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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

Super Bummed!

February 10th, 2009 at 09:32 pm

Kind of in a tailspin here.

The preschool is closing. Moving to a faraway state. Moving to cheaper lands.

I can't help but find it ironic that everyone we have come to love here ends up leaving due to the high cost of living. The irony is we moved here for the low cost of living.

It's all relative!

But yeah, dh and I seem to have those rare jobs that translate into jobs anywhere. I think that is our edge here. Our pay didn't suffer with the move; not at all. But for the people leaving, they just don't have the job opportunities.

Anyway, the whole thing leaves me feeling rather frustrated. My dh and I never moved as children. We moved here to build a very stable life for our kids. As stable as we could. Then everyone we come to love moves away. I've known my best friend since I Was like 5. I am not sure my kids will get the same kind of friendships, with everyone moving so much. *sigh*

& then you wonder why the heck no one leaves expensive land (where we come from). Most of our friends are still there! But it's where the jobs are. Few seem to care about the insane cost of living.

Just a lot at play, I guess!

Anyway, we are kind of devastated. & now we are in preschool limbo.

Honestly, I'd be happy to put LM in somewhere insanely cheap (city preschool) for the next 18 months or so, and leave it at that. Dh has been immeasurably spoiled. Anything like what we are used to will be out of our price range anywhere else. Plus the only reason we have him in full days is because it is out by my work, to save on the gas. So I put the seeds in dh's head today that maybe he won't get so much of a break for the next 18 months. But maybe we could really save some money. & he does start school in 18 months.

We have much to discuss.

I think overall this could be good for my job. I spend so much time driving kids and such. We will save on gas. I will have more time for work, 9-5 anyway. So it's not all bad. But we would have been done with preschool soon enough anyway. *sigh*

I am SO glad now we put LM in so early though. It was more to help me last tax season (to give dh a break and to keep his grump level down so I could work more). But if not I am not sure he would have had much time with Ms. Preschool. He was blessed to have a little over a year. He has grown much in that environment.

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

We did go to look at a daycare behind our house today. One we could walk to. There were no kids over 2 and it was $45/day. Ugh. (We pay $35/day now). We've got our work cut out for us.

& wherever we end up, has some pretty big shoes to fill!

The good thing is last we shopped, BM was only 2 and few would take him part-time. Why we ended up so far away from home. So, being about 4 and of proper preschool age, I think there will be a lot more part-time, and affordable, choices. Phew.

Posted in Just Thinking | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “Super Bummed!”

my english castle Says:
February 10th, 2009 at 10:01 pm 1234303312
1234303312

That's a tough change--both for the kids and for you.
Good luck finding something that is both good and affordable.
zetta Says:
February 11th, 2009 at 02:46 am 1234320368
1234320368

Take a look at the local church-run preschools and programs offered by the city park system. Around here they seem to be the best deal, and cater toward families with a SAHP -- half day 2-3 times a week.
frugaltexan75 Says:
February 11th, 2009 at 03:17 am 1234322246
1234322246

I'm the opposite of you. I grew up moving every few years. I have good friends spread out across the country, unfortunately I've lost touch with most of them. I think it was good for me in some ways, but there are a few places I wish we could have stayed longer.

I hope you're able to find a good alternative to Ms. Preschool.
monkeymama Says:
February 11th, 2009 at 03:05 pm 1234364712
1234364712

The city parks and rec is the one we are looking at. But we would go down from 8 hours a day to 2 hours a day so it kind of sucks! Way more expensive on a per hour basis. For much less.

& the church - I won't even go there.
Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
February 11th, 2009 at 05:52 pm 1234374765
1234374765

I kinda identify, but through different circumstances. We live in inner city. All my son's childhood, the families of his little friends would leave the city as soon as they could afford to. It made long friendships unlikely and made for organized kids programs run on too few resources and constantly closing down. We used to darkly joke that if you wanted to close down an art center, a YMCA, a t-ball, team, a choir, a scout troop just enroll my kid in it and it will be shut down within 6 months....Well, we were stable, but the world beyond our family was not. "Doors slamming shut" all the time did affect my son's outlook on life --both positively and negatively. But I do think it would have been better for him if things had been more stable.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Super Bummed!

5 Responses to “Super Bummed!”

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