How to Track Your Net Worth in Singapore

Why Net Worth Is the Right Number to Track

Income tells you about cash flow. Net worth tells you about financial position. Two people earning identical salaries can have dramatically different net worths based on spending, saving, and investing habits.

Tracking net worth monthly gives you:

A single number that captures your entire financial position
Visibility into whether savings and investments are growing faster than liabilities
A compounding feedback loop — watching it grow motivates continued good behaviour

Net Worth Formula

Net Worth = Total Assets − Total Liabilities

A positive and growing net worth means you are building wealth. Flat or declining net worth means consumption is outpacing savings.

Singapore Assets: What to Include

Liquid assets (accessible cash)

DBS/OCBC/UOB savings accounts
High-interest savings accounts (DBS Multiplier, OCBC 360, UOB One)
Cash
Fixed deposits (note the maturity date and penalty for early withdrawal)

Investment assets

SGX brokerage portfolio (POEMS, Tiger Brokers, moomoo, IBKR): Use current market value
Unit trusts and RSP balances
SRS account balance (include current investment value)
Singapore Savings Bonds (redeemable with one month notice)

CPF balances (illiquid — track but note restriction)

Ordinary Account (OA): Current balance from CPF.gov.sg
Special Account (SA): Current balance
MediSave Account (MA): Current balance
Retirement Account (RA): Formed at 55 from OA+SA; balance after formation

CPF is real wealth — include it. But note that OA/SA/MA have restricted uses and RA is locked for CPF LIFE payouts. Consider tracking CPF separately as "restricted" assets.

Property (if owner-occupied HDB or private)

HDB: Use recent comparable sales via HDB Resale Portal or SRX.com.sg for current market valuation
Private: SRX, PropertyGuru recent transactions in your development or comparable ones
Include the property's current market value as an asset; subtract the remaining mortgage as a liability

Vehicles (if applicable)

Singapore car value depreciates rapidly (COE-linked). Use sgCarMart or CarousellistOS for current market estimates — but be aware cars in Singapore are wasting assets.

Singapore Liabilities: What to Include

HDB loan balance: Check via HDB website → My Flat Details, or bank loan statement
Private property mortgage balance: Bank loan statement
Car loan balance: Monthly statement
Personal loans and revolving credit: DBS/OCBC/UOB loan balances
Credit card outstanding balance: Full statement balance (not minimum)
Education loan: If outstanding
Tax liability: Estimated income tax due if not yet paid (relevant for those not on monthly GIRO)

CPF in Net Worth: The Singapore-Specific Complexity

For most Singaporeans in their 30s-50s, CPF is the largest financial asset — sometimes larger than the equity in their HDB flat. Excluding it understates net worth significantly.

Best practice: track total net worth (including CPF) and accessible net worth (excluding CPF) separately.

Total net worth: CPF included — your full financial picture
Accessible net worth: Cash + investments + property equity − all liabilities — what you could mobilise quickly

Check all CPF balances at my.cpf.gov.sg or via the CPF mobile app. The dashboard shows OA, SA, MA, RA balances and interest credited.

Estimating HDB Property Value

HDB resale flat values:

HDB Resale Portal (hdb.gov.sg): View recent transacted prices by town, flat type, and floor range
SRX.com.sg: Automated valuation estimates for HDB flats based on recent transactions
PropertyGuru: Market listing prices (asking, not transacted — treat as ceiling)

Update annually. Use a slightly conservative estimate (midpoint of recent comparables rather than the top transaction).

Tracking Tools for Singaporeans

Manual: Google Sheets Most control, free, permanent record. Set up one tab per month. 20-30 minutes per update.

Seedly Personal Finance Singapore-focused app with bank account linking and investment tracking. Free. Popular in Singapore.

DBS NAV Planner DBS's built-in financial planning tool. Aggregates DBS accounts and some external data. Good for DBS users.

Money Smart Singapore Comparison site with budget tools (less sophisticated as a tracker).

Syfe Wealth If investing via Syfe, their dashboard shows portfolio value over time.

Monthly Tracking Process

Schedule a recurring calendar reminder — the same date each month:

Log in to CPF website → record all account balances
Check investment portfolio values (brokerage, RSP, SRS)
Record savings and bank account balances
Check property estimated value (quarterly update is sufficient)
Record outstanding liabilities: mortgage, car, credit card, loans
Calculate: Total Assets − Total Liabilities = Net Worth
Record in your spreadsheet and compare to prior month

Total time: 15-25 minutes.

Singapore Net Worth Benchmarks

Broad guides (not prescriptive):

Age	Approximate Target Net Worth
25	0.5x gross annual salary
30	1.0x gross annual salary
35	2.0x gross annual salary
40	3.5x gross annual salary
45	5.0x gross annual salary
50	6.5x gross annual salary

Singapore's CPF structure means real net worth for employed residents is often higher than perceived, because CPF balances are easy to overlook. Always include CPF in your full calculation.

SDIC Insurance Coverage

Singapore's Deposit Insurance Scheme (administered by SDIC) insures deposits up to SGD $75,000 per depositor per member bank or finance company. For net worth tracking purposes, cash holdings above $75,000 at a single institution are at risk (in the very unlikely event of institutional failure). Distribute large cash holdings across multiple institutions as appropriate.

The Compounding Insight Net Worth Tracking Reveals

Most people experience the inflection point of compounding 8-12 years into consistent saving and investing. In early years, your monthly savings contributions are the primary driver of net worth growth. Later, investment returns start to match, then exceed, what your paycheck contributes. This is the moment compound interest visibly takes over. Tracking monthly lets you see this shift when it happens.

For Singaporeans, CPF interest (compounding at 2.5-4% guaranteed, credited monthly) provides a structural base contribution to this effect. The combination of CPF and external investing is why Singapore residents, if they engage with the system, have among the best retirement readiness outcomes in Asia.