Are you wealthy? There's an easy way to gauge how you're doing financially: Calculate your net worth, then compare it with the average net worth by age. That can help you benchmark how you stack up against your peers and aid in retirement planning.
Tip: If you want total financial flexibility when you retire, make sure a good chunk of your net worth is liquid, or easy to access and convert to cash quickly. Living in a $2.5 million home and having $2.5 million invested in an illiquid private equity fund is nice, but these assets are not as handy as a checking account, ATM, or brokerage account — or so-called "liquid net worth" — when you need to pay for things. "You can't eat your house," said Ted Halpern, regional president, senior managing director at MAI Capital Management. "You need cash flow to go out to dinner."
