HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR TREASURES?

HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR TREASURES?

I first came across this topic on Free Money Finance and found out something quite surprising: the median net worth of Americans is less than $69,000. This decline has been largely due to a drop in home equity. The average American’s wealth is mostly held in retirement accounts and real estate, but it’s heavily impacted by debt.

Today, I want to share how my wealth is divided. Since I manage finances in four different currencies, I’ve used recent exchange rates for clarity. While quantities might change, you’ll get a general idea of my foreign currency exposure.

Here’s how my net worth is currently distributed:

– Cash in Euros: 1.02%
– Cash in US Dollars: 1.81%
– Cash in British Pounds: 3.40%
– Cash in Guatemalan Quetzals: 6.62%
– Real estate across four countries: 45.13%
– Debt: -29.13%
– Other investments in Euros: 20.1%
– Other investments in British Pounds: 44%
– Other investments in US Dollars: 7.05%
– Retirement funds: 0%

I wish I could present this with a neat, colorful pie chart, but it takes me too long to create one.

Debt: I currently have debt due to a 0% credit card (for one more month), rental deposits to my tenants, and a mortgage on my property in the UK.

Cash: Normally, I don’t keep a lot of cash, but I recently sold some cattle, made some money online and from my blog, and have $10K ready to pay off the 0% credit card next month. I also brought extra funds to Guatemala to finance a 90-acre land development. My usual cash reserves are around 1% of my net worth or less.

Retirement: Since I am already living off my investments, I don’t contribute to a specific retirement fund or pension scheme. Trusting myself to manage my interests best, I find moving between countries makes it difficult to decide where to contribute. Having worked in France and the UK, I am entitled to small pensions in both countries. For instance, in France, I could receive a minimum benefit of about 400 euros per month starting at age 65.

Other Investments: This category includes anything that isn’t real estate or easily accessible cash accounts. There are standard investments in index funds, other investment funds, and non-traditional ones like a coconut farm. These investments are heavily weighted in British Pounds because I invested when the currency was low (around 1.05 EUR) some three years ago. I sold some investments when the GBP rose to 1.28 EUR during the London Olympics. I believe in the pound’s long-term strength, but if it doesn’t hold, I could always pay off my mortgage and invest more in UK real estate.

Not Included in My Net Worth:
– The little house in Guatemala hasn’t had its value updated after six months of improvements.
– Depreciating assets like my motorcycle, the car and boat we recently bought, and items like old furniture or jewelry that would sell for much less than their worth are not included.
– I own half of a company that sells energy-saving solutions, and occasionally I get a check from my partner. However, I don’t consider the company’s resell value significant for my net worth.

What about you? How do you manage and distribute your wealth?