I came across an interesting piece of information on Free Money Finance: the median American net worth is under $69,000, mainly due to a drop in house equity, and most of it is tied up in retirement accounts, real estate, and debt.
Today, I’m sharing how my wealth is divided. I manage four different currencies, so I’ve used recent exchange rates to give you an idea of my foreign currency exposure. Here’s the breakdown of my net worth at the moment:
– Cash in EUR: 1.02%
– Cash in USD: 1.81%
– Cash in GBP: 3.40%
– Cash in GTQ (Guatemala): 6.62%
– Real estate (across 4 countries): 45.13%
– Debt: -29.13%
– Other investments in EUR: 20.1%
– Other investments in GBP: 44%
– Other investments in USD: 7.05%
– Retirement: 0%
Regarding debt, I owe on a 0% credit card for one more month, have rental deposits from my tenants, and a mortgage on my UK property.
In terms of cash, I don’t usually have much in my accounts but recently sold some cattle and made some income online and from my blog. I have $10K ready to repay that 0% credit card next month. I also brought some extra money to Guatemala for a land development project. Normally, my cash reserves are around 1% of my net worth or less.
I don’t have a designated retirement fund because I’m already living off my investments. Constantly moving between countries makes it hard to decide where to contribute for retirement. Since I’ve worked in France and the UK, I’ll be entitled to small pensions from these countries, like the minimum benefit of 400 euros/month from France once I hit 65.
For other investments, I include anything that’s not real estate or easily accessible cash. This includes classic investments in index funds, other investment funds, and some non-traditional investments like a coconut farm. These are heavily weighted in GBP since I invested when the currency was trading around 1.05 EUR. I’ve sold some assets when the GBP rose to 1.28 EUR and believe in the pound’s long-term strength. If that doesn’t pan out, I could still pay off my mortgage and invest more in UK real estate.
Here’s what’s not included:
– The little house in Guatemala hasn’t had its value updated despite six months of improvements.
– I don’t count depreciating assets like my motorcycle, car, boat, or old furniture that might sell for much less than their worth.
– I own half of a company that sells energy-saving solutions, but I don’t include its resale value in my net worth.
So, where do you keep your wealth?