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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

Recipe Review: Cowboy Beans

March 10th, 2010 at 08:20 pm

So, dh made the cowboy beans last night. Yes, my cook is back! Phew. We are too used to EXCELLENT home cooking. We missed his cooking, tons.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/07/slow-cooker-cowboy-b...

I don't know if anyone else liked this recipe, but I LOVED it. I may get all the leftovers. Big Grin

I love apple cider vinegar and so put another tablespoon or so in my own bowl. LOL. I overdid it a bit - but it was still good. (I'll put in a little less - next time).

I did modify the recipe by putting cheese on it (I just happened to have some shredded colby jack or something or other). I melted the cheese on top, and then topped with the slice jalapenos.

YUM!

Forget side dish, this was a MEAL!

I do agree with dh that it was rather bland, otherwise. I told him just to dump in more vinegar next time.

#1 selling point. I don't eat tomatoes. Ever. HATE them. The diced up tomatoes (Ro Tel?) in this thing were harmless. I gobbled them up. I give thumbs up to anything that makes veggies taste good. I can be pretty picky.

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As an aside, I made "hashbrowns" over the weekend and took pictures as I went. I might have already said - our food processor is AMAZING. It took me like a minute to shred 4 potatoes.

Anyway, I think I would call them "potato pancakes" as opposed to hashbrowns, but they were good. I will share the recipe later (with pictures).

AND, the cheapie food processor has really won me over. I came home the other night and dh was hand chopping celery or something. I was like, "um, what about the food processor? Mandolin slicer?" His response? "Oh yeah - I forgot." Well at least I am using it. (These were all gifts for him).

Anyway, if it doesn't hold up, I will definitely invest in a NICE food processor. What a time saver!!!

Posted in Just Thinking, What We Eat | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Recipe Review: Cowboy Beans”

thriftorama Says:
March 10th, 2010 at 09:19 pm 1268255959
1268255959

I am generally in favor of any recipe with cowboy in the name. Mom makes something called Cowboy potatoes and they are awesome.
ceejay74 Says:
March 10th, 2010 at 09:23 pm 1268256196
1268256196

Sounds delicious--and if I leave out the optional meat, completely vegan! We have a slow cooker that I've never used, LOL. Maybe this could be the maiden voyage for it.
Broken Arrow Says:
March 12th, 2010 at 02:47 pm 1268405229
1268405229

I don't personally care for beans, but I do love that blog. I think I will actually try the salsa dip recipe though (earlier entry), because I have a lot of leftover ingredients, including chips for it.

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Recipe Review: Cowboy Beans

3 Responses to “Recipe Review: Cowboy Beans”

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