February 2009 update
Calculating my net worth monthly helps me to more easily see what kinds of changes I need to make to get to my long-term goal. It also helps me to be aware of things that are happening in my financial life, and acts as a reminder to stay on track. Although lately I get depressed when I input the numbers for stock-related things (such as my IRA, 401k, and single stocks), I still think it’s a valuable exercise.
This way I can at least compare how my stock-related investments are doing compared with the market as a whole, as opposed to being completely clueless about them like I used to be. (In the past I’d had investments that did terribly compared to the market, and I was just unaware. If I’d been aware, I could have made changes.)
So, here are the numbers for February:
Assets: Down $1210.79
Liabilities: Down $640.37
Change in net worth over previous month: Down $570.42
Net worth updates aren’t as much fun when they turn negative through no real fault of your own. You save month to month and still end the month in the negative because of investments. I try not to stress it and continue to look to the future for comfort. In 5 or 10 years your net worth will explode when all the investments bounce back and then its happy dance time :D