I previously wrote about the importance of figuring out your burn rate so you can have a better handle on your finances and plan more thoughtfully about your future. Another good metric to use is your net worth. In addition to burn rate, net worth can help you look at your financial situation from a bigger picture perspective to make sure you are on track to reach your long-term financial goals, whether that is buying a home or just having a certain amount of money set aside on some future date. 

A question that my friends and I have discussed often relates to burn rate. Usually the phrase "burn rate" is used in connection with how much money a particular start-up uses/burns per month or per year. We like to use it to discuss how much money we burn over a particular time period.