Do you care how much your neighbour is worth?
Do you know how much you’re worth? Do you know how that compares with your peers? Or do you even care?
Money used to be a taboo subject. Now there are stacks of web sites like NetworthIQ and Mint that allow the self absorbed to post their finances and compare them with others.
Most do it anonymously, though some post their names along with a detailed history of their spending to provide a bit of context.
But their major purpose is the same: To draw attention to their net worth (what they own minus what they owe), highlight any progress they’ve been making, and do a little reflective benchmarking.
Is your own financial “number” more useful to you when you have someone else’s to compare it with? I’m not sure. But everyone seems to know some clown who seems to earn about what they do but somehow spends a lot more.
If you’d like to know how you measure up, here’s a common rubric many advisors use to remind prospects how far they’re falling behind their diligent-saver peers.
Multiply your age by your gross annual income and then divide by ten. This, excluding any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should likely be.
So, a 28 year old making $38,000 a year, should have around $106,000 in the till.
If you want to make a quick comparison chart of what you’re worth compared to others in your age and income bracket, click here. The data is American but it will give you a general idea to work with.
For a more international perspective, click here.
Do you think comparing your net worth to others online is helpful or hurtful? If you've done it, where do you fit in?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: whitey | Mar 28, 2021 12:45:01 PM
I think people should be concerned about their own finances versus the guy next door. Who cares what a neighbor makes? If a family or person wants to have a better financial situation, then they need to spend less and save more. As for the guy next door with the boat, 2 cars, fancy clothes, etc. Both situations may be identical, with the exception of extra from maybe a parent or even the lottery. Keeping up with the Jones' is getting harder to do...even for the Jones'.
Posted by: oblivious | Mar 28, 2021 2:39:42 PM
No, we do not ALL wonder about what our neighbours are wortyh. I could not care less. I have what I have whether or not they are ahead or behind. Plus, I never confuse a person's monetary assets with their "worth."
Posted by: Albertan | Mar 28, 2021 3:14:17 PM
I love the guy living next to me.
As I was moving in he came out and we started chatting. It took him less than 5 minutes to work in that although our houses were built by the same builder his is 2 feet longer. He managed to mention it 5 more times in the first year (it has actually become a joke in my family). In the second year we were over visiting and his houses porportions seemed different. I later looked and realized that his house was 2 feet narrower as well (actually making it smaller than mine). Although I have been tempted a couple times as yet I haven't told him.
Last summer I borrowed my father's boat. I didn't have it parked on the driveway 5 minutes and he was out asking what year it was. Turned out it was 2 years older than his which thrilled him.
Lastly you have never seen a guy that takes such pleasure in having the best grass on the block. I was told this summer by him that I had a good lawn compared to everybody else, its just too bad it was beside his because it just made mine look not as good. I just smiled and let him be.
He sees me as the acid test for keeping up with the Jone's. I'm fine with it. It doesn't hurt me in the least and infact provides some humor in my life.
Posted by: Trixie | Mar 28, 2021 4:43:23 PM
There is only one reason I care what my neighbour is worth. The value of his/her home effects the value of my home and my home is equity. Therefore, I care that the homes around me are taken care of. However, I have no interest otherwise.
Posted by: RalphsWife | Mar 28, 2021 6:13:35 PM
Since I can't retire on my neighbour's net worth, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it. As someone said previously, I just pay attention to the other homes in my neighbourhood. They reflect on my home's value, as mine does on theirs. Thankfully, all of my neighbours appear to share that same sentiment, and the neighbourhood is well looked after.
My home is part of my retirement income. I need to know ITS value, what I have in the bank, and the value of any additional investments. My neighbour's portfolio doesn't do me any good at all, so why worry about it?
Posted by: truthonly | Mar 28, 2021 7:50:15 PM
I do not even NEEED to know. Its a FACT that everyone in western cultures are bankrupt or have you missed the news of the collapse of the market back in 09?
Posted by: truthonly | Mar 28, 2021 7:53:47 PM
If you do not pay the mortgage of your neighbor then you have no grounds of lecturing them about the "effect" it may have on your home. You pay up or shut up. Thats it thats all...
Posted by: RalphsWife | Mar 28, 2021 10:45:47 PM
Actually, truthonly, that's not quite the case. If your neighbour's home devalues yours because of garbage, non-functioning vehicles, or a seriously unkempt appearance, your city officials can force a clean up. The neighbour that does the devaluing of neighbouring properties has no alternative but to clean up & maintain their home - they are, in fact, provided with a bill if the city is forced to do it for them!
You ARE right when you say "Pay up or shut up". The offenders are made to pay, and the now-happy neighbours shut up!
Posted by: Timetraveler | Mar 29, 2021 10:38:46 AM
Based on the formula given, zero divided by 10 is still zero. So my net worth should be zero. I should be so lucky, it's two hundred thousand below and without a job on the horizon will get worse until I can walk away from the mortgage.
Posted by: binder dundat | Mar 29, 2021 12:28:30 PM
NO, whats the point? is your neighbour going to finance yourlife, if the answer is yes then maybe you should get more involved in their money decisions. otherwise who cares.
Posted by: Bill | Apr 29, 2021 11:32:23 PM
Since my neighbour is letting his property deteriorate, I do care. It will bring my property value down. My property should sell for $425,000, but I will be lucky if I get $270,000.
Posted by: Peter Strömberg | May 4, 2021 6:22:05 AM
Spying and pondering about you neighbour's incomes and worth is probably more common than what one wants to admit. But what are your friends worth then? There's an app for that! A Facebook app, called My Salary. It lets people share the "secret" about their salaries in an anonymous way. Check it out: http://apps.facebook.com/my-salary/