YOU MIGHT BE RICHER THAN YOU THINK
What is your Net Worth?
Net worth is the value of all assets one owns, minus the total of all their liabilities. Your liabilities include monies you borrowed(loans), etc. In a more succinct way, net worth is what is owned minus what is owed. That is asset minus liability.
Have you tried calculating your net worth? The following clues may help.
1.Home
This is the current market value of your home. This should be as close as possible to the actual market value at the moment. You can get expert valuers to ascertain the actual cost of your home. This is an essential part of your net worth.
2.Other Landed Property
The value of any other landed property you have, that is, the real estate you may own. This Includes second homes or more homes, undeveloped land, rental property or any commercial buildings that are attached to your name. As with your home, use the actual market value of this real estate.
3.Automobiles
This is the total value of all automobiles that you own. Do not include any leased vehicles.
4.Jewellery
The value of any jewellery, gems or precious metals such as gold, diamond, and other precious stones are part of your net worth. If you have owned these items for a number of years, they may have appreciated in price, so remember to use the current market value.
5.Household items
This is the value of your household goods and items. This would include items such as furniture, home electronics, all forms of household ware, etc.
6.Retirement Accounts
This is the current total balance of your retirement accounts. This should include Trust Fund savings(or other pension savings schemes), variable annuities and any other retirement savings you may have. Some companies help employees to organize a pension scheme where they save a certain percentage of their net salary every month.
7.Bonds.
A bond is a debt security, similar to an IOU. Borrowers issue bonds to raise money from investors willing to lend them money for a certain period of time. When you buy a bond, you are lending to the issuer, which may be a government, municipality, or corporation.
If you own any treasury, municipal or commercial bonds, that are not part of your retirement accounts, enter the total here.
8 Stocks
A stock is a share which entitles the holder to a fixed dividend, whose payment takes priority over that of ordinary share dividends.
Your individual stocks that are not part of your retirement accounts should be entered here in total as part of your net worth.
9. Mutual Funds
A mutual fund is an investment programme funded by shareholders that trades in diversified holdings and is professionally managed.If you own any mutual funds that are not part of your retirement accounts, enter the total here.
10. Cash Value of Life Insurances.
Some life insurance have a cash value. This is true for whole life and universal life policies. The term "life policies", on the other hand, have no cash value. If you have life insurance with a cash value, enter the total here. Remember, this should be the cash value of the policy, not the amount paid out if you were to collect on the policy.
11.Savings Bonds
In some countries of the world, savings bonds are debt securities issued by the Nation's Department of the Treasury to help pay for the government's borrowing needs. Savings bonds are considered one of the safest investments because they are backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government. If you own any savings bonds, enter the total here.
12. Current and Savings Accounts
A current account, also called a chequing account(AmE, checking account) is a bank account you can write cheques from, or access several other ways, which tends to make it your daily transaction bank account. A current account is also called a demand account or transactional account,
A savings account, on the other hand, is the account where you stash funds that you aren't ready to use yet, often with the goal of accumulating more.
In the actual sense, your savings account is supposed to be the account you save money in for future use. This includes money you don't need for now. As the name implies, "savings" is an account meant to save funds. While your current or chequing account is the account meant for your daily transactions, whether for business or personal concerns.
The current total balance of your chequing and savings accounts should be entered as part of your net worth.
13.Cash
This is your cash at hand. This should also be recorded when calculating your net worth.
14.Other
If you have any other assets of value, you can enter the total here.
After this analysis, you will see here that many people who think they are poor are not really poor. It's just a matter of priority. First, liberate your mind from that of a destitute and a helpless fellow. Then, look at what you have around you that can be converted into liquid asset, your knowledge inclusive. You may just be far richer than you think.
Osasuyi Omoragbon,
February, 2023.
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