Your New Year Career Pivot Starts With Knowing Your (Net) Worth

Headlines about white-collar burnout, layoffs, and job anxiety are everywhere, and it is not your imagination that mid-career feels riskier than it used to. A recent deep dive in the Wall Street Journal confirms professionals feel trapped by rising costs and shaky ladders, and the fear of making a wrong move in this economy. If you are heading into 2026 feeling financially foggy, debating a career shift, or wondering if early retirement is even realistic anymore, you are very much not alone.

As a financial planner who has been through my own career pivots and now guiding other midlife professionals on the Richuel platform, there is one foundation that consistently turns vague anxiety into clear, confident action: knowing your net worth. 

New Year’s resolution lists come and go, but this single number gives you a grounding reality check on where you stand today and how much freedom you truly have to reshape your work and life in 2026.

Net worth gives you the runway

Most people in midlife are carrying more complexity than ever—mortgages, kids, aging parents, stock options, student loans that never quite went away—yet they are still making decisions based on vibes, not data. When you don't know your net worth, it's easy to underestimate your resilience or overestimate your risk, which leads to either staying stuck too long or leaping blindly. Chief Investment Strategist, Liz Ann Sonders (with 498,4k followers on X) stated that according to a @creditkarma survey, 51% of Americans can't calculate net worth:

Here's how it works. Net worth is simply all of your assets minus your liabilities. It's your financial x-ray that can give you the runway—revealing how long you can go without a paycheck, how vulnerable you are to shocks, and how close you are to true work-optional freedom for life. Once you have that clarity, decisions like “Can I take a sabbatical?”, “Can I downshift into consulting?”, or “Can I walk away from this toxic role?” become practical planning questions instead of late-night panic spirals.

Why net worth is critical in a career transition

In your 40s and 50s, a career change is rarely just about a job title; it is about identity, health, family, and how many good years you want to protect for yourself. Because the stakes feel higher, many people stay in roles that drain them, not because they do not have options, but because they have no clean way to evaluate their runway.

Knowing your net worth helps you:

• Estimate how long you can live without a paycheck or on a reduced one.

• Decide whether you should move cautiously (tighten spending, shore up cash) or more boldly (negotiate a severance, take a sabbatical, start a business).

• See clearly whether attacking high-interest debt or building liquidity should come first.

When you have this number, the question shifts from “What if this fails?” to “What would I need to adjust to make this big career move safely?”. For midlife professionals and early-retirement hopefuls, that mindset shift is often the difference between chronic stuckness and a thoughtful, well-sequenced transition plan.

A simple 3-step net worth "richuel"

Set aside 30 minutes, grab a spreadsheet or a planning app like Richuel, and build a quick net worth snapshot using the basic formula: Assets − Liabilities. Do not worry about perfection! it is better to be approximately right this week than precisely right “someday.”

1. List your assets (what you own):

   • Cash and savings

   • Investment accounts (401(k), 403(b), IRAs, brokerage, HSAs)

   • Home equity (market value minus mortgage)

   • Other meaningful assets (cars at realistic resale values, vested stock, RSUs already yours)

2. List your liabilities (what you owe):

   • Mortgages or home equity lines of credit

   • Student loans

   • Credit cards and personal loans

   • Auto loans and any other installment debt

3. Subtract liabilities from assets. Net worth = Assets − Liabilities. 

A large enough number gives you a runway. A positive number means you have the beginnings of a cushion. A negative number is not a verdict, it is a starting line and a planning priority. The goal is not to judge yourself but to see clearly enough that you and your money can start rowing in the same direction.

A GenX example: Bay Area family

Here is a simplified snapshot for a 50-year-old Bay Area household with kids and considering a career change in 2026—think high cost of living and lifestyle creep, with private schools and a pricey mortgage:

Category	Amount
Assets
Savings	$150,000
Investments/Retirement	$800,000
Home value	$2,000,000
Car value	$40,000
Total assets	$2,990,000
Liabilities
Mortgage balance	$800,000
Student loans (kids')	$80,000
Credit card debt	$12,000
Car loan	$25,000
Total liabilities	$917,000
Net worth	$2,073,000

For someone at this stage, the conversation becomes: How much of that $2,073,000 is accessible in the next 1–5 years? How much is locked in retirement accounts? How many months of living expenses (say, $15,000/month in the Bay) does that translate into if income drops, pauses, or becomes more variable? From there, you can build a practical runway plan based on data, not fear.

How to aim for financial independence

Net worth is not just about surviving a transition, it is also about intentionally designing when work becomes optional. 

Design work-optional life: 25x annual spend = 3-4% safe withdrawal to support you for decades (adjust for taxes/healthcare/volatility).

Using the rule of thumb: 

If you spend $180,000 per year in a high-COL area like the Bay, that points to a target of roughly $4.5 million invested. 

But if you reduce your expenses to $120,000 per year, downsize your home to increase liquidity, and maximize your Social Security and pension benefits, all of these factors could bring your number closer to $2 million.

You need to run a more granular calculation and Richuel helps take that further with a detailed forecast of your current trajectory and your Financial Longevity Score—the probability you'll have enough for all of life's expenses through end of life, factoring in career shifts, kids' college, and more.

That does not mean you have to hit that number before you can change your career; it just becomes your “freedom money” target. In the meantime, you can:

• Track your net worth quarterly so you can see progress, not just sacrifice.

• Boost savings into tax-advantaged and taxable accounts as income allows.

• Aggressively pay down high-interest debt that erodes your future flexibility.

• Use side income or consulting to bridge the gap while you experiment with new work.

When you connect your net worth today with a concrete freedom number for tomorrow, each decision—whether to take on a new expense, accept a new role, or turn down a misaligned opportunity—has a clearer context.

Net worth as your 2026 GPS

Your net worth is not a static trophy, it is more like a GPS that constantly recalculates as your life, work, and markets shift. When you update it regularly, you can catch drift early: lifestyle creep, underused cash, underfunded safety nets, risk concentrations in company stock or real estate.

Heading into 2026, make “Know My Number” your grounding "richuel" instead of another vague resolution. In a year where the headlines may stay noisy, this simple metric can be the quiet, steady signal that helps you move from “I am scared to move” to “I know what I can safely try next.”

If you are in a midlife transition or contemplating one, start with your net worth, then build your plan around the life you actually want—not just the job you have today. Share this with your friend or partner who is also wrestling with the same questions. You do not have to navigate this chapter alone.

Follow our “New Year, New Money Moves” movement and tell us how you track your net worth in the comments below.