<< Back to all Blogs

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.

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

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.

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

**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>
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."}

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

My Pages

Double Dip

August 21st, 2012 at 02:56 pm

I decided to double dip the Chase Sapphire Card. My Money Blog had a good offer today. The reward will be $400. I am sure I could wait for a $500 reward, but this should be an *easy* one!

Spend $2k in 3 months, for $400.

Will try to get this card by the first. If I can pay this month's health insurance, next month's health insurance, and the car insurance, it will be DONE! So, that is why it's an easy one. I can hit the $2k spending limit the day I get the card. This month's insurance is due the first, and it doesn't really matter when I pay next month's - I usually pay it sometime during the month so the credit card payment is due the following month. Car insurance is due around the 4th. It is cutting it tight so if I don't get the card by the 1st, will just have to wait another month to redeem or find something else to charge.

I was going to just apply for dh too. I could get my reward immediately and we could use his card for gas and groceries, etc. for a couple of months, but he literally just redeemed this one - I figured not to bother. HE just applied for and closed 3 credit cards, so probably best to let his FICO rest a bit. Double dipping might work after a year - probably not after just one month. Wink (Fine print basically says "no double dipping," so it's a crap shoot either way. But I think if I closed the card a year ago, then I have a better chance).

We'd probably use this money for Florida - the timing is good. This would give us a *lot* more wiggle room on the eating out there, and the car rental, and probably ensures we won't have to touch savings for any of the trip. Big Grin

Posted in Credit Card & Bank Rewards | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Double Dip”

creditcardfree Says:
August 21st, 2012 at 03:39 pm 1345559965
1345559965

I saw that offer too. It would be nice to get such a nice reward for spending that much...like a 20% discount on the purchases you were making anyway. As always, I need to discuss with DH!!
ceejay74 Says:
August 21st, 2012 at 03:53 pm 1345560818
1345560818

That's a good deal. Once we're close to reserving our UK plane tickets, I'll see if it's still around. We could easily surpass the required spending in one transaction!
patientsaver Says:
August 22nd, 2012 at 02:54 am 1345600475
1345600475

I also saw that offer and hope to tackle it before the year is through.
Looking Forward Says:
August 22nd, 2012 at 04:59 am 1345607952
1345607952

Fingers crossed for you!

(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

Double Dip

4 Responses to “Double Dip”

Leave a Reply