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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.

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

**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."}

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

My Pages

Me Spoiled...

December 3rd, 2008 at 03:32 pm

I was quite spoiled on my birthday.

How cute is it? I know dh didn't pick it out for it's cute-ness, so why I was extra surprised. Because it is both functional and cute - hehe.

Actually, this gift was from his family. But he did the researching/picking out.

I believe I got my first MP3 player last year, and I never particularly liked it. Not very user friendly. So, yeah, it left much to be desired.

I am LOVING this one.

I can also put pictures of the kids, and TV shows on it. So it is pretty nifty.

It has built-in speakers which aren't half bad either.

What else?

Dinner at Chessecake Factory, on dh's parents and grandma. The waiter was excellent so we left a pretty hefty tip. So spent the entire $70 cash they had given us. But well worth it. I think I was extra impressed because all I heard was horror stories when it opened 3 years ago (3 years?). I think it has died down a bit. I don't remember the last time I went to a restaurant in that area at night without an hour long wait. & so we expected little and probably had about the best service we have had in a long while. We left impressed. Though not somewhere we will eat very often. We love the one in San Francisco and had been there many times, but the first time for the Sacramento one. It's not quite the same. The SF one is on top of a building. It's more fun.

Though I don't remember when I've ever been to a Cheesecake Factory with no wait. So that was nice! (We usually wait HOURS).

Oh - I also got creamcheese pie (essentially cheesecake) from Marie Callendar's. I had asked for that long before I made dinner choice. Dh asked me if that meant no CK at CK Factory. I asked him if he was crazy. LOL. But in the end we decided we could get CK there later and the MC pie was enough. (After dinner, I Was too full anyway).

The preschool called and sang Happy Birthday to me, which was the cutest thing ever. LOVED it. All the 3-year-olds...

My sister sent me a CD.

BM & dh got me a water bottle for my bike.

& my parents told me they intend to buy me a bike in the $200 range - or contribute that much towards a bike.

Um yeah, did I say I felt spoiled?

So, it was a VERY nice day.

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

This week is crazy. Crazy crazy crazy.

I started an exercise log on the side because December is going to be rather trying. I needed extra motivation. So far has not helped. LOL. My prime workout time is after work, but dh has things every evening this week, and I am volunteering all day Saturday. So I won't be able to go to aerobics even once (I am very bummed about this) and I thought about taking the kids to the gym last night, but once I got home and sat down, that was it. I Was done. I can go there straight from work, but I am not an evening person at all and it's all downhill from 6pm on. (More like 3pm on).

Which means I probably need to shift focus to the a.m. The a.m. is fine. Since I am an early bird. It's just usually when I get other stuff done. But will have to shift morning priorities for a while.

So, I don't know. I can try again tonight. Gym. Or something in the morning...

I hate winter. I realize it isn't even the cold. It's the DARK. ANy other time we'd go for a walk. But it's dark. & dangerous. & we have to improvise. Blah!

Posted in Just Thinking | 10 Comments »

10 Responses to “Me Spoiled...”

scfr Says:
December 3rd, 2008 at 03:55 pm 1228319716
1228319716

Awww ... It sounds like a perfect day! Happy belated birthday!
mom-sense Says:
December 3rd, 2008 at 04:10 pm 1228320628
1228320628

Glad that you had a great birthday! Sounds like a great time indeed! The birthday chorus must have been awfully cute! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Koppur Says:
December 3rd, 2008 at 04:51 pm 1228323115
1228323115

Happy Birthday!!!
Broken Arrow Says:
December 3rd, 2008 at 06:33 pm 1228329232
1228329232

Happy birthday! Glad you like your new MP3 player. What was the old one, by the way?
monkeymama Says:
December 3rd, 2008 at 07:07 pm 1228331266
1228331266

Best I can tell (by looks) is that it was a Creative MuVo V100 MP3.

It was decent for the gym and all, but not very intuitive. The one I have now an has many more functions, and is way easier to use. I like it because it is idiot proof. The larger screen makes all the difference.
Analise Says:
December 3rd, 2008 at 07:20 pm 1228332031
1228332031

Happy (belated) birthday, fellow Sagittarian! Yesterday was my DS's birthday, too, and mine will be before the end of the month.

Enjoy your new MP3... I love the feature that you can add photos. So convenient.
Ms. Pearl Says:
December 3rd, 2008 at 09:09 pm 1228338546
1228338546

I hate the dark too! I work nights and sleep during the day so I feel like I live in a dungeon sometimes!
monkeymama Says:
December 4th, 2008 at 03:29 pm 1228404561
1228404561

BA - dh reminded me my player was probably 3 years old. (Sounds right. I couldn't remember and I searched my blog and swear I said I got one last year - but now that I think about it - I've had it a while).

Anyway, it is a Zen Nano Plus with 512 MB. I just upgraded to 4 GB. !! But yeah, it looks the same as the one I linked before. It's just a way older version. BEst bang for the buck in 2005.
frugaltexan75 Says:
December 6th, 2008 at 02:23 am 1228530225
1228530225

Happy belated birthday Monkey Mama!

I have to put in here how much I LOVE Marie Calendars! Not only do they have awesome pie, but their cornbread is out of this world delicious! YUM! The closes MC to me unfortunately is in Waco, which is roughly 3 1/2 hours drive time.
monkeymama Says:
December 6th, 2008 at 03:15 pm 1228576524
1228576524

Aw, bummer!!!!!

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Me Spoiled...

10 Responses to “Me Spoiled...”

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