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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.

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

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

Smart Phone for $60!

October 10th, 2014 at 03:01 pm

Here is a great cell phone deal.

The Moto G for Boost Mobile sells for under $100. But every once in a while it goes on sale for $59.99.

This phone is compatible with Ting!

So my dh did pick one up. I thought it was silly to get for our younger son (there will be better deals by the time he ever needs a phone with cell service - it will be YEARS). But dh did also like the idea of having a backup phone in case we break one of ours. It's not a bad idea in that regard. We also talked about giving this phone to BM so we can just switch it on whenever he needs cell service and switch it off when he doesn't (very easy to do with Ting). I think in the end dh is probably going to buy another one, next time they go on sale. Then BM can have a phone with cell service AND we can have a backup phone. At these prices, whatever...

Overall, this is an exceptional deal for any tween or teen user, but I think also works well for the frugies. This is the phone I was planning to get, until I went with something much more robust. The Moto G is a far nicer phone than the kids really need. Certainly more than we expected to get them in a first phone. This is also the same phone BM already has. (His was a $50 prepaid Verizon deal that he can not activate on Ting).

The Moto G retails for closer to $200 I believe, and even at $200 is a good deal for how nice of a phone it is.

Dh picked up this new Moto G at Target for $59.99 (plus 5% off with Red Card). Target did not have this price, but he price matched a Best Buy deal.

Best Buy currently has the $59.99 deal. (No expiration noted for this sale. As long as they want to offer it).

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/boost-mobile-motorola-moto-g-no-...

This sale comes around periodically, so it is worth waiting for these deals, even if "now" is not the right time. Just to say this is not a once-in-a-lifetime deal or anything like that. I am sure it will pop up again around the holidays.

Of course, Ting only costs $6 per month for cell service and then you only pay for what you use. Their rates are here:

https://ting.com/rates

Our household has been paying around $30/month for Ting (for two phones). Much less than that if you count all the referral credits and other credits we have racked up.

Here are the instructions to activate the Moto G on Ting:

http://www.reviewtechnica.com/2014/06/how-to-activate-moto-g...

Finally, here is my Ting referral code, if you want a $25 credit for signing up with Ting:

https://z181d126bt4.ting.com

Posted in Just Thinking | 7 Comments »

7 Responses to “Smart Phone for $60!”

CB in the City Says:
October 10th, 2014 at 03:46 pm 1412952360
1412952360

I have a Moto G, and it has everything I need! I do not have the Boost Moto G, however, and cannot get onto Ting. I use Straight Talk from Wal-Mart.
Petunia 100 Says:
October 11th, 2014 at 12:54 am 1412985280
1412985280

Moto G is one of the phones Republic Wireless uses, too. They sell it for $149.
PatientSaver Says:
October 11th, 2014 at 01:55 pm 1413032132
1413032132

This sounds very interesting, as I've been mulling over getting my 1st smartphone. (I have the world's oldest cellphone now.) Those instructions seem daunting, though, when you read thru all that detail. I have no idea what tethering is, etc. I suppose I could try to activate the phone without opening the packaged phone up so i could return if i had to.

Thanks!
FrugalTexan75 Says:
October 11th, 2014 at 03:19 pm 1413037170
1413037170

If I could deal with non iOS phones ... this would be a great deal. If only they'd have the iPhone 4S+ on sale for $200 or something (Sprint version)...
MonkeyMama Says:
October 11th, 2014 at 04:15 pm 1413040506
1413040506

I hadn't read the instructions. That's great that you can activate without opening the box!! Overall looks pretty simple. Also, ting customer service is excellent. They'd help you activate if you had issues.
MonkeyMama Says:
October 11th, 2014 at 04:18 pm 1413040734
1413040734

@ps - everything after #8 or so is n/a at this point. You can google tethering but I assume it's nothing you would ever need. Ting also charges extra for some things like that but we would never use those service. & that is with 2 techies on my plan.
MonkeyMama Says:
October 11th, 2014 at 04:21 pm 1413040884
1413040884

Okay, there are only 6 steps. & ting does not seem to charge extra for that tethering and hotspots. Never mind.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Smart Phone for $60!

7 Responses to “Smart Phone for $60!”

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