Net worth vs savings rate
Net worth tells you where you are. Savings rate tells you how fast you are moving. Of the two, savings rate is the one you can change this month.
Two different questions
Net worth answers "where am I?". Savings rate answers "how fast am I moving?". A family with a modest net worth and a 30% savings rate is in a far better position than one with a large net worth and nothing left at the end of the month.
Calculating savings rate
Take what actually stayed — money invested, loan principal repaid, balance built — and divide it by take-home income. Loan principal counts; interest does not. Most households guess high before they measure it.
Which one to work on
Savings rate, always. It is the only one you can change this month, and net worth follows it eventually with no further instruction.
Where FamTally comes in
FamTally does this for you: every asset and loan in one place, tagged to the family member who holds it, valued at today's figures, with net worth tracked as a running number the whole family can see. Add the AI assistant and you can simply ask what changed and why. Free to use.
Stop doing this in a spreadsheet
FamTally keeps your loans, income, expenses, assets, insurance and goals in one place, forecasts five years ahead, and answers questions about your own numbers. Free, and built for Indian families.
Start freeQuestions people ask
Why does this matter for a family?
Because household money is held across several people and several instruments, and the only way to make a good decision is to see all of it at once.
How often should we review it?
Quarterly for the full picture, monthly for anything market-linked. More often than that is entertainment rather than planning.
Do we need an app for this?
A spreadsheet works if someone maintains it. An app helps when more than one person needs to see it, when live values matter, and when you want the history without keeping it by hand.