The devil put down his fiddle with glee – finance guys were going down. Musicians were back on the upswing and everyone knew women loved rock stars. Orchestrating the economic decline had been surprisingly easy. The inevitable finger pointing had begun in earnest. Experts were blaming consumers, liberals were blaming conservatives, conservatives were blaming liberals, and everyone was blaming bankers. Under immense financial stress and pressure, bankers weren’t treating their girlfriends’ right. Now they were out looking. Even the New York Times had weighed in: “It’s the Economy Girlfriend” (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/nyregion/28daba.html?em). His bet was that musicians were next in line. Who else could afford bottle/table service? Then he frowned, the last time he had made a bet he had lost his favorite golden fiddle – and he wanted to keep his hedge against the dollar falling.
February 11th, 2009
Kitty tried to slam down the phone receiver. Damm her lack of opposable thumbs and damm Barbie. They had been vying for sexiest toy title for years. Kitty thought she had Barbie beat when she went for the big time bling. But now the diva was topping her with a runway show on Feb. 14 in Bryant Park, complete with designer inspired Barbie clothes. What was the world coming to? Then Kitty sat back and purred – she still had her line at Neiman Marcus and a higher net worth (see November 17, 2008 post for more on net worth). And, wasn’t Barbie turning 50?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/fashion/05ROW.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/search.jhtml?N=0&Ntt=heloo+kitty&_requestid=15797″
February 5th, 2009
Gwyneth Paltrow’s latest GOOP posting (www.goop.com) shares her post-holiday cleanse, complete with menu and bowel movement advice. This year, rather than simply focusing on being thin focus on becoming rich. You can start by truly assessing your financial condition. If you’ve never made a budget, do so. If you’ve never calculated your net worth, try it. If you have credit card debt or other debts develop a plan to pay them down or off – if your debt is caused by excessive shopping vow to hit the gym instead – you’ll get thin and rich at the same time.
Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee for whom King Edward VIII gave up the throne of Great Britain, is often credited with originating the saying “You can never be too rich or too thin.” However, she was wrong. You actually can be too thin- anorexia looks pretty on no one and size 27 jeans cost the same as size 31 jeans so smaller sizes do not help you save money – but you can never be too rich.
January 7th, 2009
I know you are priceless, but what are you worth? And by that, I mean your net worth. What is your net worth? Your net worth is a snap shot of your overall financial health. You measure it by knowing the total value of your assets and your liabilities. What are assets and liabilities?
Put simply, an asset is anything you own with commercial value. Think of an asset this way: can you sell it on EBay? Obviously, some things you own have more value than others. For example, if you own a vintage Burberry trench coat, it has a lot more value than a pair of Seven for All Mankind blue jeans. Real jewelry is worth more than fake. And, the right swimsuit is priceless. Your assets include things like: how much money you have – regardless of whether it’s in cash, a checking account, a savings account, a Money Market, a CD, a stock, bond, mutual or index fund, or 401K, your clothes, your furniture, your car, or your house. If you own something and you can sell it for money, it is an asset.
On the other hand, a liability is an obligation; something you owe. Examples of liabilities include: credit card debt, student loans, car payments, and rent or mortgage payments or any other kind of loan.
If you add up all of your assets and subtract all of your liabilities you know what your net worth is. Why should you know your net worth? The first reason is net worth tells you how you are doing financially overall. The more money you save or the more valuable the items you own, and the less money you owe, the higher your net worth. The second reason is calculating your net worth on a regular basis forces you to check on your accounts. The third reason is net worth can be a motivator. If your net worth is low, there are things you can do to improve it. If your net worth is high, knowing that and continuing to improve it can help you achieve your dreams. Hello [fill in the blank!] A little self competition can go a long way.
To calculate your net worth you need to collect information on your assets. For example, you need to find out your account balances and the current value of your car. You need to find out the current value of your liabilities, for example the current amount you owe on your student debt or car loan. While it can be difficult to collect the information, once you have the information you need, calculating your net worth is easy.
November 17th, 2008