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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.

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

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

So Much for That...

September 9th, 2010 at 01:53 pm

I dumped our $6/month Green energy fee on our electric bill. It's a good program, but everything has been going up and up, so it seemed like a logical cut.

OF course, I just dumped it, and then I regretted it a bit when I Was looking at it again. For everyone who pays $6, their share of energy is 100% renewable. I didn't remember it being quite so direct. No wonder we signed up!

Anyway, I just got the last bill, and they adjusted our balanced billing up by $5/month. My first thought was that this mostly offsets are gas decrease of $6/month. I guess that's a wash.

But, then I realized that they completely did not take into affect our $6/month payment reduction. They just averaged our last 12 months.

So much for that! I should sign back up. They change the amount every 12 months. So, am stuck with it for another year.

Anyway, our gas/electric is averaging $103 a month now, down from $104 last year. $6 of that is completely voluntary green energy. All else being equal, it should knock down to $97, next year.

I will have to consider just adding the green energy back. Paying for it anyway.

I must say further attempts at energy savings seem to be failing. New computer monitor was bought largely in that vain, and dh sung the praises of the energy efficiency of his new TV. But, energy usage seems to remain unchanged.

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

Dh found a great deal on a Blu Ray yesterday - it was $10. He sold his DVD copy within hours, on Amazon. (Kind of unexpected how quickly it sold), for $20.

I admit this is one area where dh and I differ, and the kind of thing an "allowance" comes in handy for. I have no idea why anyone would waste all that money on DVDs, etc. I wouldn't spend a dime of my own money on that stuff.

But, dh is a different breed. All that said, when you walk in and see his extensive DVD/Blu Ray collection, you can kind of guess what people are thinking. Reality is that he is making money by converting to Blu Ray. Kind of funny. One of his more recent finds was Toy Story, practically free after rebates and coupons. Plus, it came with movie tickets, and of course, he sold the DVD.

Who knew someone would pay $20 for a used DVD? IT had special bonus features or something like that. You got me!

Posted in Just Thinking | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “So Much for That...”

Homebody Says:
September 9th, 2010 at 02:36 pm 1284042995
1284042995

Do you have PG&E? I don't know what green thing you are talking about. Probably I tossed any insert that came with the bill though, I usually do! Both our gas and electricity usage is down a tiny bit over last year. I did get the rebate over the winter though for getting our usage down because we used wood heat mostly. Eek I need to call the chimney sweep today!
MonkeyMama Says:
September 9th, 2010 at 03:17 pm 1284045420
1284045420

We have SMUD for electricity and PGE for gas. I have not heard good things about PGE's programs (surprise, surprise - big Corporate giant). They at least have a carbon offset program - maybe more. SMUD (Sacto Muni Utilities) has much better green programs.
Looking Forward Says:
September 9th, 2010 at 06:03 pm 1284055432
1284055432

I wouldn't pay $20 for a NEW DVD
FrugalTexan75 Says:
September 9th, 2010 at 06:11 pm 1284055862
1284055862

Someone paying $20 for a NEW DVD stumps me, let alone a used one. But then I'm happy with Netflix and seeing all the movies I could ever want to see -- without the hassle of storage.
MonkeyMama Says:
September 11th, 2010 at 12:29 am 1284164983
1284164983

I wouldn't pay $1 for a DVD, myself. But, dh would pay a lot. He loves his movies. (Well, these days, Blu Ray only).

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

So Much for That...

5 Responses to “So Much for That...”

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