The number that tells you where you actually stand

Net worth is the only number that accounts for everything at once. Income tells you what's coming in. Net worth tells you what you've kept. For self-employed workers without employer retirement matching, a pension, or equity compensation, building net worth is entirely self-directed — which makes tracking it regularly more important, not less.

The formula is straightforward: total assets minus total liabilities. What trips people up is valuing assets accurately. Real estate equity is market value minus the outstanding mortgage balance — not the purchase price, not the appraised value from six years ago. Business equity is the hardest one to estimate. Use a conservative number based on what someone would actually pay for it today, not what you hope it's worth.

Liquid vs. total assets

Net worth is a long-term metric. Liquid assets are a short-term one. A freelancer with $800,000 in net worth spread across a house and retirement accounts can still have a cash flow crisis. The calculator separates liquid assets (cash, checking, taxable brokerage) from total assets so you can see both numbers. Three to six months of expenses in liquid accounts is the standard advice, but for self-employed workers with variable income, six to twelve months is more realistic.

Retirement accounts

Traditional IRA, 401k, and SEP-IRA balances are pre-tax. The money you'll actually receive in retirement is that balance minus whatever tax rate applies when you withdraw. Some planners argue you should discount the retirement balance by your expected tax rate to get a "true" net worth figure. The calculator shows the gross balance, which is the standard approach and the most useful for tracking direction over time.

Tracking it over time

Run this calculation quarterly, not daily. Daily changes in market value create noise without signal. Quarterly snapshots show trends. Year-over-year comparisons tell you whether the trajectory is working. A rising net worth with stagnant liquid assets is worth paying attention to. A falling net worth during a high-income year means something in the expense or debt picture needs a hard look.

All figures are self-reported estimates. No data is stored or transmitted — everything runs locally in your browser.