The southern region of the U.S.  has always had the lowest net worth according to these statistics, and the northeast and west has increased most significantly since 2001.  The American midwest pretty much barely changes at all, strange.  I guess their overall net worth can be considered very steady overall, no extreme highs but no lows.

I am assuming much of the overall net worth increase after 2001 is due to rapidly increasing housing values from the housing boom.  The northeast median net worth increased 62 percent between 2001 and 2004.  This number is so high I can hardly believe it, amazing.  Same for the American west, net worth increased 50 percent between 2004 and 2007!

Overall I believe with the 2008-2010 housing crash the net worth for the west and northeast areas of the United States will eventually come back in line with the other areas.  They say that everything reverts to the long term averages eventually, and I think that will be correct with American net worth statistics also.

You may also be interested in comparing overall Household Net Worth Statistics.  These are not broken down by United States region.

Giving Customers More

CompleteTax’s four guarantees – Maximum Refund Guarantee, Accurate Calculations Guarantee, Price Lock Guarantee and Satisfaction Guarantee – provide assurance that taxpayers are getting a dependable and quality online tax preparation product. In addition, for the 2010 income tax season, CompleteTax is offering taxpayers even more options to save on their income tax preparation, including:

• Free Premium federal online tax return for the unemployed. To lend a hand in tough times, customers who received unemployment benefits in 2010 can use CompleteTax Premium federal for free.
• Free Premium federal for those switching from other online tax products. Taxpayers successfully importing their 2009 TurboTax®, TaxACT® or H&R Block Online® return to CompleteTax can use the CompleteTax Premium federal for free – adding even more incentive to make the switch.
• Free federal return for taxpayers owing the IRS. Customers owing money to the IRS can use any CompleteTax federal product absolutely free, helping to ease some of the pain of owing taxes.
• Expanded free online tax prep for Basic customers. In 2009, CompleteTax offered both a free and a Basic product to file taxes online. This year, CompleteTax is now offering Basic for free, providing customers with more features and functions at no cost.
• New Premium MVP federal + state bundle. New for 2010 is the CompleteTax Premium Maximum Value Package (MVP) which bundles a federal and state tax return together to deliver the greatest value in one convenient package.

CompleteTax also continues to offer a Deluxe product, which is ideal for those who itemize their deductions, have investments, or have retirement.

“Many people have had a rough 2010 and others are heading into tax season with some anxiety – including those who may owe taxes or who are unhappy with tax software from other providers,” said Lundberg. “By raising the bar on value, we are making it easy and appealing for taxpayers to use CompleteTax and take advantage of all the great features we offer.”

CompleteTax is owned by CCH.  CCH is one of the most respected names in the business.   In a job I had over 15 years ago I used CCH products to do income tax research (I am not in that field any longer), so I have a high confidence in CompleteTax as a service provider.

Here is some background:

About CompleteTax Online Tax Preparation

CompleteTax is an online tax software which provides individuals with income tax preparation services in one easy solution. Some features of CompleteTax include:

Electronic Filing
Paying Taxes by Credit Card
Income Tax Estimator
State Tax Returns
Federal Income Tax Forms
Tax Refund Status
Tax Tools and Resources
Tax Planning Tools
Tax Calendar
Online Income Tax Help
Financial Calculators
Online Tax Help Chat Service
Income Tax Tips
Answers for Tax Questions

CCH provides leading tax, accounting and audit information and software solutions.
CCH products track, report, explain and analyze tax and related law in over approximately 700 publications in print and electronic form for tax, accounting and legal professionals.

History

The CCH brand has been a market leader since 1913, the year the U.S. federal income tax was created.

It is one of the most respected names among accountants, attorneys and compliance professionals.

Five generations of legal and business professionals have considered CCH products among the essentials in any office and critical to keeping up with day-to-day changes in the law.

CCH has made its home in the Chicago area and currently is headquartered in Riverwoods, IL.

Product Offerings

CCH markets approximately 700 products for the U.S. market. Many are subscription publications that are updated daily, monthly or annually.

CompleteTax is an online tax software which provides individuals with income tax preparation services in one easy solution.

Customers

Primary customers for CCH’s products are accountants, attorneys, and audit and compliance professionals in firms and corporations. Other major purchasers of these products are U.S. and state government agencies, universities and libraries.

CCH Professionals

Over 4,000 people in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific create and support CCH products.

CCH offices in the U.S. include those in Riverwoods and Chicago, IL.; Washington, DC; New York, NY; Torrance, CA; and Wichita, KS

CCH Publishing staff includes an active news bureau in Washington, D.C. There, beat reporters cover key areas of the nation’s government, including Congress, the Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies, the Supreme and Federal Courts and the White House.

CompleteTax will file the 1040EZ for free, but charges $24.95 for a state return.  H&R Block allows you to file a basic 1040 with Schedules A and B for FREE.  However, a state form costs $27.95.  To file a basic 1040 return using CompleteTax costs $14.95, plus the state return for 24.95, which would be a total of $39.90.   Confusing, so here is a visual:

TOTAL COST FOR FEDERAL AND STATE:

• Use CompleteTax if you file form 1040EZ.  Your total cost will be $24.95.
• If you file a basic 1040 use H&R Block, your total cost will be $29.95.

H&R Block seem fairly competetive for preparing more complex returns, but the cheaper state return may lean you towards CCH’s CompleteTax service.

There are two types of H&R Block products: 

• Online Products
• Software Products

Online Products allow the user access to H&R Block systems for the amount of time needed in order to complete a return. The program asks the user a series of questions, and as the user answers the questions, the program fills in the tax return. At the end, the user completes the return by e-filing. Data is then stored on H&R Block servers for a period of up to 3 years, during which, the consumer can still access the return. The one exception here is with the free edition, which has some limitations on use.

H&R Block Online Product line-up includes:

H&R Block At Home Online Free Edition (FREE) –

Complete your simple return online for free

H&R Block At Home Online Basic ($19.95) –

You want extra guidance, our Worry-free Audit Support*, or to import your tax data from last year’s TurboTax® or TaxCut® returns.

H&R Block At Home Online Deluxe ($29.95) –

Own a home or have investments.

H&R Block At Home Online Premium ($49.95) –

Self-employment or rental property income.

Software Products are purchased and then downloaded onto the user’s computer. This allows all data to be stored on the user’s system and allows the user the opportunity to go back into the program and complete multiple versions of the return (or multiple returns as needed). When it’s time to file, users have the option of either e-filing or printing and mailing the return to the IRS. There are two delivery options for initially obtaining the software. A user can specify immediate download through our website or hard copy delivery by mail.

H&R Block Software Product line-up includes:

H&R Block at Home Basic + E-file ($19.95) –

Everything you need to complete a simple federal tax return at a great low price

H&R Block at Home Deluxe (no state) ($34.95) –

Advanced tools and guidance for maximizing deductions and tax savings associated with home ownership, education, investments, real estate and more

H&R Block at Home Deluxe ($44.95) –

Advanced tools and guidance for maximizing deductions and tax savings associated with home ownership, education, investments, real estate and more

H&R Block at Home Premium ($64.95) –

Forms, guidance and support for your personal taxes

H&R Block at Home Premium & Business ($79.95) –

Forms, guidance and support for your personal and business taxes

For any additional questions about these products, visit  www.hrblock.com

ASSETS

Step 1 of the Net Worth Formula is to define the value of all financial accounts, and everything else you own. I usually use conservative estimates of value for assets when the value is not quick or easy to determine. This helps to ensure a realistic final value for Net Worth. For example, for a primary residence (house, townhouse, condo, etc) begin with the estimated value (assessed value, appraisal, whatever you think is realistic). Then deduct 6% for realtor commission when you need to sell, and then deduct another 10% to be conservative. So a house worth $100,000 would be valued as follows:

100,000 – 6,000 (6%) – 10,000 (10%) = 84,000 estimated value of this asset

Here is a checklist of assets you can use:

• Interest-earning assets held at financial institutions
• Passbook savings account
• Money market deposit accounts
• Certificate of deposit
• Interest-earning checking accounts
• Other interest-earning assets
• U.S. Government securities
• Municipal or corporate bonds
• Stocks and mutual fund shares
• Rental property
• Mortgages held for sale of real estate
• Amount due from sale of business or property
• Regular checking accounts
• U.S. savings bonds
• Home ownership
• Vacation homes and other real estate
• IRA and Keogh accounts
• 401K and thrift savings plans
• Motor vehicles
• Other financial assets

LIABILITIES

Step 2 of the Net Worth Formula is to define all of your liabilities. This category includes mortgages, car loans, student loans, credit cards, and home equity loans.

Here is a checklist of liabilities you can use:

Secured liabilities

• Margin and broker accounts
• Mortgages on own home
• Mortgages on rental property
• Mortgages on other homes or real estate
• Home equity loans
• Debt on business or profession
• Vehicle loans

Unsecured liabilities

• Credit card and store bills
• Doctor, dentist, hospital, and nursing home bills
• Loans from individuals
• Loans from financial institutions
• Educational loans
• Other unsecured liabilities

NET WORTH

Step 3 of the Net Worth Formula is to perform the final calculation:  ASSETS minus LIABILITIES. The result equals NET WORTH.

Now you have defined your own Personal Net Worth!

The 1991 recession is evident by the decrease between 1989 and 1992, but since 1992 the rise in stock values during the 1990’s continually pushed family net worth up and up until the dot-com crash in 2001.  Household net worth did not begin rising again until after 2004, but it began rishing sharply upwards probably due to the housing bubble, total of almost 18 percent over 3 years!    I am very curious what direction this chart takes when they release the new statistics for 2010.  I am assuming with the housing crash and stock market crash, the trajectory will be downwards.

From the timeline, it appears you must have been over 35 years old to participate in an increasing mean (average) net worth.  Group ‘Less than 35′ stayed the same over the last 20 years!  This clearly gives visual proof that the wealth-building years are generally age 35 and after, and even more so for age 45 and later.  The age group ‘55 – 64′ increased their net worth most rapidly between 1998 and 2004 but lost ground between 2004 and 2007.  Age groups ‘45 – 54′ and ‘75 and older’ all increased at very similar rates.  The ‘65 – 74′ group had the highest overall increase.

Most people, including myself, are afraid to enter all of their personal net worth details into some random online net worth calculator. I much prefer to keep the information locally on my pc in a file that I can update every quarter, six months, or however often you prefer. I use an Excel spreadsheet, but it can just as easily be used in Open Office.

Personal Net Worth Statement Template Form

1. Click the File menu item.

2. Click Download As…

3. Choose either Excel or OpenOffice.

4. Enter your personal information into the template; update row names as needed.

5. Scroll down to the last row to see your total Net Worth.

Now every time you want to update your very own net worth statement worksheet you can do so privately using your customized version of the sample above.

Median Income

Mean Income

The mean (average) net worth graph is more striking.  The top 10% have doubled their average net worth since 1989!  $1,999,300 increased to $3,985,900.  The bottom 25% actually is still negative and worse, from -$1,000 to -$2,200!  Again, the middle class is making small progress but most of the wealth gains in this country are flowing to the wealthiest few.

You can see from these graphs how the median net worth statistics reported in the news media is very deceiving.   The mean (average) net worth statistics truly show where the wealth is concentrated.  So next time you use one of those handy online calculators to see how your net worth compares to other citizens, you have been warned. It is most likely using median statistics.   

I do not want to know if I am similar to the masses, I am very aware that I am middle class.  I prefer to know if I am gaining or losing ground based on the total wealth in this country.

Median Net Worth = How do I compare to other people?  Am I similar to a majority of people?

Average Net Worth = My share of the total pie.  How big is my slice?

What do YOU think?

OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

Click here to go to their website:  FREE OpenOffice Suite

Here is another great quote:

For people used to other office software, OpenOffice.org 3 is a pleasant surprise. It’s so straightforward! Studies have proved it is easier (and cheaper) to move to OpenOffice.org 3 from Microsoft Office than it is to upgrade to Microsoft’s latest Office 2007. Because OpenOffice.org is one piece of software, everything works consistently between applications. Even the help system is the same. You don’t even have to know which application was used to create a document – OpenOffice.org 3 will use the correct one. You only need to do a single download from the Internet (or install from one CD) and you’ve got your office suite.

My guess is that Microsoft really hates Sun Microsystems!

Here is the download page:  Download OpenOffice

NOTE:  This is a very large download file, 150MB. If you use dial-up internet, this is not a good option for you.  I recommend that you order a CD-ROM from someone. They have a list of people who offer this service here:

OpenOffice CD-ROM Ordering  …..scroll down to the U.S. section. 

Some people offer it for free, but if you find one I highly suggest you donate a couple bucks to cover the cost of burning and mailing the CD-ROMs.  I only clicked on a couple distributors, so please be sure to explore others.

Please let me know if you have any questions.