Positive Net Worth: The Day of Zero!

by Ry@SpillingBuckets on January 6, 2010

Today is a good day.

On April 10th, 2008, with a net worth of -$33,517, Leslie and I, overwhelmed, lost, but motivated, imagined a day when we would own more than we owe. We were never eternal pessimists thinking that this day would never come, rather we thought how strange would it be if we actually paid attention and tried to get there. We hashed out a plan and named this first positive net worth day: The Day Of Zero.

Brace yourselves, and grab your little yellow spiked cob holders because it gets corny…

January 6th, 2010 is officially the Day of Zero.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qv3fNoHukM]

Many things have changed since our initial idea to track our progress some 20 months ago. The most striking change has been in our philosophy and how our understanding of what it means to be wealthy has changed.

Our first focus was on long term wealth accumulation, mainly socking away as much as possible in an effort to move that retirement cake closer and closer. This traditional “deferred life” plan gave way to a focus on the completion of major life goals and the acquiring of “stuff”, primarily buying a used car and buying a house, throw in a digital camera here and a computer there, you get the picture. Today our focus is more towards debt elimination and fufilling income creation as we look towards removing burdens wherever possible and clearing the path to whatever comes next.

A lot has happened throughout our 272 blog posts: we both graduated college, we bought a car, bought a house, I changed jobs, Lez started grad school, we got engaged, we started a business…..we have had wagon falls of over spending, bouts of backwards moving and swampman stagnation, but here we are today still trudging forward, armed with the knowledge and failures of the last 20 months to invest in the next 20.

Thank you to all our friends and family, all our readers and fellow bloggers, here’s to learning, progress, and success.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzL4L_FpLvE]

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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }

Funyon January 7, 2010 at 1:57 pm

Congratulations! I've enjoyed following your blog and your progress and know how much of a milestone this achievement is for both of you. Keep up the good work!

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Sallie's Niece January 7, 2010 at 2:24 pm

Congratulations!

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Katharine January 7, 2010 at 2:56 pm

Congratulations!

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MJK January 7, 2010 at 3:10 pm

Congratulations to both of you!! Such a great accomplishment! I think it is awesome that you two were able to accomplish one of your biggest goals, I even got goose bumbs reading your blog post! Such an encouragement to many others looking to do exactly what you guys did.

Here's to life changes and many much more learning along the way!

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Matt (dingo) January 7, 2010 at 4:50 pm

Congratulations!

And little do you know, but your new $0 bill design is exactly what Bernanke has been working on introducing behind the scenes for some time now. I guess the secret's out!

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Forest January 7, 2010 at 6:05 pm

Congrats on hitting this milestone! Enjoy it and then move on to the next one! Best of luck!

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Mrs. Money January 7, 2010 at 10:26 pm

Congrats! That is awesome!

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Ingrid January 8, 2010 at 2:50 am

Congrats! That's great news.

This is what happened to me when I got out of debt http://www.cashmereclutch.com/2009/06/down-to-zer…

Isn't it amazing to be debt free?

How did you celebrate?

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Ken January 8, 2010 at 3:11 am

Congratulations to you! You persevered and it has brought good results. Keep at it!

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Ry@SpillingBuckets January 8, 2010 at 3:53 am

Thanks everyone! You guys keep us motivated.

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Shadox January 8, 2010 at 4:06 am

That's awesome. Congrats!

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Issa January 8, 2010 at 5:42 am

Hey, congrats to your new-found financial freedom… here's to more financial success to you and your family!

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tom January 12, 2010 at 9:18 pm

Congrats guys! I've been following and rooting for you from the beginning and I'm proud of you guys for reaching this point!

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Financial Services January 18, 2010 at 8:50 pm

Wow! Congratulations! It must have been a tough challenge for the two of you. It somehow give us all an inspiration that any goal especially on money is always attainable if one will just focus on it.

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