Net worth: drag the debts
Drag the handle to set debts against a fixed pile of assets. The headline is net worth on that date. A mark sits at the assets line. Past it the remainder is negative. Two households can print the same remainder with very different debt shares, which this picture will not hide.
Net worth
$100,000
Debt share of assets
83.3%
Assets are a fixed $600,000. Past the assets mark the residual is negative. Illustrative arithmetic, not a score or advice.
Assets
$600,000, held still so only the debts move the remainder.
In short
- Drag the handle right to raise debts and cut net worth.
- Cross the assets mark for a negative remainder.
- Read debt as a share of assets as well as the dollar gap.
- Focus the handle and use the arrow keys to step the debts.
One subtraction, on one date
Count what a willing buyer would pay today. Subtract the balances that would clear the debts today. What net worth means is the long walk through which assets to count. The net worth calculator is the working tool.
The remainder is a stock, a photograph. Income is a flow. A large paycheck raises net worth only through the part that is not spent. Net worth is the one-sentence version.
The same remainder can hide a different sheet
Debt as a share of assets is the split this picture prints next to the remainder. A 10 percent fall in asset values does not move the debt, so the more borrowed sheet takes a larger cut to the residual. How leverage ratio works is that amplification as its whole job.
A negative figure is timing
Student debt against a thin asset pile is the usual starting point after borrowing to study. The sign is not a verdict. The slope is. Payments that crowd out saving are a different ratio, on the debt-to-income explorer. Equity on a company balance sheet is the same residual with different labels.
Common questions
Should I count my house?
Count it at what comparable homes nearby sold for, and the mortgage at its payoff balance. Then keep a second line that drops both, because a home you live in cannot be spent without buying or renting another one.
Is a negative net worth a crisis?
Not by itself. It is the usual starting point after borrowing for study or a car. Watch whether the figure is rising each quarter, and whether high-rate debt is still growing.
What should my net worth be?
This picture will not say. It is assets minus debts on a teaching sheet. It is educational material, not advice.
Keep reading
This page is educational material, not financial advice. The figures come from the formula shown and assume the inputs you enter hold for the whole term. Your own rate, fees, taxes and timing will differ, so treat the output as arithmetic to check a decision against, not as a recommendation.