Dealing with A Negative Self Worth

So enough about Gordon Ramsay, though I had no idea this story broke over the weekend when I was first posting this. Crazy guy! I do wish him the best, though. Obviously he's got issues. How does one go from being seemingly a nice guy to a full-blown jerk? Why his wife is still staying with him is beyond me. But that’s totally off-topic (as if I don’t go off on a tangent every day).

Anyway, my friend was telling me how she caught her boyfriend pumping up his muscles in the mirror one time. We were totally laughing about it.

But actually, it’s such a good exercise to do this with your own self worth.

In case anyone hasn’t noticed… I have no life. Over the weekend, I calculated my net worth to date in Excel.

At times, I feel like even if I technically have a positive net worth, my self worth is definitely not feeling it.

Throughout childhood, we are bombarded with messages that tell us we’re not good enough. From TV ads to classmates to family members, we have been conditioned on a daily basis that we’re below par.

If this doesn’t leave most people with a negative self worth, I don’t know what will.

So, to counter this effect, it’s important to count your financial blessings every once in a while.

And if you have assets that will one day appreciate, use that value as the basis for calculating your net worth and even adjust it for inflation.

The goal is to boost up your financial muscle in front of the mirror of self worth every once in a while and tell yourself how well you’ve managed your finances so far.

Another way this is beneficial is that it’ll show you in no uncertain terms if you’re making your money run the extra mile for you. It will show you all fixed assets, all assets that can appreciate or depreciate, and also any liabilities you may have. If you’re really Republican, then people can be included as well. I’ve included a few in my calculations, so I’m only semi-Republican.

I noticed that I’ve been investing too much in assets that might not necessarily appreciate in value to a very significant extent. Also, right now, I'm happy if I save 20% of my annual net salary, but I should actually aim to save at least 63% of my net salary per year. And this is perfectly achievable by making some sacrifices that will ultimately be very rewarding.