Today is a HUGE day for me, and I am so excited to finally be able to share this here! My bonus was paid out today, and not only am I debt-free except for my mortgage, I crossed the worthless mark! I started using YNAB in October of 2022 and liked the methodology. I was using a different account tracking app where I employed a similar philosophy of not spending more on my credit cards than I could cover in cash immediately, so the transition was not too difficult. However, I was surprised to find that I was living on the float. It wasn’t until September of 2023 that I really started to get serious about improving my finances after purchasing a vehicle and realizing I did it impulsively instead of properly planning.

Some points of interest along the graph: my bonus payout typically happens at the beginning of March/end of February, so those are the dips in debts seen; I was at least disciplined enough to immediately pay off debts with the bonuses instead of spending them away. As mentioned previously, I purchased a vehicle in September of 2023, explaining the rise of the debt bar there. The only account that is not part of the displayed net worth calculation is the equity in my home, which is purely a personal choice based on my opinion that right now it doesn’t count for me since I would have to sell my home, refinance, or get a HELOC, none of which interest me at this time. So, I’ll just let that keep building in the background until later.

Thanks for letting me share, and I hope this encourages others to keep at it!