Month: February 2025

The Night Agent actor wants to leave Hollywood soon, too.

According to a February 2022 McKinsey report, “$30 trillion in investable assets will be possessed by baby boomers by 2030, much of it controlled by women. Today, women control a third of total US household investable assets – approximately $12 trillion. Over the next decade, this share will grow. The biggest cause of this shift will be demographics: as baby boomer men die, many will pass assets to their female spouses, who tend to be both younger and longer lived.”[i]

Are you prepared for this transfer? How do you assess your financial wellbeing? There are key financial reports that help with this analysis. This blog will focus on one called a Net Worth Statement.

Net Worth Statement

A net worth statement is a selfie, a financial photo. It is specific to the day you compile the numbers. If you compute a net worth statement today, tomorrow, and the next day, each will be different. A net worth statement lists your assets – property that you own – along with their respective market value; and your liabilities – what you owe – along with the amount that you still need to repay. When you subtract the value of your liabilities from the value of your assets, the result is your personal net worth.

ASSETS – LIABILITIES = NET WORTH

Hopefully, the result will be positive. However, negative net worth is not uncommon early in your career when your focus is on covering living expenses, paying down student loans, along with creating an emergency fund. (See my blog, Your First Financial Step.)

If your net worth is still negative after you have your career in gear, you may need the help of a debt or credit counselor to get on track. There is no shame in that and there are good resources available but make sure that you check the background and get references for a counselor and check the Better Business Bureau rating of any agency before you commit. A thorough check is important because, unfortunately, there are also scammers in this arena.

Changes in Your Net Worth

Early in your career, your net worth may be disappointing, but as you save and invest and reduce your debt, it should increase. That is the trend that you want to see. How frequently should you take a selfie – compute your personal net worth? That is your decision but starting at least annually makes sense.

As you start earning and spending, there is likely to be a meaningful change in your net worth over the course of a year. You can then assess any trends and make plans to offset any changes headed in the wrong direction. As you approach retirement, your net worth may stabilize but there are outside forces that can affect your net worth, too.

For example, changes in the market value of your assets will change your net worth. I computed my net worth on December 31, 2023, over a year ago. If I computed it now, what do you think I would see? I am retired and regularly withdraw from my investments. Has the increase in market value kept up with my distributions? The value of my home has decreased slightly. Since I am paying down my mortgage, my liabilities have also decreased. Without computing the actual numbers, however, I do not know if my net worth has declined, stayed stable, or increased.

Sample Net Worth Template

Here is an example of a net worth template:

Where Can I Find the Values?

Where can you find the market values of your assets and liabilities? Statements are a good place to start. Maybe you access all your financial accounts online and that makes it easy to obtain values on any given day. However, if you are the kind of person who likes paper, compiling all the statements at the end of a month or end of a quarter makes sense. Bank, investment, and loan account statements will likely be issued then.

Real estate and vehicle values are a bit trickier. Although they are not precise, real estate websites like Zillow or Trulia will give you an idea of the market value of your home, vacation home, or other property. Likewise, Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds websites are good places to start to obtain the market value of a vehicle. More research may be necessary for any valuable collections or jewelry. Items that have sold on eBay may give you an indication. There are so many websites to help but, at least initially, it may take a little time. In the long run, however, it will be worth it!

Why Is a Net Worth Statement Valuable?

Your net worth is a big picture way to measure your overall financial health. Lenders use it as a gauge. Tracking your net worth over time is a helpful indicator of your financial stability. If you need to make a major financial decision, computing a net worth statement with the options you are considering might help you make a better decision.

For example, would your savings be better spent to upgrade your kitchen to get a higher market value for your home or should you use those savings to pay down your credit card debt? Of course, there may be other factors involved in those decisions, too, but a net worth statement can be a valuable tool.

Legal Notice: This document is intended to be informational only. Please consult the appropriate legal, accounting, or tax advisor if you require advice tailored to your specific situation.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you calculated your net worth? What tools did you use to compile all the data? Did your net worth statement give you a better idea of your financial situation?

I have worked hard to make my single life pretty amazing, so I am not sure whether I would ever want to fall in love again. Living on your own can be wonderful… and so liberating! But if I did, I would like to make a contract, something I think would have been life changing if I had done it 40 years ago. 

Talk to Me

Talk to me. Talk about anything, but just talk. Let me know when you are sad, anxious, worried. Let me know when you are happy, excited, content. Tell me how you feel. I want to know you. Men are often pretty bad at communicating, especially when it comes to feelings. Communication is the key to a happy, healthy relationship, that’s what I want with you.

Don’t Buy Me Gifts

I have had enough gifts to last a lifetime and, to be honest, if I really want something I will buy it myself. Instead do something for me. Write me a love letter, pen a poem, paint me a picture. Plan a special trip just for us, maybe a holiday, a picnic in the park or the back row at the cinema! Clean my car, tidy the house, change the bed linen, cook a meal. I don’t really care what it is, just do something that shows me you love me.

Make Me Feel Special

You found me special enough to fall in love with, so make the effort to make me feel special. It is always the little things that matter, a smile, a kiss as you are passing by me, or a hand on my shoulder. Don’t walk ahead of me when we are out, but hold my hand. Tell me I look nice, and my bum definitely does not look big in anything! Notice if I wear a new dress or get my hair cut. Say something nice, it will make me happier than you could ever imagine. 🙂

Appreciate the Things I Do

It is so easy to forget you are living with the one you love. Eating food someone else has cooked for you without saying thank you, dropping your dirty clothes on the floor, forgetting to put the toilet seat down, letting someone else do the tidying while you are watching your favourite show. There is always someone else who has to do what you are not, so let me know you appreciate me as much as I appreciate you.

Allow Me to Be Me

As much as I love you, I am still me. I am a living, growing human being who needs to learn, evolve and develop. I am not static. I will encourage you to be everything you want, I will support you in any way I can to be the best version of you that you can be. I need you to do the same.

Respect Me

We are different people. Two people who have fallen in love. We are not identical. We may have different views, different values, different hopes and dreams for the future. But all of them are valid, and we must learn to respect each other. Even if we differ, let’s agree to differ. We have so much we can learn from each other, especially as we are now older and have accumulated so much knowledge, and hopefully, wisdom. 

Sorry Is Not the Hardest Word

We all do little things that can upset another person, often without thinking. If you have done something thoughtless or unkind, just say sorry. It doesn’t take much. Your masculinity will not be forever depleted, you will not appear weak, in fact you will make me love you more.

Remember Why You Fell in Love with Me

Finally, remember why you fell in love with me. Remember thinking about me, wanting to see me, missing me. I know I do. 🙂 Wasn’t that wonderful! Our job is to keep that love alive, and I know that is not always easy. Let’s never go to sleep on an argument… one of us might not wake up. Dance with me in the moonlight, fall asleep under the stars and love me like I am the most beautiful woman in the world.

Also read, Falling in Love in Later Life: Is It About Passion or Companionship?

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you considered writing a love contract? What would you add in yours? Do you think a contract would have made a difference to your relationships?