Americans say this net worth would make them 'financially comfortable'—but that metric is often 'misleading,' money expert says

CNBC

19-07-2025

What would it take for you to feel financially comfortable?
For most of the people who work with Joy Slabaugh, a certified financial planner, licensed therapist and founder of Wealth Alignment Institute, the answer is the same.
"It's always a little bit more than what they have," she says. "Regardless of how much money they have, it's just a little bit more."
On average, Americans say they'd need a net worth of $839,000 to feel financially comfortable, according to a recent survey from Charles Schwab. Members of Gen Z say they'd be comfortable with less — just $329,000, on average.
You may be wondering what net worth could afford you a comfortable life — and what your current net worth actually is.
If you're not sure the answer to either, don't worry. While financial experts say tracking net worth can be a useful tool in your money management arsenal, it presents an incomplete picture of your financial life.
"It's just one metric — and often a misleading one. I've seen clients fixated on their net worth while completely disconnected from their financial reality," Slabaugh says. "Tracking net worth without tracking values or lifestyle intentions is like watching your pulse without knowing if your heart is healthy."
Your net worth is the total value of everything you own, after accounting for money that you owe, and is a useful shorthand for overall wealth. To call yourself a millionaire, for example, you generally need a net worth of $1 million or more.
To find yours, add up your assets, such as bank accounts, stock holdings, physical valuables and home equity, before subtracting your liabilities, which include credit card debt, student loans and mortgage balances.
Theoretically, this number gives you a pretty decent overview of your actual wealth. Someone may appear to be wealthy if they have a $1 million house, for instance. Not so much if they also have $2 million in debt.
It's not always a very practical yardstick, however. For one thing, two people with the same net worth could have wildly different financial situations. One person may have a big chunk of assets in liquid cash, giving them plenty of spending power, while the other has the bulk of their wealth tied up in retirement accounts.
Rather than focusing on one number, you're better off examining how money flows in and out of your life, and whether or not you're making progress toward your goals, experts say.
"[Net worth is] a 'snapshot' of one's financial position at a single point in time," says Randy Bruns, a CFP and principle at Model Wealth in Naperville, Illinois. "In contrast, their cash flow statement acts more like the 'video,' capturing the ongoing movement of money in and out that ultimately shapes their net worth."
When it comes to feeling financially comfortable, it's smart to make sure you have a few critical bases covered, says Slabaugh. These include not only making ends meet, but having enough breathing room to pay down debt, build emergency savings and invest for the future.
Beyond that, no number in particular is going to bring you comfort unless you get to the heart of what you want from your money, she says. For many of Slabaugh's clients, building wealth means having security. For others, money is a means to flexibility and freedom.
"In nearly every case, the comfort isn't just financial — it's emotional," Slabaugh says.
Financial comfort, she says, comes when your money management aligns with your core values. Someone who values freedom, for instance, could aim to beef up their travel savings while looking for misaligned areas in their budget to slash.
"It could be, 'I'm spending hundreds of dollars a month on streaming services to escape the fact that I feel stuck. Let me divert that to a vacation fund, and now I can actually save to go to some of these places that I'm dreaming about while watching these shows,'" Slabaugh says.
Instead of striving for a particular number in your bank account, ask yourself what about having that amount of money would do for you and what about your life would change if you already had it, Slabaugh says.
"These questions are often more revealing — and more actionable — than a net worth target ever could be."