Instrument 10 · Grow
Net Worth Calculator What You Own, Minus What You Owe.
Net worth is total assets minus total liabilities. Value assets at what they would sell for today and debts at what you still owe: $185,000 of assets against $132,000 of debt is a net worth of $53,000. Add $500 a month at an assumed 5% growth and the trajectory reaches about $163,500 in ten years.
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Value it at what you could actually sell it for today, not what you paid.
The outstanding balance, not the monthly payment and not the original amount borrowed.
An asset is something you could convert to money. A liability is money someone can require you to repay. A credit limit is neither — it is capacity to create a liability, so it never appears here. Value a car and a house at resale, not at purchase, and count a mortgage at its outstanding balance while the property sits on the other side at its market value.
Enter your figures to see where you stand.
Liquid net worth counts only cash and instant-access savings against short-term debt. It is deliberately harsher than net worth, because a strong balance sheet made entirely of property and pensions still cannot pay a bill this week.
Savings plus debt principal repaid. It can be negative: type a minus sign if the position is shrinking.
From 0 to 15. It applies only while net worth is positive; a debt shrinks only by what you add.
A direction, not a promise: the growth rate is your assumption.
Reading Your Result
What The Number Is Telling You.
- Debt-to-asset under 30%
- Strong.
- 30–50%
- Steady; normal with a mortgage.
- 50–80%
- Stretched.
- Above 80%
- Fragile — little room for a setback.
The Model
The Formula, In Full.
The arithmetic this instrument runs, with a worked example. Its test cases are published on the methodology page
Net worth = Σ Assets − Σ Liabilities
Liquid net worth = cash and instant-access savings − short-term debt
Debt-to-asset ratio = Σ Liabilities ÷ Σ Assets
Trajectory, monthly: NW ← NW + max(NW, 0) × i + S, i = (1 + g)^(1/12) − 1Worked example. Snapshot 53,000; +500 a month at 5% → 101,549.79 in 5 years, 163,513.00 in 10, 343,527.02 in 20. From −20,000 with +800 a month at 5% → 30,029.10 in 5 years.
Assumptions and edge cases
- Assets at resale value today; debts at the outstanding balance.
- Growth applies to a positive position only, at one blended rate — a deliberate simplification stated on the page.
- The monthly amount is what you add to net worth: savings plus debt principal repaid.
| Edge case | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| No assets | Negative net worth with a minus sign and a changed label (v4 invariant). |
| Ratio with zero assets | Em dash, never Infinity. |
| Negative monthly amount | Allowed; the line falls. |
| Growth 0% | A straight line. |
Questions
Net Worth, Answered Plainly.
How do you calculate net worth?
Add up everything you own at what it would sell for today, add up every outstanding balance you owe, and subtract the second from the first. Assets include cash, savings, investments, pensions, property and vehicles at resale value. Liabilities include card balances, loans, student debt and any mortgage, at the amount still owed. The result can be negative, and early in a working life it very often is.
What is a good debt-to-asset ratio?
Below 30 per cent is generally considered strong. From 30 to 50 per cent is steady and normal for anyone with a mortgage, 50 to 80 per cent is stretched, and above 80 per cent leaves very little room for a setback. Above 100 per cent means liabilities exceed assets and net worth is negative. Context matters: a young household with a new mortgage is in a different position from someone near retirement at the same ratio.
Should I include my house and mortgage in net worth?
Yes, both, and always together. Put the property on the asset side at what it would realistically sell for and the mortgage on the liability side at its outstanding balance, so the figure reflects your equity. Including the house but not the mortgage overstates net worth badly; leaving both out hides the largest position on most balance sheets.
What is liquid net worth and why does it differ?
Liquid net worth counts only assets you could reach within days — cash and instant-access savings — against short-term debt such as credit cards. It is deliberately harsher than net worth, and the gap between the two is the point: a balance sheet made almost entirely of property and pension is strong on paper and still cannot pay a bill this week.
What is a good net worth for my age?
There is no single good number for an age. In the United States the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances publishes medians and means by age every three years, but the means are pulled up by very wealthy households, and neither says much about your situation. The more useful comparison is with yourself: is your net worth higher than a year ago, and is the debt-to-asset ratio falling? The trajectory above shows where your current pattern leads.
How do I project my net worth?
Start from today's net worth, add what you expect to put toward it each month — savings plus debt principal repaid — and apply an assumed growth rate to the positive balance. The trajectory module does this monthly for 5, 10 and 20 years. Treat the result as a direction, not a promise: the rate is your assumption, and real returns vary from year to year.
How often should I calculate net worth?
Monthly or quarterly is enough. Net worth moves slowly by design, and checking it more often mostly measures market noise rather than progress. What makes it useful is the direction over a year, which is also why a figure recorded consistently matters more than a figure calculated perfectly. Pick a date, use the same method each time, and compare like with like.