How to Calculate Your Net Worth
According to Bryan Hawker, calculating your net worth is pretty straight forward. It just takes a little bit of time and a note pad and calculator.
Step 1: Make a complete list of your assets and their values
Bryan Hawker outlines that the first step is making a full list of all assets including checking accounts, savings accounts, retirement savings, bonds, stock holdings, automobiles, home and other real estate holdings. You may also include other valuables which can be readily converted to cash such as gold, jewelry, valuable paintings, etc.
Some of your assets will have specific values such as savings accounts, retirement accounts etc. Other assets like you home or car will require you to make estimates. For your house you can utilize site like Zillow or Redfin to get a ballpark estimated value. For your vehicles you can use site like Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds to get a current estimated value. For all other assets you can determine a resale value by researching similar items on eBay or other classified sites.
Next Bryan Hawker suggest that you make a list on paper with a column heading of “ASSETS” on top. Below that list each asset on the left with its corresponding value on the right. Once you have included all of the assets you can think of write “TOTAL” at the bottom left and add these values up with a calculator and put that at the bottom right to get your final asset total.
Step 2: Make a complete list of your liabilities
Secondly Bryan Hawker states that you need to list all of your loans including auto loans, home loans, credit card balances and so on. Similar to the asset instructions, he recommends you create a DEBTS column with all of the debts on below that and balances on the right. Put the total at the bottom left and add all of the debts up and put that to the bottom right.
Step 3: Subtract
Finally, subtract your total debt from your total assets and this final number is your current net worth.
Calculating Net Worth Example
Look at this example on how to calculate net worth.
Example #1: William
William is 45 years old. He owns a home worth $350,000, and still owes $120,000 on his mortgage. His six-year-old truck is now worth around $8,500, but he has paid it off. William has $1,200 in credit card balances, $30,000 in his 401(k), approximately $4,500 in his savings account, and $15,000 remaining on his student loans.
ASSETS
- Home: $350,000
- Car: $8,500
- 401(k): $30,000
- Savings: $4,500
Total assets: $393,000
DEBTS
- Credit cards: $1,200
- Student loans: $15,000
- Mortgage: $120,000
Total debts: $136,200
WILLIAM’S NET WORTH: $393,000 – $136,200 = $256,800
Building a personal balance sheet
Start with assets and liabilities on a single date. Record bank and loan balances from statements and identify estimates for items such as property. Keeping the valuation date and source next to each figure makes it easier to update the sheet without confusing current balances with older estimates.
For example, if assets total $300,000 and liabilities total $180,000, net worth is $120,000. Paying down $5,000 of debt from newly earned income changes the balance sheet differently from paying it with $5,000 of existing savings. Track both sides so the change is clear.
Separating cash flow from net worth
Paying a loan with existing savings reduces cash and debt by the same amount before fees. The total net worth stays the same, even though the amount of cash available for an emergency falls.