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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

Ouch!

August 12th, 2010 at 07:56 pm

For some reason I was thinking that the school fees were "per family" or something along those lines.

Maybe they were, last year.

So, BM brings home a pile of paperwork yesterday.

$25/each for supplies. Eh.

$60/each for field trips. That's adding up...

$10/each for school spirit shirts (donation requested for this, anyway)

That's a grand total of $190. Yikes!

That's not the worst of it. The 3rd, 4th, 5th graders had field trip fees of $120-$150. Egads! What the heck kind of field trips do they go on?

Last year we decided to make our "big" donation to the school. (We donate $250 every year, around Christmas, where we see fit).

This year, I am thinking, I don't know about that...

I think this year is going to be a volunteer year. Dh has the time and intent, so I don't think we will be big on cash this year - to the school.

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

I actually kept $100 in my checking account for this month, anticipating these kind of expenses. But apparently I way under-estimated.

Good thing I am earning $100 tonight from our focus group. I will tell BM that he earned himself his supplies and field trips for the year. & a t-shirt.

Mental note: It will be a lot more next year!

Posted in Just Thinking | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Ouch!”

NJDebbie Says:
August 12th, 2010 at 10:48 pm 1281653334
1281653334

Are your children in private school?
MonkeyMama Says:
August 12th, 2010 at 11:42 pm 1281656559
1281656559

No - public.

They buy the supplies, which is really nice. Don't have to worry about the hassle - sure they do fine in bulk. But I think it was "per family" last year - I was sure it was!

I don't think any of it is really MANDATORY. I can't imagine everyone can afford those field trips - I suppose they have payment plans and such. We'll be fine - just a little bit of sticker shock.
PNW Mom Says:
August 13th, 2010 at 12:49 am 1281660558
1281660558

In all my "mom" years I have never heard of school spirit shirts......that is certainly a new one for me!
MonkeyMama Says:
August 13th, 2010 at 02:12 am 1281665534
1281665534

The kids have a strict dress code. Every year, a child designs the school spirit shirt, that they can wear every Friday. I think it's just kind of a school uniform kind of thing. When they go on field trips they wear them, etc. They'll get the shirts if we pay or not.

I suppose it is the one piece in their "casual uniform."

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Ouch!

4 Responses to “Ouch!”

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