My Net Worth Revealed

\"\"I’m headed about 500 miles away to West Texas this weekend with my eldest son. Our primary objective is to see a rodeo. Yep, that’s just how we roll ‘round here. Last weekend my whole family went with my brother and his wife to a cabin in Oklahoma. I’m not sharing my jet-set lifestyle so you’ll be green with envy (and sorry ‘bout that) but rather to explain why my torrid pace of Pulitzer-quality writing has tapered off a bit.

So things have been busy with summer fun, but don’t you worry – assuming no tragic rodeo accidents, I’ll be back at full strength by the time school starts.

But that distant carrot doesn’t help the desperate ABL reader who’s jonesin’ for something today. So to help you out I’m going to broach the most sensitive and titillating subject any finance blogger can write about. I’m planning on unveiling my net worth!

Many finance bloggers reveal their net worth to the world to “keep themselves honest”. I don’t know exactly what that means. Plus it would seem that leaking your most personal financial details to random internet strangers would actually risk serious dishonesty, but whatever.

I, on the other hand, am planning on revealing my net worth because I’ve got a rodeo and some ghost towns and other stuff to prep for and don’t have enough time to work my normal magic.

Plus I want to make a point.

Let’s check my net worth and see how I’m doing. I’m going to start with the most important categories of assets and go from there.

ASSETS

Life

I’m still alive. That is huge. In terms of net worth (at least here on earth), it automatically puts me ahead of just about every dead person ever.

However, my odometer keeps rolling. As a 40-something, I’m probably more than halfway done. I’ve dodged death for decades and hope to continue to do so, but this is definitely a wasting asset. Nothing I can do about that, though, so overall I’d say this category is doing great.

Health and Stuff

I still fit in clothes from high school and college, and there is an ever increasing gap between me and what is considered average health for my age. Not only can I see my toes, I even have the ghost of a six-pack lurking just out of sight.

I can still run around with younguns 15 years my junior in my soccer league, and with kids ~35 and ~40 years my junior on the teams I coach. I’ve also got all of my hair. Boom!

I used to eat pretty poorly. If you told me I’d live a lot longer if I ate veggies and stuff, I would have asked, “How much longer are we talking, really?”

That’s all changed thanks to the missus. Had I known she’d insist on me eating so many greens once we married, that might have been a deal-killer. But in a stunning twist, she has lots of secret ways to make them taste not horrible. (“These are the best brussels sprouts I’ve ever had!” “You really like them?” “Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves…”) Don’t tell her, but some of her veggie dishes are actually really good.

It’s made me healthier and probably added 10 years to my life, and I’m actually OK with the trade.

Family

I have a wife and two kids.

I don’t want to get all mushy on you, but things there are going well. The biggest problem I have is that my boys continue to grow, and some of the greatest days of my life with them are already in the rearview mirror. However, it’s a huge asset to recognize that, and I’m doing everything I can to make hay while the sun shines.

I’ve got a great brother, and his wife may be even cooler than he is (sorry brother).

My in-laws are really cool and I seem to get on smashingly with them, though part of that may be us living 6,000 miles apart (a fun life hack if you can swing it).

I’ve had a loss or two, but in that there’s even a hidden value – a deeper appreciation for wonderful memories and life lessons, and a healthy dose of wisdom on what’s really important.

Friends

My portfolio of friends is a bit concentrated, but quality definitely trumps quantity. I’ve got just a few lifelong friends, but how many of those do you really need?

Some may be concerned that I only have 25 friends on Facebook (others may be concerned that I’m on Facebook…). But take heart! This is a self-imposed limit (it used to be 30, but I decided that was too many – apologies to those who missed the cut). I have a long queue of “friends” waiting for my exclusive club. I hope they’re patient.

Career / Human Capital

I continue, with the assurance of a sleepwalker, to make money from my pirate ship consultancy. My serendipitous path to success there is a blog-worthy post for another day.

I’ve also got a few entrepreneurial ideas for “real” businesses, and one of them is actually lumbering to execution.

I feel that the relationships I’ve kept over the years, plus a skillset and “pedigree” that is still somewhat marketable, means I could go back with my hat in hand to the Man if needed. But let’s hope it never comes to that.

Tempering that is all of the time I spend on a certain personal finance blog with no real return in sight, but I’m sure bags and bags of money are right around the corner.

LIABILITIES

This is where the magic with my net worth happens. I don’t have too many material liabilities.

I don’t seem to care all that much about what strangers think. Heck, sometimes I don’t even care about what my friends think. It’s saved me a lot of money and brought me a level of happiness and contentment that seems to escape many.

I don’t have any dangerous or unhealthy habits, and I don’t seem to have an addictive personality. Sometimes I stay up too late reading a book, but that’s about as exciting as it gets.

 

FOOTNOTES / “OTHER ASSETS”

I won’t bore you with some of the lesser asset classes – financial accounts, house, retirement and college savings, etc. Those aren’t a material part of my net worth so should probably be consigned to footnotes.

 

You may protest and say the only reason you powered through this post was to see the dollars and cents, but bear with me.

If I step on a rattlesnake this weekend and check out, does the size of my bank account really matter?

When you look at the big picture, your total net worth may have little to do with your financial assets. The biggest pile in the world isn’t worth much if you’re sick, or alone, or self-destructive. While I’m a man of modest financial means, I consider myself a pretty wealthy guy. You probably are too, even if your bank balance is a little thin.

Have a great weekend, and perhaps I’ll return from my trip with some wild and exciting tales from the frontier!

 

Have I missed any critical classes of assets or liabilities? How is your net worth, broadly defined?

Do you like rodeos? If you’ve missed out – oh and you HAVE missed out – put one on your bucket list (closer to the bottom is OK).

 

32 thoughts on “My Net Worth Revealed”

    1. Thank you! I feel very blessed, but I also realize that my biggest assets are fleeting – it makes you seriously consider what’s really important and what you’re spending your time on. I’ve always been worried about the stories of late-life regrets, and I’ve tried to put values on things so I won’t have regrets of my own.

      I checked your site – you’re also alive with a wife and two kids and a good plan. Your balance sheet’s in pretty good shape too 🙂

  1. That was refreshing and very nicely done. Especially your being ahead of just about every dead person! And you had the good sense not to list a dog or cat as substantially contributing to your net worth! Man, I might actually make your 25 friends, or at least we have remarkably similar values. I’ve got more money than I’ll ever spend and am technically retired though I do work some for entertainment, but I agree, my accounts are tangential to my real net worth.

    1. Many thanks! My cat kinda sucks, and although I do have one of the best dogs in the universe, he’s almost fully depreciated.

      It sounds like you’ve arrived at wisdom that many learn far too late and are in a great position to make full use of that knowledge – nicely done.

      As I looked at my 25 for this post, I was thinking some of them need to step up a bit or they may lose their spot – we may have an opening soon 🙂

  2. A post that makes me laugh and makes me teary – now that’s a success, especially in the personal finance niche. I totally agree that these are the most important things in life. Plus it sounds like you can add good mental health AND a sense of humor to the list 🙂 Have an awesome time at the rodeo.

    1. Thanks Eliza!

      We did indeed have fun, and it was a cool cultural experience going to a small town rodeo. I laughed when my son said, “I can’t understand anything he’s saying” in response to the announcer’s twang, followed by, “Is he talking that way on purpose?” So add some cultural enlightenment to our accomplishments for the weekend 🙂

  3. That’s awesome that you’ve been able to reduce so many liabilities down. Definitely a huge win to have that many assets against barely any liabilities at this point in life. Sounds like you’re definitely doing well and I hope you enjoy the rodeo.

    1. Many thanks! Lots of folks tend to ignore what I style the “intangible liabilities” of personal finance 🙂 From what I’ve gathered, your balance sheet – esp. the right hand side – is looking sweet too.

    1. And thank you for stopping by and the note! Net worth posts are like car wrecks – I don’t know that seeing them does us any good, but it’s rather hard to not look. I can say, though, that no one else’s net worth has ever inspired me or given me comfort with my own financial situation (nor should it), so I’ll probably never post the dollars and cents myself.

  4. Thanks for sharing your story Paul…

    Anything that is a drag on my time I think is a liability… overall I don’t have too many, as I’ve been reducing the amount of negatives in my life.

    1. Yep, time is one of the biggest assets anyone has, so things that eat away at it are lethal. You’ve got a good system of continuous improvement going right now – kudos!

  5. Hahaha

    Very funny post. I was looking at that Balance Sheet but couldn’t see the numbers. I thought something was wrong with my phone or something 😀.

    But I agree with you that health, family and friends are our most important assets.

    Great post overall. Keep it up!

    1. Many thanks! The most critical assets aren’t as easily measured as our finances, but they’re the most important ones.

  6. What an awesome way to approach net worth! I often talk about my life, family, time, and health as my biggest assets, yet I list my bank accounts and 401k when I chart my net worth. I think this is a much more accurate way to go 🙂

    1. Thanks Ms. AR! Definitely include those harder-to-value assets, and your net worth will jump by at least a few million 🙂

  7. Fantastic post… when people are on their death bed, those are the assets they think about. Not their favorite car, their favorite house, the balance in their IRA or their savings account… it’s their undiversified friends and family. Great reminder. 🙂

    1. Many thanks Jim. It’s so easy to get caught up in the precision of financial accounts and tangible things, but you are right – none of those will matter on your death bed.

  8. I like how you put things into perspective. Most others would list houses, retirement accounts, etc as their primary assets, but I agree with you that your most important assets are your mind, body, family and friends.

    I’ve never been to a rodeo, but I have seen some on TV and occasionally listen to Garth Brooks’ song about it on Pandora. That counts, right?

    1. Thanks so much. You’re right – you’d trade everything you own for good health (mental and physical) or your loved ones, so we should value them that way.

      I’m afraid your rodeo efforts do not count. There are certain sports that are just as good on TV (football), and there are some that are way better in person (hockey). Rodeos are at the very extreme end of the latter! Put it on the list 🙂

    1. Thanks Jason. You’re exactly right – the bank accounts are just there to allow us to enjoy the far more important things. Money is just a means to an end.

  9. Great post. I enjoyed it. We should all take stock of our lives like this once in a while. It’s easy to forget how good life is. Keep at it!

    1. Many thanks Joe. You’re spot on – this is a net worth check we should all do periodically! It’s far more important than the dollars.

  10. Have no fear. Your chances of dying from a rattlesnake bite are zero. Less than one death per year in the entire country from that cause.

    1. Many thanks Mr. Groovy. I think your net worth, broadly defined, is quite impressive too – it is good to remember that our finances are just a small part.

  11. Paul – I loved this read. Really helps put things into perspective and I’m glad that you touched upon the things that are important to you and your family. Numbers and money are one thing and are a huge part of the equation. But money is just that if there is nothing else behind it or you are not living the life that you want to.

    Thanks for the great article!

    Bert

    1. Many thanks Bert. Yes, it’s hard to have a good life if you don’t have any money, but it’s also hard to have a good life if you focus on money to the exclusion of everything else. Thanks for the note and for stopping by!

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