Why is calculating your Net Worth important? How to do this.
Think of your net worth as a financial snapshot — it captures exactly where you stand at a single moment, smudges and all. By adding up what you own and subtracting what you owe, you get a clear, honest snapshot that goes way beyond your checking account balance (which, let's be real, can be misleadingly cheerful right after payday). Tracking this number regularly helps you spot trends, celebrate progress, catch ballooning debts before they become disasters, and make smarter decisions about saving, investing, and spending. It's the difference between vaguely hoping you're doing okay and actually knowing — and your future self will thank you for paying attention.
What's captured in the Net Worth feature?
If you've already connected your bank accounts, cards & Kiwisaver via Akahu this will be captured in your Net Worth Feature and automatically adjusted as the balances changes. There are a couple of investment platforms you can connect such as Kernel & Sharsies.
What other assets can I capture? See some examples below;
1) Add any asset you can't connect digitally ie; property, vehicles, jewelery, art, crypto, investment portfolios— if it's insured add it to your Net Worth.
2) Add any asset you don't want to connect digitally. This may be a business, term deposit, trust accounts or kids saving accounts. You may not want the full transaction history of the related bank accounts but you should include the approximate amount as a manual entry.
What other debts or liabilities can I capture? See some examples below;
1) Add any debt you can't connect digitally ie; car loan, personal loans from merchants that are not supported by Akahu, money borrowed from friends and/or family.
2) Add any liability you don't want to connect digitally. This may be a business loan, mortgage account that corresponds to an investment property. You may not want the full transaction history of the related bank accounts but you should include the approximate amount as a manual entry and to offset the corresponding asset.
How do I connect assets & liabilities manually?
1) Access Your Net Worth Feature
Located on the left hand task bar in " Net Worth"
2) Add Assets and Liabilities
a. Scroll down the page to the "Assets & Liabilities" section.
b. Select the "Add Asset or Liability" button to start adding your assets and liabilities manually.
c. Enter the details including the type of asset or liability, name and value. Click save.
3: Review and Update
a. Once you've added all your assets and liabilities, take a moment to review the information for accuracy.
b. You can easily update these detials at any time by selecting selecting the asset or liability and choosing the “$” icon to edit the current value or the "pencil" icon to edit the type or name of your asset or liability.
4) Review Your Net Worth
a. SortMe automatically calculates your net worth based on the total value of your assets minus your liabilities.
b. Scroll up to the top of the page and review the "Overview" section to view your current net worth displayed at the top of the page.
c. You can also track changes in your net worth over time using SortMe's ‘Net Worth Over Time’ graph.
