Net worth calculator.

What net worth is

Net worth is the value of what you own minus the value of what you owe. A positive number means your assets are greater than your debts. A negative number is common for recent graduates and for people who have just taken a large loan, and it says where you are starting, not what you are worth.

What to include

Put in things with a clear money value that you could sell or draw on: cash, savings, investments, pension balances if you want to include them, a home you own, a vehicle. For liabilities, include every debt: credit cards, personal and student loans, car finance, a mortgage, money you owe friends.

Be honest on both sides. Value property at a realistic selling price, not the highest number you have heard. Value a car at what similar ones sell for, not what you paid. Some people leave pension funds or property out and track "liquid" net worth; that is a fine choice if you stay consistent.

A worked example

Example only. Assets: cash 2,500, savings 8,000, investments 15,000, vehicle 4,000, other 500, which is 30,000. Liabilities: credit cards 1,200, loans 6,000, car loan 2,500, which is 9,700. Net worth is 20,300. The debts equal about 32% of what you own.

Why the trend matters more than the number

A single figure tells you where you are. A series tells you where you are going. Calculate it once a month, write it down and look at the line after six months. If it rises, your habits are working. If it is flat, your saving is balanced by debt or falling asset values. The Journal piece what net worth really tells you goes deeper.

What it leaves out

Net worth ignores income, ongoing expenses and future obligations. A person with a high salary and no savings may have a low net worth and still be fine; a person with a paid-off house and no income may be in a harder spot than the number suggests. Treat it as one gauge among several.

Tracking it over time

A calculator gives you a snapshot. If you want a record, Vaulta's net worth screen records a snapshot each day you open the app and draws the change over time. Accounts can be added by hand in any country, and optional bank linking exists in eight countries on Pro and Premium. Read more in the net worth tracker guide.

Ways to improve the figure

There are only two moves: raise assets or reduce liabilities. Paying off a card at 22% is, in a sense, an instant guaranteed return of 22% on that money. Saving regularly raises the asset side. Watching spending protects both. The compound interest calculator shows how savings might grow, and the debt payoff calculator shows how fast debts could clear.

Making the number honest

Check balances from real statements rather than memory. Use the latest figure for each account on the same day. Leave out the money you are holding for someone else, such as a friend's deposit. If an asset is illiquid, such as a share in a private business, either leave it out or note it separately, because it may not turn into cash when you need it. The aim is a figure you could defend to a sceptical friend.