One of the questions on my Practice Management final at the dental school is, “What is your report card after graduation?” The answer is: Your net worth worksheet.
While I know we are in a highly computer-automated society, for this exercise, we can still use a printed worksheet. Although money and assets are not the sole determinates of your life’s success, for this exercise pretend money is EVERYTHING! Zig Ziglar used to say, “Money is like oxygen – You really aren’t aware of it until you don’t have any.”
Filling out a net worth document should be something you do at least once a year (twice if you are really into it). You should also involve your spouse so that it is an exercise both of you do and understand. It is simple to complete, but may involve a little research at first.
A Net Worth document is simply a list of your assets (or what you own), minus your liabilities (or what you owe). Having this written down also helps you track your accounts and allows you to review how you have done the past 12 months at paying down loans, saving for retirement, etc. Here is a nice one that I’ve worked up.
Leave a Reply