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Calculated Variables

Net Worth
The purpose of the net-worth calculation is to arrive at a consistent, relative measure of household wealth. In cases in which a household owned a product but did not supply a dollar value in the survey, we assigned the median dollar value of households in the same age and income segment. Table 1 outlines the components of the MacroMonitor household balance-sheet categories that constitute the net-worth algorithm and references them to the page and question number in the survey document.
Transaction Products
Transaction products include credit cards, checking and savings accounts, stockbrokerage accounts, ATM and debit cards, loans or lines of credit, insurance, automatic financial services, IRAs and SEPs, individual annuities, and salary-reduction plans.
Savings
Savings include money market deposit accounts, regular and passbook savings accounts, savings certificates, money market mutual funds, and US savings bonds.
Financial Assets
Financial assets are total assets (see list at Table 1) excluding the values of businesses, homes and other real estate, tangible assets, and owned vehicles.
Investable Assets
Investable assets are financial assets excluding salary-reduction plan and 529 plan funds.
Liquid Assets
Liquid assets include checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular and passbook savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market mutual funds, U.S. savings bonds, Treasury securities, corporate and municipal bonds, zero coupon bonds, collateralized mortgage obligations, unit investment trusts, stock and bond mutual funds, closed-end funds, ETFs, hedge funds, and publicly traded and nontraded stock.
Cash Value Of Life Insurance
We estimate the cash value of individual life insurance policies based on the face value and the age of the policy and data about the age of the head of household insured.

Table 1

2010–11 Macromonitor Balance-Sheet Categories with Location in Questionnaire

Category Location in Questionnaire
Assets  
Checking accounts p. D-1, Q.2b, Col A
Savings accounts p. D-1, Q.2b, Col B
CDs p. E-3, Q.6c
U.S. savings bonds p. E-4, Q.7c
Money market deposit accounts p. D-3, Q.5d, Col A
Money market mutual funds p. D-3, Q.5d, Col B
Stock or bond mutual funds p. E-5, Q.10c, Item 4
Publicly traded stock p. E-9, Q.17, Col B, Item 1
Nontraded stock p. E-9, Q.17, Col B, Items 2 and 3
Closed-end funds p. E-9, Q.17, Col B, Item 4
Corporate bonds p. E-9, Q.17, Col B, Item 10
Municipal bonds and notes p. E-9, Q.17, Col B, Item 11
REITs p. E-9, Q.17, Col B, Item 8
Unit investment trusts p. E-9, Q.17, Col B, Item 7
Zero coupon bonds p. E-9, Q.17, Col B, Item 12
Collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) p. E-9, Q.17, Col B, Item 9
U.S. Treasury securities p. E-4, Q.8a, Col B, Items 1–4
Custodial accounts p. D-7, Q.8c, Col A
Education savings accounts p. D-7, Q.8c, Col B
529 plans p. D 7, Q.8c, Col C
ETFs p. E-9, Q.17, Col B, Item 5
Hedge funds p. E-9, Q.17, Col B, Item 6
IRAs and SEPs p. F-4, Q.4h
Salary-reduction plans p. F-6, Q.6g
Individual annuities p. F-7 and p. F-8, Qs.9d, 10d, and 11d
Keogh accounts p. F-4, Q.5
Business p. O-5, Q.15f
Primary home p. G-2, Q.5
Other real estate p. G-5, Q.21
Tangible assets p. E-12, Q.24, Col B, Items 1–6
Owned vehicles p. H-2, Q.9
Cash value of life insurance p. L-3, Q.7c; p. L-4, Q.8c; p. L-5, Q.10c; p. A-2, Q.7B (estimated based on face value and age of policy and age of insured)
   
Liabilities  
First-mortgage loans (primary home) p. G-4, Q.14, Col A
Junior-mortgage loans (primary home) p. G-4, Q.14, Cols B and C
Other real estate loans p. G-5, Q.22, Col C, Items 1–3
Margin loans p. E-11, Q.19b
Consumer loans p. J-2, Q.3, Col C, Items 1–6
Vehicle loans p. H-2, Qs.7 and 8b, Cols 1–3 (estimated)
Policy loans p. L-5, Q.9b
Credit-card balances p. K-1, Q.1b, Col D, Items 1–12