<< Back to all Blogs

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.

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

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.

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

**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."}

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

My Pages

Amazon Marketplace

September 15th, 2011 at 04:37 pm

We ditched ebay over a year ago (too many stupid rules, and problems) and switched over to Amazon Marketplace.

Amazon is not perfect, but has been little to complain about.

Until dh got a note that he can not sell anything from mid-November to mid January because only existing sellers with good feedback and who sell 25 things or so in last 60 days, can sell during Christmas season.

What the...?

Sucks for us, because is the time of year we make the most sales.

Sucks for buyers because this severely thins the competition.

Anyway, he is a long-term seller (sold last Christmas with no complaints) and has nothing but positive feedback. But, just doesn't do that full-time type volume.

Whatevah!

Will probably research 3rd option for Christmas time selling. ??? Doubt we will resort to Ebay. & will complain a lot, too, yes.

Posted in Just Thinking | 8 Comments »

8 Responses to “Amazon Marketplace”

dmontngrey Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 05:09 pm 1316106560
1316106560

Stupidity at its finest! Doesn't Amazon make money off his sales anyway? Dumb.
ThriftoRama Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 06:20 pm 1316110836
1316110836

That is kind of dumb. I could see that they don't want scammers signing up to dupe people that time of year, but it'd be more effective just to prevent new people from becoming sellers, rather than limit old ones. I hate red tape.
Looking Forward Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 06:30 pm 1316111426
1316111426

Stupid! So much for a "free" marketplace/trade.

BTW, how's book 5 going?
MonkeyMama Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 06:44 pm 1316112262
1316112262

Book 5 is not going at all. I have to see where I am in the queue (library). I was reading a few pages here and there, but then got some library books I had been waiting for so switched to those. (Think I need to read in one fell swoop - not this bits and pieces thing. Dh is not done yet). Did you finish it???
Looking Forward Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 11:39 pm 1316129973
1316129973

Yes I finished it, I read it in 10 days. Couldn't put it down But that's how I read when I'm realy interested in a book. I should have read slower, but I couldn't. I'm sure I will have ample time to re-read before the next book comes out.
MonkeyMama Says:
September 16th, 2011 at 12:12 am 1316131976
1316131976

"Yes I finished it, I read it in 10 days." - I am sure I Will too - the sharing with dh is the hard part (he is a much slower reader than I am - though I am surprised he is not finished yet!!). Which is fine - November is a good/slow month for me. & if library ebook comes at a good time, I will be extra motivated (I like making the print extra large!). I don't really want to dive in until I have 10 days with nothing to do and the ability to ignore the family with the least revolting.
MonkeyMama Says:
September 16th, 2011 at 04:05 am 1316145940
1316145940

I am #2 on waiting list!!! 3 copies. Means I will get it on vacation, and will have to bring laptop and make sure I don't miss the window to download it. Plus, probably won't have any time to read. So, that's my guess! (But, if so, will just read it when I get back)!
Looking Forward Says:
September 18th, 2011 at 04:34 pm 1316363678
1316363678

"..and the ability to ignore the family with the least revolting" Haha!
My nose was in the book all the time. Plus it was worse because I was reading from the first book all the way thru..By the time I was on book 5 DH and DD were feeling a bit ignored.

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)

Name:	*
Email:	Will not be published.
	Subscribe: Notify me of additional comments to this entry.
URL:
Verification:	* Please spell out the number 4. [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]

Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Amazon Marketplace

8 Responses to “Amazon Marketplace”

Leave a Reply