 (updated 04/09/2008)”
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April 8th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
VERY HELPFUL! THANKS JD!