Every personal finance disciple has a net worth statement and updates it like clockwork. And you should too. Because it's a superpower, and it's fun too.
In this thread, I won't talk about what a Net worth statement is, you already know that.
Instead, I'll talk about something I didn't know folks struggle with. The exact value (if at all) that you assign to specific assets/liabilities e.g cars, land, furniture, soft loans, jewelry, sufurias. Stuff whose value depends primarily on judgement and whims.
First, your net worth statement needs not include every little asset/ liability you have. You don't wan't to be crunching small small numbers mulling the value of your spoons (unless you are in the business of spoons)
Accountants call it the materiality concept. Include stuff in your tabulation that does matter (i'm not says spoons don't matter).
Simply put, sweat the big stuff. If you must sweat the small stuff, bundle them up into large categories and assign them an overall value.
For this, you can have handy categories like, Household items or Electronics or Furniture etc. Assign conservative values to them, or better, ignore them completely.
If you're starting out and this stuff really is significant for you, include it and mark it down monthly.
Cars - many people say cars are liabilities because they cost you a fortune to keep, but so do kids.
For the purposes of a net worth statement, I like to define an asset as an item you can reliably sell when met with financial hardship. A car fits that definition.
When you buy a car for a Sh.1M, put it on the networth statement for that amount the first month, then mark it down aggressively every month, be merciless especially the first few months of ownership when a car will lose its value the fastest.
I like to completely write off cars from my statement within 48 months of ownership. This is because the quality of cars as an asset is lousy to be honest. You want the asset side of your balance sheet to be of as high a quality as possible.
If a car is bought on loan, just follow the same principles as above. The loan will be on the liabilities side and you will continually reduce it as you repay it. Same applies for other things you finance.
Land - This is a high quality asset. It goes up in value long term.
I am a proponent of recording land at cost the first month, then marginally appreciating it monthly.
For this, I assume an annual appreciation rate of 6-12%
For simplicity, I like to lump all pieces of land together into a single number. If I buy an extra one, I just add it to that balance. I personally assume an growth rate of 9% per year. That approximates to 0.75% monthly. So every month, I multiply last month's balance by 1.0075
House - Record at building cost and leave it that way. Treat the land on which the house sits as above. If it is an apartment, record it at purchase cost and keep it that way unless there is a compelling reason to appreciate it or to mark it down.
Stocks - These ones are easy. Just check the market value of your stocks and record it.
I like to apply a 5 percent discount on the market value of stocks to account for the fact there are some fees, commissions, taxes as well as a price spread to be met when liquidating.
Again, this is just being conservative. If you err, let it be on the side of caution. It is a personal net worth statement not a corporate balance sheet.
Money market investments - usually, there are no charges or penalties or extra taxes from redeeming money market investments. Record full value including interest earned to date.
Fixed deposits, treasuries, private placements- Assuming you intend to hold until maturity, treat similarly as money market funds. If not, record initial investment value and adjust for pre-mature redemption penalties if any are applicable.
Soft loans to family and friends - Record at initial value if the loans are material to you. Otherwise, ignore. If recorded mark them down aggressively if any doubts arise on repayment. If any partial repayments are received, obviously deduct them from the recorded amount.
Write off loans that will obviously not be paid back. If by good luck (or by threats of witchcraft) they are paid after you had written them off or marked them down, those payments increase your cash. Another thing you need to write off is that friendship by the way.
Cash - Obviously record it at full value. It includes mpesa balances, bank balances, under the mattress balances etc. Money you can access without jumping through hoops and ladders.
Pension - Lump together, both employer and employee contributions plus earned return. You can record it at the latest statement value. I like to apply a 35% haircut on mine since if I were to liquidate now, there are significant taxes to be borne (coz of age restrictions)
Business/Company - record a conservative estimate of your equity in the business/company.
This is a bit more nuanced, but business and company ownership does not apply to most of us mere mortals, so won't expound. Otherwise, consult your accountant/analyst.
Liabilities- these are easily determinable. Record full outstanding value at every statement date. Record all.
Expenses like rent, insurance premiums, school fees etc are not liabilities. Those ones go to the budget, not the net worth statement. An expense only becomes a liability if it's past due date.
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