What's Your Worth?

THERE is no denying that Christmas is here. You can feel it by the brush of the cool breeze in your cheek. Stores stock up their products into colorful arrays of tempting gift items. Cards from loved-ones start finding their way into your apartment. Pretty soon, long distance calls will make you grab a pen and list down things people from home would like to have as a presents from abroad. Despite the war in Afghanistan, Christmas has arrived and you have to enjoy the season well.

Before immersing yourself fully in Christmas shopping, why don't you try to compute your net worth first in order to check your financial stability? This is a good year-ender exercise that can guide your shopping attitude during this season. It is obvious that the joyful spirit of the season can light up your mood and induce you to shop more. But if you don't make a reality check first, your festive spirit might just suffer the consequence of post-Christmas payment woes.

Try to fill out the form below and see if your net worth is positive. The rule of thumb is to have a positive figure, which means that the assets you possess are more than your total liabilities. In very simple terms, the total value of what you own now should be more than the total amount of your debt. This is to ensure that you are living a normal life of solvency and not a life wherein your payroll is just enough to service debts. If this is the case, you're in big trouble. Good luck and Merry Christmas! *

MY NET WORTH AS OF DECEMBER 2001

Liquid Assets

Cash and coins on hand ______
Checking account ______
Savings account ______
Money market account ______
Certificates of deposit ______
Life insurance (cash value) ______
Govt Bonds (current value) ______
Municipal Bonds (current value) ______
Corporate Bonds (current value)____
Stocks (current value) ______
Mutual funds (current value) ______
Prepaid taxes ______
Prepaid insurance (current value)___
Others ______

Other assets

Private pension plan ______
Individual Retirement Account______
Home (current value) ______
Other real estate (current value) ____
Vehicles (current value) ______
Personal Property (value of
jewelry, furniture, large
appliances) ______
Other personal property (current value of stamp, coin collection, etc.) ______
Investment in antiques, art (current value) ______
Loans others owe you ______
Other ______

Total assets ______

Liabilities

Taxes due ______
Unpaid bills ______
Installment debts (balance due) on furniture, TV, appliances, car, etc ______
Mortgage debts (home & other
real estate) ______
Other ______

Total liabilities ______

Net worth (Total assets minus Total liabilities) ______

Renzi is a graduate of Economics with a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of St. La Salle. While working full-time in the Trust & Investments Division of one of the 10 largest banks in the Philippines, she dabbles into writing and does mountain biking as her weekend hobby. You may email the author at renzijuarez@philippinestoday.net