This article in last weekend’s New York Times Magazine led me to NetWorthIQ, a website where users can anonymously log their assets, income, and debts to illustrate a complete net-worth picture. Members can update their holdings monthly to automatically produce graphs and compile data that track the trajectory of their net worth over time.

The benefits of using the site are many (and not just for financial Peeping Toms). For starters, the anonymity takes away the taboo of talking about money, leading to a vibrant tips section. Got questions? The community has answers. You can instantly compare your net worth to others with similar education levels or salaries, and also by state, industry, or age range. (Though take this with a grain of salt: You’re stacking yourself against a self-selective group of people who are really into personal finance, so it’s not the same as comparing your numbers to the nation at large.)

Contrary to what you might assume, the website is not just full of financial whizzes whose stocks are going gangbusters; there are plenty of users who are very much in the red and are using the site to climb out of debt. And on the other end of the spectrum, it’s easy enough to find a cadre of candid self-made millionaires who are willing to share how they got to where they are today.

Some people have been updating their profiles for years. I only just started this week, but I can already see myself becoming a regular. (And if nothing else, it’s an educational way to kill a Friday afternoon.)

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