The formula
Net worth = total assets − total liabilities. Assets are anything with a realisable value you control. Liabilities are outstanding principal on loans and other debts, not the EMI amount.
Use current market value for investments and a conservative estimate for property. Do not count salary, or the face value of insurance unless it has a surrender value you would actually take.
If you want to see the formula with numbers, use the net worth calculator on CapitalMap. It starts with an example Indian household so you can change cash, EPF, gold, property, and loans and watch net worth update.
Indian assets to include
Cash and bank balances, fixed deposits, recurring deposits, PPF, EPF, NPS, mutual funds (current NAV value), stocks, bonds, SGB, physical and digital gold, and real estate equity (market value minus is not needed if the loan sits on the liability side).
EPF and PPF often dwarf early-career equity. Leaving them out understates net worth and makes monthly “growth” look more volatile than it is.
Liabilities to subtract
Home loan outstanding, car and two-wheeler loans, education and personal loans, credit-card balances, and informal borrowings. Track principal remaining, not the original sanctioned amount.
A home loan does not make you “poor” if the property value is higher — but you must list both sides or the number is fiction.
How often to update
Once a month is enough for most households. Daily NAV noise is not useful. Pick a date (for example the last weekend) and snapshot cash, investments, gold, and loan statements.
Store those snapshots in a sheet you own so you can see the trend, not just this month’s total. CapitalMap writes those records to a Google Spreadsheet Vault you control. The calculator on the net worth tracker page is for trying the formula; the tracker is for saving the real list.