Just about every morning, even before I brush my teeth, I get on the scale.

I know most fitness experts say not to weigh yourself every day, but I do anyway. I just have to know where I stand weight-wise. Is it up or down? Knowing often helps me eat healthier. The knowledge that my hips are spreading keeps me from eating the carrot cake that I love. Or it makes me skip buying the bags of potato chips that call out my name as I pass them in the grocery store.

And you know what? When it comes to your net worth, knowing where you stand also can be a barometer to better manage your money.

Unfortunately, only 49 percent of adults know what personal net wealth is, according to a survey by the Consumer Federation of America and the Financial Planning Assn. CFA and the association commissioned Opinion Research Corp. to survey more than 1,000 Americans to get their views on personal wealth.

Even after respondents were given the definition of what personal net worth is, almost half (48 percent) indicated they didn’t know exactly or even approximately how much wealth they have.

You determine your net wealth by adding up all your assets (household and personal possessions, money in a bank or credit union, cash value built up in an insurance policy and retirement savings, plus any equity you might have in your home) and subtracting your liabilities (what you owe on your home, credit cards or other loans). The dollar figure you end up with is your net worth.

I know you’re probably tired of hearing about these surveys and what folks don’t know about their finances. But I see them as a constant reminder that we all have to do better.

Determining your net worth is an interesting and often shocking exercise. A family’s net wealth reveals, in large measure, the extent to which people can meet emergencies, afford major expenditures, such as a home, or whether they can retire comfortably, said Stephen Brobeck, CFA’s executive director.

Instead of calculating what they are worth, many people are measuring their financial health by just looking at the asset side. Yes, you might have $50,000 of equity in your home and maybe another $20,000 in other assets, but if you have $80,000 in debt, your net worth is in negative territory.

James Barnash, the Financial Planning Assn.’s chairman, said he encouraged his clients to use their net worth as a kind of scorecard.

“At the end of the year that report card should show that either your net worth grew or shrank,” Barnash said.

If you haven’t calculated your net worth lately or at all, then use the “personal wealth estimator” on the America Saves Web site (www.AmericaSaves.org).

Not sure how to start or what to do to build up your net worth? Volunteer certified financial planners, who are members of the Financial Planning Assn., are available at no cost to answer basic personal finance questions submitted via the association’s Web site at www.fpanet.org/public. Click on “Ask a CFP Professional.”

For another source of general advice, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has partnered with the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors to provide free financial advice for two days in January. Persons can call toll free at (888) 919-2345 from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. today and again Jan. 27.

Just like stepping on that scale, you may not want to know the truth. But not knowing is worse.