... Your ... - Show Me MY Money: What You're Worth or * net * Worth by: Janet L. ... Franklin once said, * Time is money *. I think he wanted one toadd up how much time they spen Organizing Your Finances: - Show Me MY Money: What You're Worth or * net * Worth by: Janet L. HallBenjamin Franklin once said, * Time is money *. I think he wanted one toadd up how much time they spent on a particular task or job and how muchmoney they might have been wasting.I do an exercise with my clients to help them discover what their per minuteworth is to enable them to see how much money they might be losing becausethey are disorganized. Such as, if you are doing a non-income producingactivity for 15 minutes, you can see how your money is being spent!It's a very simple calculation.Your Per Minute Worth CalculationYearly income divided by 52 weeks = weekly incomeWeekly Income divided by 40 hours (or total hours you work per week) =hourly incomeHourly income divided by 60 = Your Per Minute WorthBefore you begin to OverHall and Balance your financial area, you need tofind out your net worth, and your spending habits. This will help assistyou later with your budget, payoffs, or long-term savings. It will alsohelp in guiding you with such things as your protection, investment, incometax, retirement, and estate planning.Your total net worth is your total assets (what you own or already havesaved) minus your total liabilities (what you owe out). I'm not going totell you this is as easy as figuring out your per minute worth because it'snot! It will take time and a commitment from you to determine your networth.TIP: I have found the best time to do this exercise is when you are payingyour bills. At that time you usually have the information needed to help youcalculate your net worth. So, if it usually takes you an hour to pay yourbills, tack on at least an extra hour this month for this exercise. For yourconvenience, print out and use the net worth form below. You will bewriting in your totals for each line. For instance, if you have two savingsaccounts, total your balances first and then write in the total next toSavings Account.ASSETSCash Reserve Totals-Certificates of Deposit:Checking Account:Credit Union Account:Money Market Account:Savings Account:Investment Totals-401(k):Bonds:Mutual Funds:Stocks:Personal Totals-Art:Boat:Car(s):Furnishings:Jewelry:Other:Real Estate Totals-Home:Second Home/Vacation Home:Other Real Estate:TOTAL ASSETS: $LIABILITIESShort-term Debt Totals-Credit Card Balances:Current Bills Owed:Loans w erms of six years or less:Taxes:Long-term Debt Totals-Loans w erms of seven years or more:Mortgage(s):TOTAL LIBILITIES: $Congratulations! You did it! * Drum roll * Please! TOTAL ASSETS: $- (minus) TOTAL LIABILITIES: $YOUR TOTAL NET WORTH = $Now see if your net worth falls under A., B., or C. below, and see how youcan begin to bring some balance back to this area of your life.A. If your total net worth is half or less of your annual income or you havea negative number you need to REALLY * OverHall * and Balance your financialarea!~~ Pay off some/all debt~~ Cut back on spending~~ Stop charging~~ Start a savings planB. If your total net worth is more than half your annual income but lessthan a few years' income you need to * OverHall * and Balance your financialarea.~~ If you're 40 or under and own a home, you're okay for now ~~ If you're 40 or over and you don't own a home: `` Cut back on spending `` Stop charging `` Reduce debt `` Increase your savings `` Buy a home before retiringC. If your total net worth is more than a few years' of your annual income,CONGRATULATIONS! Keep doing what you've been doing!Listed below are some questions to ask yourself now that you know and cansee what your net worth equals.1. Do you have enough cash reserves to meet your needs?2. Do you have enough protection to provide money for unforeseen emergencies(we talked about this last issue)?3. Do you have enough fixed assets (usually long-term; bonds are an example)to provide or produce additional income?4. Do you have enough equity assets (short or long-term; real estate andstocks are examples) for growth and income?To answer those questions, you need to know what your family and your needsand goals are and then plan how you are going to meet them.Quick Tips to INCREASE Your Assets:1. Maximize your 401(k) contribution2. Start investing3. Get automatic deduction/deposit from paycheck to savings each pay period.Quick Tips to DECREASE Your Liabilities:Credit Cards1. If you have to use a credit card, use only one major card2. Pay more than the minimum payment on the credit card with the highestinterest rate3. Stop charging to the highest interest rate credit card4. Get rid of department store credit cards5. Don't apply for anymore credit cardsMortgage(s)1. Pay a little extra each month towards the PRINCIPAL of your mortgagepayment2. Drop your PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) when your home equity exceeds20% of your home's value (talk to your mortgage lender)3. Refinance mortgage at a lower interest rate4. Refinance mortgage at a lower interest rate AND finance for 15 or 20years instead of the usual 30 years.5. Pay half your monthly mortgage payment every two weeks (talk to yourlender)Smiles, not Piles,Janet L. HallThe Organizing Wizard, Janet L. Hall, is a ProfessionalOrganizer, Speaker, and Author. She is the owner ofOverHall Consulting, and Organizing By Phone. Subscribe toher FREE organizing newsletter athttp://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm or visither web site at http://www.overhall.com Copyright 2000 by OverHall ConsultingP.O. Box 263, Port Republic, MD 20676All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or distribute so long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the author is attached. Article Tags: Minute Worth, Income Divided, Total Assets, Real Estate, Credit Card, Have Enough Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com ABOUT THE AUTHOR The Organizing Wizard, Janet L. Hall, is a ProfessionalOrganizer, Speaker, and Author. She is the owner ofOverHall Consulting, and Organizing By Phone. Subscribe toher FREE organizing newsletter athttp://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm or visither web site at http://www.overhall.com Article Tags: Minute Worth, Income Divided, Total Assets, Real Estate, Credit Card, Have Enough Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com