Net Worth and Cash Flow
What you own minus what you owe, and what comes in minus what goes out each month. Rough numbers are fine; everything stays in this browser.
Net worth is everything you own (cash, investments, home, car) minus everything you owe (mortgage, loans, cards). Cash flow is your monthly take-home pay minus spending. Track both: net worth shows where you are, cash flow shows where you're heading, and together they show how many months your savings would last.
Net worth
What you own
Nothing yet.
What you owe
Nothing yet.
Monthly cash flow
Income and spending (monthly)
Nothing yet.
| Owns | $103,000 |
|---|---|
| Owes | $23,200 |
| Take-home | $5,600/mo |
| Net worth | $79,800 |
| Monthly surplus | $500 |
| Emergency runway | 2.3 months of essentials |
An invented household. Its $9,000 of cash covers under three months of essentials, so the dashboard's next step would be the high-interest card, then topping up the emergency fund.
Count the car at what it would sell for today, not what you paid; it's the asset that shrinks fastest.
What this means for you
- A negative net worth early in a career (student loans, a car) is common; the direction matters most.
- Your home counts as an asset, but only cash counts toward the emergency fund.