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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.

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

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

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh...

August 14th, 2010 at 05:50 pm

The last 2 weeks have seemed like pure chaos.

So, I am looking forward to a very relaxing weekend! Not much planned.

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**Kitty is feeling MUCH better. The antibiotics shouldn't really do much for another day or so, but she has been obviously feeling much better since she got home.

She does have an infection, so waiting for culture results to make sure we have the correct antibiotics.

Dh told me he REALLY liked this place and wants to make them our main vet. We used to have a pet rat, which was the only reason we chose the vet we did. They had a rat vet. But, no complaints, otherwise. Dh was just super impressed with this new vet.

I will only hope we don't need them again. Big Grin Obviously we will at some point - our kitty is getting old.

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

**Decided to check out the new library.

I utilized the library MUCH more when the kids were younger.

They opened a new one down the street (much more convenient), but it is a high school library too, so was only open weekdays, 8-5.

There was much debate about this. Every time someone complained, everyone else would say, "It's for the high school. Get over it" MEanwhile, it's the Taj Mahal of libraries. It has a huge little kid section. So, screw the working parents??? Was that the plan? Clearly it was not just built for the high school!

Thankfully, common sense reined. I read recently it was open Saturdays now. I was thinking a couple of hours here and there. So today I just remembered and decided to take the kids.

Looked up the hours. 9 - 5? Wow - better than I thought!

Dh kept saying, "Of course you have been there." Sure, when? 9-5 M-F? I don't think so. Clueless non-working people. LOL. No - I have never been, and I look forward to checking it out.

The kids don't think the library is that exciting. *sigh* I think that will improve with age. BM is a VORACIOUS reader - don't get me wrong. They both LOVE being read to. But then I am surprised BM doesn't want to read more. He just reads what we expect of him to read (the bare minimum!). I think the video games and the like win. We didn't have all those distractions when we were kids.

On the flip side, I should probably understand. I find I do not enjoy reading so much as an adult. I have gotten accustomed to everything else being at such a fast pace. I now equate reading to "time consuming." But am trying to set a better example, all the same, and get back into it.

Posted in Just Thinking | 7 Comments »

7 Responses to “Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh...”

Homebody Says:
August 14th, 2010 at 06:01 pm 1281808898
1281808898

I was a voracious reader as a child, but rarely read a book while raising the kids, now I am back to reading constantly again. It will probably come back for you some day too. Hope it is relaxing for you too!
whitestripe Says:
August 14th, 2010 at 11:37 pm 1281829058
1281829058

In primary school I read all of the books in my school library (well, except the childrens picture books) and did the same in my high school library. The librarian at the high school library actually liked me, which was rare as she was known as 'the dragon lady' and wasn't nice to anyone.
I find I just don't get enough time to read a lot anymore - so when I do, I want to read something REALLY good, and I find it really difficult to find those books. So when I go to the library, I hire out about 10, and probably only read 1 or 2. I just can't justify wasting a couple of hours reading a book that I don't love. I highly recommend the Penguin Books though, they take a bit of guesswork out of finding a good one. I have acquired quite a few of those. My most recent favourite that I've read is Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Probably not everyone's cup of tea though...
MonkeyMama Says:
August 15th, 2010 at 01:25 am 1281835514
1281835514

The kids LOVED the library - we will have to make a habit of it.

Phew!
HouseHopeful Says:
August 15th, 2010 at 01:46 am 1281836798
1281836798

Glad the kitty is feeling better. And thats good news about the library. I LOVED the library as the kid. As an adult, I've gone through phases, but given that the library isn't just for books, I know I will always be using it now. Even when I'm not in the reading 'mood'
FrugalTexan75 Says:
August 15th, 2010 at 03:15 am 1281842155
1281842155

I'm glad kitty is feeling better.

Your comments about the library being the "Taj Mahal" of libraries has me very curious as to what it looks like ... Glad the kids liked it.
MonkeyMama Says:
August 15th, 2010 at 03:06 pm 1281884775
1281884775

I've just never seen such a fancy library.
MonkeyMama Says:
August 15th, 2010 at 03:07 pm 1281884851
1281884851

Plus they have something like 250 public computers - so it's big. Though once in there, it was definitely not the biggest library I have ever been to. (Like a University library). But the most modern, yes.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh...

7 Responses to “Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh...”

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