Asset Protection - Personal Property is an Asset Worth Protecting

By Wolfgang O


Most of us think of assets as real property, investments, vehicles, savings accounts and so on. While those are valuable and it only makes sense to protect ourselves by protecting our assets, many of us do not think of our personal property as a big asset, and we don't protect ourselves against their loss beyond taking out a homeowner's or renter's insurance policy.

It is true that pennies make dollars, and the value of all our personal property--clothes, furniture, kitchenware, appliances, collections, electronics, and so forth--is probably more than we think. If we had to replace everything at once, it could be a hardship. Yet many of us lose our personal property piecemeal by failing to take care of what we own.


Have you ever replaced a lost thing, then found what was lost? Every time that happens, we've thrown away money we would not have had to spend had we taken better care to not lose things in the first place. Money spent buying duplicates is money that can't be spent elsewhere: on house payments, invested, saved, or whatever. Perhaps replacing a lost pair of pliers won't break the bank, but if you're replacing many lost things, it adds up to a financial loss. Add to that the clothes we destroy by improper cleaning or other abuse. What about the furniture we have to replace due to pet damage or damage from smoking? The lost eyeglasses we have to shell out for because our insurance won't replace them until next year? The food we put down the garbage disposal because we don't eat leftovers, or because it was shoved to the back of our refrigerator?

Do our driving habits shorten the life of our car's tires or brakes? Do we abuse or clothes washer or dryer by overloading? Do we waste electricity by leaving lights on in an empty room or do we waste natural gas heat because our home's windows leak? How much of what we pay for every year is due to wastefulness, carelessness, or inattention?

Considering what we could do with the cash we waste through our own bad habits is sobering. Perhaps we could give ourselves an immediate five or ten percent (or more) raise in the amount available for investment simply by living more carefully and attentively and eliminating waste. None of us would take ten percent of our hard-earned cash and burn it up--but our waste does the same thing to our available investment cash. It makes no sense to carefully trade under-performing stocks to maximize return, and at the same time waste a little here and a little there that adds to a bigger drain than that under-performing stock. Do you drain fail to protect your smaller assets by being careless with your things? wasting expensive energy? Do your own wastefulness audit. The result will probably be more than you think.

Be sure to read up on Asset Protection since it is an extremely important part of your Real Estate Investing plan

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