<< Back to all Blogs

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.

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

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
...($6,653 @ 4/30/24)
...$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% @ 4/30/24)
...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.

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

**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.

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

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."}

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

My Pages

Lunch Challenge - Taking Inventory

June 1st, 2010 at 03:51 pm

Bringing lunch/snacks to work is a lifestyle for me. But I joined the challenge - gives me something to blog about.

I pledged to bring lunch in 16 of 20 working days in June.

Personally, I have to work on eating out more. Lunch is my social/date time. (It's a frugal thing as dh and I can meet for lunch, and not have to pay for a babysitter. I meet another friend at Taco Bell all the time because it's just easier to meet/socialize in the middle of a weekday than any time else. & it's hard to eat for much cheaper than Taco Bell!).

But, dh and I got out of our lunch date routines during tax season. & yikes, I just realize the kids only have a couple of more weeks of school! So will plan dates for the next 2 weeks, probably.

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

Today I plan to go home for lunch. I have aerobics in the evenings on Tuesdays, and that makes for a long day.

I usually go home for lunch and pack up my gym clothes. Today I can deposit my paycheck at lunch, too.

I brought a granola bar for breakfast (wasn't sure what I had at work) and a banana for some energy for aerobics. I also brought a large plastic cup for water (to fill with water from our water jugs at work). We have glasses and small paper cups around, but I like a giant cup for my water.

When I got to work I took stock of what I already have stored there:

-1 case of 8-oz sodas
-2 packages of tea bags (for winter/cold weather)
-2 frozen pizzas (generally for last minute lunch changes - happens all the time!)
-1 bag of frozen chicken nuggets (+ BBQ sauce and honey mustard sauce)
-some dinner leftovers from last week - rice/veggies
-1 yogurt
-1.5 granola bars
-1 plastic container filled with cheerios
-1 jug of apple sauce with 1 serving left
-1 bag of Sanwhich Thins (bread - is SO GOOD plain, though)

Why do I keep so much food at work? So I rarely have an excuse to go buy anything, for being out of food. I've always got something around.

Personally, I think "I don't have enough time," is a lame excuse.

Today I spent 5 seconds grabbing a cup, a granola bar and a banana.

Planning ahead and "making the time" are what it's all about. When it becomes a habit, you don't even think about it. I never pack lunch the night before, but I can generally throw something together in under a minute. To me, it's just not a time consuming thing.

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

Current Tally:

Lunch In: 1
Lunch Out: 0

Tuesday
---------
Breakfast - apple sauce, granola bar, water
Lunch - tuna with mayo & cheese, brownie, small glass of pepsi
snacks - cheerios, banana, water

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

This week could be on the boring side. Trying to hold off any grocery shopping until Friday. (May credit card month closes on Thursday). So am stuck with whatever we have at home, for snacks. Running low on a lot of it. What I have a lot of is: granola bars!

I want to buy some nuts, yogurt, and some frozen fruit for the hot smoothie weather. For lunches at home, a smoothie is great on a hot day.

Posted in What We Eat | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Lunch Challenge - Taking Inventory”

Looking Forward Says:
June 2nd, 2010 at 03:41 am 1275450088
1275450088

Taco Bell is so cheap! lol. Now they have $2 meals!
HouseHopeful Says:
June 2nd, 2010 at 03:22 pm 1275492139
1275492139

Its awesome that you have so much room for food at work. I can only take what I pack in the morning & bring the bag home at night. THere is a little room if I leave some milk or cottage cheese in there, but not for much else. PLUS people in my office will steal. Its bad.
MonkeyMama Says:
June 2nd, 2010 at 06:42 pm 1275504149
1275504149

True!

It's a plus to having a fridge/microwave and co-workers who all eat out (plenty or room for me). I always hear the stories of stealing. I've always had much more civil co-workers, but mostly worked small places. (Like 4, 5, 6 people - it would be obvious who the stealer is???).

I have my own office and can lock up food in my desk if I need to.

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)

Name:	*
Email:	Will not be published.
	Subscribe: Notify me of additional comments to this entry.
URL:
Verification:	* Please spell out the number 4. [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]

Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Lunch Challenge - Taking Inventory

3 Responses to “Lunch Challenge - Taking Inventory”

Leave a Reply