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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.

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

2026 Goals

[ ]Small monthly Charitable Contribution
...($32 @ 2/28/26)
...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.
...#3 I don't understand why I would find student loan interest rates to be useful, as a middle class person with a high credit score. Would do better to borrow money from anywhere else. I think point #2 is more my 'hells no' reason, but this is my 'I don't get it' reason.

DL YEAR 1 ✔
DL YEAR 2 ✔
DL YEAR 3 ✔
DL YEAR 4
DL Teaching Credential

MM YEARS 1-5 ✔

[ ]$10,000 to savings
...(-$4,960** @ 3/31/26)
...$1,000/month, plus interest
...Topping off with snowballs
**Yes, that's a negative! 2026 started out rough, with some large emergency expenses.

[ ]$7,500 to investments
...($1,140 @ 3/31/26)
...$300/month, plus snowflakes
(Snowflakes: credit card rewards and dividends)
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$1,500 to mortgage
...($0 @ 3/31/26)
...Topping off with snowballs and/or excess cash
...Keeps us on track with $10K principal paydown per year

Taxable Investing/Saving rate is 14%.

[/]9% of household income to work retirement plans
...(9% @ 3/31/26)
...This is the minimum for the match; I'd otherwise rather fund IRAs.

[ ]$0 to IRAs 2026
**STRETCH GOAL $17,200 (MAX)**
...($0 @ 3/31/26)
...This seems pointless, other than the 'unexpected money' factor.
...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.

Total investing/savings rate is 23%. Making progress on dialing this down from 30%.

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

**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**

As of 2026, our primary goal is just to contribute enough to retirement to receive employer match (9%).

~~Have decided to pretty much stay the course. Keep saving 20%+ to retirement. This means taking 401K match & maxing out IRAs.~~

Pre Financial Independence:

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.

Post Financial Independence:

I wish I could contribute 0% to retirement (age 50+). But that free company match... Just to be clear why we are dipping below that magic 10% number at this point in our lives. We are done saving for retirement and are letting the investments (and employer contributions) do the hard work.

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

Debt: $65,000 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>
2023: +$ 90,000
2024: +$ 95,000
2025: +$115,000
TOTAL: +$780,000

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

Archives

Array
(
    [May 2026] => /2026/05/
    [Apr 2026] => /2026/04/
    [Mar 2026] => /2026/03/
    [Feb 2026] => /2026/02/
    [Jan 2026] => /2026/01/
    [Dec 2025] => /2025/12/
    [Nov 2025] => /2025/11/
    [Oct 2025] => /2025/10/
    [Sep 2025] => /2025/09/
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    [Dec 2023] => /2023/12/
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    [Sep 2023] => /2023/09/
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    [Jul 2023] => /2023/07/
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    [Dec 2022] => /2022/12/
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    [Oct 2022] => /2022/10/
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    [Aug 2022] => /2022/08/
    [Jul 2022] => /2022/07/
    [Jun 2022] => /2022/06/
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    [Jan 2022] => /2022/01/
    [Dec 2021] => /2021/12/
    [Nov 2021] => /2021/11/
    [Oct 2021] => /2021/10/
    [Sep 2021] => /2021/09/
    [Aug 2021] => /2021/08/
    [Jul 2021] => /2021/07/
    [Jun 2021] => /2021/06/
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    [Apr 2021] => /2021/04/
    [Mar 2021] => /2021/03/
    [Feb 2021] => /2021/02/
    [Jan 2021] => /2021/01/
    [Dec 2020] => /2020/12/
    [Nov 2020] => /2020/11/
    [Oct 2020] => /2020/10/
    [Sep 2020] => /2020/09/
    [Aug 2020] => /2020/08/
    [Jul 2020] => /2020/07/
    [Jun 2020] => /2020/06/
    [May 2020] => /2020/05/
    [Apr 2020] => /2020/04/
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    [Feb 2020] => /2020/02/
    [Jan 2020] => /2020/01/
    [Dec 2019] => /2019/12/
    [Nov 2019] => /2019/11/
    [Oct 2019] => /2019/10/
    [Apr 2019] => /2019/04/
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    [Nov 2018] => /2018/11/
    [Oct 2018] => /2018/10/
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    [Jul 2018] => /2018/07/
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    [Apr 2017] => /2017/04/
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    [Nov 2014] => /2014/11/
    [Oct 2014] => /2014/10/
    [Sep 2014] => /2014/09/
    [Aug 2014] => /2014/08/
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    [Dec 2013] => /2013/12/
    [Nov 2013] => /2013/11/
    [Oct 2013] => /2013/10/
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    [Aug 2012] => /2012/08/
    [Jul 2012] => /2012/07/
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    [Oct 2006] => /2006/10/
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)

Sites I Enjoy

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Date Started: Sep 14, 2006
Entries: 3,008
Comments: 8,230
Total Visits: 17,244,790

Home > A New Way to Waste Time...

A New Way to Waste Time...

July 13th, 2007 at 04:28 pm

Hey, this is me! LOL.

The simpsonsmovie website had an avatar thing. I tried this in the Southpark format before but could not find a way to save and use. I figured this would have the same issue (it is) until I remembered the good old "Print scrn" button which I use to show my spreadhseets. Wala.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “A New Way to Waste Time...”

T_I_N_A20 Says:
July 13th, 2007 at 06:18 pm 1184350705
1184350705

that is so cool!
Broken Arrow Says:
July 13th, 2007 at 07:33 pm 1184355205
1184355205

Haha, that is awesome!

Yeah, I've played with a South Park version before, but not a Simpsons one.
monkeymama Says:
July 14th, 2007 at 01:32 pm 1184419957
1184419957

I am just not sure why my lips turned brown (were originally rosy) - hehe - but I can go with it...
baselle Says:
July 16th, 2007 at 01:47 am 1184550439
1184550439

That's great - I picked the atomic pattern T-shirt for mine, too.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

A New Way to Waste Time...

4 Responses to “A New Way to Waste Time...”

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