About Me

Monkey Mama

Just a 41-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.

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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**Ting Referral Code**
https://z181d126bt4.ting.com
$25 off for you & $25 credit for me

In 2017 we are adding both our kids to our cell plan. This will add a whole $12 to our monthly cell bill, which was only $30/month for the two of us. Thank You TING!

BTW, Ting did also lower their rates, if you haven't checked the numbers recently.

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2019 Goals

**Financial**

[ ]$12,000 to IRAs 2019 (MAX)
...($0 @ 1/1/19)
...Not entirely sure how we will fund this. Because my salary decreased by $12,000 this year, this was the obvious thing to give. It will have to come from gifts, MH's income, my bonus, and/or shifting money from taxable investments. Funding our IRAs is always our first priority, but just will not be funded from my salary.

[ ]$7,000 to savings
...($5,000 @ 3/15/19)
...$550/month, plus interest.
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$1,500 to investments
...($371 @ 3/15/19)
...Funded with snowflakes

[X]9% of my full-time income to work retirement plan
...This is the minimum for the match; I'd otherwise rather fund IRAs.

Goal savings rate = 20% of gross salary, plus funding IRAs from other sources

STRETCH GOAL:

[ ]$6,000 to mortgage
...($0 @ 01/01/19)
...$3k per year to pay off in 20 years (from last refi); also ensures that we pay more principal than interest
...In years past I had funded with OT, but am no longer working at a job with OT. This is a placeholder because we skipped 2018. If we have a windfall of any sort, I'd like to pay down $3,000 for 2018 and $3,000 for 2019. For now, this is our lowest financial priority (expect to fund some home improvements instead during 2019, and tend to other expensive cash flow items first).

In addition, we save 100% of MH's (net) income ~ most goes to 401k/taxes.

--Note to self: Utilize library museum freebies

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**Long-Term Goals**

Current big picture goal:

$500,000 in retirement accounts by age 45.

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: $150,000 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
TOTAL: +$121,000

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

April Additions

May 2nd, 2008 at 06:40 am

2008 $20 challenge:

$2,160.00 - 4/16

$ 100.00 - ROTH Contributions - May
86.00 - April Interest
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$2,346.00 - Balance 5/1
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Not terribly exciting - nothing new.

I have a balance transfer (though small) that expires in June. So enjoying a little extra interest in the meantime. Which is the easiest to earn. Big Grin

Posted in | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “April Additions”

Louise Says:
May 22nd, 2008 at 09:03 am

Hello, I just came across your blog, I was wondering exactly how does the 20 dollard challenge work, d i have to find 20s or something, I am not really sure?
Savings Accounts Says:
September 16th, 2008 at 09:29 am

This really seems like a hike, I came across this post and expected a more detailed description on how to enter the challenge? As You can tell I will do anything to increase my income, this includes financial quizzes and stocks. Please do come back to me with more info.

Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

April Additions

2 Responses to “April Additions”

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