U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
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You’ll find a wealth of information, including calculators and
links to
non-commercial resources at Investor.gov.
KNOW YOUR CURRENT FINANCIAL SITUATION
Sit down and take an honest look at your entire financial situ-
ation. You can never take a journey
without knowing where
you’re starting from, and a journey to financial comfort is no
different. You’ll need to figure out
on paper your current situ-
ation—what you own and what you owe. You’ll be creating a
“net worth statement.” On one side of the page, list what you
own. These are your “assets.” And on the other side list what
you
owe other people, your “liabilities” or debts.
YOUR NET WORTH STATEMENT
Assets
Current Value Liabilities
Amount
Cash
__________
Credit cards
__________
Checking
accounts
__________
Bank loans
__________
Savings
__________
Car loans
__________
Other investments
__________
Student loans
__________
Personal property
__________
Other
__________
TOTAL
__________
TOTAL
__________
Subtract your liabilities from your assets. If
your assets are larger
than your liabilities, you have a “positive” net worth. If your liabil-
ities
are greater than your assets, you have a “negative” net worth.
You’ll want to update your “net worth statement” every year
to keep track of how you are doing. Don’t be discouraged if
you have a negative net worth. If you follow a plan to get into
a
positive position, you’re doing the right thing.
