Your net worth number can tell you a lot. It is the number that shows you where you are on your financial path, and if you use it wisely, you can also use net worth as a compass to help you achieve larger financial goals. Homeownership is one of the greatest drivers of wealth-building – homeowners have 40 times the net worth of renters.

For aspiring homeowners looking to start their homeownership journey, understanding their net worth is the first step to understanding what their financial options are. And, for those further down their homeownership adventure, tracking their net worth can help them see how homeownership is affecting their financial well-being. 

How to Calculate Net Worth

Figuring out where your net worth is requires some simple math. You can follow along below to determine your current number, or you can use this net worth calculator.

You’ll take a sheet of paper and list out all your assets, combining their value. Assets include things like automobiles, 401(k)s, savings accounts, and even nice jewelry.

Then, in another list, identify all your debts. These are anything that you owe on – student loans, car payments, and credit card balances, for example.

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A modern farmhouse in Los Angeles, a Spanish-style home in Kensington and a midcentury-modern retreat in Palm Springs.

Recent residential sales in New York City and the region.

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A Los Angeles actor and producer moved across the pond to restore his crumbling ancestral home. But fixing up a 50,000-square-foot manor isn’t easy.

A new generation of apps is allowing homeowners to make extra money by renting out their pools, yards and living rooms for an hour at a time.

Many firms have long refused coverage or charge more for pit bulls and other dogs considered more dangerous, but New York and other states say policies shouldn’t be breed specific.

This week’s available properties are a four-bedroom, Victorian-era house in Maywood, N.J., and a four-bedroom Colonial in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.

This week’s available properties are on the Upper West Side, in Greenwich Village and in Park Slope.

Areas with homes that have pet-friendly features and are close to a dog park are in hot demand, a new analysis shows.

After six years in a dim Washington Heights rental, a couple of first-time buyers explored the prewar possibilities in Inwood and Spuyten Duyvil. Could they afford a second bedroom?

Those looking for a home outside the city praise the Westchester hamlet for its variety of housing and small-town feel.

Those looking for a home outside the city praise Chappaqua for its variety of housing and small-town feel.

The country home markets in South West England have benefited from a shift in what buyers want, though the region remains a relative bargain.

A 1908 riverfront estate in Ewing, a 1927 Spanish-style house in Los Angeles and an 1852 home in Essex.

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The growing sport has lured investors eager to cash in on its popularity, opening courts in former warehouses and vacant big-box stores, and adding food and other entertainment options.

The loft, in a former ironworks in Oakland, had a heavy-handed industrial vibe. She gave it a ‘spalike’ makeover that recalls the hotels of Sonoma County.

The loft, in a former ironworks in Oakland, had a heavy-handed industrial vibe. She gave it a ‘spalike’ makeover that recalls the hotels of Sonoma County.