Quick answer
Net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe. A household with $545,000 of assets and $339,000 of debts has a net worth of $206,000. It is the single figure that shows whether your finances are moving forward, regardless of income.
How the Net Worth Tracker works, step by step
List assets at realistic current values: bank balances, investments and retirement accounts at today's value, your home at an honest market estimate, vehicles at resale value rather than what you paid. Then list every debt: mortgage, auto loan, student loans, credit cards and anything else. The tool takes five asset categories and five debt categories. Other assets — jewellery, collectables, a small business — belong in the other line only at a value you could actually realise in a sale, not what you paid or hope for.
The calculator subtracts total debts from total assets, then breaks the result into its parts: home equity, investments, cash, vehicles net of the auto loan, and other debts. In the worked example that is $122,000 of home equity, $85,000 of investments, $18,000 of cash, $8,000 of net vehicle value and $27,000 of other debts — the breakdown shows where the net worth actually lives.
Update it on a fixed schedule — quarterly works — using the same valuation rules each time, or the changes will reflect your mood about house prices rather than your actual progress. A home revalued optimistically in a good month and pessimistically in a bad one produces a net worth that jumps for no reason. Valuation rules matter most for the two biggest lines: value the home from recent comparable sales rather than a listing site's estimate, and value vehicles from a resale guide rather than the purchase price — a car bought for $28,000 may be worth $22,000 within a year, and counting it at cost flatters the balance sheet by $6,000.
Read the change, not the level. Net worth rises from three sources: saving and investing, debt principal paid down, and asset appreciation. Only the first two are under your control. A rising net worth driven purely by house prices can reverse; one driven by contributions compounds reliably, and the quarterly change shows which kind of growth you have.
Two judgement calls are worth settling in advance. Home equity cannot pay a bill without selling or borrowing, so some people also track a liquid net worth (financial assets minus debts) alongside the headline figure. And pre-tax retirement accounts are usually counted at full balance, though a stricter approach discounts them by the tax due on withdrawal — at a 20% assumed rate, a $100,000 balance counts as $80,000. Either is defensible; be consistent between updates.
The formula
Net worth = Total assets − Total liabilities.
Worked example — try it on the calculator above
Worked example: a household balance sheet
Assets: home $420,000, investments and retirement accounts $85,000, bank and cash $18,000, vehicles $22,000 — total $545,000. Debts: mortgage $298,000, auto loan $14,000, credit cards $6,000, student loans $21,000 — total $339,000. Net worth = $545,000 − $339,000 = $206,000. Note the mortgage is 88% of all debt, which is normal for a homeowner, and home equity of $122,000 is more than half the net worth — a reminder that this household's wealth is mostly bricks, not cash.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I include my home in net worth?
Yes — it is an asset, and the mortgage is the matching liability, so excluding one without the other distorts the figure. Some people also track a separate liquid net worth (financial assets minus debts) because home equity cannot pay a bill without selling or borrowing.
Do I include retirement accounts at full value?
The standard approach is yes, at current balance. A stricter approach discounts pre-tax accounts like a traditional 401(k) by the tax you will pay on withdrawal — at a 20% assumed rate, a $100,000 balance counts as $80,000. Either is defensible; be consistent between updates.
What is a good net worth by age?
There is no official benchmark, and surveys (such as the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances) show wide spreads at every age because income and housing costs differ. A more useful test is direction and savings rate: net worth growing faster than inflation, year after year, puts you ahead of most households regardless of the level.
Can net worth be negative?
Yes, and it is common early in working life when student loans and car finance exceed assets. It is a starting point, not a verdict. Every debt payment and contribution moves it up; tracking it quarterly makes the progress visible while it still feels slow.
Estimates, not advice. This calculator provides educational estimates based on the inputs you enter and the assumptions shown on this page. It is not financial, tax or investment advice, and it cannot see your full situation. Verify important figures against official sources, and consider a qualified professional for decisions about your own money. See our Disclaimer and Methodology.