Net Worth Tracker
Log monthly assets and liabilities to chart your net worth over time.
Overview
The Net Worth Tracker captures a once-a-month snapshot of every asset and every liability you have, then charts the difference over time. Assets cover cash, bank balances, brokerage holdings, retirement accounts, property, vehicles, and any other store of value; liabilities cover mortgages, student loans, credit card balances, car loans, and other debts. Subtract one from the other on the same day and you have your net worth, the cleanest single number for whether your finances are heading in the right direction.
Monthly cadence is the right cadence. Daily tracking turns into noise as markets and balances bounce around; quarterly is too rare to catch course-correction opportunities. A first-of-the-month entry gives you twelve data points a year, which is enough to see trends without obsessing over short-term swings.
How it works
Each snapshot stores a date and a set of asset rows and liability rows, each with a label and a value. The tracker totals assets and liabilities separately, computes net worth as the difference, and plots the history so growth (or stagnation) becomes visible. You can add as many line items as you want per snapshot; consistency month over month is more valuable than granularity.
There is no live valuation. You enter the current value of each holding from your bank, broker, or property estimate at the time you take the snapshot, which keeps the data deterministic and the chart honest.
Examples
- Take a first-of-the-month snapshot listing chequing, savings, 401(k), Roth IRA, taxable brokerage, and home equity on the asset side, with mortgage, car loan, and credit cards on the liability side.
- Add a property line for the current Zillow or comparable-sale estimate of your home, refreshed annually rather than monthly to avoid noise.
- Track a student-loan paydown by watching the liability shrink each month while the chequing balance stays flat, confirming the strategy is working.
- Note a big asset purchase (car, appliance) by adding it on the asset side and the financing on the liability side so the net change reflects reality.
FAQ
How often should I update it?
Once a month, on the same day each month (such as the first or the last) so snapshots are directly comparable.
Should I include my house?
Most people do, valued at a conservative estimate of what it would sell for net of selling costs. Pair it with the mortgage on the liability side.
What about depreciating assets like cars?
Include them at current resale value if they are material to your net worth. For low-value items it is fine to leave them out.
Does it pull values from my bank or broker?
No. You enter each value manually at snapshot time, which keeps the data under your control and free of any data-feed dependency.
Will net worth always go up?
No. Bad market months, big purchases, and one-off expenses can dip the line. The chart's purpose is to show the trend over years, not month-to-month.