CHAPTER 2
More Than Money: Recognizing Your Real Net Worth

Personal, Tangible, and Financial Assets

THE RESILIENT INVESTING MAP INVITES YOU TO INVEST IN YOUR LIFE in a way that recognizes and grows all of your assets. Indeed the goal of resilient investing is to consciously and methodically spread your time and money around the full RIM to nourish all the elements of your complete “net worth.” This will include prudence with your money (financial assets), appreciation of your possessions and the built and natural world (tangible assets), and nourishing your relationships and inner growth (personal assets). SEE FIGURE 2

It may feel a little strange to think of, say, the ways you prioritize activities that enhance your child's well-being and the strategies you are using to manage a brokerage account as being parts of a unified investment system. We’re trained to think of these as very different kinds of decisions, but they are indeed related, as both are investments you make to bring about a desired result in the future.

Resilient investing enables you to put all of your goals on the table as you consider where you want to direct your time, attention, and money. Crucially, this approach acknowledges that for most people financial resources are limited. Those who cannot set aside money to invest should realize that they are indeed making investment decisions that are just as important—maybe more so—than those who are fortunate enough to have a brokerage account. At the same time, by looking beyond financial investments, we encourage everyone to diversify their investment horizons to include the equally important tangible and personal realms. The ways you engage and are nourished by your home and your ecosystem, and the crucial roles of your loved ones and the pursuit of your dreams, are at least as important as your portfolio balance.

Figure 2 Your Real Net Worth

Let's take a closer look at your real net worth by taking a ramble along the rows of the RIM.