In order to keep track of my financial progress or lack of progress I have decided to calculate my net worth each month.
My net worth as of 10/1/2016 is as follows.
Assets
Cash – $3710.82 (+$397.63)
IRA – $23,877.79 (-$26.52)
Roth IRA – $10,450.23 (+$71.49)
Solo 401k – 988.09 (-$4.45)
Car/Stuff – $4500 (-$100)
Liabilities
Student Loan – $130,181.70 ($518)
Net Worth = $-86,654.77
My net worth decreased by $179.85 since the last update. Since I didn’t have any luck finding a job last month I wasn’t able to contribute any money to my investments or pay extra on my student loan. Although I did have a small increase in my assets it wasn’t enough to overcome the $600 of monthly interest incurred on my student loan.
I do have a job starting in January so I’ll be able to improve my net worth at that time. I’m hoping I’ll be able to find something in the meantime to increase my income and reverse this net worth slide.
I’ve been using Personal Capital (affiliate link) to help track my net worth. It keeps track of all of my financial accounts and my student loan making it pretty easy to calculate my net worth each month. It is free to sign up. If you would like to sign up I’d appreciate you using my link. All blog income, including affiliate income, goes to paying down my student loan.
Net worth calculation is one of, if not the best, ways to track your progress over the short term and long term. As it’s important to have both types of goals, this is a tool that helps you see progress month to month as well as year over year (or longer). It will definitely help keep you motivated over time if used properly and regularly.