Until a few years ago, I did not track my net worth. I probably understood the concept, I just didn’t see the need for myself. I wasn’t in credit card debt? I paid my monthly bills. In my mind I was doing just fine, so what’s the point? It wasn’t until I learned about the (now defunct) #debtfreecommunity on Instagram that I got interested in doing the calculation for myself. I noticed a lot of other community members tracked their net worth, so I thought maybe I should too. I remembered that I signed up for MINT a LONG time ago and just forgot about it. (R.I.P. to Mint as that is now gone too.) I updated all my accounts, IDs, and passwords. It’s a little tedious at first but once you do it, the rest is easy. The app sucks in all your balance data and real estate information to their tool and spits out your net worth. It was extremely eye-opening! Seeing all my investments, credit cards, property, all in one place gives you a sense of clarity. If you are unsure how you are doing financially, calculating your net worth is a great place to start.
You might assume your net worth is negative, so why bother? Until you see where you stand, you will not be able to fully absorb your situation. It may also give you the motivation to get to a positive net worth. After that, the sky is the limit on your goals! Your first step could be to track all your debt and work on paying it off. That will get you to a ZERO net worth. Yes, it will suck. But it’s better than negative.
Once MINT was retired, I moved to EMPOWER to track my finances. I do not use it for budgeting, just to track my net worth. I like it because it is simple and it is free! Some people prefer to use budgeting apps, but I find them to be too much work. I prefer my Excel budget. With Empower, you can review all your purchases and categorize them. It will allow you to see where you are spending the most money and where you may be able to cut back. It is the first step in helping you create a realistic budget. Cut all the unnecessary spend, and re-prioritize those funds to your debt. Month by month you will start those numbers change and it will be very easy to measure your progress.
Tracking my net worth has allowed me to think BIGGER. Push myself more and pursue goals I never thought possible. Becoming a multi-millionare starts with the basics…
- Budget
- Goals
- Save
- Pay Off Debt
- Invest
- Track
- Keep Investing Forever
And if you want a place to start here are my links to EMPOWER and my basic budgeting spreadsheet. https://empowerreferral.link/v16636
Budget: Store – Your Meanest BFF
If you want some individualized help, HMU. Calendly – V
