What is net worth? How to work out your family’s net worth
One number that tells you what the family really owns once every debt is taken away.
Short answer
Net worth = total assets − total debts. A family with a VND 3.00 billion flat, VND 300 million in savings and VND 150 million in stocks, owing VND 1.20 billion on the home loan and VND 20 million on a credit card, has a net worth of VND 2.23 billion.
This article is for general information, not financial, investment or legal advice. All figures are rounded illustrations; your situation may differ.
List everything
Assets are anything that can be turned into money: homes, land, gold, savings, stocks, funds, foreign currency, the cash value of insurance. Debts are home and car loans, consumer loans, credit card balances and money borrowed from relatives.
Use today’s value, not the purchase price. For property, use what you believe it would sell for — a little caution is better.
An illustration
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Flat | VND 3.00 billion |
| Savings | VND 300 million |
| Stocks | VND 150 million |
| Total assets | VND 3.45 billion |
| Home loan | −VND 1.20 billion |
| Credit card | −VND 20 million |
| Net worth | VND 2.23 billion |
How much of your assets is owed
In the example, debts come to about 35.4% of total assets. It shows how much of what the family holds is propped up by borrowing — the same net worth with less debt is sturdier when something goes wrong.
Track it monthly, not to the last dong
One reading is just a snapshot. Writing it down every month shows the trend: is the family getting ahead or falling behind, and which items move it.
Work it out for your own situation
In Verdant you enter your own family’s numbers and see the result update right away.