Net Worth Is Invisible: Why Real Wealth Isn’t What You Spend
You drive through a beautiful neighborhood with picturesque homes.
You jump on social media and your former classmate is overseas… again? Didn’t they just get back from a cruise?
Your kids announce another Cybertruck on the highway.
You’re tempted to say stuff like
“They’re filthy rich”
“WTH do these people do for a living?”
“I bet they’re millionaires.”
“Must be nice.”
“I wonder what they do for a living!”
Isn’t it easy to assume they’re wealthy? I know because I do it! We can barely help it.
But the more I learn about real people’s real numbers, the more obvious it becomes: we can’t know someone’s money situation by what they spend.
There’s a handy term that I learned when I started studying personal finance: net worth.
Your net worth is the total monetary value of everything you own minus the total of what you owe.
Net worth is a number that’s a snapshot of a moment in time (the moment you calculate it).
Your net worth number is a snapshot of a moment in time.
A net worth number certainly doesn’t tell you everything about someone’s situation. In fact, it doesn’t tell a story at all. It’s just a number.
But a net worth number is an important piece of the puzzle. It’s essential for clearing the confusion about how anyone’s doing financially.
And here’s the tricky thing: net worth is INVISIBLE. When we make snap judgments based on material possessions, we’re missing too many facts.
What if they’re house sitting? In our early 20’s, my husband and I house sat for a college professor for several months. The suburban luxuries we enjoyed said nothing about our own net worth!
Growing wealth is less about what you spend. It’s more about what you keep. What if behind the car you didn’t see growing bank accounts but bills draining someone’s net worth? (Destiny’s Child didn’t say “automo’ bills” for nothing.)
Who Looks Rich?
Appearances are deceiving. Financial wellness isn’t an image. Being strong with money isn’t consumerism.
Your 2nd cousin might show up to the family reunion with the outward trappings of wealth, making you question whether you’ve done anything with your life. But who’s to say she’s not privately juggling credit card debt, a high car payment, and little to no savings?
Meanwhile, that neighbor driving a used car and shopping at Aldi might quietly siphon a percentage of their income toward investments that have grown exponentially. The stealthy wealthy live among us, not necessarily grabbing our attention, defying stereotypes.
Wealth isn’t about what you show; it’s about what you grow.
What Net Worth Really Measures
Net worth is simple:
What I own minus what I owe = My net worth
When you subtract what you owe from what you own, you get a number. That number is your net worth.
Here’s what’s important: net worth is a snapshot of part of your financial picture, not a reflection of your character. It doesn’t mean you’re “good” or “bad” with money. It’s a number. Everyone has one. It doesn’t tell a story. But it can give you clarity about where you stand today.
Why Invisibility Is Empowering
Because net worth is invisible, you don’t have to play the comparison game. No one knows your number, and you probably don’t know theirs. You can’t look it up on the county auditor’s website.
That means you can stop worrying about appearances and focus on what really matters. Just like you learn to care for a young tree in your backyard, you can learn to take good care of your money. You can understand your money as a means to an end. You can learn to use money as a tool to strengthen what gives your life meaning.
Calculating Your Invisible Number
Learning to calculate your net worth is like learning to take your temperature when you feel sick, instead of just asking, “How do I look?”
To calculate your own net worth, add up the monetary value of what you have:
Bank accounts, investments, valuables, vehicles, etc.
Not the purchase price you paid, but what you could sell it for today
Rough estimates are fine. No need to itemize every trinket.
Get a “close enough” number
Subtract from that number the total of your debts (not the monthly repayment amount, but the total you owe altogether). Voila!
The net worth number might be positive, negative, or zero. What matters is that you know it’s a thing, you know how to calculate it, and now you know what yours is.
Any given net worth number is just a snapshot. Just like stepping on the scale or taking your temperature, if you calculate your net worth repeatedly over time, you’ll learn more about your financial health than if you do it just once.
The Bottom Line
You can see what people wear or drive, but you can’t see their net worth.
Net worth is invisible. It’s a snapshot of a moment in time. It’s a number. Everyone has one. You do, too! When you calculate your net worth, you practice a skill used by those who take good care of their money.
