What is net worth?
Net worth is simply everything you own minus everything you owe. It's the most comprehensive single metric for your financial health. A positive net worth means your assets exceed your debts; a negative net worth means you owe more than you own.
What counts as an asset?
Cash, savings accounts, investments, retirement accounts, home equity, vehicles, and valuable personal property. Don't overestimate — use realistic market values, not what you paid or hope to get.
How to grow your net worth
There are only two levers: increase assets (save and invest more) or decrease liabilities (pay off debt). High-interest debt like credit cards destroys net worth fastest — eliminating it first gives the biggest boost. Then redirect those payments toward investments. Use our retirement calculator to project where your net worth could be in 10–30 years.
A real example
Say you have $15,000 in checking and savings, $45,000 in investments, $80,000 in retirement accounts, a $400,000 home, and a $25,000 car — $565,000 in total assets. Against that, you owe $280,000 on your mortgage, $18,000 on your car, $25,000 in student loans, and $3,000 on credit cards — $326,000 in total liabilities. Your net worth is $239,000. Two things stand out: your home is your single biggest asset, and your mortgage is your single biggest liability — which is why paying down that balance has an outsized effect on the number.
Liquid vs. total net worth
Total net worth counts everything, including illiquid assets like your home and retirement accounts you can't easily touch without penalties or a sale. Liquid net worth — cash, checking, savings, and investments you could access within a few days — is a better measure of your actual financial flexibility in an emergency. Someone with $800,000 in net worth that's almost entirely home equity and a 401(k) can still be cash-poor month to month. Tracking both numbers gives a fuller picture than either alone.