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About Me:

Monkey Mama

Just a 47-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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2024 Goals

[ ]Small monthly Charitable Contribution
...($230 @ 8/31/24)
...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
MM YEAR 5

DL YEAR 1 ✔
DL YEAR 2 ✔
DL YEAR 3

[ ]$10,000 to savings
...($7,749 @ 10/31/24)
...$1,000/month, plus interest
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$7,500 to investments
...($4,786 @ 10/31/24)
...~~$350~~ $400/month, plus snowflakes
(Snowflakes: credit card rewards and dividends)
...Topping off with snowballs
...Note: Bumped up to $400 9/1, re: reduced food expenses

[ ]$2,025 to mortgage
...($0 @ 10/31/24)
...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% @ 10/31/24)
...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 @ 10/31/24)
...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>
2023: +$ 90,000
TOTAL: +$570,000

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

The Neverending Cable Monopoly

February 7th, 2012 at 03:06 pm

OMG, thank you Netflix for helping us cut that cable cord!

I just blogged a little bit about dh's unique love for cable (he is a film maker - he loves his TV and movies).

But, secondarily, he is also extremely frugal and has no love for the monopoly of cable. The only reason I think we had cable so willingly for so long was due to the little mom and pop cable company we had (they were cheap and awesome).

Life has been in a bit of turmoil since Comcast bought them out a few years back. We went to Surewest, eventually, which is locally based. Expensive as heck, but a much more pleasant experience than Comcast, Dish, or any of the others.

Anyway, even though we dropped cable, Surewest is who we would return to if we felt the need to go back. I don't think we feel that we have any other decent options.

AND we still have our super high speed internet with them.

Should have seen it coming. They just got bought out by a mega company.

Frown

Dh e-mailed me late last night when he saw the news. HE said "At least it wasn't Comcast."

Another GREAT company gets bought out. I think it's safe to say all their customer service and awesomeness just went down the tubes.

Posted in Just Thinking | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “The Neverending Cable Monopoly”

Bob B. Says:
February 7th, 2012 at 04:45 pm 1328633157
1328633157

We dropped our dish service probably 2 years ago. Lots of Netflix.
Looking Forward Says:
February 7th, 2012 at 07:02 pm 1328641350
1328641350

It seems as though the no-cable-thing is working out for you so that's good.
MonkeyMama Says:
February 7th, 2012 at 08:43 pm 1328647393
1328647393

Yes, but this is the only company that offers fiber optic internet, so that is the bad part...
Looking Forward Says:
February 8th, 2012 at 04:39 am 1328675943
1328675943

Oh... bummer. Hopefully it'll all be fine.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

The Neverending Cable Monopoly

4 Responses to “The Neverending Cable Monopoly”

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