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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.

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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
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

Auto Insurance

June 16th, 2011 at 02:01 pm

I got dh's auto insurance renewal and was able to sign up for the low mileage discount for him.

His premiums had reduced $70 per year, anyway. When I get the paper bill I will look at what changed. Woohoo!

I then got a $20 up front discount for signing up for the low miles discount. It's State Farm "Drive Safe and Save" which I mentioned recently. Before you had to drive less than 7500 mils or so per year to get any discount, but if you sign up for this program they have a tiered savings program. Since we drive about 10k miles per year, each car, will have a chance to save 5% - 10% off our premiums.

I signed up my van before, but had to wait for the other car's insurance to renew.

Before we moved to Sacramento we had just turned 25. I remember our auto insurance was next to nothing (neither of us had collision insurance either, with our OLD cars). We moved up here and it immediately doubled. Rolleyes I could quickly see why. I drive different here. Everyone is CRAZY. I wouldn't label Bay Area drivers as the best and the safest, but when I am there it's TOTALLY different. People are polite there. Here? God forbid you try to merge. People rather run you off the road. Literally. God forbid you drive the speed limit, etc. Everyone is in some insane huge hurry - no idea why. & just little patience when anyone gets in their way.

Thus, I understand the high insurance.

So, to see dh's auto insurance drop below $300 per semi-annual renewal, is pretty sweet! Was $400 just a couple of years ago - and this car hasn't had collision in many years either. So, it's just the liability insurance. We are probably paying more than we were a decade ago, still. But it's getting better.

Posted in Just Thinking | 7 Comments »

7 Responses to “Auto Insurance”

Ima saver Says:
June 16th, 2011 at 04:44 pm 1308242645
1308242645

That still seems high to me. I am only paying about $300 every 6 months for a new corvette. (full coverage)
MonkeyMama Says:
June 16th, 2011 at 07:19 pm 1308251971
1308251971

Yes - it is definitely VERY high here. & trust me - we have shopped around. & we both have *perfect* driving records. Of course, is a huge incentive to keep it that way!

I just had no idea a 100-mile move would DOUBLE our insurance. It probably wasn't "low" to begin with being California and all.
Looking Forward Says:
June 16th, 2011 at 07:48 pm 1308253711
1308253711

That's great! And I'm pretty sure Cali has the highest auto insurance rates. Blah.. I think crime might also be factor??

On a totally unrelated topic: I started watching Game of Thrones. Love it! Love it! And I have caught up on all the episodes, staying up 'til midnight Now I am thinking I should read the books. I have a question for you if you don't mind. Does the show start where the first book starts? If so, how far into the book has the TV show gotten? Thanks.
MonkeyMama Says:
June 16th, 2011 at 08:35 pm 1308256548
1308256548

Yes - the first season (10 episodes) is the first book. Starts on page 1.
It's about 1000-ish pages, so you can imagine how much had to be cut or glossed over in the series. In the last episode when Tyrion was knocked out at the beginning of the battle I thought, "I don't remember it happening that way." Then dh voiced the same thing alound. I think it summed it up, kept it short, and saved them money on effects (to not have to show battle). The fight scenes with Tyrion are always kind of amusing in the book. Likewise, Daenrys character makes little sense in the rushed pace of HBO. BTW, we both had no idea Renly & the Knight of Flowers were gay. VERY subtle in the book.

Glad you like it! It only gets better...
MonkeyMama Says:
June 16th, 2011 at 08:37 pm 1308256678
1308256678

We also have more than the minimum liability coverage. I am sure we could get *cheaper* insurance - not sure we'd want it!
Looking Forward Says:
June 16th, 2011 at 10:53 pm 1308264799
1308264799

Thanks! Have you looked at all the "stuff" they have at HBO's homepage for Game of Thrones? A really neat map and family trees for the different houses.
I'm really not trying to hijack your comment section with all this unrelated talk... Really.
MonkeyMama Says:
June 17th, 2011 at 12:30 am 1308270647
1308270647

I am glad someone is excited about it!
I haven't really looked at the website much. The books do have the family trees, which is a must to keep track of the story. The online ones may be a nicer reference.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Auto Insurance

7 Responses to “Auto Insurance”

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