And so begins my journey toward a higher net worth and improved financial life. Here’s a snapshot of my current net worth, as of October 31, 2007. Let me give a little overview of what everything means.

Liquid Assets

My liquid assets are basically my cash, credit card debt, short term loans ( like my 0% LASIK surgery ), and also my Christmas fund at work. I have quite a bit of credit card debt right now ( $11,131 to be exact ) – which looks quite scary. Fortunately all of it is at 0%, for various lengths of time. And I always make sure I have enough cash to pay off a card before I make a 0% purchase. That way there’s no doubt that I can pay it off before the 0% period ends. I also include my daily expense credit card in this area, though it gets paid in full each month.

My liquid assets took a beating the past month because of my recent house purchase. There’s an awful lot of stuff that I bought for the new place, and it adds up quickly. The number is still positive though, which is a good sign.

My Cars

Between my two cars ( my wife’s CR-V and my Civic Hybrid ), we have over $10,000 in negative equity, based on KBB private party value. This looks terrible, but I’m in a much better vehicle situation than I used to be ( full-size luxury SUV and V8 muscle car, just over a year ago ). Both of these cars are 2007 models, and are extremely efficient. They are safe, reliable, and very unlikely to suffer a major breakdown. Any repairs will be handled under warranty. I have a bad habit of buying cars too often ( hence the negative equity ), but I’m unwilling to risk driving an old used car. I do need to learn to hang onto cars longer, and I intend to keep these cars at least 3-4 years at a minimum.

New Home

Having just bought my house, I’m not an expert in appraising. For my home’s value, I simply used the VA appraisal amount that was used during the purchase. I’m not really certain if this is an accurate number, truth be told. My house is a new construction unit in a fairly new development, so it’s not on Zillow.com or any such sites.

Retirement

I don’t have a lot of money set aside for retirement yet. Fortunately I do have some – which is a headstart compared to some people. Improving in this area is one of my biggest goals.

Overall, my net worth comes in at just under $16,000. Pretty rough, but it’s a positive number. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?