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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.

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

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

Darn Cheap Gas!

April 7th, 2012 at 02:53 pm

Not *cheap* gas, by any means, but cheaper than expected!

I thought we could retire the Citi card, AND we got our new Chase rewards cards yesterday. Woohoo! Talk about timing!

But I am checking if the gas charge showed up, and it was only $67. What the heck? That means about $3.95 per gallon. Not bad!

I think I am exactly $10 short on the $2000 spending goal (for reward). Will have to ponder on that. I suppose either of us can stop for just $10 of gas, at some point.

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

We had leftovers last night, but dh made some fresh hummus. YUM!

I've been mostly buying lunch on Saturdays (figure if I have to work and getting paid all this OT, might as well splurge). So I figure $5 for lunch today.

I also had to upgrade my Quicken, which expires this month. Amazon was cheap, and dh had a $10 credit. So it only cost me $25. I've said before, I save so much money using Quicken, it's not even funny. $25 every 3 years or so is a GREAT investment. Pretty much no mistakes ever (no overdrafts or anything like that - it is hard to mess up with an electronic check register. In the past I am sure I had more math errors). Also, there is an element of tracking expenses and knowing where we are at. Trust me, I know where *every* penny goes. But with Quicken it is not time consuming to track.

Anyway, I spent about 1/2 hour updating Quicken this morning. It only took that long because I have Quicken set up for the kids, too. So, 3 files to update. I usually don't really care much for the new versions, but I kind of like the way this one is set up. I think it is a bit of an improvement. (But, they didn't change anything major so no re-learning anything). Phew! I am pleased with how easy it was. {& also thank you to our super fast internet. It took seconds to download the software}.

I predict $0 spending tomorrow and no more spending today. Will see what comes up.

April 7:
$4 lunch
$25 Quicken Upgrade
Dinner: Mexican Salad

April 6:
-0-
Dinner: Leftovers, hummus

April 5:
$67 Gas for Minivan
Dinner: Beef & Barley Soup

April 4:
$127 for groceries
Dinner: Spinach Bique

April 3:
$60 Dentist
$42 Gas for "gas sipper"
Dinner: Shrimp Jambalaya

April 2:
$4 Togo's sandwich (lunch 2 days)
Dinner: Burritos

April 1:
$13 Groceries
$10 Sushi

Posted in Daily Expense Challenge | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “Darn Cheap Gas!”

Swimgirl Says:
April 10th, 2012 at 04:11 am 1334031113
1334031113

Where in the world did you get gas that cheap?! I got some for $4.05 and I was feeling so pleased...
Monkey Mama Says:
April 10th, 2012 at 04:49 am 1334033378
1334033378

Bel Air, with grocery coupon. Spend $100, get 25 cents off per gallon. I only fill up the van with these coupons.

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Darn Cheap Gas!

2 Responses to “Darn Cheap Gas!”

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