Your bank balance only tells you part of the story. Net worth, what you own minus what you owe, is the one number that shows whether your money is actually moving in the right direction. This Google Sheets tracker takes a snapshot once a month and charts the trend. Setup takes about ten minutes, and updating it takes two.
Step 1: An accounts tab
Make a tab called Accounts with these headers in row 1:
| A: Account | B: Type | C: Category |
|---|---|---|
| Checking | Asset | Cash |
| High-yield savings | Asset | Cash |
| 401(k) | Asset | Retirement |
| Car | Asset | Property |
| Credit card | Debt | Credit |
| Student loan | Debt | Loan |
Select column B, go to Data > Data validation, choose Dropdown, and add the two options Asset and Debt. That keeps the math from breaking when someone types "asset " with a space.
Step 2: A monthly balances grid
Still on Accounts, put a month in each column starting at D1: 10/1/2026 in D1, then in E1 enter:
=EDATE(D1, 1)
Drag E1 to the right for as many months as you want. Format row 1 as Format > Number > Custom date and time and pick "Oct 2026" style so the headers stay short.
Once a month, type each account's current balance into that month's column. Enter debts as positive numbers (what you owe), since the formulas below subtract them for you.
Step 3: Totals for each month
Below your accounts, say in rows 10 to 12, add three labels in column A: Assets, Debts, Net worth. In D10:
=SUMIF($B$2:$B$8, "Asset", D2:D8)
In D11:
=SUMIF($B$2:$B$8, "Debt", D2:D8)
In D12:
=D10 - D11
Select D10:D12 and drag right across every month. The dollar signs keep the Type column locked while the balance column moves with each month.
Step 4: Month-over-month change
In row 13, label it Change. Leave D13 blank (there's no earlier month) and put this in E13:
=IF(COUNT(E2:E8)=0, "", E12 - D12)
Drag it right across the remaining months. It shows how much your net worth went up or down, and stays blank for months you haven't filled in yet. Add conditional formatting (Format > Conditional formatting, "Less than 0", red text) so a bad month jumps out.
Step 5: Debt-to-asset ratio
In row 14, label it Debt ratio, and in D14:
=IF(D10=0, "", D11 / D10)
Format it as a percent. Under 50% is a healthy place to be for most people; watching it fall month by month is surprisingly motivating.
Step 6: A growth chart
Select row 1 (the months) and row 12 (net worth) together by holding Ctrl or Cmd. Go to Insert > Chart, pick Line chart, and check "Use row 1 as headers" and "Switch rows / columns" if the chart looks sideways. Now you have a picture of your progress that updates every time you add a month.
Step 7: A quick breakdown by category
Make a small table somewhere to the right with your categories (Cash, Retirement, Property, Credit, Loan) and use:
=SUMIF($C$2:$C$8, H2, INDEX($D$2:$Z$8, 0, COUNTA($D$1:$Z$1)))
where H2 holds the category name. COUNTA finds the latest month you've filled in a header for, and INDEX grabs that column, so the breakdown always reflects your newest snapshot. Pop a pie chart on it for assets only.
Done
You now have a net worth tracker that totals assets and debts, shows the monthly change, tracks your debt ratio, and charts your progress over time.
If you'd rather start from a finished sheet, I make templates as Financely Templates (disclosure: these are my products):
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