After reading the book of the millionaire real estate investor by Gary Keller, where it says to track your net worth frequently, I started few months ago to track my net worth and see it how it performs during time. I must say that I got really obsessed with this, and try to improve constantly the rate of increase with a combination of control my personal spending and getting the most out of my real estate endeavors and investments. I created a excel sheet where I insert data and it shows also a graph. I'm sure I can make it a lot more complex, but its not something I need right now. Because I moved to the states beginning of 2013 and know exactly how much capital I brought with me and with combination of the monthly bank statements I was able to use approximate numbers to have a historical view. It fascinated to see the history... I use Mint where I have logged in all my assets and liabilities and it calculates most of this automatically. Market value of my real estate and personal notes I calculate my self, everything else it gets the data automatically. For budget watch I prefer using my banks online system (wells fargo) Currently I see an average increase of approximately 1.1% monthly and so far it looks that it increases as time goes by and I leverage my capital more. After I file my taxes next year I should have a better view of things. Anyone else has this habit and how much increase have you seen with your REI?

Nick my reasoning is firstly that you cannot correct what you dont measure. So I guess besides the calculation of the performance of an individual investment, net worth gives the bigger picture. Its not how much you make, its how much you have on your asset column. That's what will give you ultimately your financial freedom, right? Second it gives me motivation and helps me be patient. Buy and hold investing is soooo slow, to the point its boring, so with this way I try giving some sort of interest.

By what catalogues companies send my wife.

I have used a spreadsheet since I graduated college too. We lost some data in the early years after our property was robbed, but we still have data since mid 2004. Right now we average a .53% increase each week. We track things weekly. For those that claim net worth is irrelevant I don't agree. For sustainable financial independence you need roughly 4% of your total net worth to exceed your annual spending. I think most people on this site would agree that financial independence is a pretty decent goal worthy of pursuing. The oft-cited $10k/month goal requires a $3M net worth using publicly-traded securities in a modest balance. I am sure most on this site could generate the same with less equity to play with. Reducing your spending decreases your net worth requirements 25:1. So every dollar you reduce your annual spending saves you from accumulating 25 extra dollars for financial independence. That's something worth thinking about for those trying to get there sooner. In general I have found that all of the canned solutions fail to give me all of the data I need. They're generally not built for real estate and when you own private companies it gets very hard to assign precise values. I track my stuff religiously now because we seek spec loans pretty frequently. The spreadsheet spits out a PFS in real time and generally gives the bank a warm-fuzzy that we are on top of our finances.

I usually do on my left hand, but when I get paid I use my right also.. maybe some toes if I'm lucky. :-) But then the bills come in and I'm back to just the left..j/k

@Pavlos Kasselouris, my husband checks it every day. He thinks of it as a game - how much can I make it go up by tomorrow? We use Personal Capital, which is better for keeping track of investments. Mint is great for keeping track of spending.

@James Park, Feel free to be a smart azz anytime. I really don't mind. I believe @Ezra Nugroho was the one that gave me that cool nick name. I have never watched Star Wars so I didn't even know who Yoda was. I'll accept it as a compliment. :>) Not being disrespectful to your friend, but I believe he invested without fundamental. For a house to withstand an earthquake, a tornado or a hurricane, the foundation and the framing have to be sturdy. It was a house of cards with NINJA loans during those years so I'm not surprised your friend lost everything during the mortgage meltdown. I have witness several friends, who lost all of their rentals as well as their million dollar homes. Ironically, one man's misfortune is another man's opportunity. Wealth transfer happens in recessions. Only those, who recognize it, can capitalize on it. It's not a matter of if, but when the NASDAQ will drop 30%-50%. Wealth transfer happens when the market drops. If history is any indication, we should have 2 more up years before the decline. Housing in C and D neighborhoods would take a bigger beating compared to A and B neighborhoods. The overall housing market correction would likely be 20%-25%. Unlike others, I don't believe my market is the Holy Grail. History has shown that my market typically goes down for 4 years and up 7 years. Buying right, even at this time, would reduce one's downside risk. If history is any indication, 5-7% annual drop will happen in the coming years. Investing is about probability. Knowing one's history would help reduce the risk significantly. However, be assure that the market would likely double itself again in the next 7 years. Of course, if history is any indication. Betting against the market has significant consequences. It can help you get ahead, but it can break you if you're wrong. If history is any indication, the odds are against individuals who bet against it. Actually, my goal is not about appreciation. It's about acquiring assets at a discount, which adds equity to my net worth. Each asset has to be able to carry its own weight and break even at 30% vacancy. I have shared the details of these deals at BP meetups with others. It's not easy to get them, but it's nice once they're added to your portfolio. To me, it's easier to get these discount deals in your backyard compared to someone else's backyard. The $500k appreciation above was just for illustrating purposes. It has been a great year. I'm ahead of my goal by a couple miles. You can say I'm smiling all the way to the bank. :^) To answer the OP's question, I only track/look at my net worth whenever I add a deal to my portfolio. Otherwise, I do it in January of each year.

"A watched pot never boils..." :)

Do you track your NET WORTH?

Dawn AnastasiPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes

11y

I don't track it on a regular basis. As long as I'm not living paycheck to paycheck and can buy fun stuff now and then and have savings in the bank, I'm good. When I've had to get bank loans in the past you have to give them a financial statement. I was always surprised to see the number.

Do you track your NET WORTH?

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