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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

Decisions...

September 3rd, 2008 at 09:15 pm

Could be good, could be bad. I don't know.

Ms. Preschool is going out of town for a few weeks or a few months.

They aren't closing up shop. Her husband will take 4 full-time kids, and my part-time LM if we want.

Last time we weren't given the option. Wink When BM was going she had surgery and they closed up a couple of months. Which I guess made it easier - we had no choice but to quit for a while.

IT was nice to save up some cash, though I remember it being HARD on BM.

But this time is different. We were invited to stay.

I am really thinking this is a good opportunity to pull him out for a few months and save some $$$$$$. We could REALLY use it.

But it also just sucks.

In one sense, I don't think LM will miss it as much. HE LOVES it and does well enough, but he is also content to play alone 24/7.

Then again, I may underestimate how hard it will be for him at home without his brother 5 days a week. IT will certainly be new territory.

I guess the plus is nothing is set in stone. The part-time spot is ours and if we don't want it no one will take it. So I guess we could always change our mind.

I am leaning towards the opportunity to save some money. The cost will be my hubby- he may go crazy. Wink

We even discussed spending $100/month on drop-in care as a compromise (around 4 hours a week. On a per-hour basis it is twice as expensive as the daycare). & dh said oh he would feel guilty. I just had to laugh. HELLO. I Was mostly thinking about it more for LM than him. THough I knew he would appreciate the break. I See how much thought he has given to how this will affect LM!

But $100/month vs. $300/month, and considerably LESS gas... IT's tempting. Or we could even go for $0 and no gas...

We'll have to think about it and sleep on it.

She told me she would leave in OCtober which makes it an easier decision. Holidays are coming up. IT's a good time to pull him out for a while.

Gosh, I hope she is back for tax season!

Posted in Just Thinking | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “Decisions...”

mom-from-missouri Says:
September 3rd, 2008 at 09:52 pm 1220478728
1220478728

Basically are you using preschool as a break for DH and as a socialization for LM? With the holidays coming up, does your local park department have programs for kids?? Ours back home did. They started in the fall and were 3 hours each. You could sign up for one or all. Kids did something different each time-a craft, or story time, once they made pizza then ate it, cookies and cookie decorating... It was the kind of deal where you could sign them up at 9, then you came back at 12 to pick them up. I think when I used it several years ago for DD3, I paid $9 for each session I signed her up for.
monkeymama Says:
September 4th, 2008 at 01:06 am 1220490386
1220490386

Yes - break and socialization.

No. The parks and rec has preschool, but it is just as expensive as daycare really (More expensive on a per-hour basis).

They have classes for 1/2 hour WITH parents that are cheap. Which is fine- might sign up for LM during this break. But basically if you want to drop off the kid(s) it costs an arm and a leg. I think just the whole HCOL thing if nothing else. By the same token, some of the cheaper places? I wouldn't leave my kids. The school for example has before school and after school care but I haven't heard much good about it. You get what you pay for I guess, so I am a little wary.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Decisions...

2 Responses to “Decisions...”

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