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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

Credit Card Statements

June 19th, 2013 at 02:18 pm

I don't particularly look at my credit card statements, because I download everything. So basically, I find statements to be rather useless in this day and age, and for my own purposes.

So these newer disclosures kind of trip me up when I see them:

O.M.G. The balance on this card was about $1,425. (Minimum payment of $25?)

Well, at least my month of Target groceries could be paid off in 5 months. Doesn't sound so bad in comparison.

I tried to look at my CU Visa credit card and I could not access them. I wonder if I have *ever* looked at them???

For reference, I have always carried credit cards for rewards and convenience. I have never in my life charged a penny that I didn't already have the cash to cover. So, these balances are all paid off each and every month. The idea of taking 12 years to pay off one month of expenses makes my skin crawl.

Posted in Just Thinking | 6 Comments »

6 Responses to “Credit Card Statements”

creditcardfree Says:
June 19th, 2013 at 03:14 pm 1371654877
1371654877

I agree! I remember when these disclosures first came out, my friend was actually thrilled to see the math and see when she would be done paying on the card. She didn't care a whip about the interest she was paying. I think she was still using the card...thus the date wasn't going to stay the same! My hope is that some people actually see that disclosure and it motivates them to stop using the card and pay MORE than the minimum.
Chy Says:
June 19th, 2013 at 03:49 pm 1371656994
1371656994

We recently had a statement that said at the bottom it would take 47 years and 8 months to pay off the balance if we only made the minimum payments! We also only charge what we have, so we have never, in 32 years ever paid a dime of interest. That particular month was very high because we had a film shoot and all the rentals, catering, wardrobes, etc. we charged. The day the invoice came in with payment, we took it to the bank and paid it off before we even got the statement in hand. It didn't lay out the interest just the time factor. Scary!
MonkeyMama Says:
June 19th, 2013 at 04:02 pm 1371657739
1371657739

@Chy - O.M.G. !!!
Xtreme Thunder Says:
June 19th, 2013 at 05:35 pm 1371663306
1371663306

I just got my card statement recently as well and only had a $25 balance and the minimum due was $10 and total payoff time was 3 months paying just the minimum!
Elle Says:
June 20th, 2013 at 02:40 am 1371696038
1371696038

I've never looked at these before (also pay off cards each month) but next month I'm going to!
FrugalTexan75 Says:
June 26th, 2013 at 08:25 pm 1372278340
1372278340

I look at my online statements from time to time just to see what the current interest rate is, and have seen those disclosures. It's pretty scary to think how long it could take to pay small amounts off with just minimum payments.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Credit Card Statements

6 Responses to “Credit Card Statements”

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