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This is something I started doing about 8 years ago and try to do it once per year. Once I update it, I provide a copy to my wife. It seems to help recharge her batteries on the importance of growing our retirement and it gets us both in the mood to refocus on where we sit. She was never one to think about the future as she was mostly a "live for today' type of person.
This has really been big for us as it is so much fun to look up each item and punch in the numbers and see your investments, equity and net worth grow and watch your liabilities dwindle. I LOVE doing that.
Not to mention if you need to go to a bank for financing for something, they are generally impressed if you whip one out.
I just updated mine today. originally I found a spread sheet by googling it and then modified one to fit my needs.
I keep a running total of IRA's, each of our 401k's etc on the right hand side that total out at the bottom and then flood to the FS.
I ran a Net Worth report on Quicken for my Mom the last 10 years she was alive. She always got a kick out of it. And then I would get the stories about how her and Dad started out on $125 a month income. I got a kick out of those
No need to run one on myself. I just open Quicken and I've got it.
This is something I started doing about 8 years ago and try to do it once per year. Once I update it, I provide a copy to my wife. It seems to help recharge her batteries on the importance of growing our retirement and it gets us both in the mood to refocus on where we sit. She was never one to think about the future as she was mostly a "live for today' type of person.
This has really been big for us as it is so much fun to look up each item and punch in the numbers and see your investments, equity and net worth grow and watch your liabilities dwindle. I LOVE doing that.
Not to mention if you need to go to a bank for financing for something, they are generally impressed if you whip one out.
I just updated mine today. originally I found a spread sheet by googling it and then modified one to fit my needs.
I keep a running total of IRA's, each of our 401k's etc on the right hand side that total out at the bottom and then flood to the FS.
Anyone else do this or something like this?
Every month. We post the chart on the inside of the garage door as a reminder that keeping a lid on frivolous spending will help us reach our long-term goals.
I have a fully built-out Excel doc that goes month-by-month. I update it with any anomalies as they come up and once more at EOM. Everything else (401k, stocks, etc.) I keep an eye on regularly, and expenses are tracked on a phone app. All bases covered!
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I have an Excel spreadsheet showing our net worth broken out by account. I update it 4 times per year. I also have a sheet that shows our budget, and one that shows our financial goals through retirement age.
Yes! -- We are retired now and I believe it's as important as ever for my wife, kids and grandkids --- to have a documented record of what we have, where it is, account numbers, overall retirement strategy, insurance, LTC plans, etc .... along with Trust documents and related materials. (I've seen a number of cases where something unexpected happened ... and those left behind had no idea of where anything was).
Additionally, reviewing and updating these records at least once-per-year, forces me to stay on top of 'the plan' and make sure that investment strategies/returns, budgets and plans are still on-target.
I use Mint.com so I have access to everything on my phone/laptop/our tablet anytime I want I also have a spreadsheet on Google Drive (thus also accessible from anywhere on those devices) for more detailed "play" scenarios if I am trying to calculate something.
Today I did a couple things for our college aged children. I opened a ROTH IRA for each of them. I used $ from savings accounts (each under $1,000) we had created for them when they were little for birthday money from relatives and odd jobs they did. they never touched that money.
The next thing I did was to create a financial statement for each of them. Just like mine.
I updated everything as well as I could. I guestimated the values of their vehicles and their new ROTH. I added a little something for their personal items/furniture etc. and then input their student loans with a schedule on the side so they can update each semester as they go. It then floods to the FS. I love spreadsheets
I emailed it to them and then called them to explain it. Hopefully, this gives them a foundation for discipline and the importance of having a plan and a track to run on. I have a feeling my daughter is already crunching numbers to see where her first $1m will come from!
Who knows if this will have any impact. All you can do is try. The rest is up to them. No one did anything like this for me.
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