Latest responses to “April 2009 - Net Worth Statement and Personal Finance Report” Copyright 2013, MoneyBlueBook.com 400160 2009-05-17T21:08:33-07:00 Raymond Rajeev, Why do you feel that I ought to include my vehicle's fair market value into my networth asset calculation? Curious as to your thoughts. If I owned a luxury watch (a Rolex or Omega) with value in excess of $3,000, should I include the resale value of the watch into my net worth as well? What about the fair market value of my entire wardrobe and clothing apparels....what about my TV etc? 400190 2009-05-08T14:58:20-07:00 Rajeev I think you can also add back your vehicles residual value in your networth.. after all its an asset.. it might be difficult to sell. but everything gets sold at the right price. 400170 2009-05-03T06:23:50-07:00 Raymond Thanks E.Newton, At this very moment, I'm still holding onto the remaining individual stocks, and index & mutual funds that I owned from a year ago. My losses are pretty tremendous (more than 50% down) so I'm just waiting out the market for now. In time I think the market will recover, but it's hard to set a real timetable at this point. Most of the funds I still own are foreign emerging market ones - Brazil, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and a few local SNP 500 tracking indexes etc. Mulling my investment options right now. It's hard not to go with the most beaten down sectors - the financials and even oil stocks... choices, choices. 400120 2009-05-02T15:19:31-07:00 E.Newton Also, the etf 'TNA' is working well, smallcap companies always rebound before largecaps. I've already locked in 10% profit in the last 2 weeks 400180 2009-05-02T15:18:28-07:00 E.Newton Since you're thinking about getting back into the stock market, I'd recommend the PGF etf, it invests in the banks' preferred shares, and is currently paying a 14% dividend. Nice! As the preferreds go down in value, that dividend will go up, and barring one of the funds' banks going bankrupt or 'wiped out' by the govt, (Citigroup prime candidate), you're locking in some fat rewards for a long time to come... law of 72 predicts that the money put in would double every 5 years... 400150 2009-05-02T12:18:45-07:00 Raymond Tess, I wrestled with the decision but I ultimately decided that removing the vehicle asset figure provided a more accurate picture of overall networth, for many reasons. In regards to the market value of ones home and its inclusion into net worth, there is indeed quite a hearty debate between some financial writers regarding the wisdom of including real estate into the calculation of personal networth for the same reasons I indicated in not including vehicle asset value into my calculations. Frankly, I actually do see some merit in the argument that real estate SHOULD NOT be included into net worth as it frequently gives a false impression of true net worth. A home's fair market value is incredibly difficult to spot price and it's hard to know exactly how much a given property will ultimately sell on the open market. Inclusion of one's home into net worth has even led to the coinage of the term "house rich" to denote those who's primary net worth is derived from the value of their home alone. It's frequently a misleading figure as true home value is frequently substantially lower than one may believe or hope. Just because a home is fairly priced at $400,000 doesn't necessarily mean it will actually sell at that price, and may only fetch $350,000 when put on the market and scrutinized by prospective buyers. However, with all that said, it's hard not to deny that one's primary home value still ought to be included into networth figures somehow. Its value is simply too large and substantial to ignore. Besides, after subtracting the mortgage from the home's projected sale value, the home equity portion does have some liquid networth calculative value. Available home equity can be quickly converted into cash if need be. 400130 2009-05-02T11:59:31-07:00 Tess Are you sure it was wise to no longer include your vehicle's market value into networth calculation? You say that the reason you are no longer adding the amount into net worth is because it's one of those assets that are rarely sold and not immediately replaced. But couldn't the same be said for say......your primary house or home? After all, we all need a place to live and it's rare that your primary real estate will be sold and not promptly replaced with a similar or better home for example. Curious about your thoughts on the matter. 400140 2009-05-01T12:06:34-07:00 Raymond As an addendum for clarification, I just had a friend contact me and inquire whether the figures listed in the table above for credit card spending are typos or not. The table indicates a credit card balance of $104 with a $$ change of -$2,780 and % change of -96.39% . The figures are indeed correct. Remember, these figures represent my current financial net worth compared to last month. Thus, my present total credit card balances are indeed at $104, but due to spending habit changes for the month of April compared to March, my credit card balances dropped -$2,780, a decrease of -96.39%.