Guide
How to calculate net worth
Net worth is assets minus liabilities. Add what you own, subtract what you owe, and keep each account in the currency it actually sits in. One snapshot is a curiosity. The same formula next month is the habit.
Last reviewed October 20, 2026 by Francis Eshun, Founder of Iron Wealth. He built the on-device tracker these pages describe. Iron Labs.
What is the formula?
Assets add. Liabilities subtract. Checking, savings, investments, cash, and crypto are assets. Credit cards and loans are liabilities. A house can count if you would treat it as wealth you could sell. If you would never sell the car, you can still log it and watch the loan separately. Honesty beats a flattering number.
What does a worked example look like?
Say you hold 12,000 GHS in a mobile wallet, 4,500 USD in savings, and an 8,000 GHS credit card. Use an example rate of 15 GHS per USD, labeled as an example, not today’s rate. The dollars are 4,500 × 15 = 67,500 GHS. Net worth is 12,000 + 67,500 − 8,000 = 71,500 GHS. Change the rate and the headline changes even if you spent nothing.
Why does a weekend spreadsheet go stale?
Most people calculate net worth in a sheet, then ignore the rates and the credit-card tab until Sunday night. The cell is only as fresh as the last paste. The same six account types can live in one figure you update when a balance changes, with a history so the habit has a place to live.
How do multiple currencies change the math?
If you hold GHS, NGN, USD, or EUR in different wallets, converting everything by hand is where the sheet breaks. Keep each account in its native currency, then convert into one display currency with the rate you trust that day. Do not pretend every balance is dollars.
Where do mobile money wallets fit?
An MTN MoMo, M-Pesa, or OPay balance is cash you own, so it is an asset in its own currency. Treat each wallet as its own account rather than folding it into a bank line. On Android, Iron Wealth can log payments from those wallets as they arrive, which keeps the wallet balance close to the real one between monthly checks.
What mistakes skew the number?
Counting a transfer between your own accounts twice. Leaving a small wallet out because it feels like spending money. Using a different rate for assets and debts. Counting a car loan but not the car, or the reverse. Each one makes the headline wrong in a way that compounds month to month.
Questions
- Does net worth include my house?
- It can. Count the market value as an asset and the mortgage as a liability. Iron Wealth lets you log both. Educational only; this is not a valuation service.
- Do mobile money balances count toward net worth?
- Yes. A MoMo, M-Pesa, or OPay balance is an asset in its own currency, the same as a bank balance.
- Do I need to connect my bank to calculate net worth?
- No. Write balances down or log them in Iron Wealth. On Android, payment alerts from the wallets and banks you choose can log transactions for you. Bank login is not required.
- How often should I recalculate?
- Monthly is enough for most people. Recalculate after a large transfer, a new loan, or a move between currencies.
Calculate once by hand if you want the intuition. Then track the same number on iOS or Android without rebuilding the sheet.
