Guide
How to track your net worth across EasyEquities, RA, TFSA and property (South Africa)
Net worth is what you own minus what you owe, expressed in ZAR. If you invest through EasyEquities, hold an RA at Sygnia or 10X, max your TFSA at a bank, and own property with a bond, no single app shows the full picture — you have to assemble it yourself.
That matters before you make planning decisions: topping up a TFSA, increasing RA contributions, or judging FIRE progress. Provider portals only report their slice; budgeting apps focus on spending, not wealth by tax bucket.
The problem
A typical SA investor logs into EasyEquities for ETFs, a bank or Sygnia for a TFSA, an RA provider for retirement savings, and perhaps a second platform for offshore exposure. Each dashboard shows one account. None totals your wealth or splits it by how SARS treats it.
Budgeting apps like Vault22 (formerly 22seven) link bank accounts and categorise spending. Some people used them for a net-worth line — but they are not built for cross-provider wealth tracking. If you are comparing tools, see our 22seven / Vault22 alternative guide for an honest side-by-side.
US tools (Monarch, Empower, Kubera) do not understand SA tax buckets, RA lock-in, or cross-provider TFSA room. Stealthy Wealth-style spreadsheets work — until share prices, exchange rates, or Budget-day limit changes need another round of maintenance.
What you need to track
List every account once. Group by tax treatment so you can see planning headroom, not just a single big number.
- TFSA — every provider separately; track contributions for annual and lifetime room
- Retirement (RA, pension, provident, preservation) — locked until access rules apply; usually excluded from "accessible" FIRE views
- Taxable local — EE ZAR, unit trusts, direct JSE holdings
- Offshore — EE USD, feeder ETFs, foreign shares (convert to ZAR for the total)
- Property — estimated value minus bond balance (equity only)
- Cash and debt — emergency fund, access bond, car loan, credit card
Values are planning estimates from balances you enter — not live bank sync, not SARS-verified.
Worked example
A household tracks snapshots monthly across six buckets (figures rounded, illustrative):
| Bucket | Balance (ZAR) |
|---|---|
| Home equity (R1.4m value − R560k bond) | R840,000 |
| RA / provident funds | R1,340,000 |
| TFSA (EE + bank combined) | R820,000 |
| Taxable local (EE ZAR) | R430,000 |
| Offshore (EE USD, converted) | R330,000 |
| Cash (emergency fund) | R75,000 |
- Total net worth: R3,835,000
- Excluding home equity: R2,995,000 — often closer to what you treat as investable wealth
- FIRE-relevant (excl. RA, property, cash): roughly R1,580,000 in accessible ETFs — RA stays locked; home equity is not sold for living expenses
The same person might also check TFSA room across providers before their next R15,000 top-up — net worth alone does not show that headroom.
Spreadsheet vs a dedicated tracker
Google Sheets or Excel works if you update every account every month, keep FX and JSE prices current, and rebuild formulas when tax limits change. PFZA threads are full of investors who started there — and who describe the January refresh as a chore.
Dedicated apps fall into two camps: budgeting (bank sync, categories, spend) and wealth (manual snapshots, multi-account, net worth over time). Pick based on whether you need cash-flow control or a SA tax-aware wealth view.
Libevyn is wealth-first: add each account once, enter balances on your monthly ritual, and see net worth split by tax bucket plus cross-provider TFSA room — no bank passwords.
See Libevyn in action
A 90-second walkthrough: one ZAR net worth view, TFSA room across providers, and a FIRE portfolio that understands SA tax — no bank passwords.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I include my home and bond in net worth?
- Yes for total net worth: property value is an asset and your mortgage is a liability. Equity (value minus bond) is what counts. Many investors also track a separate "investable" or FIRE view that excludes primary residence — useful for retirement planning, but not a substitute for knowing your full balance sheet.
- How do I track EasyEquities, Sygnia and a bank TFSA without double-counting?
- Add each account once, in one place. Your EE ZAR portfolio, EE USD portfolio, bank TFSA, and Sygnia RA are separate buckets — never add the same balance twice. Cash you hold to invest is one line; money already inside a TFSA or RA is counted inside that account, not again as cash.
- Do I need separate trackers for local and offshore holdings?
- You need one view that can show both in ZAR. Offshore balances (EE USD, feeder ETFs, foreign shares) should convert to rand for a total net-worth number. A spreadsheet can do this manually; a dedicated tracker should let you hold multi-currency accounts and see the combined total.
- Is Vault22 (22seven) good for tracking net worth?
- Vault22 is built for budgeting and spend tracking with bank linking — not for multi-account wealth planning. See our 22seven / Vault22 alternative guide for a full comparison. If your goal is tax-bucket wealth across EE, RA, TFSA and property, you need a wealth-first tool or a maintained spreadsheet.
- What is the difference between total net worth and FIRE assets?
- Total net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe — including your home, car, and cash. FIRE assets usually exclude items you would not sell to fund living expenses (primary residence, locked RA until access age, emergency cash). Both numbers are useful; conflating them overstates how close you are to financial independence.
- How often should I update my balances?
- Monthly is enough for most DIY investors — match your salary cycle or a fixed "snapshot day". You do not need daily prices for planning; you need a consistent ritual so you notice drift, new accounts, and TFSA room before the tax-year end.
Related
Try it in Libevyn
Add your EE, RA, TFSA, property and cash accounts — update balances monthly and see total net worth by tax bucket, TFSA room, and FIRE portfolio. 14-day free trial — no bank passwords.
Planning information only — not financial or tax advice. Figures are estimates from the numbers you enter; not SARS-verified. Confirm with SARS or a registered practitioner before acting.