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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
...($6,653 @ 4/30/24)
...$1,000/month, plus interest
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$7,500 to investments
...($2,220 @ 5/31/24)
...$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% @ 4/30/24)
...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>
2023: +$ 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

Balancing Needs/Wants

February 10th, 2008 at 05:39 pm

Just an excellent blog post I saw this week. I think we have always kind of done this subconsciously. I would say this is much the approach we have always taken to balancing our wants/needs. MMND takes it to a very scientific level. So I was amazed when I saw it - what an awesome idea.

http://millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com/2008/01/craft-b...

It also likewise reminds me how annoyed I get when other people's luxuries are put down in the forums and blogs (often). When you go through this exercise you don't have to justify yourself to anyone. I always knew all the luxuries we chose were well worth it. Evidenced by not having any regrets when it comes to what we do splurge our money on. This is often our thought process when we decide where to spend our money.

Funny enough, you know what our biggest WANT is? According to this exercise? Our savings!! We save more than we really need to in hopes of future financial comfort. I would say future (& current) financial comfort is probably one of our biggest values. Everything comes easier after this basic building block though. It's not a "deprivation" thing. (I mean if this is a deprived life, LOL. We all should be so deprived). But it's more a "this makes life a lot easier" thing. It's a "you can have your cake and eat it too if you prioritize and manage your money well" thing.

Likewise, I am not going to retire at 40 on $1 mil like MMND. I value financial security way too much. Sounds very risky to me. LOL. (I might semi-retire at 40; which is really my goal). Comes across loud and clear when I do the spreadsheet. Most of our luxuries and quite minuscle. None of them are long term commitments. But savings was way up there. I just found that eye opening.

Anyway, this is just an excellent, excellent exercise. If you struggle with your wants/needs. Or if you just don't know where to begin. It kind of quantifies much my approach to my own finances.

I had my own post on the topic:

http://monkeymama.savingadvice.com/2007/01/19/priorities-fee...

But I think MMND's method is more useful/practical than my post. Big Grin

Mine is more commentary how we apply the same kind of idea in our own life. (I have to add though that I always whip out that calculator and determine how much I have to work to pay for anything we don't "need." ALWAYS).

Posted in Just Thinking, Budgeting & Goals | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Balancing Needs/Wants”

Millionaire Mommy Next Door Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 06:34 pm 1202668470
1202668470

Thanks for the nice endorsement of my budget post/spreadsheet!
Broken Arrow Says:
February 11th, 2008 at 06:14 pm 1202753660
1202753660

I haven't railed against other people's spending so much as I have been astounded to hear what other people have done with it. However, I can see why it may have come across like a criticism. Like my friend who spends 4k per month on food. Um. Yeah. Color me astounded. But then, her household pulls in about 140k, so....
Livingalmostlarge Says:
February 12th, 2008 at 01:07 am 1202778450
1202778450

What's wrong with liking nice things? My big want is travelling. I love, love, love it. Probably why I can't afford to retire because I need money to travel.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Balancing Needs/Wants

3 Responses to “Balancing Needs/Wants”

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