If one number sums up your financial position, it is net worth. It doesn't show what you earn or what you spend, but what is left once everything you owe is set against everything you own. Those who track it know whether they're moving forward, even when the salary looks the same month after month.

Assets and liabilities: what to count and where

Assets

  • Balances in current, savings and deposit accounts.
  • Pension, study fund and provident fund balances.
  • Investments: securities, mutual funds, crypto.
  • A home you own, at a careful valuation, and a car at market value.

Liabilities

  • The outstanding mortgage balance.
  • Loans: bank, non-bank, from family and friends.
  • Credit card balances and overdraft.
  • Debts to authorities and suppliers, and taxes not yet paid.

How to compute it, step by step

  1. 1

    List every account and asset

    Banks, cards, pension, study fund, provident funds, investments and physical assets. Don't forget old funds from previous employers.

  2. 2

    List every debt

    Mortgage, loans, credit and balances. Record the current balance rather than the original amount.

  3. 3

    Value illiquid assets conservatively

    A home and a car have no fixed price list. Think in a range, and use the cautious end.

  4. 4

    Compute and classify

    Total net worth, and also liquid net worth: the assets you could use in the short term, excluding pension and property.

  5. 5

    Write down the date

    The number is most useful compared with itself over time.

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Review rhythm and common mistakes

  1. First time

    A snapshot

    One evening to gather everything. That's the hard part, after that it's easy.

  2. Monthly

    A short check

    Update balances and debts. Ten minutes is enough.

  3. Quarterly

    Look at the trend

    Is your net worth rising? Because of what: saving, returns or paying down debt?

  4. Once a year

    Re-evaluate

    Home and car value, pension and study fund, and goals for the coming year.

  • Forgetting the pension and study fund. They are often a big part of your wealth, but they're locked. Show them separately.
  • Counting twice. A joint account with a partner, or a transfer between accounts, can be counted twice.
  • Valuing a home on hope. An asking price is not a transaction price. Keep the estimate conservative.
  • Ignoring small debts. Ten small charges is also a sum.
  • Fixating on the number instead of the trend. One down month in the market is not news.

Net worth checklist

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Frequently asked questions

Yes, but it isn't liquid: you can't use it without selling or borrowing against it. So it's worth showing separately from liquid assets.

That's common, especially after buying a home or early in life. The direction matters more than the sign: if debt is falling and savings are rising, you're moving the right way.

Yes, since it is part of your wealth, but separate liquid from locked wealth so you don't mistake what is available to use.

Monthly or quarterly. Checking too often amplifies noise rather than the picture.

With joint accounts it's easy to count twice. Shavve neutralises duplicates when partners are linked in the same household, so the total is right.