Net worth is the single best snapshot of financial health — and tracking its trend matters more than the number. This skill turns someone's assets and debts into a clean net-worth statement, with a few useful ratios and a simple way to track it over time. Educational, not personalized financial advice.
Required Inputs
Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:
- Assets — cash/savings, investment & retirement accounts, property, vehicles, other valuables (current values).
- Liabilities — mortgage, car loans, student loans, credit cards, other debts (current balances).
- Context (optional) — age/stage and goal, so the read is meaningful.
Output Format
Net worth — [name] · as of [date]
Assets
| Asset | Type (liquid / invested / fixed) | Value |
|---|---|---|
| $ | ||
| Total assets | $ |
Liabilities
| Liability | Balance | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $ | % | |
| Total liabilities | $ |
Net worth: $X (assets − liabilities)
Quick ratios
- Liquid assets: $X (≈ N months of expenses, if known) — emergency-fund read.
- Debt-to-asset ratio: X% — lower is stronger.
- Liquid vs. fixed vs. invested split — is wealth accessible or locked up?
Read — one honest paragraph: what's strong, what's the biggest risk (e.g. concentration in one asset, high-rate debt, thin liquidity).
Tracking — record net worth monthly or quarterly; what to watch is the trend line, not any single month. A simple table to copy forward:
| Date | Assets | Liabilities | Net worth |
|---|
Quality Checks
- Assets and liabilities are itemized and totaled; net worth = assets − liabilities
- Assets are tagged liquid / invested / fixed so accessibility is visible
- At least the debt-to-asset and liquidity reads are included
- The "read" names the single biggest strength and risk honestly
- A repeatable tracking cadence/table is provided
Anti-Patterns
- Do not inflate asset values — use realistic current/market values, not purchase prices
- Do not omit liabilities or net them silently — show both sides
- Do not present a one-time number as the goal — emphasize the trend
- Do not ignore liquidity — high net worth that's all illiquid is a real risk worth flagging
- Do not present this as personalized financial advice
Based On
Personal-finance net-worth accounting (assets − liabilities, liquidity & debt ratios, trend tracking).