The Net Effect of Knowing Net Worth

I had originally written the post below as a guest post on a personal finance blog. But it was supposed to appear sometime in July ... so I've given up waiting on the other blog and just decided to post it here.

Since reading personal finance blogs, I've noticed that the author often updates readers on his or her net worth status. If it's gone up (and it usually has, since the person cares enough about personal finance to blog on it), or if it's gone down, and why. There's even an option of getting a free account at NetworthIQ so that your financial health is displayed in all its chart and graph glory.

I'm lured by the pretty colors and many, many tables. But still I hesitate. As I see it, there's two main reasons for me to not go down the NetworthIQ path.

1. My blog readers are mostly composed of family and friends. People I speak to on a regular basis, and with whom I have a personal relationship. My blog often deals with random incidents and thought-provoking questions (think Jack Handey-esque) that occur to me throughout the day. I mention personal finance, but it's not a big topic. And I don't think I'm comfortable sharing my net worth with everyone. I think it could get awkward.


2. But wait! You say. You can get a NetworthIQ account and keep it private. So really, it's just for my eyes only. Top Secret. And I thought about doing this for a while. I started to think about where my net worth might fall .... and it's not looking good.

I'm pretty young—"nearly 30" as my Mom helpfully tells people—but I'm not quite there yet. And, like most people my age, I have a lot of debt. Between my husband and me, we're shouldering a substantial amount of student loan and mortgage debt. Supposedly "good debt," but a negative number just the same. And assets? Do my cheerful smile and wicked sense of humor count? No? Well, not a whole lot of assets then.

So I'm afraid that, if I took the time to sit down and figure out my net worth, it would be very depressing. It just might make me give up on the little bit of saving that we've managed to be doing and throw in the towel on this whole "personal finance" thing. Blow my Roth IRA on a trip around Asia.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm underestimating our assets. We've both been contributing regularly to our 401(k)s and/or IRAs since our early-20s. Maybe I'd be pleasantly surprised by a positive number for our net worth. But what then? Maybe it makes me think I don't need to save so much. Maybe I stop saving, and instead I blow that money on a trip around Asia.

For now, I think I'm going to avoid the temptation of putting an exact number on my net worth. We'll keep paying down our debt and saving for short- and long-term goals. Maybe someday I'll figure out my net worth. Maybe right after I finish financing that trip around Asia.