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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
...($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.

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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

Phone Wash

March 20th, 2016 at 01:27 pm

I dropped my phone in the cat water Thursday night. It was bound to happen eventually. Surprised it took so long! I store it in a side pocket of my purse, right above the cat water. So I've said a million times this will happen some day. I (thought I) was sliding it into the pocket in the dark and... *splash*

We did take it immediately out and powered it down. Can't take out the battery. It seemed amazingly fine and so I had a good feeling about it. I later read that my phone is water resistant. Since we live in a dry climate the best thing to do is to just let it air out. I was going to give it 3 whole days but on a whim yesterday I powered it on. It started out a little iffy but it seemed fine after that. I am going to leave it off today and try to put it back in use Monday morning. Just being extra cautious but I don't plan to leave the house today.

At the end of the day, I mostly use it when out and about. I am not overall a very connected person, so it's not been a big deal. I believe I had -0- texts and -0- calls in two days, which is what I would have expected.

That said, the reason I carry a cell phone is primarily for emergency. So dh activated my old phone on Ting. I asked him to activate a phone for me so that I could air out my phone for several days. It's $6 to activate a phone on Ting for a month or partial month. I figured $6 was a good investment in saving my phone. This way I could call or text if need be.

I am glad I was able to save my phone. It's only 2 years old and I have been pretty set on keeping it for 4+ years.

It was probably also good to boot up the old phone and make sure it works. We will activate it and lend it to dh's aunt when she is in the country this year.

Posted in Just Thinking | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Phone Wash”

creditcardfree Says:
March 20th, 2016 at 02:17 pm 1458483473
1458483473

I've heard to put phones in rice to help dry them out. Glad you have a second option that is inexpensive!
MonkeyMama Says:
March 20th, 2016 at 02:31 pm 1458484289
1458484289

Instant rice helps, but regular rice doesn't do anything. (Is more of a myth). Dry climate is best. If we did not live in a dry climate I would have put it in instant rice.
FrugalTexan75 Says:
March 20th, 2016 at 03:53 pm 1458489210
1458489210

I'm glad your phone wasn't ruined!Both my mom and brother have ruined iPhones (new ones, less than a year old) by dropping them into a water source.
LivingAlmostLarge Says:
March 20th, 2016 at 11:21 pm 1458516078
1458516078

I heard the instant rice thing as well.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Phone Wash

4 Responses to “Phone Wash”

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