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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

But it's So Old...

December 1st, 2010 at 03:19 pm

I know most of our friends and acquaintances spend a fortune on their vehicles. That said, I thought I was exaggerating a wee bit when I said everyone we know buys 2 new cars every 5 years.

So, we were having lunch with those friends I mentioned - who are in a big financial mess - though the upside down house seems to be the most of it (or the most they have talked about).

So, the wife mentions how the are going to need a new car. She kind of whimpered how it sucked that the car needed replacing. To which her husband replied, "well, yeah, it's OLD! IT's 6 years old!"

Of course, I kind of choked on my food at that moment.

They recently paid $30k+ for some Honda minivan that quite a few people have told me "was worth the money because it is so reliable." To which I do have to roll my eyes! I am not paying a $20k premium on my vehicle to "ensure it never breaks down." I know they think I am the crazy/cheap one. But, I think they are crazier! Wink (These are mostly people deep in debt and on the verge of foreclosure. If you can actually afford said car, whatever. But I don't know anyone in a demographic that they can afford such a car. Anyone that I do is too careful with their money to spend that much on a car!)

Anyway, we aim to keep our cars to 20 years of age, and most of them were bought well over 6 years old. Wink So, we obviously are coming from a whole different angle. My minivan is currently 6 years old, and it's still probably the *newest vehicle I have ever had.* This is why I choked to think of it as some old piece of trash.

They did mention they had heard that prior rentals were a good deal. We told them both our cars were prior rentals, and we do think those are the best deals out there. You hear mixed reviews, but we haven't had any problems. I think it just depends on the type of vehicle. I could see avoiding some sort of sports car that people would tend to be crazy with. Wink But our cars are pretty boring!

Posted in Just Thinking | 14 Comments »

14 Responses to “But it's So Old...”

Homebody Says:
December 1st, 2010 at 03:26 pm 1291217186
1291217186

I kept my 1994 minivan (purchased brand new) until I gave it to my BIL about what.... 9 months ago. Plymouth Voyager finally blew the transmission at about 190,000 miles! Only made it to 17. I hope you beat me! Now I drive an 11 year old Toyota Camry I have had about 4 years (yes I had both cars at the same time). I miss my van, easier to get in and out of now that I have fibro. I may get another van when the time comes.
MonkeyMama Says:
December 1st, 2010 at 03:41 pm 1291218078
1291218078

The first car I had lasted 20 years, so it's kind on my benchmark. (I drove it years 13 - 20). Dh's car has a good track record though for lasting 200k+ miles, and so we just kind of expect to keep it another 10 years. It's been a very low maintenance vehicle for the first 10 years - true to it's reputation - it's a Ford.

I don't think my minivan will fare so well, because it doesn't have the best track record. Kind of a regretful purchase.
NJDebbie Says:
December 1st, 2010 at 04:57 pm 1291222678
1291222678

I'm the proud owner of a 2001 Suzuki GV XL7 which we bought new. It has a little over 62,000 miles and we plan to keep it 'til it dies. So far we've put a new battery and replaced a few sensors. We've been tempted to buy a new car, but thankfully we've beat the temptation.
momcents Says:
December 1st, 2010 at 07:15 pm 1291230948
1291230948

Sadly, we will soon need to be parting ways with our old minivan (a '97, purchased in '00, with a new transmission put in in '05). It has 120,000+ miles on it, and the brakes are starting to squeak, the driver's side door won't close in the cold (door will open, but mechanism will not close), the transmission is starting to slip up at times, and it is starting to rust on the undercarriage. It owes us nothing else. We have $4,500 saved to replace it with a four-door car. We definitely run our cars as long as we can!
ceejay74 Says:
December 1st, 2010 at 07:50 pm 1291233016
1291233016

Oy. The "newest" car I ever had was five years old. I'm dreading the day when we decide we can't live carless anymore; it's been so blissful not to have to worry about any of this! When I do have to buy one, it seems like used is the way to go, with a repair escrow fund instead of the monthly loan payment!
Homebody Says:
December 1st, 2010 at 11:55 pm 1291247731
1291247731

My 1986 Toyota Tercel Wagon was just sold by my FIL to a family friend. It turned over 100,000 at least twice. I so regret selling that one to my father-in-law! My first 1977 Datsun B210 I sold to my dad and he drove it forever!
baselle Says:
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:27 am 1291249671
1291249671

Choked, eh? I think I would have smiled. Even splurging on auto detailing to get a new car smell would have been more frugal.
marvholly Says:
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:19 pm 1291292364
1291292364

MANY years ago, just after I wrote the last tuition check for DD2, I told my DH that we needed to start car shopping for me since my car was now old enough to drive on its own (16).
miclason Says:
December 2nd, 2010 at 05:11 pm 1291309884
1291309884

mine is a 2000 Hyunday... I guess it has reached ANCIENT status by your friend's standards... I think I can still get at least 5 more years out of it! (or so I hope! Streets here are so bad, cars tend to break down a lot!)
frugaltexan75 Says:
December 4th, 2010 at 01:43 am 1291427006
1291427006

My 97 Honda Civic is still chugging along. Hope to keep it chugging as long as possible.
patientsaver Says:
December 5th, 2010 at 12:54 pm 1291553690
1291553690

My 12-year-old Civic is still running perfectly, with just 118,000 miles on it. I would like to keep it for a few more years. The only thing i worry about with an older car is possibly breaking down on the road during my long commute. That's less likely to happen with a newer car, but i hope that as long as i keep up with the maintenance (and i do) there should be less chance of a "surprise."

And i'd like to add that although my 1999 Civic was EPA-rated 36/25, which is certainly competitive with ANY non-hybrid on the road today, i actually average 39 mpg due to my driving habits. So even less reason to part with it.
whitestripe Says:
December 6th, 2010 at 06:23 am 1291616622
1291616622

My nissan pulsar is 12 years old, I bought it when it was 8. The other day when I was getting a wheel alignment and new tyres, the mechanic said something about 'these old cars...'.
Funny because I never really thought of my car as old - more like just 'not new'. LOL. DF said the same thing within a week, too. We are looking at getting a new(to us) car next year or the year after. If my car had not been in an accident before I bought it, I would keep it and use it. Alas, it often has weird things go wrong with it due to the collision and I wouldn't want to risk driving it around when we start a family. It has been good to us though, in the 3 years we have had it.
kerieellsworth Says:
December 19th, 2010 at 02:25 am 1292725538
1292725538

I don't think I've ever owned a car less then 9 years old. If you figure out what you'd pay yearly for a new car and compare it to car repairs on a reliable used vehicle, the used wins everytime.
crazyliblady Says:
December 20th, 2010 at 10:06 pm 1292882762
1292882762

I think I might have asked my friends who wanted to get rid of their icky, old car how much they want for it. After all, it's so old and icky that they probably don't think it's worth much, right? Even if I didn't want to keep it, I could clean it up, detail it, and take it to a used car place. ;P

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

But it's So Old...

14 Responses to “But it's So Old...”

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