Comments on: Net Worth Competition: Don’t Compare Yourself With Others

By: qixx

qixx — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:46:48 +0000

Considering that most of the under 25 group is positive net worth i’m guessing plenty of the reported net worth numbers “forgot” to include things such as student loans, or likely debts of any kind. Guess i’ll go back to my old practice of just comparing my net worth to that of random number generators.

I do think comparing net worth to other people can be useful. If you choose to hang out with people of higher net worth you’ll tend to make similar decision as they do. These decisions can lead to an increase of your own net worth. Where as hanging out with people on the other end and you’ll likely make similar decisions that lead you to a low(er) net worth.

By: The $60K Project

The $60K Project — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 22:55:02 +0000

I like your idea of reporting net worth each month on your blog. Now that I am transitioning out of “paying off ridiculous amounts of debt” as quickly as possible and into “saving ridiculous amounts of money”, i may have to use this technique to help track my progress. Seems like the best way to do it. Thanks!

By: Jenna, Adaptu Community Manager

Jenna, Adaptu Community Manager — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:55:29 +0000

Love this message! Knowing your network is key for keeping up with your financial goals, but keeping up with others doesn’t help you in the long run.

By: Cejay

Cejay — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:59:25 +0000

I had a rough estimate of my net worth and I am fairly happy with it. But it is hard not to compare yourself with others. Of course that should take into account who the “others” are. I am much better off than most of my family but no where near as well off as a lot of my friends.

By: lynn

lynn — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:27:33 +0000

I took a few minutes to jot down my net worth. i’m no whwere near what people reported on the site, but comfortable. i know this anyway because the day to day financial activity is confortable.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:40:29 +0000

Houses are very illiquid assets, with total transaction costs around 10%, not considering the time required to sell them.

They should be valued very conservatively in any net worth calculation.

By: Stephen Ward

Stephen Ward — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:59:57 +0000

I think it’s worth noting that services like NetworthIQ have misleading comparative value. Their data relies on self-report measures of those who have an active interest in their net worth. Not only is this is a very small subset of the population at large, but more than a few may be misrepresenting their numbers, so it is in no way accurate. It’s only useful from the standpoint of, “How do I compare to others in my demographic who are financially savvy enough to track their net worth?”

By: Twiggers

Twiggers — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:11:44 +0000

I haven’t actually bothered to calculate mine because I know it’s an awful picture. Instead, I just use my credit card balances (the current debt I am trying to pay off…student loans are a whole different thing) as a metric of my success. Seeing those numbers fall every month is great! However, in the future when the debts are almost gone and I actually have some assets (like retirement accounts) I will definitely start tracking my net worth and have a goal to be increasing that every month….that will probably be much funner and less stressful than paying off credit cards!

By: FrugalTrader

FrugalTrader — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:49:11 +0000

Thanks for the mention Flexo. I agree that net worth postings shouldn’t be viewed as a competition. To me, it’s a competition with personal milestones.