Do this. Understand what your net worth is. It means that you will have to sit down with some paper and a pen, a calculator or even a spreadsheet or better still, some app that can help you to calculate it. But do this.

Regardless of whatever tool you use to calculate this figure, which is a figure personal to you only, you will need to dedicate some time for doing the work. In my honest opinion, this is time well spent.

Once you do this, don’t waste the effort that you have put in. Take all your work and enter it into a spreadsheet and then set a goal to update it on a frequent timescale. Weekly, Monthly, six monthly… whatever works for you. But know this, the longer you leave it between the updates, the more it becomes an absolute pain in the ass to update. Don’t leave it too long.

Automate it, iCal it or something. It is well worth keeping the frequency tight.

Keeping that visibility on your net worth also puts everything front of mind. You become ever more conscious of where your money is going, what you actually need versus what you actually want. You also become very clear on your true wealth number. That’s if you are truly honest with yourself.

I know people that factor in their house ownership figure as a total sum number when they are still paying down a mortgage. That doesn’t work – you are hiding the truth if that is your approach.

Be truthful with yourself when you are doing the calculations. You are only cheating yourself here if you are not, because you won’t be sharing anything with anyone, then there is every point to be honest to you. Being honest works better all round and it makes the moment when you get to first base all that bit more sweeter.

First Base!!

Net Worth – First Base, Getting to Zero Net Worth is first base.

The day you take all that information, take the time to calculate it all out and you realise that your true net worth is not a negative number, then you have hit first base.

Take the time to savoury the feeling and use that milestone to propel you to do something more around your own personal finances. Get that gift of inspiration and use it. Use that moment!!

I remember the moment I got it. It was so sweet.