Net worth
Everything you own minus everything you owe. It’s the best single number to track your progress over time.
The 2026 numbers
- 2.1%
- Yearly rise in a home’s value, Huard & Co default
Numbers checked against the official sources on September 28, 2026.
What it’s for
- Seeing whether you’re moving forward, even as your pay and spending change.
- Comparing choices: paying down debt raises your net worth as much as saving the same amount.
Who it’s for
- Everyone, even if it starts out negative, for example with student loans: the trend is what counts.
How it works
Assets: your accounts and investments (, , savings), your home, the value of a pension plan if you have one.
Liabilities: mortgage, car and student loans, lines of credit, credit cards.
Measure it on a fixed date, for example every January 1 or every quarter.
To be prudent, Huard & Co grows a home’s value at the rate of inflation (2.1%), with no real gain.
An example
A couple who just bought a home
Their balance sheet on January 1.
- Accounts and investments
- $20,000
- Home
- $400,000
- Mortgage
- −$320,000
- Car loan
- −$10,000
- Credit card
- −$2,000
- Net worth
- $88,000
A car loses value every year: it’s deliberately left out here, but not its loan.
Fictional example, round numbers.
Common mistakes
- Counting your home at your dream price instead of a prudent estimate.
- Forgetting small debts: cards and lines of credit.
- Checking it every day: it moves with markets, the trend over years is what counts.
- Forgetting your RRSP will be taxed when you withdraw: part of that amount will go to tax.
In Huard & Co
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General information to help you understand, not personalized advice. Rules change: every number links to its official source.