Many of you are probably already familiar with this basic principal of accounting:

Assets minus Liabilities equals Net Worth

When preparing your initial financial plan, one of the first steps is to calculate your net worth.  To do so, you'll need to work through an "Ow-Ow" statement. 

What the heck's an "Ow-Ow" Statement? An "Ow-Ow" statement  is nothing more than a snapshot of what you OWN and what you OWE on a given day.  On the "Ow-Ow" Statement, all you need to do is list all of your assets and all of your liabilities at their fair market value as of a certain date.  You then subtract your total liabilities from your total assets to determine your net worth.

When preparing your Ow-Ow statement, please keep in mind that:

Your assets might include:

• Checking and savings accounts
  

• Certificate of Deposits (CDs)
  
• Money Market Accounts
  
• U.S. Savings Bonds
  
• Mutual Funds
  
• Stocks, Bonds and Other Securities
  
• 401(k), 403(b), IRAs and Other Retirement Accounts
  
• Your Principal Residence
  
• Other Real Estate Owned
  
• Time Shares, Boats and RVs
  
• Automobiles
  
• Closely Held Businesses and Partnership Interests
  
• Cash Value in a Life Insurance Policy
  
• Variable Annuities

Your liabilities might include:

• Credit Card Debts
  

• Student Loans
  
• Car Loans
  
• Mortgage(s) on Your Principal Residence
  
• Other Mortgages
  
• Home Equity Loans
  
• Other Consumer Debt
  
• Margin Within an Investment Account

To help you prepare your "Ow-Ow" Statement , you can:

• View our completed example
  
  
• Print out our blank template
  
  
• Download a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with the completed example and the blank template

Time Saving Tip:  The easiest time to gather information for your "Ow-Ow" Statement will be the month following the end of a calendar quarter, since most financial institutions send out statements to their customers as of the last day of each calendar quarter.