Net Worth. Do you know what it is and how to calculate it? NetWorth. Do you know how often you should calculate this wealth measure along with the two best ways to increase it? Always remember that Assets (all that you own) minus Liabilities (all that you owe) equals your Net Worth. Please, in your minds eye picture a basketball net. Now picture a ship's fishing net. Which one of these would you need to put all that you own into, after subratcting all that you owe others?
Now before you start wondering whether your house, car(s), boat, or RV, etc. will all fit into an industrial fish net, confirm that these are truly your ASSETS and not someone elses—thereby, being your LIABILITIES instead. Most of us have a slightly confusing combination of both Figuring our Net Worth (distinguishing between what we have of WORTH, which belongs in our NET) and what we have of worth (that which belongs in another's net). Correctly doing this is how we best keep score of THE MONEY GAME.
THE MONEY GAME is the "game" we play from about age 20 to about age 65; it sums up our personal security at retirement AND our peoples' security in politics. So even though we call it a "game," obviously the stakes are quite high and the outcomes are quite serious. You and I must know the rules to the "game" and we must know how to keep score. We must also learn how the "game" is fundamentally flawed in its Gerryandered, unjust treatment of Afrikan Americans.
The home you have, for example, may be worth $100,000, $1,000,000,000 or more. But if between the 1st and the 15th each month you've gotta pay to stay, don't worry about its fit in your net. !Jes' be sho' yo' paycheck kin deal wi' da note. Same with the RV and boat you may want and the car(s) you drive, if the name on the Title of each is not exclusively yours, you can't book 'em in your net. But stay and pay long enough on these "big ticket" items and you'll develop PARTIAL OWNERSHIP of or EQUITY in these which will increase you Net Worth. Home equity accounts for an important 43% of Anglo American wealth, yet a critical 63% of Afrikan American wealth. Due to Racist Conduct, though, we own houses at a 65% smaller rate than Anglo Americans. In other words, we are really retarded from the most common way capitalists develop capital—Home Equity Appreciation.
Furniture and appliances add to your Net Worth; so does jewelry and clothing too. But separate your monthly income (yo' check) and your monthly outgo (yo' biwz) from your Net Worth totals. "Income (and outgo) refers to a flow of money over time, like a rate per hour, week, or year... income is what people receive for work, retirement, or social welfare. Wealth is a stock of assets owned at a particular time...wealth signifies the command over financial resource that a family has accululated over its lifetime along with those resources that have been inherited across generations...WEALTH TAPS CONTEMPORARY RESOURCES (AND) ASSETS HAVING HISTORICAL ORIGINS. PRIVATE WEALTH THUS CAPTURES (AND CONTINUES HISTORIC) INEQUALITY." (Oliver and Shapiro; 1995)
Equity, as we said, is the valued percentage that you own of whatever you make payments on. With a house worth $100,000 where $75,000 is still owed, you own 25% of the house's value and should add $25,000 to your Net Worth. But what if your car is worth 7,500 and you owe $10,000 even after paying $2,500? You're in Deep Doo Doo!!! What percentage of ownership do you have? None! Is there ANY equity? No! This bad situation explains why most new car buys result in added liability rather than increased assets, usually making used cars a better buy. Become aware of the importance of your Net Worth (Wealth). Count it up now and count it up often. When do you check the score of a football game? Whenever things are about to change, right? Apply that practice to your net worth. Change jobs recently? ?Buy som'fin' big las' momf? ?Dooz ya' got a chil' comin' o' goin' soon? Go immediately to an Internet—'connected computer! THEY'RE FREE AT LIBRARIES IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE AT HOME!!!!!
Dial up http://www.americanexpress.com/advisors/cgi-bin/passer.cgi?step=1 Insert your best guess in the boxes when you don't have the exact numbers. But whatever else you do this week DO THIS! And don't be discouraged if your Net Worth is negative. Knowing something about it is the first step to doing something about it. Ignorance is not bliss...ignorance is ignorant. However large or small, positive or negative your Net Worth is, now's the time to know it Moneybonic$...