Comments on: BVC #14: Net Worth Isn’t About Money

By: Kerim

Kerim — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:14:45 +0000

Very nice video!

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:29:14 +0000

Nice! I thought my A.D.D. might distract me here a bit but it didn’t – so job well done

I agree w/ tracking it for YOURSELF, and watching how your progress is going. One of my favorite things to do is look back over the months and see how far we’ve come (or how far we messed up). You’re never going to have a perfect run all the time, but it sure is great for sticking to a game plan!

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 01:00:45 +0000

I want to use podcast safe music, I don’t want to use any licensed music where I’d probably get sued for using.

By: Shock

Shock — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:38:14 +0000

The music intro should have a money theme. How about the intro to Pink Floyd’s “Money”?

By: Dan Cook

Dan Cook — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:05:39 +0000

Great video! I also want to underline the main point, which is that calculating net worth regularly will give you that sense of progress that is required in any long-term endeavor. Getting out of debt is DEFINITELY a long-term endeavor! I need all the encouragement I can get.

By: Brenda

Brenda — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:22:25 +0000

I liked the music. My problem with all your video is the volume. You have a soft voice with low volume that I can’t increase. Music volume was great. I keep trying!

In the long run, does net worth matter? As long as you have zero debt, savings, retirement & emergency the rest seems to be for show.

By: Liko

Liko — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:48:39 +0000

My net worth used to look good on paper. But within one year it went from $50k to -$20k when I had to sell my car and condo. My condo was apprasided at $300k… but ended up selling for $263k, then I paid $20k for real estate commisson and closing costs. I ended up with only $243k in the end. That’s a $57,000 difference!

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:29:40 +0000

I think the distinction is crucial because a dollar in the bank is not the same as a dollar locked up in equity in your home, to put them in the same category would be folly.

By: Wise Money Matters

Wise Money Matters — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:23:58 +0000

I love how you divide them up into liquid and illiquid assets. Some people are so quick to put their house int the asset field and pat themselves on the back for their high net worth but a month later when they are laid off, they have to sell their house for much less than it’s “worth”.

I’ve often thought about keeping the house in the liabilities field until the mortgage is paid off but dividing up into liquid and illiquid is just as good of a way to do it.

Thanks for the great video Jim.

By: Martha

Martha — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:29:59 +0000

hey Jim,
I liked to video cast but wasn’t a fan of the music, I think it was too slow/ too much of a down beat! Money = fun! = upbeat music!

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:22:01 +0000

Great video Jim. I agree that it is a great way to show progress as well as provide motivation. Motivation is the key to maintaining that progress. Just as with going to the gym, if you don’t see results, you are just going to quit and go back to your bad habits.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:10:36 +0000

I agree, as long as its consistent then it’s valuable. Zillow does bounce around a bit. For our home, I’ve always used the sale price and haven’t touched it in the last 4 years.

By: Lucy

Lucy — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:00:47 +0000

Thanks, great video. I more or less track my net worth every month with networthiq.com. Pretty handy. Though you’re right, you can’t evaluate based on the net worth number alone.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:51:03 +0000

I think that including your house and mortgage (asset/liability) is important in determining your net worth, it is difficult on a monthly basis to value it. You have to come up with a standard method when you start…something like using Zillow and several other online services that will hopefully smooth out variances. Zillow can really ping around each month. Without a smoothing of the numbers, the variability of your net worth will not tell you what you are really looking for.