How to Increase Net Worth 3 Ways

When it comes to available funds, people can become hyper-focused on their wallets and bank accounts. So much so that they might forget about their broader net worth and the steps they can take to build it outside of collecting their regular paycheck. However, this is not an ideal way to reach long-term financial goals.

Our monetary value isn’t set in stone, and with a few good practices and some key financial knowledge, you can become worth more than you thought possible

Growing your net worth goes beyond simply learning how to start a budget. If you’re wondering how to increase net worth, look no further than this guide outlining some essential moves you can make to up your dollar value. From debt forgiveness to consolidating assets, this article will focus on major ways that you can change your life for the better.

What is Net Worth?

Net worth isn’t simply the money you have in your pocket, piggy bank, and pension plan. It’s the total value of all your accounts and assets, minus any amounts you owe.¹ That means that someone’s personal net worth can range anywhere from a negative number to an incomprehensibly high sum, depending on their holdings and liabilities.

If you’re trying to tally up your net worth, consider these common factors that will add to the total:

• The full amount held in your bank account, savings account and/or investment account
• Total value of your emergency fund
• The value of stocks, shares, and bonds
• Your current retirement savings
• Other investments
• Stakes in shared assets
• The total value of any businesses you own
• Your home
• Any other properties 
• Vehicles in your possession
• Cash holdings
• Valuable assets, such as equipment and technology
• Collectibles and art
• Any other total assets with a determinable monetary value

Once you have that figure fully calculated, subtract these common liabilities to determine your net worth:

• Outstanding mortgage balance
• Personal loans
• Healthcare debt
• Car payments
• Investment loans from businesses and other ventures
• Student loans
• Credit card debt
• Any other verifiable liabilities 

After subtracting the total liabilities, the final number is someone’s average net worth at a given time. That figure doesn’t tell the whole story about an individual’s financial outlook, however. Personal net worth is fluid and can be raised through disciplined action.

When our net worths are high, we feel at ease. We don’t have debtors hassling us for payments, can maintain a positive credit score, and we have a comfortable amount of money in our accounts—enabling us to live life as we please and achieve our financial goals. If your net worth isn’t where you’d like it to be, try these tips to boost its total.

#1 Debt Forgiveness

Student loan relief has been a hot-button issue that’s picked up steam lately. If you have debts from schooling, your net worth could increase instantly if relief is actualized.

But students aren’t the only ones who can benefit from forgiveness. Similar programs exist for people who have incurred debt from medical and business expenses as well. And any debt wiped from your balance sheet is as good to your net worth as someone handing you its value in cash.

Medical Debt Forgiveness

Over a quarter of Americans struggle with healthcare bills that they don’t know how they will pay.² The costs of normal or rainy-day necessities—such as hospital care, medication, and specialized treatments—can reach the hundreds of thousands and effectively bankrupt people who incur them. In fact, over half of declared bankruptcies list medical bills as a contributing factor.²

Consequently, various programs exist from state to state and on a national level to help people who have incurred heavy medical expenses. The impetus to forgive is growing, with The White House unveiling a new program to forgive half a million veterans’ medical loans just this year.³

Depending on your situation, healthcare loan forgiveness may be available to you. Parameters denoting who qualifies vary and shift, so check with local organizations to see if medical debt relief is a possibility.

Business Loan Forgiveness

If you’re a small business owner, then you may have taken out loans to get your idea up off the ground. If profits aren’t returning to you as expected, however, then you might be worried about how you’re going to pay that money back. Furthermore, your employees still need paychecks, regardless of whether or not the customers are rolling in.

If your lender is part of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) forgiveness plan, then you may be able to get part or all of your loan forgiven. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) relieves struggling small business owners who can’t meet their liabilities.

There are stipulations, like a certain percentage of the loan having been used for salaries.⁴ If you qualify, however, you can see an instant bump in net worth.

#2 Consolidate Assets in Profitable Places

An asset can be anything, physical or intangible, which has some sort of potential exchange value.⁵ Some common examples include:

• Properties 
• Stocks
• Vehicles
• Commodities and collectibles

If you have a large deal of value invested across multiple assets, some of them could be losing you money:

• Property –Though the value of homes has been rising in recent years, they’ve reached a plateau lately.⁶ The market can be volatile, and if you have significant money tied up in property, the decrease of home values as a whole deals a blow to your value as a whole.
   
• Stocks – A solid investment portfolio that pays dividends and consistently rises can bolster your net worth significantly. If your stock options are underperforming and your portfolio flailing, however, then your overall value will be negatively impacted. Know when to sell and use the money for more important things.

Selling the assets that aren’t making you money can open up that cash to put into something that does. You can also use it to tackle your debts or for whatever purpose you want; if it’s outside of a tanking asset, it’s safer than in.

#3 Lower Liabilities

Often, it’s not one’s lack of assets dragging down their overall monetary value, but the amounts owing on them that minimize their net worth. 

Liabilities exist in many forms—from the previously mentioned medical and business debts to other large sums such as mortgages and car loans.

The most conventional and obvious way to lessen these figures is to make payments on them. When you use your cash to pay back loans, however, your net worth remains the same. If you pay them with credit, it can make things all the worse.

So how can one take action on these debts in a way that increases their net worth and their quality of life?

Consider Your Car Payments

If your situation permits you to get rid of your car altogether, the amount you can command for used vehicles has been skyrocketing in recent years.⁷ Selling it could even net you a healthy profit from the price you bought it at.

If you truly need a vehicle, think about:

• Downsizing – Not only do smaller, simpler vehicles cost less initially, they are usually better on fuel, netting more money for your pocketbook in the long run.
  
  
• Buying, rather than leasing or renting – Paying outright for a vehicle eliminates the amount lost to interest on monthly payments. Furthermore, actually owning an asset adds to your total net worth, whereas renting only subtracts from your value. If the high price tag of an outright purchase seems out of reach, there are ways to unlock more of your equity.

Manage Your Mortgage

Mortgages are the largest single source of debt for most households in America. They represent over $11 trillion worth of liabilities nationwide.⁸ 

If you have an outstanding balance on your home, it’s subtracting from your net worth’s potential. Selling is a quick way to turn this negative value around.

Cashing out your home and paying off your mortgage can help you:

• Save on interest – By paying off your mortgage in one lump sum with the proceeds of your sale, you’ll give less money to your lender in the form of interest over time. That extra cash goes in your pockets, adding to your total monetary value.
  
  
• Free up cash – The equity trapped in your home’s walls can’t be used without either cashing it out or borrowing against it (not a good idea to grow your net worth). After selling, you can use the cash to invest in other endeavors with more lucrative and immediate returns.

• Finally get your return on investment – If you bought it a long time ago, your home’s value has likely gone up from the initial sum you paid. By selling it, you’ll reap the rewards of the seeds you sowed all those years ago. 

If you love your home and don’t want to give it up, but have great ideas for what to do with the equity locked inside it, there’s an option to suit you.

Unlock Your Home’s Equity and Keep Living in it with Truehold

With Truehold, you don’t have to choose between living in your home and taking its value in cash.

Our sell and stay transaction helps you get ahead monetarily and stay in your home as a renter. You sell your home, cash out your equity, and keep living in it as a renter.

Whether you’re an individual looking to live your best life, or family financial planning is at the heart of your concerns, Truehold can help you access your equity. And, once you have it, you can use it for whatever you dream.

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Sources: 

1. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Net Worth. https://stats.oecd.org/

2. Kaiser Family Foundation. The Burden of Medical Debt: Results from the Kaiser Family Foundation/New York Times Medical Bills Survey. https://www.kff.org

3. The White House. FACT SHEET: The Biden Administration Announces New Actions to Lessen the Burden of Medical Debt and Increase Consumer Protection. https://www.whitehouse.gov/

4. Small Business Administration. PPP Loan Forgiveness. https://www.sba.gov/

5. United States Security and Exchange Commission. Asset. ihttps://www.investor.gov/

6. US News. When will the housing market crash?. https://realestate.usnews.com/

7. Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis. The jump in used car prices. https://fredblog.stlouisfed.org/

8. Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Federal Debt and Credit Report. https://www.newyorkfed.org/