How to calculate your net worth
Income tells you what flows in; net worth tells you what you've actually built. It's the single number that best captures your financial progress over time.
Skip the math — the free net worth tracker runs this from your own figures.
Open the free calculator →The simple formula
Net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe: assets minus liabilities. Add up the value of your assets, add up your debts, and subtract the second from the first.
That's the whole calculation. A positive net worth means your assets outweigh your debts; a negative one means the reverse — common early on, especially with student loans or a new mortgage.
What to include as assets
Assets are everything you own with real value: cash and savings, investment and retirement accounts, the market value of your home, vehicles, and any other valuables worth counting.
Use realistic current values, not what you paid. A home is worth what it would sell for today; a car is worth its resale value, not the sticker price you paid years ago.
What to include as liabilities
Liabilities are everything you owe: mortgage balance, car loans, student loans, credit-card balances, and any other debts. Use current outstanding balances, not the original amounts borrowed.
Being thorough here matters. Forgotten debts make your net worth look better than it is and undermine the whole point of an honest snapshot.
Why the trend matters more than the number
A single net worth figure is a snapshot; the real value is watching it over time. A net worth that climbs month after month means you're building wealth, regardless of the starting point.
Tracking the trend also motivates: seeing the number move rewards good habits like paying down debt and investing, and quickly exposes lifestyle creep that stalls progress.
How to track it consistently
Pick a day each month, value your assets and debts the same way each time, and log the net worth. Consistency is what makes the trend meaningful — comparing figures calculated differently just adds noise.
The free calculator below gives you your net worth instantly, and the full tracker lists every account and charts the trend month over month so you can watch it grow.
Questions
Should I include my home in net worth?
Yes — include your home at its current market value as an asset, and the outstanding mortgage as a liability. The difference (your equity) is what actually counts toward net worth. Just be realistic about the value: use a conservative estimate of what it would sell for, not an optimistic one, so the number stays honest.
Is net worth or income more important?
They measure different things, and both matter, but net worth is the better gauge of financial health. A high income spent entirely leaves little behind, while a modest income invested consistently builds real wealth. Income is the engine; net worth is the distance you've actually travelled. Track net worth to see whether your income is turning into lasting progress.