<< 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
...($156 @ 6/30/24)
...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
...($7,121 @ 8/31/24)
...$1,000/month, plus interest
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$7,500 to investments
...($3,691 @ 8/31/24)
...~~$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 @ 8/31/24)
...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% @ 8/31/24)
...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 @ 8/31/24)
...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

Some Recipes

April 27th, 2014 at 12:17 am

This is the "mac and cheese" recipe in our house. The kids LOVE it.

Pasta with Chickpeas and Garlic Sauce

http://www.food.com/recipe/pasta-with-chickpeas-and-garlic-s...

Dh made it twice this week, so I thought to share it.

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

The older child goes crazy for this one:

Taco Rice Salad

http://community.tasteofhome.com/community_forums/f/30/p/653...

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

Oven Roasted Broccoli

http://www.food.com/recipe/oven-roasted-broccoli-206184

I made this one a while ago. I had forgotten about it. I am kind of "meh" on broccoli. Neutral, I guess. I tried this and it came out excellent. Funny thing is my older child keeps asking me when I will make broccoli. I guess that makes this one a keeper. (He's not a picky kid, but seriously, what 10-year-old begs for broccoli? Big Grin

)

One thing I really need to work on is replacing potato chips with vegetable chips, in our house. I have been wanting to try some new recipes and experiment with that a bit. I write this down so I will remember.

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

I tried a curry recipe a couple of months ago. The flavor was a little off. I think dh requested when he was sick because it sounded good. (He had the flu a couple of months back). Both BM and dh had this bug, and their taste buds were off for a while during and after. It might be worth a redo.

But I am writing this down too so that I remember to keep an eye out for curry recipes.

Just trying to expand our cooking repertoire and try new things. So, the theme for 2014 is baked veggies and curry.

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

LM has been going *crazy* for samosas. I told him I would try out some filling recipes and go from there. Is basically potatoes, peas, spices (we have ample Indian spices on hand). I think actually wrapping it in dough and frying it is a bit much for me. Will see if we can just get the filling to work.

He's the picky one, but we have him pretty sold on Indian food. We could probably also use more chickpea recipes. Dh has an intense crockpot recipe that has to cook overnight on high (starts with dried chickpeas). I'd like to find a few simpler recipes with canned chickpeas.

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

I felt like doing absolutely nothing today (my first free weekend off in months). I fell asleep for a few hours, so felt better about my lack of energy. I guess I just needed a good rest. Hoping to be productive tomorrow. (Don't plan to do much, but would prefer to do more than "sleep all day". Big Grin

).

Tonight I will go through the kids' clothes and move things over and purge the outgrown. Make a list if they need anything. I picked up summer stuff for BM on clearance around Christmas. So, not expecting to have to buy much for the warmer months. (Except I suppose I should keep an eye out for clearances for winter clothing).

Posted in RECIPES | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Some Recipes”

FrugalTexan75 Says:
April 27th, 2014 at 03:00 am 1398567631
1398567631

The pasta chickpea recipe looks really good!

Have you tried making hummus with chickpeas?
MonkeyMama Says:
April 27th, 2014 at 04:42 am 1398573722
1398573722

Yes, we have a really good hummus recipe.
Heather near Atlanta Says:
April 28th, 2014 at 04:40 pm 1398703222
1398703222

Try baked samosas, if you don't want to fry them. I actually don't make baked samosas, but tried baked egg rolls last week and was very pleasantly surprised at how delicious and crunchy they turned out. You spray them with Pam, bake at high heat, 450 degrees, for 8 minutes and then turn them for 8 more minutes. And knowing the filling is homemade Real Food is priceless to us.

(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

Some Recipes

3 Responses to “Some Recipes”

Leave a Reply