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About Me:

Monkey Mama

Just a 46-year-old mom of 2 in Northern California. My kids are Monkey Monkey(MM) and Drama Llama (DL). I am married to Monkey Hubby (MH).

We were a one-income family for 13 years. In late 2015 my spouse returned to work (minimum wage/part-time/seasonal). Something recent on his resume just buys us more options for the long run. The main benefit of this job is that he just works while the kids are in school. As always, we are saving 100% of his income.

{2023 Update: I expect that MH will retire from this job when kids are done with college and/or home is paid off. I think he likes the idea of finding more interesting or full-time work, with kids both adults now. But practically, might just stick out the *good* and very flexible job as long as possible. The very part-time job is allowing him to pursue his film passions. We are only about 5-ish years away from financial independence. Would be very different if we "needed" the money or he thought he might have decades of working years ahead of him.}

We saved a lot while we were very young and also moved to a lower cost-of-living area, to make life much simpler. We still live in California though (in one of the most expensive regions of the U.S.). *Simple* and *inexpensive* is relative.

Likewise, we have never had debt aside from our mortgage.** My blog is a testament to how much simpler life is without debt; how we have that much more money to both save and enjoy!

**Caveat: I have no problem whatsoever with credit cards paid off monthly, or low-risk credit arbitrage (for example, 0%-interest debt while earning 5% on FDIC-insured cash). These are the kinds of debt we have had. Just not interested in high-interest debt, using debt to buy beyond means, and not interested in the hassle that comes with loans and payments. With age and means, the latter (hassle) is our biggest debt avoidance motivation.

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2024 Goals

[ ]Small monthly Charitable Contribution
...($35 @ 1/31/24)
...Trying to be more mindful about how the little amounts add up and are helpful.
...This is not an all inclusive list of charitable giving but it is a new habit I want to add in addition to other donations of time, goods and money

[ ]Pay cash for college
...This is so much a given, to me. But I realize not everyone can read my mind, and so will memorialize in my goal list.
...#1 We don't do Debt
...#2 The student loan system is a scammy and corrupt mess.
...Seriously, wouldn't touch these student loan servicers with a ten foot pole.
MM YEAR 1 ✔
MM YEAR 2 ✔
MM YEAR 3 ✔
MM YEAR 4

DL YEAR 1 ✔
DL YEAR 2

[ ]$10,000 to savings
...($4,529 @ 3/31/24)
...$1,000/month, plus interest
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$7,500 to investments
...($1,750 @ 4/30/24)
...$350/month, plus snowflakes
(Snowflakes: credit card rewards and dividends)
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$2,025 to mortgage
...($0 @ 4/30/24)
...Topping off with snowballs and/or excess cash
...Keeps us on track with $10K principal paydown per year

[/]9% of household income to work retirement plans
...(9% @ 3/31/24)
...This is the minimum for the match; I'd otherwise rather fund IRAs.
...Note: Total retirement savings rate is 20% (with IRAs)

Goal savings rate = 25% of gross salary, plus funding IRAs from other sources.

[ ]$14,000 to IRAs 2024 (MAX)
...($0 @ 4/30/24)
...Will fund with MH's income
...Will not fund until the year is over. This is for tax and planning reasons. I won't know what mix of Traditional/ROTH IRA we literally can contribute until we do our 2024 taxes. In addition to that, can make a more informed decision based on our financial and tax situation for the entire year.

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**Long-Term Goals**

[X]$500,000 in retirement accounts by age 45.

Current big picture goal:

[ ]$1 Mil in retirement accounts by age 52.

Stretch Goal: Achieve by age 50

Have decided to pretty much stay the course. Keep saving 20%+ to retirement. This means taking 401K match & maxing out IRAs.

NOTE: WE HAVE NEVER CONTRIBUTED LESS THAN 10% TO RETIREMENT. NO EXCEPTIONS.

If we can't achieve at least 10%, then something else has to give. I share because it's infinitely easier to save for retirement if you start early. Let the investments do the hard work for you.

-------------------------------

Debt: $85,000 mortgage
{Home Purchase Price $290,000}

Ongoing goal is to *never borrow money again.*

Took on a $230k mortgage in 2001 and have not added to that.

-------------------------

Net Worth: Increase net worth by $600,000 in the next 10 years. This is my "financial independence" goal.

2017: +$ 70,000 (partial year)
2018: +$ 51,000
2019: +$105,000
2020: +$104,000
2021: +$215,000
2022: <$ 65,000>
2022: +$ 85,000
TOTAL: +$565,000

This is in line with prior goal, saving 100% of our expenses every year.

{Our expenses are far more consistent than our income. Also, helps to prevent "living up to income."}

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My Pages

New Shoes - Take 2

December 8th, 2006 at 10:02 pm

Aha, updated December and I See part of the problem. I forgot the gardener and the $20 extra I intended to tip him for Christmas I guess. So $100 short before bonus, probably pretty breakeven with bonus. If I get around to selling those baby items I will put all of that money in the e-fund then.

I just went shoe shopping - phew. Kind of funny and roundabout, but I was looking for a Starbucks mug, or nice mug for co-worker for gift exchange. I Am not very creative and probably about the 3rd year in a row of drawing a man (though no men work here - gah) and getting them starbucks giftcard and a mug. LOL. They are all starbucks fiends... But I was perusing ebay for a deal and I Saw the FUNNIEST thing. A heated travel mug that you can plug into your car lighter OR a USB computer input. LOL. Perfect!!!!! I found one eventually at shop.com for $25. The original store would not let me buy it because my order was only 19.99 before shipping. Whatever. But through shop.com, no problem, I bought it through them from that original store. I then perused their shoes and found the cUTEST little black boots. About as close to my beloved shoes as I will get - black and in a WIDE SIZE. Hallelujah. I then found the cutest grey tennies for about $30. So I got about 2 of the same styled shoes for $30 each, shipping was much cheaper. & both in wide size. We'll give it a whirl. One of them did not have 1/2 sizes so I took a risk getting a 9W. We'll see. The width might make up for the 0.5.

I also saw the cutest Doc Martens. THey still make those? I think if I get Christmas money, and these shoes end up being subpar, I may get some. I got a pair when I Was 16 or something and I just tossed them a couple of years back because my feet grew in pregnancy. Seriously I must have worn those things every day for years. Maybe I just threw them away because they were thrashed. I don't know. But I Remember them being tight in recent years. I Wish I remembered what size I had before. I am thinking of ordering some. IF I can wear them 10 years+, $90 won't scare me. But I saw them after I found these perfect shoes so I figure I would give the cheap ones a try first. If not, Doc Martens here I Come.

Oh yeah!!!! & my purse is falling apart - bummer. I am pretty sure I bought it a little over a year ago and it looks FANTASTIC. Not shown much wear or tear. But today I noticed the handles are pulling apart from the purse - does not look pretty. I think for christmas I am getting a new purse. Bummer because I am not ready. I hate purse shopping - blech. I will ask my mom if she thinks she can mend it first. I Swear I save hundreds if not thousands over my "poor" friends who buy a new handbag every week. In turn they think I Am pretty deprived, but I don't feel deprived. LOL. Don't even ask me about diaper bags - I use the free ones from the hospital. We did buy a couple for different purposes, but the hospital ones win hands down - they are nice. I have friends who went gaga over those $250 dipaer bags. I Can't even imagine. I bought a $20 knockoff but it fell apart after 2 years. Oh well, I Am almost done with diaper bags. If I have to buy 2 knockoffs for my diaper career, I Saved $210 in the end. $225 if you count sales tax. It's stuff like this how we really saving money. Trying to limit what we buy to what we "need" and not replacing them until there is no hope.

Posted in Spending, Budgeting & Goals | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “New Shoes - Take 2”

yummy64 Says:
December 8th, 2006 at 10:11 pm 1165615911
1165615911

I've had two of those heated mugs. They are the best!

However, you kill them immediately if you soak them in water or put them through the dishwasher. A quick swish and swipe is all that is needed...

I need to go and get a third one and let that one live
Frayed Buckeye Card Says:
December 8th, 2006 at 11:03 pm 1165619014
1165619014

Is it possible for a shoe repair shop to reattach your purse srtaps? Since you didn't want to replace it. I have done this and the work turned out fine. Just a thought.
mairgrif Says:
December 9th, 2006 at 02:29 pm 1165674570
1165674570

Friends of mine swear by the hospital diaper bag too! I was going to get them the one they had on their registry, but someone appeared to get to it first, but they never recieved it. So they used the one from the hospital, and found they liked it so much they decided not to get another one. I also second the idea of asking a shoe repair shop about the purse. Ask them to reinforce the straps too possibly if they can repair them. Good luck.
monkeymama Says:
December 9th, 2006 at 03:08 pm 1165676908
1165676908

The downside to the hospital bag is the zippers break. For whatever reason we have like 5. Probably 4 with broken zippers - LOL. I swear every time we went to the hospital they handed me one when I Was pregnant. & they usually came with formula too - a good deal! oh well, zipper or no they pretty much do the job.

I will probably get a new purse. I paid $15-$20 for the thing - hardly worth the cost to repair. BUT only if I can freecycle it or something. Not willing to throw it away because of a broken strap!!

Thanks for the tips though!

I told my coworker about my coffee mug find and she asked me to order one online for her son. Hehe. She thought it was perfect!!!! But she is very elderly and scared of the internet so I obliged. THANK YOU for the fair warning about the dishwasher - hehe.
baselle Says:
December 10th, 2006 at 01:17 am 1165713447
1165713447

Really strange - purse shopping is the only clothing shopping that I actually like to do. Everything else, especially shoes - blegh.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

New Shoes - Take 2

5 Responses to “New Shoes - Take 2”

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