<prompt> Human: I couldnt find any thread of the sort, so I thought Id make one.___If you dont know what a balance sheet is, its a simple tool used in accounting to show the state of your finances. The basic accounting formula is AssetsLiabilityEquity. Or if it makes more sense Assets-LiabilitiesEquity.---AssetsWhat you havepossess. Your property, car, the value of anything that belongs to you.LiabilitiesWhat you owe other people. Your loans, mortgages, the value of what you owe other people. EquityYour right to claim against what you have. Basically your net worth as an individual in this case. Eg. All you own is a house asset worth 500k. But the unpaid mortgage liability on it is worth 300k. So your net worth is 200k equity. Thats why when you purchase a house and take out a mortgage on the full value, you dont actually get any richer because the amount of what you just gained new house is canceled by the amount of what you now owe someone new mortgage.---Knowing this, all you have to do is fill in what you know. Generally speaking this is done in order of liquidity, but that doesnt matter too much. I just thought Id make it easier and more convenient for people to seek and give advice.Source is two years of accounting courses and some common sense. I am not a professional and I even fucked up the basic formula ALE before someone notified me.  <response>: I dont mind the essays also, because they can sometimes tell a lot about the persons thinking and state of mind. Psychology and the human factor play just as important a role in getting out of a hole as the numbers, in my opinion.I think more important and helpful would be a listing of their income and expenses at the end of their text wall. A simple set up like this would be helpful, though:INCOME:XXwk OPXXwk spouseEXPENSES:RentGasCar student loanCc1Etc 