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About Me:

Monkey Mama

Just a 48-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. We've always saved 100% of MH's income, but we are starting to dial that down a bit in 2023-2025.

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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2025 Goals

[ ]Small monthly Charitable Contribution
...($374 @ 6/30/25)
...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 ✔
MM YEAR 5

DL YEAR 1 ✔
DL YEAR 2 ✔
DL YEAR 3
DL YEAR 4

[ ]$10,000 to savings
...($6,495 @ 6/30/25)
...$1,000/month, plus interest
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$5,000 to investments
**STRETCH GOAL $7,500**
...($2,723 @ 6/30/25)
...$300/month, plus snowflakes
(Snowflakes: credit card rewards and dividends)
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$1,700 to mortgage
...($0 @ 6/30/25)
...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% @ 6/30/25)
...This is the minimum for the match; I'd otherwise rather fund IRAs.

Goal savings rate = 25% of gross salary, plus funding IRAs from other sources.

[ ]$6,000 to IRAs 2024
**STRETCH GOAL $14,000 (MAX)**
...($0 @ 6/30/25)
...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 2025 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: $75,000 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>
2023: +$ 90,000
2024: +$95,000
TOTAL: +$665,000

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

Insane Birthday Parties

March 17th, 2007 at 02:50 am

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1581036,00.html

Interesting read - anyone with kids, particularly in California I am sure, has seen this.

I was just pondering this because I guess a big giant bouncy house is the norm for the 1-4 year old set. I do not get it in the LEAST!!! Sure the boys love going to all these fancy parties with bouncy houses and food galore. But it is just insanity. & the gifts too.

I simply do not play along. In fact, most of the time I specifically ask for no gifts. It has just gotten so out of control. I remember one of my first posts here I Was asking for frugal birthday gift ideas and a few people said I should be more worried about saving up money for my kids' birthdays. Look, the are 1 & 3 - why should I Save up a lot of money to throw a party???? Some favors form ebay and some snacks and pizza just about cover it. Betty Crocker cake or cupcakes make them pleased as punch. & the kids have had some really nice parties. Simple, but nice. The worst is feeding the crowd, and often we just serve appetizers to avoid that.

It's sad that so many people feel so strapped and yet do play along. I guess personally I just don't get it. Was thinking about it because kids just went to yet another super fancy party, and was just invited to one with a bouncy house for a 1 year old. ????? OF course the 1-year-old parties are ALWAYS the fanciest. I am not even sure if we even had one for 1 - LOL.

Often the thought crosses my mind, if this is for 1, um, how do you top this when they are 4, 5, 6... I guess the article alludes to what happens...

Hey my niece got a pony for her birthday - pony rides. YEesh. Just remembered that one - she turned 2.

Posted in Just Thinking | 6 Comments »

6 Responses to “Insane Birthday Parties”

PRICEPLUS Says:
March 17th, 2007 at 02:58 am 1174100295
1174100295

It almsot seems there is a competition sometimes to see who can throw the most lavish party! I don't get it but it seems to be becoming the norm these days!
monkeymama Says:
March 17th, 2007 at 04:23 am 1174105418
1174105418

Agreed - I have never felt pressure to do the big party. People don't seem to mind our low-key approach. I guess when you realize that it is easy to step back and not play along... Crazy wheelbarrow ride sounds pretty fun! LOL.
KEALINA Says:
March 17th, 2007 at 07:48 am 1174117734
1174117734

i've seen that article... it's very crazy... first birthday are a big cultural event locally and lots of people have a big party which my DH and i have already decided we don't want to get sucked into...we're definately keeping it simple...i know a couple that actually spent about as much on their babies first birthday as we did on our wedding...
Ima saver Says:
March 17th, 2007 at 12:57 pm 1174136277
1174136277

What is a bouncy house???
Carolina Bound Says:
March 17th, 2007 at 01:33 pm 1174138425
1174138425

My kids never had one of those big parties. The most lavish it ever got was an overnight with friends, pizza and a video, and a nice breakfast in the morning. Of course, that was when they were somewhat older than the age group you're talking about. When they were toddlers, they didn't get parties, just a simple family gathering with cake and a camera. Pony rides for a two-year-old? That's nuts!

Julie, a bouncy house is one of those inflatable "houses" that kids can enter and bounce around on the "floor." You see them at amusement parks sometimes. They can be rented for parties.
LuckyRobin Says:
March 22nd, 2007 at 05:37 am 1174541856
1174541856

We had a pony party for my daughter's 4th birthday. We split the cost with her best friend's family, who's daughter was born the day before mine. We got 2 hours at a pony farm that also had a petting zoo and they provided the cakes and clean up. We were out $50 each, and my daughter still talks about it 6 years later. But we did it because she was horse crazy. I figure one big party every 8 years or so per kid, if they are into it. Most of the time we don't have parties, just cake and ice cream after dinner. We let them open presents in the morning, because that's all they really want the minute the get up and I would have loved it as a child.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Insane Birthday Parties

6 Responses to “Insane Birthday Parties”

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