WIR Net Worth Board

[chiver78]

Artemis Windsong - this thread exists in Women In Red, and the conduct of the Clinton foundation has no impact on this forum or its members. Please take political discussion to the political forum. Any future posts about the foundation will be moved for you. 

-chiver mod

[forwardwego]

Hi net worthy gang!

Some questions on calculating net worth...
I'm using Kiplinger Net Worth Calculator.
It says "If you sold all your assets and paid all your debts what would be left." So should I factor in the costs of liquidating my assets? or am I overthinking??




ETA: Looked at Redfin, Realtor.com, and Zillow. I'll use the lowest $$, and figure that offsets somewhat cost of selling.

[shanendoah]

forwardwego - I'm gonna go with "You're overthinking." I certainly don't consider the cost of selling the house in figuring out my net worth, even though there would be realtor fees and taxes.

[raeoflyte]

I can't not take into consideration the cost of selling a house, but I struggle to use equity on homes as more than an offset of debt too so I think I'm a weird one.

I'm hoping to post my #'s this weekend.

[Deleted]

I'm just very conservative on the home value.  I figure that's good enough. 

[raeoflyte]

Nov 15, 2019 11:05:55 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I'm just very conservative on the home value.  I figure that's good enough. 

I think in general it is.  I've worked in the mortgage industry forever, and I saw so many coworkers crushed in the last down turn because their main assets were also their source of income and both dried up in value almost overnight that I just can't see equity as an asset.  I'm also in a market that has big bubbles.  

[forwardwego]

Bank Accts: 34,595*
Retirement Accts: 195,231
C&J $: 31,000
Real Estate: 600,000
Cars & boat: 47,000**
(boat is up for sale, yea!)

Assets: $907,826

Mortgage (homestead): 38,020
Mortgage (rental): 99,806

Liabilities: $137,826

NetW: $770K

ETA:

Similar to minnesotapaintlady , 
and I agree it looks like a lot, but still feels like not a lot.

Also mine represents DH and myself.
Thankfully we have pensions, and have both taken part-time jobs in retirement.

I'm very glad for a place to have this 


azucena We are in our early 60's. And rough income is $75K. For us, the bank accts would be liquid, & retirement accts liquid but taxable. Since we have part-time earned income I'm planning to set up a ROTH and then convert some of the taxable monies gradually.




* 4 bank accounts, plus cash stash = liquid/nontaxable
** 2 cars & 1 boat, subtract $500/month combined depreciation

[azucena]

I'll have to pull my numbers together to participate and will do so in the next few weeks.

If I may make a suggestion, can people post their age (even just 20s, 30s, 40s, etc) and a rough income number say nearest $25k?  I think this will help make comparisons more worthwhile. For example, I'm going to pay attention with what others have in liquid savings since I'm trying to figure out that part of my own equation.  That comparison will be more accurate if I have ages and income.

[countrygirl2]

Pensions are extremely valuable, can take the place of a lot of savings, wish we had them.  but it is what it is.  You guys are all doing so well.

Well, we will be 74 next year.

[NastyWoman]

Nov 14, 2019 11:27:51 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

How do you calculate the value of a pension?  I know how much money my DH is likely to receive via two different pensions but not how to place an overall value.  Do I just sum up the annual payments multiplied by life expectancy?

A while ago I read something that made at least some sense to me: if you apply the 4% rule to 401k withdrawals to estimate your income from that source, why not apply the same to a pension? For instance if your pension pays you $10,000/yr that would be the equivalent of a saving source of $250k (10,000/0.04).  I am not saying that this would be a correct approach but it would provide something better than a full-blown WAG.

[countrygirl2]

You can easily figure it that way and would see how much money your would have had to save to get that return.  Pensions are a wonderful thing, if you have one you are indeed fortunate. Hubs has a tiny one from when he worked union, might have been better off to have continued, they are paying well.  But Indiana became a right to work state, so how many more years will they?  Could end up like the coal miners.

[CCL]

Nov 15, 2019 19:42:51 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Nov 14, 2019 11:27:51 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

How do you calculate the value of a pension?  I know how much money my DH is likely to receive via two different pensions but not how to place an overall value.  Do I just sum up the annual payments multiplied by life expectancy?

A while ago I read something that made at least some sense to me: if you apply the 4% rule to 401k withdrawals to estimate your income from that source, why not apply the same to a pension? For instance if your pension pays you $10,000/yr that would be the equivalent of a saving source of $250k (10,000/0.04).  I am not saying that this would be a correct approach but it would provide something better than a full-blown WAG.

The issue I see with that, though, is once you die the money is just gone. Or what about a surviving spouse? They might be left with only 50% or so of the income. How do you calculate that?

Another thing about pensions to consider is the possible availability of health care coverage for a reasonable cost.

I guess it's like the home equity. You just come up with "close enough."

[forwardwego]

Nov 15, 2019 20:09:13 GMT -5 countrygirl2 said:

You can easily figure it that way and would see how much money your would have had to save to get that return.  Pensions are a wonderful thing, if you have one you are indeed fortunate. Hubs has a tiny one from when he worked union, might have been better off to have continued, they are paying well.  But Indiana became a right to work state, so how many more years will they?  Could end up like the coal miners.

You are so right. The pensions saved our butts. We were young and dumb with our money. Got wiser, but not as fast as I could/should have. As Benjamin Franklin said “Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late." 

[dannylion]

I think the suggestion to include age and income range would add some perspective to the numbers.  

This has been a useful exercise.  I haven't put everything together for some time.  While I was poking around in the savings accounts, it was depressing to see what has become of interest rates that were starting to enter "decent" territory.  At my age, I don't want to do anything too risky with my cash savings, so I guess it is what it is.  

Age:  early 70s

Income:  about $175,000 (includes pension, SS, interest, dividends, and very small PT job)

Investments (IRA and brokerage accounts):  $2,230,156

Savings accounts (CDs, EFs, savings for things like taxes, new cars, home expenses, etc.):  $1,034,476

House:  $500,000 (Zillow says $597,000, but I think Zillow is hallucinating)

I don't have a clue how to go about determining the value of my pension, so I didn't address that.  

No debts.  

NetW:  $3,764,632

I'm also going to say that it looks like a lot, but it doesn't feel like a lot.  It took a long time to get there, and I'm on my own for whatever assistance I will require as I age and for any long-term care I might need.  I still set aside a percentage of income for savings and investments because I don't know what the future holds. 

[plugginaway22]

Way to go Dannylion, great numbers.

[Deleted]

Nov 15, 2019 13:16:28 GMT -5 azucena said:

If I may make a suggestion, can people post their age (even just 20s, 30s, 40s, etc) and a rough income number say nearest $25k? 

I edited my post with the additional info.  

[forwardwego]

Oct 26, 2019 12:19:21 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

So - what is the plan here networthers?

How frequently will we update? Monthly might be overkill - but maybe that will be more motivational? Unless the market is reaming us, of course....

Quarterly? Annually? Only when the market is up?

Good questions. I agree monthly could be more than needed. For me monthly would probably be redundant. Quarterly or semi-annually seems good. And each individual could choose to update more or less often.

I also agree that posting these numbers feels embarrassing, maybe even scary. Most of us have probably been  told or conditioned to NOT tell people these numbers. But after I had posted, that feeling began to fade, and I began to feel good. Not because my numbers are bad or good. But what is, is. And I'm feeling the good company of others ready to learn about themselves and to maintain and improve their financial standing, to be as secure as possible while enjoying quality of life. 

I also updated to include age range and approximate income. I feel a little "financially naked" but for good reasons.  It's like going to the Dr. but without being stuck in the waiting room.

[Lizard Queen]

Ages: 46-47
Joint Income from jobs: ~$80k? I can't get a definitive answer from DH, and mine varies a bit with my hours. Not including investment income (RMDs), as that is now getting reinvested. I used to include it when I wasn't working at all, and needed it to help with the car payments. Cars are both paid off now.
Income during prior 5 years: $40-50k + RMD between $3-4k. Some of our NW is from inheritances, without which I would never have risked going down to one income. I was the higher earner when I quit.

[shanendoah]

I also updated my original post with ages and income.
I do think quarterly is about how often I'll post. Which means my next one will come in January. I'm also going to see if I can figure out what's in C's old 401(k). It won't be much, but everything helps.

[tcu2003]

me - 38
DH - 43
Income: should be around $200k combined this year (depending on year-end bonuses)

I track net worth monthly, so these are our 10/2019 numbers.

No debt

Savings/Checking: ~$119k
House: ~428k
Retirement Accounts (401ks, Roths, old 401k): ~$1.17M 
Brokerage Account: $4260
529 Accounts: $32k

TOTAL: ~$1.75M

We have 2 vehicles, but I choose not to include those as we're not likely to liquidate them, and if we did, we'd need to replace them with something else. 

I'll probably remember to update whenever everyone else does, and/or when we hit a milestone.  

[shanendoah]

I know I said I wouldn't update until January, but I tracked down C's retirement account today, so figured I would get that in here. Realized that if you added up my previous list of assets, you would not have gotten my previous assets total, as it was copied straight from my spreadsheet, which included an estimate of C's retirement account. So I added almost $20k in C's retirement, and all of my retirement savings went up (though the house value estimate fell by about $11k), but my total only went up by about $7,700. 
Still, today's total should be accurate. Next year, we intend to start a ROTH IRA for C, so that we're actively saving for his retirement, too.

Age: Shanendoah- 43 (44 in Dec); C-45
Income: ~$132k/yr (combined)

Mortgage: $516,729
Debts Total: $516,729

Savings: $5,574
S Retirement Accounts: $184,027
C Retirement Accounts: $19,478
House: $665,848
Timeshare: $1,500
Car: $3,100
Assets Total: $879,526

Net Worth: $362,797
Previous : $355,111
Change: +$7,686

[Deleted]

Oct 24, 2019 16:02:42 GMT -5 shanendoah said:

For my house value, I average the Redfin and the Zillow estimates. Since both are Seattle based, they tend to be fairly accurate.

I doubt they're accurate here.  Until a couple years ago my house didn't even show up on their search and the area I'm in there is almost no buying and selling going on so hard to get comps.  People live here for forever.  Like family farms for generations forever.   I've been in my house 20 years and I'm one of the "newbies". 

[shanendoah]

minnesotapaintlady - Yeah, I don't expect that Zillow or Redfin are accurate in most markets, but in the Seattle area, they tend to be pretty good, especially when you average the two.

[TheOtherMe]

I'm too embarrassed to put my net worth on a public forum.

My appraisal for the HELOC came in higher than Zillow.  Redfin doesn't cover this area.  I had been averaging Zillow and realtor.com until the appraisal.

[azucena]

Nov 19, 2019 0:31:03 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

me - 38
DH - 43
Income: should be around $200k combined this year (depending on year-end bonuses)

I track net worth monthly, so these are our 10/2019 numbers.

No debt

Savings/Checking: ~$119k
House: ~428k
Retirement Accounts (401ks, Roths, old 401k): ~$1.17M 
Brokerage Account: $4260
529 Accounts: $32k

TOTAL: ~$1.75M

We have 2 vehicles, but I choose not to include those as we're not likely to liquidate them, and if we did, we'd need to replace them with something else. 

I'll probably remember to update whenever everyone else does, and/or when we hit a milestone.  

TCU - the bolded is very similar to DH and I.  I'd estimate our NW at about $500k, so we're quite a ways behind you guys - you're nailing it!  Can I be you when I grow up?!  My income has grown sig over the last 10 years, so I'm still adjusting and now have some catching up to do.

Hoping you don't mind a few follow up questions:

- How many years has your income been at $200k?  Or another way, how long have you been maxing 401k?

- do you let liquid savings hoover around $100k?  That's one of my next financial decisions.  Balance between having enough liquid but not too much.

-

[tcu2003]

Nov 20, 2019 14:04:06 GMT -5 azucena said:

TCU - the bolded is very similar to DH and I.  I'd estimate our NW at about $500k, so we're quite a ways behind you guys - you're nailing it!  Can I be you when I grow up?!  My income has grown sig over the last 10 years, so I'm still adjusting and now have some catching up to do.

[/p]

Hoping you don't mind a few follow up questions:

- How many years has your income been at $200k?  Or another way, how long have you been maxing 401k?

- do you let liquid savings hoover around $100k?  That's one of my next financial decisions.  Balance between having enough liquid but not too much.

[/p]

[/quote]

We’ve probably been around $180 for 3-4 years. I think when we got married in 2010 we were around $120-130k combined, but I’m honestly not sure. I have that info at home somewhere so I’ll try to remember to look sometime.

We’ve been maxing 401ks for 3-4 years, but were close to it for probably another 3-4 years before that (somewhere in the $12-15k range each). Last year was the first year we did a Roth, and will keep doing that as long as the backdoor option remains an option. We also have a decent 401k match - if we each put in 9%, our employer (DH and I are at the same company) will contribute 5.15%. DH has been there 20 years now, so it’s definitely added up.

We’ve been hovering around $100k for cash for 3-5 years. We did use big chunks of it at the end of the year to pay down and the. Off our mortgage, but now it’s at the point where it’ll likely just keep growing. It’s honestly too much for us IMO, but we haven’t figured out what we feel comfortable with. And I’d have to figure out what to do with it, which is the other problem. DH “lets” me take care of investing, in while he does most of the bill paying, taxes, and tracking of our spending, so I can’t decide what to do regarding a taxable account. I have maybe $5k or so in a taxable account I started 15ish years ago, but I don’t love those funds or that the platform I used has changed several times. Once I get our Roth accounts high enough, or just move enough cash over, I’ll probably use Vanguard just so I can keep all non-401k stuff in the same place. I also am hoping I’ll get promoted next year and have a large cash deposit due to become a shareholder at our employer, so I mentally have some of it earmarked for that.

[tcu2003]

Deleting since I can’t figure out quoting.

[chiver78]

kind of a sidebar question for those talking about real estate estimates and the like. apologies for the derail, and I can start a new thread if y'all would prefer - I'm going to be listing my house, on Monday, actually. my realtor and I will be discussing price once she's pulled the new listings from this weekend, on Monday morning. the number she mentioned today was lower than I had in mind based on comps she pulled a few weeks ago, and actually lower than what Zillow has for me right now, too. where are y'all getting the best/most accurate market values? 

FWIW, I am on Cape Cod, in New England. I noticed some mentions of location when I posted a mod post in here earlier, but I haven't really read the whole thread. hence, the apologies for the derail. thanks in advance

[Blonde Granny]

Chic, I don't have an answer, but it is possible the prices have dropped some due to it being winter? Would seem to be much easier to fall in love with a place when you have the Cape and ocean close by.

[raeoflyte]

Zillow is always high here. I'll sometimes start there, but have to really dig into what its pulling for comps and pull out a bunch and then do my own calculation.