Add up your assets and liabilities to see your true net worth right now.
Your net worth is the most comprehensive single measure of your financial health. It captures everything: what you own (assets) minus what you owe (liabilities). A high income with no savings and high debt produces a low net worth. A modest income with disciplined saving over 30 years produces a high one. Net worth is the score of the long game.
Most people know roughly what their salary is, have some idea of their bank account balance, and know they have debt — but few sit down to calculate their actual net worth. When you do, the results are clarifying. You see exactly where you stand, which assets are working for you, which liabilities are costing you the most, and how much progress you have made over time.
Checking and savings accounts (full balance), investment brokerage accounts (current value), retirement accounts — 401(k), IRA, 403(b) — at current value (not what you contributed), HSA balance, and any cash value life insurance.
Primary residence at estimated current market value (check Zillow/Redfin for an estimate), any additional real estate, vehicles at current market value (Kelley Blue Book), and business ownership interests at estimated value.
Vested stock options or RSUs at current value, valuable collectibles you could realistically liquidate, and any money owed to you that you expect to collect.
Mortgage balance (not original loan amount — current remaining balance), car loans, student loans, credit card balances (even if you pay in full each month, include the current balance), personal loans, medical debt, and any money owed to family or friends.
Future income, unvested stock options, defined benefit pension estimates, and Social Security benefits (these are income streams, not owned assets). Also do not include lease payments — you own no equity in a leased car.
Fidelity Investments offers commonly cited benchmarks: save 1× your salary by 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60, and 10× by 67. These are retirement-specific and represent what you need in savings/investments, not total net worth including home equity.
Federal Reserve data shows median net worth by age: Under 35: ~$39,000. Ages 35–44: ~$135,000. Ages 45–54: ~$247,000. Ages 55–64: ~$365,000. Ages 65–74: ~$410,000. Remember that median is the middle value — half of people are above and half below. These numbers can be sobering or reassuring depending on where you are — but the direction of travel (is your net worth increasing?) matters more than the absolute number at any given age.
Calculate your net worth quarterly or annually using the same categories each time. What matters is not whether you have a 'good' number today, but whether the number is growing. A 28-year-old with -$15,000 net worth (student loans exceeding savings) who sees their net worth increase by $10,000 per year is on a strong trajectory. The trend is the data.