Calculate Your Income: A Step-by-Step Guide to Financial Clarity

So far we've gone on a treasure hunt looking for lost money, met with HR to maximize your benefits, said buh-bye to too-tempting emails, and upped your retirement contribution.

Those are all great ways to get some more bang for your buck, but what if you're not making enough bucks? How do you even know?

That's easy enough to sort out and here's how you do it:

List all your sources of income. Your day job, your side hustle, your money that your parents so kindly "lend" you, and wherever else you're pulling cash.

Visit all of your bank accounts and make note of the balances. Retirement funds, savings accounts, cash held on gift cards, everything that spends like money counts as money.

Poke around any envelopes in the freezer, your wallet, or under an old mattress and gather up all your cash.

Do you own your car or house? Find out its worth and add it to the list.

Once it's all said and done, you might be surprised by how much (or how little) you really have. No matter big or how small this number is, don't let it get to you. You're more than just his number on a sheet of paper. Promise!