About the calculations

Methodology and assumptions

Last updated: September 16, 2026 · Maintained by NetWorthView

Net Worth View is a personal record-keeping and scenario-planning tool. This page explains what its headline figures mean, how currencies are converted, and the simplifying assumptions behind its projections.

Net worth

Net worth = included assets − included liabilities

For each dated snapshot, the app adds the converted balances of cash, investments, property, pensions and any other asset accounts, then subtracts converted liability balances. Liability balances are entered as positive amounts but treated as debt in every total. The calculation scope controls can exclude property, pensions or liabilities from the displayed totals and charts without deleting the underlying balances.

Changes between snapshots are simple differences in recorded net worth. Year-over-year compares the latest snapshot with the available snapshot closest to one year earlier. Annualised growth is a compound annual growth rate and is shown only when the start and end values are positive and at least roughly six months apart.

See the worked net worth example for a EUR/USD conversion and a mortgage, or use the net worth tracker.

Cash flow and savings rate

Savings rate = (income − expenses) ÷ income × 100

Income and expenses are summed across the selected reporting period after currency conversion. The savings rate is not shown when recorded income is zero. Investment contributions are treated as transfers into assets rather than expenses, so they do not reduce the savings rate. Cash retained is income minus expenses minus investment contributions.

These figures describe only the entries recorded in the app. They do not infer tax, payroll deductions, missing months or transactions held in a bank account but not entered by the user.

Recurring templates are added to a month or year explicitly. They do not post automatically. The projection can suggest your average recorded monthly savings as an investment contribution; applying that suggestion copies a value and does not establish automatic syncing.

See the worked savings rate example or use the cash flow tracker.

Currency-rate sources and historical conversion

Exchange rates come from the open-source Currency Exchange Rates API maintained by fawazahmed0 and delivered through the jsDelivr content delivery network. Rates are expressed through USD as a common pivot. The latest table is cached locally and normally refreshed after 12 hours.

When a snapshot is added or edited, the app attempts to save the rate table for that snapshot date. Cash-flow entries are monthly, so the first day of their month is used as the representative rate date. Saved historical rates remain attached to the record so past totals do not drift when current exchange rates change.

If a historical rate is unavailable, the app falls back to the latest available rate. If neither side of a conversion has a usable rate, the numerical amount is left unchanged. Multi-currency totals should therefore be treated as estimates, particularly for unsupported codes or records imported without captured historical rates.

Projection formula

A projection begins with the latest net-worth snapshot. For each future year, each asset class is compounded by the constant annual growth rate selected by the user. Recurring additions are then applied. Annual additions are treated as year-end amounts; monthly additions receive approximately half a year of growth to represent payments spread across the year. Liabilities accrue the selected annual interest rate before the scheduled repayment is applied toward zero.

A pension can continue compounding before its access year but is excluded from accessible net worth and FIRE-target progress until that year. Property may be included in projected net worth but is never treated as a liquid source for drawdown.

Contribution end years are independent of the drawdown start. A contribution continues during drawdown unless its own end year stops it. Review each class separately.

See the worked pension bridge scenario or use the FIRE projection calculator.

Inflation, targets and drawdown

Real value in year n = nominal value ÷ (1 + inflation rate)ⁿ

The real projection line discounts nominal balances into today’s money using the single annual inflation rate selected by the user. A nominal target remains a fixed future amount. A real target represents today’s purchasing power, so its required nominal value rises with inflation. Target progress uses the selected net-worth scope, including property if enabled. Reaching a target does not establish that planned withdrawals are sustainable. When inflation adjustment for recurring amounts is enabled, additions and planned drawdown also rise to preserve their approximate real value.

Drawdown starts with the selected percentage of accessible cash, investments and any accessible pension. It waits if no liquid assets are available, excludes property, and withdraws proportionally from the available liquid classes. The optional pension-access rebase recalculates the annual amount when the pension becomes accessible.

Projection limitations

Projections are deterministic scenarios, not forecasts or simulations. They assume constant annual growth, inflation and debt rates and do not model market volatility, sequence-of-returns risk, taxes, fees, account limits, unexpected investment losses, property costs, transaction timing beyond the approximations above, or changes in law and personal circumstances. Small differences may also result from rounding displayed figures.

Privacy architecture

Financial data is stored in this browser using IndexedDB with a local browser-storage mirror. There is no Net Worth View account and the figures entered into the app are not intentionally uploaded to a Net Worth View server. Backup and CSV files are created locally when the user explicitly exports them.

The browser separately requests public exchange-rate files. Limited cookieless analytics may receive ordinary connection and page information; cookie-backed analytics and advertising load only under the choices described in the Privacy Policy. Financial figures are not intentionally sent to analytics or advertising services. Browser storage can still be cleared by the user, browser or device, so regular exported backups are recommended.

Creator and maintenance

Net Worth View is an independent project created and maintained by NetWorthView. This page describes the implementation, not a professional review of an individual financial plan. Use Contact us below to report a calculation error, suggest a correction or ask a technical question.

The fixed worked examples use the same calculation functions as the app. Automated checks cover currency conversion, savings totals, pension access, contribution end years, inflation and drawdown. Tests check implementation behavior; they do not validate future returns or a retirement strategy.

Example accounts, balances and exchange rates are fictional. The interactive demo shifts their dates and adapts their home currency for exploration; the fixed worked examples retain their stated dates and units.

Documentation and calculation tests should be reviewed together when a formula or assumption changes. The update date above records changes to this page, not a claim of independent certification.