What is my net worth?

What your net worth actually is — and how to work it out

Net worth sounds like a verdict. It isn’t — it’s just arithmetic: everything you own, minus everything you owe. One number, at one moment in time.

It isn’t your salary and it isn’t a score. Below is exactly how to work yours out, what actually counts, and what to do with the number once you have it.

Last updated 23 July 2026

The formula

Net worth = assets − liabilities. That’s the whole calculation.

An asset is anything of value you own. A liability is anything you owe. Subtract one from the other and you have a single, honest snapshot of where you stand today.

What counts as an asset

Add up the current value of everything you hold:

Cash and savings — current accounts, savings accounts, cash ISAs, premium bonds
Investments — stocks and shares ISAs, general investment accounts, shares held directly
Pensions — the current transfer or fund value of workplace and personal pensions
Property equity — your home’s market value minus whatever’s left on the mortgage, not the property’s full value
Anything else genuinely sellable — a second property, a share in a business, or other significant assets

What counts as a liability

Then add up what you owe:

Your outstanding mortgage balance
Personal loans and car finance
Credit card balances you’re carrying, not just this month’s spend
Student loan balances — Plan 1, 2, 4 or 5, even though they behave more like a graduate tax than a conventional loan
Anything else you owe — to family, a former partner, or on a payment plan

A worked example

Say you hold £8,000 in cash, £15,000 in a stocks and shares ISA, and £60,000 in your pension. Your flat is worth £280,000 and you owe £190,000 on the mortgage — so your equity in it is £90,000.

Assets: £8,000 + £15,000 + £60,000 + £90,000 = £173,000.

Now subtract what you owe: a £4,000 car loan and a £2,000 credit card balance still carried over — £6,000 in liabilities.

£173,000 − £6,000 = £167,000 net worth. That’s the whole exercise — a handful of numbers in, one number out.

The mistakes that throw the number off

Using your property’s full value instead of your equity in it — the mortgage is a liability, not something to ignore
Leaving out your pension because it doesn’t feel like money you can touch yet — it’s still yours, and usually one of the largest numbers on the list
Only counting cash — for most people it’s the smallest part of the picture, not the whole thing
Missing debts that don’t come with a monthly reminder, like an old student loan or money owed to family

Why it matters more than your salary

Income tells you what’s coming in. Net worth tells you what you’ve actually kept — the gap between the two is everything you’ve saved, invested, or paid off.

It’s also the only number that captures your whole financial life at once: what’s in the bank, what’s growing in a pension, and what’s tied up in property, all together.

Frequently asked questions

Is net worth the same as my savings?

No — savings are just one line in the calculation. Net worth adds your pension, investments and property equity too, and subtracts what you owe. For most people it ends up a much bigger, and more complete, number than savings alone.

Should I include my pension?

Yes. It’s your money, even though you can’t access most of it until later in life. Leaving it out understates your position significantly — for many people it’s the single largest asset they hold.

Does my car count?

Only if you’re being precise about it, and most people don’t bother. A car loses value quickly and, unlike a house or a pension, isn’t really doing anything for your long-term position. It’s fine to leave everyday possessions out altogether.

What’s a good net worth for my age?

There isn’t one — that’s a comparison, not a calculation. Your number depends on your income, your choices, your city, and plenty you can’t control. What’s actually useful is knowing your own number today and watching where it’s heading, which is exactly what the calculator below does.

How often should I recalculate it?

Once or twice a year is plenty for most people. Net worth moves slowly, and checking daily mostly adds noise — especially for the part held in investments, which will rise and fall with the market regardless of anything you do.

Where this comes from

This guide is written and maintained by The Wodge. Nothing here is personalised financial advice — it's a plain explanation of a calculation anyone can do themselves.

The forecast tool linked below uses the exact same assumptions and formulas on every page, all stated openly on our methodology page. If you'd rather see your numbers than type them into a search box, that's what it's for — and you can read how we handle your data on the security page.