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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

The Big Picture

August 19th, 2010 at 02:24 pm

Suze had an interesting segment last week.

A younger guest (45) seemed to have a good income and a hell of a lot of assets.

But, Suze drilled down deeper and pointed out that though she had plenty of cash and retirement funds for her age, her net worth was actually quite low due to her 2 mortgaged properties (one upside down). In addition, she had co-signed another mortgage, which put her net worth at negative.

Ouch!

A good reminder to always look at the big picture!

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

I just thought it was a really good segment.

I think I am pretty good at looking at the big picture with my finances.

BUT, I often run across the types who own multiple homes and are always getting into more and more debt. Some of them are just a mess (no assets to show for it). But others seem to have some financial savvy. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing it all wrong. If I hadn't paid off so much on my house (large down payment), maybe I could have significantly more assets. Hmmmmmm.

But, as I watch Suze, I giggled to myself. I realized the more savvy people who were casting doubt in my mind were all likely to have a negative net worth, anyway. Isn't it funny that I had never really thought about that before? Too blindsided by that extra $100k in liquid assets? Forgot they had 3 times as much debt as us?

It's like dh's sister, who bought a $700k-ish home on an ARM. I remember telling dh they were either really stupid or they were going to be rich. IF real estate kept going up, they could make out pretty sweet. ($700k buys a 2-bedroom shack where they live - it's nothing glorious). In the end - they may squeak by - too early to tell. The home has not appreciated since they bought, but they have been able to refi to stay afloat (not sure if they went fixed or not). They aren't upside down by any means - they bought with equity from a condo. Meaning, they may have turned a short stint as condo owners into an extra $200k or so cash down. Too early to tell, I suppose, but lord forbid either one ever gets sick or loses a job.

Dh and I are just not willing to set ourselves up for that big fall. We are too risk adverse. Without the risk, we lose the chance to make some extra dough, yes. BUT, we aren't setting ourselves up to splat on our face, either. I mean, heck, this is the entire reason we moved to our lower cost of living haven. Neither of us could stomach the debt to buy a modest home. It didn't make any sense for the big picture. But, very few even look at the big picture.

Posted in Just Thinking | 6 Comments »

6 Responses to “The Big Picture”

Broken Arrow Says:
August 19th, 2010 at 02:46 pm 1282229173
1282229173

Really good entry! Indeed, it's very important to be able to see the big picture; the whole picture.
Rick Says:
August 19th, 2010 at 02:58 pm 1282229922
1282229922

That was a great episode !
I look forward to that show every Saturday night.
Homebody Says:
August 19th, 2010 at 04:36 pm 1282235780
1282235780

This brings up the issue of why did my DVR stop recording Suze?? I better go check on that right now!

It is, however, recording every Till Debt Do Us Part show and I am enjoying them, even though I have seen them before!
dmontngrey Says:
August 19th, 2010 at 05:45 pm 1282239934
1282239934

Oh, I never downloaded it on itunes - need to do that tonight I guess. Thanks for the reminder! I don't get cable, so I watch the podcast.
Ima saver Says:
August 19th, 2010 at 06:13 pm 1282241599
1282241599

I agree, it is always very important to keep up with your net worth.
baselle Says:
August 20th, 2010 at 06:38 am 1282286294
1282286294

The other lesson to note is to remember that we talk about net assets - assets owned minus liabilities. While people won't completely lie about money, they won't tell you the full story either. Everybody leads with their assets (often not owned, btw) and won't mention their liabilities unless probed. You have to take with a grain of salt the numbers bragged about.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

The Big Picture

6 Responses to “The Big Picture”

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