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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

REAL BACON

October 27th, 2010 at 02:44 pm

**I went to the bread store yesterday, and the empty building next to it was filled with produce. Signs advertised $1 for 2 pounds, though. It was dark and closed at the time - will be interesting to see what that is. (The store still had all the signs from when it was a paint store - so I couldn't gleam much else).

I suppose I should go by on a Saturday and see what is going on. (I am in the area generally week nights or Saturday mornings for my aerobics class).

**For the life of me, I can't find our little mini broom and dustpan. Lords knows where it went. IT's kind of maddening because I don't generally lose things. (Maybe I should have searched the kids rooms!)

So, dh spent a few dollars on a new one yesterday. Ugh! I hate stupid purchases like that!

**At some point we just switched to the "fully cooked" bacon that you pop in the microwave. Lord knows why. we don't consume a lot of processed foods. As I am increasing my culinary talents, I asked dh to buy me some real bacon.

Um, DIVINE! It's probably been a long time since I had REAL bacon, at home.

I got the inspiration from Alton Brown. Layer foil on a cookie sheet and place a cooling rack on top. That way the bacon grease drips down and you just toss the foil when you are done.

Easy peasy. No more crappy bacon for this family! (Though dh may still use the other stuff for recipes since it is easier to crumble).

I'm heating up some bacon for breakfast. Yummy!

Though we generally make a concerted effort to reuse/reduce/recycle, I have no idea how to tackle that when it comes to GREASE! I suppose limiting greasy foods is all we can do. But we certainly like our grease, in moderation of course!

Posted in Just Thinking | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “REAL BACON”

Homebody Says:
October 27th, 2010 at 03:11 pm 1288192280
1288192280

DH has started baking our occasional bacon treat too!
Looking Forward Says:
October 28th, 2010 at 11:44 pm 1288309473
1288309473

We love bacon..Extra crispy please!
Do you bake it? If so, how? On the rack?
MonkeyMama Says:
October 30th, 2010 at 02:16 pm 1288448207
1288448207

"Layer foil on a cookie sheet and place a cooling rack on top of the cookie sheet. That way the bacon grease drips down and you just toss the foil when you are done."

I cook the bacon on top of this contraption. The trick I also saw was to turn on the oven when you put the bacon in (set to 400 for 15-20 minutes). The "preheat" helps, I guess. The first time one started to burn so I took it out, but the second time I left in closer to 20 minutes and it got nice and crispy. Probably could have cooked a little longer. I like 'em over-cooked!
Looking Forward Says:
October 31st, 2010 at 06:22 pm 1288549378
1288549378

Thanks!

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

REAL BACON

4 Responses to “REAL BACON”

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