When you are listing your liabilities, you'll want to list not just the sticker price, but the full amount you will pay after the finance charges. For example, your liability is not the cost of the house, but the total amount of the loan to be repaid -- including interest. You can determine this by multiplying the payment amount by the number of payments left to pay off the amount.

Ideally, your list of assets will outstrip your list of liabilities, but both need to be considered when working out your net worth. If the news isn't good, take comfort from the fact that your net worth statement is a snapshot in time. Everything -- your assets and liabilities -- is a constantly moving target.