Congratulation, youﾴve gotten started on your retirement plan! Youﾴve now collected and organized all of your financial and personal information and place them into one easy to reach location. Now its time to start looking at your numbers, this will tell you how much your current life style has cost you, the assets you have accumulated and provide the footing for building the life you want now and after you retire.
To do this you need to calculate your current net worth. Calculating your net worth not only gives you an idea of your financial situation, but it also allows you to organize all of your assets and debts in one place. Your net worth is simple the total value of all your assets minus your total liabilities. Again, we can provide you with the worksheets necessary to complete this exercise if youﾴd call us. But if you want to do it yourself here are the steps.
Step 1: Add up your liquid assets.
Liquid assets are items that can be converted to cash without losing much or any of its value. Cash is the most liquid asset you can own. These include:
Cash on hand
Your checking and savings account balances
Cash value of your life insurance
Certificates of deposit
Step 2: Determine the value of your investment assets.
These are assets that you have purchased whose value is most likely to increase over time and that you can sell for cash. These may take some time to sell and you can lose some of its value, as you will have to sell them at their current market value. i.e., what someone is willing to pay for them at the time that you want to sell. There may also be various expenses associated with selling them.
ﾠAll stocks at current market value
ﾠGovernment Bonds
ﾠReal estate investments
ﾠRetirement plan current amount.
ﾠOther investments and savings
Step 3: Calculate your personal assets.
Personal assets are all of your possessions that can be sold for cash.
Value of your automobiles (less any outstanding amount on the loan)
Furniture and appliances (less any outstanding amount on the loan)
Value of property, real estate
Any other possessions that someone will pay you money for.
Step 4: Assess your liabilities.
Liabilities are bills and claims that others have over your money as a result of financial agreements with you. They include items such as:
Credit card debts
Automobile loans
Personal loans
Mortgages
Any amounts borrowed against your life insurance or retirement plans withdrawals
Any other debts you owe
Step 5: Calculate your net worth.
Assets – liabilities = net worth
Add up all your assets and deduct your liabilities from them. Once you’ve done this, you’ll have an idea of your net worth. Usually this should be a positive number but if itﾴs not or extremely low donﾴt worry about it.
Your answer will tell you where you are starting from today. Remember that past is not your future and by taking steps today you can use your today to change your tomorrow, which is your future. Once completed, you should save your net worth statement in your planning binder.
I believe that everyone has their own unique life style and needs and their path to retirement freedom needs to fit who they are, their unique skills, interests, values and goals to maximize success. That why youﾴve got to know your number because one size does not fit all!
Through coaching, you get personalized attention and information on exactly the issues you are working on and how to integrate them into your overall plan. Coaching provides you with the support you need to succeed by having a partner in the process who is on your side. Having a coach focuses your attention; it clarifies your goals and encourages you to aim higher. You have fewer frustrations. A coach will challenge you to eliminate the distractions, the frustrations, irritations and annoyances of life.
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today; Let us move forward with strong and active faith.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
By Glenn Ferguson
Mr. Ferguson is a public speaker and trainer providing the “help you need to enjoy the life you want.” For information Call 327-2453 or 327-0854 or e-mail: glen@coralwave.com
