How often do you calculate your net worth?

[wanaberetiree]

Since I use Microsoft Money, ...

But Microsoft Money's gone, no?

 

[longinvest]

I use Gnu Cash to track income and expenses. I didn't set it up to get stock quotes, so it doesn't show the current value of investments. I track the current value of my investments in a spreadsheet when I get the monthly statements. So, you could say that I track my net worth monthly.

 

[dessert]

I like to check accounts daily. I have the time and I want to see how the market swings affect the totals and the individual investments. Plus I want to know if anything seems out of kilter.
The last couple of months I have noticed the lack of volatility which is nice. Yes daily large drops are hard to swallow but large daily upswings make up for that. It's just something I like to do.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Our finances are very simple and we don't use software other than TurboTax every April, so we really don't track our net worth--I always know what our investments are doing (it's just a habit to go online and check Vanguard after the close of business every day), what's in the bank, etc., and we could toss in the assumed value of the other assets to top that off for a ballpark number, but we don't really have a reason to.

 

[rockyj]

Still working/accumulating but getting very near to retirement.

I update a net worth spreadsheet on an almost daily basis, using linked online accounts. Daily values are overwritten with each update. Some items are manually updated with less frequency (e.g. estimate of home value, pension value, etc.) In that spreadsheet, I only keep a historic record of year-end values.

With each update from the net worth spreadsheet I also compute an estimated "potential retirement income" based on a SWR from that day's account values (using only those that will be used for income) plus pension income that would be available if I were to retire at the end of that month. This current potential retirement income is recorded and plotted as a line graph in a second spreadsheet (showing daily data and a trend line).

The annual net worth values provide a record of long-term progress.
The projected income graph gives a visual sense of both long term progress and short term market gyrations as related income, but the gyrations are damped considerably by the steady contribution of the pension.

As others have mentioned, watching this daily tends to inure one to the short-term dips; it's still nice to see the upward bumps and trends; and it *can* be a bit unnerving during the prolonged or more severe downdrafts. The longer the tracking, however, the longer the downdrafts that can be looked upon as dips. I think of it as dress rehearsal/conditioning for the time when we will be living off that projected income (and I hope bulling through underlying market gyrations with equanimity).

 

[packrat44]

I do it whenever W2R says "Wheee!".


Then I feel good until the market drops again.

So, your excitement lasts for about 1 day?

 

[obgyn65]

Same here. I have little interest in my actual NW. Income stream is much more important.

I suppose I could pretty easily do it more often but I am more interested in the investment income stream number and not so much interested in a net worth number.

 

[chris2008]

Monthly in a spreadsheet.

 

[militaryman]

I always have a little speedbump when trying to do an estimate --- as in the value of annuities x 3

Like many folks just say

1. 401k balance
+ 2. home equity
+ 3. investment balance
= net worth

But by and large I would say that the value of my military retirement that starts @ 60y.o. and Federal pension (39yrs at retirement age 57) and SS @ 62 by and far are worth more to me than the 3 from that list.

So how do I value those when doing a networth estimate?

I mean even if I die the Survisor Benefit plans will pay my spouse 50% on the Fed retirement and Mil. retirement

 

[grasshopper]

I use Quicken and update daily, so all my stuff is staring at me most of the day. I like Quicken as a security backup, any transactions I don't know about, I ask Ms G about. If Ms G hasn't a clue I am on the phone asking my financial institution. I get transactions overnight everyday in the morning, those suckers can't get a phony charge past old grasshopper.

 

[HFWR]

Have a google spreadsheet that tracks investments more or less in real time. Also have the rebalance bands entered, so don't do anything until something is outside the band (though I have been known to tweak my allocation based on my bunion/Ouija board/Magic Eight Ball...)

Adjust once a month or so for dividend reinvestment.

 

[rescueme]

So how do I value those when doing a networth estimate?

Many have different opinions on this point, but as for me/DW? We don't calculate any income stream of having any value unless it can be "passed on" until we are both gone.

For instance, my VA disability, my DW's two small pension plans, our respective SS are all calculated at $0.

However, our joint life SPIA does have value that will be passed on to our estate if we both die before the age of 78 (our joint life calculation).

BTW, we carry all "personal property" (cars, funiture, odds & ends, etc.) as zero worth as far as considering gross estate net worth.

Just the way we look at it.

 

[Meadbh]

I use an Excel spreadsheet to calculate net worth and do some graphs, scenario building and sensitivity analysis once a year, on March 31st. When there have been major changes In my personal circumstances I may do it halfway through the fiscal year, but never more often. During 2008 it would have been just too painful!

 

[militaryman]

Many have different opinions on this point, but as for me/DW? We don't calculate any income stream of having any value unless it can be "passed on" until we are both gone.

For instance, my VA disability, my DW's two small pension plans, our respective SS are all calculated at $0.

However, our joint life SPIA does have value that will be passed on to our estate if we both die before the age of 78 (our joint life calculation).

BTW, we carry all "personal property" (cars, funiture, odds & ends, etc.) as zero worth as far as considering gross estate net worth.

Just the way we look at it.

^^^^^ That's what I figured most folks do also ....

Therefore someone who indicates they have a networth of $0 or a negative networth is not necessarily indicative at all of the standard of living they will be able to have in retirement, i guess.

I can lose all my investment $$ right before retirement and , i guess technically have a networth of zero, yet my pensions/annuity/ss should allow the DW and I to gross > $4,000 per month.

 

[rgarling]

I was obliged to calculate net worth each time we applied for a mortgage, which was 4 times in the past 30 years.

 

[photoguy]

Therefore someone who indicates they have a networth of $0 or a negative networth is not necessarily indicative at all of the standard of living they will be able to have in retirement, i guess.

I guess it depends on how you want to use the networth value. For comparing to others, you could compute the present value (using some estimate for inflation) of the pension payments assuming an average lifetime. Or you could take the pension payment and figure out an equivalent "lump sum" using a 4% rate. Obviously all very approximate.

 

[Mulligan]

I guess it depends on how you want to use the networth value. For comparing to others, you could compute the present value (using some estimate for inflation) of the pension payments assuming an average lifetime. Or you could take the pension payment and figure out an equivalent "lump sum" using a 4% rate. Obviously all very approximate.

I only tally up assets that have any worth if I drop dead. I guess it's all in ones perspective. To me, in my retirement it is only about cash flow since I have a generous pension, I consider myself "red neck rich". To my daughter if I dropped dead today, she would bemoan the fact of how poor I was.

 

[Aiming_4_55]

I have a general idea based on monthly income/expenses.

Some elect not to include real estate, but I include rental real estate (value minus any liability/selling cost). I also am aware of the NW number including personal real estate, but don't factor that in my FI number.

 

[Finance Dave]

I do mine about once a quarter, and round off to the nearest $10,000. Accuracy is important, but precision is not. Someday I'm hoping I have enough to round to the nearest $100,000.

 

[FUEGO]

I update my "Quarterly Financial Statements" spreadsheet on a quarterly basis. Which reminds me, this weekend is time for another update that will probably show huge NW increases vs June 30 2012.

I also update a "portfolio analysis" spreadsheet 1-2x a month. This is my rebalancing spreadsheet that calculates which slices of the asset allocation are most out of balance, and that is where I direct new contributions, or if the percentages are way out of balance I'll do some buying and selling to get everything close to the target percentages.

 

[travelover]

I used to have a guy working for me that did it every morning over coffee, manually, on a spread sheet. Couldn't get any work out of him for the first couple of hours a day.

 

[Lsbcal]

Have been tracking in Excel for many years now. One tab per year. Reasons for tracking weekly are:

1) Rebalancing when equities go above our max percentage. I just sell 1%.
2) Knowing how many months of spending we have left. Sell short bonds if more needed.
3) Seeing our overall strategy on one sheet. This sheet is linked to an allocation sheet.
4) Every quarter recently I have benched marked our portfolio against a simple indexed portfolio and also against a portfolio that includes Vanguard Wellington.
5) Seeing how we are doing versus the inflation adjusted starting retirement liquid (no real estate) net worth.

 

[savory]

I'm a Yodlee user too and really like it. Everything I need is tracked on the site daily

 

[KB]

Once a month on the first, using a spreadsheet. I only count cash, bank and investment accounts.

 

[lhamo]

I have a master FI spreadsheet that I have been using to track net worth, expenses and other random financial data since July 2002. I set it up when I was at one of my high points of frustration at my previous job -- my mom was going in for open heart surgery and my boss gave me a hard time about taking time off to be with her and help during her recovery. One of those "who needs this job thing..." kind of moments.

I have been tracking networth figures consistently on a monthly basis since then. I use yodlee to consolidate and track account figures automatically. In September 2008, I added a daily networth sheet, which I update every morning over coffee (5 in the morning here means the markets just closed in NYC). I think I started it the MOnday after Lehman collapsed, mostly just to see what happened. It was indeed scary to watch all those red figures lining up and the balance going down, but eventually things started to go back up again. Now I have a nice little rollercoaster journey to follow. We are currently at a peak, which may turn into another trough. Seeing the historical data helps me stay the course and keep buying things when they are on sale - I have good evidence if the wisdom of that approach. Besides, what else are you going to do with your US$? They are losing value in China anyway, so we might as well keep them invested primarily in the US markets.