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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

Car Repairs + OT

April 17th, 2013 at 11:41 pm

Well, the *big* push at work is over, but I can't say things have slowed much. Still crazy busy for a while.

I did receive a very nice OT check. That said, I did not clear more than last year because of our tax situation. It's a bummer to earn more but to bring home less. So, I have $4700 for our China fund. I saved 100%, as was the plan. (This was also the first time I did not receive straight OT - definitely a bit of a bonus, which was nice!)

I was looking at our checkbook today trying to figure why I was feeling worse off than expected. But realized we still have not received dh's $400 for study. Rolleyes That will be much better. It really should have been here by now.

Dh is cute. He was surprised I was planning to save 100% of OT with upcoming car repairs. Silly boy. (We save for car repairs throughout the year, and he should know this).

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Having always driven much older cars, there seems to be a pattern where certain cars eat through certain parts quite often. On dh's car it has always been the motor mounts. We took it in and was as I had expected. Oh well - is the only thing we have ever really replaced first 150k miles (aside from the obvious - batteries, tires, brake pads). But it's definitely official - this car eats motor mounts! (Replacing them every 50k miles or so is infinitely cheaper than buying up in car - plan to keep this car another 5+ years).

Mechanic recommended that we replace the timing belt (probably should have done sooner, but don't take vehicle in very much). So, I thought we had replaced some belt around 100k miles but realized it was just the fan belt when I looked it up. We decided not to drive the car until we can get it back in - might be in the shop two days. So kind of an inconvenient week. We take it back tomorrow, as they were too booked to just keep the car. This will be by far the most expensive repair we have ever had on this car - and don't expect anything like this for a long while. The vehicle is very low maintenance, but belts and such do need to be replaced when you keep a car a long time.

While checking records I noted we will probably have a couple of tires to replace on dh's car this summer. Will wait until late summer, but will be good to replace before fall.

Posted in Just Thinking | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Car Repairs + OT”

FrugalTexan75 Says:
April 18th, 2013 at 02:22 am 1366251732
1366251732

My previous car (Honda) needed motor mounts replaced I think, although the other problems occurred before I had to deal with motor mounts. I never did ask how much they'd cost .. but like you said, a lot less expensive than replacing the entire car!
snafu Says:
April 18th, 2013 at 03:18 am 1366255096
1366255096

Since tire replacement is on the list and not urgent, you might consider seeing slightly used tires that an owner has traded in for 'performance' tires for their vehicle. Car aficionados or those who see themselves as performance drivers need the 'look' and you benefit on cost. Consumer reports is an excellent source of information about tires since so many "Motor Trend' type articles are subtle promotions from manufacturers and distributors.

During a super frugal periods I've bought high quality tires from wreckers for cheap. I thought it was worth the hassle of driving to city limits [wrecker yard locations], loading 4 tires in a borrowed truck, arranging tires and vehicle to local high school where with vehicle on hoist, pulled off 4 existing tires, transfered rims to newer tires and installed for a very modest cost + tire recycle fee for old tires. Did I remember to say cripes, what a hassle?
Joe Says:
April 20th, 2013 at 10:01 pm 1366495299
1366495299

It might be a good idea to replace the water pump at the same time as the timing belt. Most of the labor cost will be covered by the timing belt replacement and you will only be paying for water pump.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Car Repairs + OT

3 Responses to “Car Repairs + OT”

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