How to Calculate Your Net Worth
Published 8/22/2025 · 3 min read · Finance calculators
Your net worth is what you own minus what you owe: total assets − total liabilities. Add up cash, savings, investments, property and valuables, then subtract all debts — mortgage, loans, credit cards. If you have $150,000 in assets and $90,000 in debt, your net worth is $60,000. It can be negative, and tracking it over time is what matters most.
Net worth is what you own minus what you owe. Here's how to total your assets and debts, what to include, and why the trend matters more than the number.
Assets minus liabilities
Net worth is one subtraction: everything you own minus everything you owe. Your assets are the value of what you have — cash, savings, investments, a home, a car, anything worth money. Your liabilities are your debts — mortgage, loans, credit-card balances. Take the total of the first and remove the total of the second, and the result is your net worth: a single figure that captures your whole financial position in one number.
What to include, and at what value
Value assets at what they'd fetch today, not what you paid. A car and a home are worth their current market price, investments their current balance, not the purchase figure. Include everything meaningful — accounts, property, pensions, valuables — but leave out your monthly income, which is a flow, not a thing you own. On the debt side, use the outstanding balance you'd need to clear, not the original amount borrowed. Consistent valuations make each snapshot comparable.
Negative net worth is normal (for a while)
Don't be alarmed by a negative figure. Someone fresh out of study with a loan, or a new homeowner with a big mortgage and little equity, can easily owe more than they own — and that's an ordinary stage, not a failure. What matters is the direction. If the number is climbing year on year, even from below zero, your finances are moving the right way. A rising net worth is the goal; the exact starting point is far less important.
Why track it
Net worth is the single best snapshot of financial health, because it folds saving, spending, debt and investing into one figure. Updating it every few months turns your progress into something you can see, and it quietly exposes lifestyle creep — if your income rose but your net worth didn't, the money went somewhere. Watching the line climb is also genuinely motivating, which is why it's the number so many people track above all others.
Worked with our own calculator
Net worth calculator
Given
- Total assets
- $250,000.00
- Total liabilities
- $120,000.00
Result
- Net worth
- $130,000.00
These figures are produced by the calculator below, not typed in by hand — they are recomputed whenever the tool changes.
Run it on your own figures →Frequently asked questions
- How do I calculate my net worth?
- Add up everything you own and subtract everything you owe.
- Can net worth be negative?
- Yes, if your debts exceed your assets, which is common early on.
- What should I include as an asset?
- Cash, savings, investments, property and valuables, at current value.
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This is general information, not financial advice. For decisions based on your net worth, consider consulting a qualified adviser.
Sources
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