One number, whole picture
Net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe. A single snapshot of your financial position — not a grade, not a destiny, just today's coordinates:
Net worth = total assets − total liabilities
A worked example
Maya lists her assets: $5,000 cash, $20,000 investments, and a $250,000 apartment (a conservative estimate from recent nearby sales). Total assets: $275,000. She owes $180,000 on the mortgage and $3,000 on a credit card — total liabilities $183,000. Net worth: $275,000 − $183,000 = $92,000.
Tally your own in the net worth calculator. Convert everything to one currency first — the calculator does no FX conversion.
What counts (honestly)
- Assets: cash, savings, investments, retirement accounts, property at resale value, vehicles at resale value. Use what you'd actually get, not what you paid.
- Liabilities: every balance owed — mortgage, loans, card balances, money owed to people. If you'd have to pay it, it counts.
- Skip: future salaries, sentimental value, and anything you can't sell or must repay only vaguely.
How to read the result
- Negative is normal early on — student loans and young mortgages outweigh young savings. The trend matters, not the sign.
- Recalculate yearly, not daily. Net worth moves slowly; watching it twitch teaches nothing.
- Growing it has two levers: raise assets (save, invest) or shrink liabilities (repay). Most progress uses both.
Property figures are your estimates, never market valuations — and this is general education, not financial advice. See the disclaimer.
Quick answers
Should my home count? Yes, minus the mortgage — but remember you still need somewhere to live, so don't treat home equity like spending money.
What net worth "should" I have? There is no should. Compare against your own past, not anyone else's present.
Do pensions count? Vested, accessible retirement savings count at their current value. Promises without a number don't.