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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.

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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.

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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

Got a Dream?

January 24th, 2007 at 03:27 pm

Just reading an interesting article. Overall not enough time today to hang out - I am running late. Frown But I will leave you with this:

http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=31759

Posted in Just Thinking | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Got a Dream?”

Broken Arrow Says:
January 24th, 2007 at 04:37 pm 1169656675
1169656675

Very inspirational! It made me realize that, aside from the internet, I'm not really opening up myself, at least for peer review. Hmm. Thanks for sharing.
monkeymama Says:
January 24th, 2007 at 08:50 pm 1169671840
1169671840

Yeah, I think the whole peer review part is the hardest to go through with. IT's difficult to accept criticism and being open to change. But if you are stuck in a rut it is probably the best way to move forward.

I just was perusing this article this morning and I really liked the article. I find over and over it's who you know and even more importantly who you ask. I Am not very good at asking for help, but I see that is what the successful people around me do. So thought it was interesting.

I was also thinking about it in terms of my dh. Getting in the movie he business he is starting from the ground up and moving up with the contact he makes. I am starting to see some potential success there. Sometimes you just have to start small and be patient. I think him being open to different opportunities he hadn't considered before helps too - pays to be flexibile, to realize your goals will change with time, that life may surprise you with opportunity where you weren't looking, etc.

His contacts respect him as well because he is not scared to be truthful, when all of his contacts are writing movie scripts he is very honest where they can improve, etc. Most people won't speak up. People respect him more and constantly ask for his input. It helps on the other side to be honest I guess when people ask for a crtique.
paigu Says:
January 25th, 2007 at 05:01 pm 1169744485
1169744485

So much of life is random and luck. Statistics-wise, the more you put yourself out there, the more you increase your chances- though you may still not have success. Myself, I am very fortunate to have risked my career and (luckily) landed a job doing what I love, and it never would have happened if I hadn't dared to stick my neck out a bit from the lab life I'd been living.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Got a Dream?

3 Responses to “Got a Dream?”

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