Total assets minus total liabilities. The single best snapshot of financial health.
Net worth = total assets minus total liabilities. It's the single best snapshot of overall financial health, capturing everything you own less everything you owe.
Net worth doesn't care about your income, lifestyle, or job title. It only measures stored wealth — which is what funds retirement, weathers crises, and creates options.
Assets: cash and equivalents, investments (stocks, ETFs, REITs, bonds), CPF balances (OA + SA + MA + RA), SRS, property at current market value, vehicles at depreciated value (or zero, conservatively), high-value personal property.
Liabilities: mortgage outstanding, car loans, personal loans, credit card balances, student loans, education loan, family loans owed.
Excluded for clarity: fluctuating items like unrealised stock options before vesting, future inheritance, or pension benefits not yet accrued.
CPF: count all four accounts at their current balances. They're real money, illiquid until specific events.
HDB flat: use current valuation, not purchase price. Many flat owners with bought-cheap legacy units have hundreds of thousands of dollars in latent appreciation.
Mortgage: include both the outstanding principal AND the implied future interest if you're modelling cost. For net worth, only the principal balance.
Insurance cash value: include the surrender value of whole-life and endowment policies. Don't include the death benefit — that's not yours to spend.
Age 30: aim for ~1× annual gross income in net worth.
Age 40: ~3× annual gross income.
Age 50: ~6× annual gross income.
Age 60: ~8× to 10×.
Above 1× annual expenses × 25 is FIRE territory regardless of age.
Track quarterly, not daily. Net worth is a long-game metric — short-term volatility (especially with stocks and property) creates more anxiety than insight.
Cash and savings, investments (stocks, ETFs, REITs, unit trusts), CPF balances (OA + SA + MA + RA combined), SRS, property at current market value, vehicles at depreciated value (or zero), cash surrender value of whole-life policies, and high-value personal property. Use market values, not purchase prices.
Yes. CPF balances are real assets — they're illiquid, but they're yours and they earn interest. They count toward total wealth and toward retirement planning. Exclude them and you'll understate your true financial position by a wide margin.
A common benchmark is 1× your annual gross income at 30, 3× at 40, 6× at 50, 8× – 10× at 60. These are rough guides — Singapore-specific factors like high property concentration, CPF, and education debt mean your trajectory may deviate.
Yes, at current market value (use HDB / SRX valuation tools or recent transaction prices in your block). Subtract the outstanding mortgage. Be aware that home equity is illiquid and lifestyle-essential — useful to track but not 'available' for spending the way investments are.