To track your net worth without linking your bank accounts, list everything you own, list everything you owe, subtract the second from the first, and save the result with a date. Do it once now, then repeat every quarter. It takes about an hour the first time and 10 to 20 minutes after that, and you never share a username or password with an aggregator.
What Net Worth Is (and Why Manual Tracking Works)
Net worth = assets − liabilities. Assets are what you own: cash, retirement accounts, brokerage holdings, home equity, a car. Liabilities are what you owe: mortgage, student loans, auto loans, credit card balances.
Net worth is a slow-moving number. Your 401(k) balance changes daily, but the question you’re answering (“am I building wealth?”) only needs a snapshot every three months. That’s why manual tracking works so well: you lose nothing by skipping the daily sync.
Since Mint shut down in 2024, many people moved to aggregators such as Empower that connect to your accounts through third-party data connections. Those tools are convenient, but they require sharing credentials or granting broad read access to every account you own. If that’s uncomfortable, a manual snapshot gets you the same insight.
Step 1: List Your Assets
Group them so the list is easy to update:
- Cash: checking, savings, high-yield accounts at Ally, Capital One, SoFi, or Discover
- Retirement: 401(k), 403(b), Traditional and Roth IRA at Fidelity, Vanguard, or Schwab
- Taxable investments: brokerage account, individual stocks, crypto (at today’s price)
- HSA: counts as an asset, and it often holds more than people expect
- Home: estimated market value
- Vehicles: private-party value, not the sticker price
- Other: money owed to you, valuables you could realistically sell
Step 2: Be Honest About Home and Car Values
Most errors in a net worth calculation come from these two lines.
- Home: use recent sales of similar homes nearby (Zillow, Redfin, or Realtor.com comps), then shave 3% to 5% for selling costs.
- Car: check Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds for the private-party price. A five-year-old sedan bought at $32,000 might be worth $17,000.
- Don’t count what you can’t sell. An unvested stock option or a pension you can’t withdraw from deserves a footnote, not a line in the total.
Step 3: List Your Liabilities
Use the current payoff balance, not the monthly payment:
- Mortgage balance (on your latest statement)
- Federal and private student loans, with the servicer balance
- Auto loans
- Credit card balances (statement balance plus new charges)
- Personal loans, medical debt, BNPL installments still unpaid (that “pay in 4” plan counts)
- Any 1040 balance due you haven’t paid
Step 4: Do the Math
A simple example for a 34-year-old couple in the Midwest:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Checking + high-yield savings | $18,000 |
| 401(k) and Roth IRA | $96,000 |
| Brokerage | $11,000 |
| HSA | $4,500 |
| Home (market value) | $310,000 |
| Cars | $19,000 |
| Total assets | $458,500 |
| Mortgage | −$238,000 |
| Student loans | −$21,000 |
| Auto loan | −$9,500 |
| Credit cards | −$2,400 |
| Total liabilities | −$270,900 |
| Net worth | $187,600 |
Also compute the liquid number: cash plus taxable investments, minus short-term debt. Here it is about $27,000, and that’s the figure that tells you whether you’re covered in an emergency. If it looks thin, check our guide on how much to keep in an emergency fund.
Step 5: Set a Quarterly Rhythm
Pick four dates: January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. Open your statements (or the apps themselves), update each line, and write down one number. Over a year you’ll see the real story:
- Contributions vs. market moves. If net worth rose $12,000 but you only contributed $4,000, the market did the rest. Don’t mistake luck for habit.
- Debt paydown. Every extra principal dollar shows up immediately.
- Home equity drift. Value changes shouldn’t change your behavior.
Why Year-End Is the Right Time
Late in the year, a few deadlines make a snapshot useful: 401(k) deferrals end on December 31, HSA and IRA contributions for the 2026 tax year can run until April 15, 2027, and open enrollment decisions affect next year’s cash flow. A fresh net worth number tells you how much room you really have. If a home purchase is part of the plan, pair it with your down payment savings plan.
Common Mistakes
- Counting a home at the Zillow “Zestimate” without checking comps. It can be off by 5% to 10%.
- Forgetting small debts, like store cards, medical bills on payment plans, or a loan from family.
- Ignoring taxes on retirement accounts. A $100,000 traditional 401(k) isn’t $100,000 after tax. Track it at full value, but know the caveat.
- Updating once and never again. A stale number is worse than none.
How Tefteri Fits In
Tefteri keeps your housing, vehicle, and personal accounts organized by domain on your iPhone, so your quarterly update is mostly typing a few balances. Everything stays on your device. There’s no bank linking, no credentials to hand over, and no third party seeing your balances. If you’re weighing the tradeoffs, our comparison of manual vs. automated expense tracking covers them in detail. Tefteri makes the manual route fast enough to actually stick.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate my net worth?
Add up all your assets (cash, investments, retirement accounts, home value, vehicles) and subtract all your liabilities (mortgage, loans, credit cards). The difference is your net worth.
Can I track net worth without connecting my bank?
Yes. A quarterly manual snapshot in a notebook, a spreadsheet, or a private on-device app gives you the same number, with no credentials shared.
What is a good net worth for my age?
It varies widely. The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances publishes median net worth by age group. Use it as context, not a score, and focus on whether your own number is rising.
Should I include my home in net worth?
Yes, as equity (value minus mortgage). Many people also track a second figure without the home, since you can’t spend your house.
How often should I update it?
Every three months is enough for most people. Monthly updates make sense if you’re paying down debt aggressively or your income varies.
Tefteri is a personal finance app for iPhone that helps you organize your accounts, debts, and spending by domain, keeping all of your financial data private on your device, with no bank linking required.
