What Counts as an Asset?
Not everything you own belongs on the balance sheet. Here is the full inventory of what counts, how to value each category, and what to leave off.
Count cash, investments, retirement accounts, home equity, vehicles, business interests, and valuables at fair market value. Skip household goods, and never count future income or unvested promises. Conservative valuations beat optimistic ones.
Financial assets: the easy ones
Cash, checking, savings, CDs, brokerage accounts, 401(k)s, IRAs, HSAs, pensions with cash value, and life insurance cash value all count at statement value. These are liquid, verifiable, and unambiguous.
Include 529s and custodial accounts if they are truly yours to direct. Exclude unvested stock options and RSUs until they vest; a promise is not an asset.
Property: the judgment calls
Homes count at current market value minus estimated selling costs of 6 to 8 percent. Vehicles count at private-party resale value. Rental property counts at market value with its mortgage as a liability.
Business interests count at a conservative valuation, ideally what a buyer would actually pay, not a hopeful multiple. Collectibles, jewelry, and art count only if genuinely valuable and salable; be brutal here, since sentimental value is not market value.
What to leave off
Household goods, clothing, and electronics: their resale value is trivial and the inventory effort is not worth it. Future salary, future Social Security, and human capital: valuable in life, not assets on a balance sheet.
Leased cars and rented homes are not assets at all. Neither are timeshares in most cases, given their near-zero resale market. When in doubt, ask: could I sell it this month for a meaningful amount? No means leave it off.
Skip the arithmetic
Tally your assets with the free net worth calculator.
Asset questions
Is a 401(k) an asset?
Count the full vested balance. Early-withdrawal penalties reduce what you would net from cashing out young, but the account is still your asset. Employer matches that have vested count too.
Do credit card points count as assets?
Even 200,000 points are worth roughly $2,000 to $3,000, a rounding error on most balance sheets. Track them for travel hacking, not for net worth. The same goes for airline miles and cash-back balances.