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About Me:

Monkey Mama

Just a 46-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.

{2023 Update: I expect that MH will retire from this job when kids are done with college and/or home is paid off. I think he likes the idea of finding more interesting or full-time work, with kids both adults now. But practically, might just stick out the *good* and very flexible job as long as possible. The very part-time job is allowing him to pursue his film passions. We are only about 5-ish years away from financial independence. Would be very different if we "needed" the money or he thought he might have decades of working years ahead of him.}

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
...($35 @ 1/31/24)
...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

DL YEAR 1 ✔
DL YEAR 2

[ ]$10,000 to savings
...($4,529 @ 3/31/24)
...$1,000/month, plus interest
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$7,500 to investments
...($1,750 @ 4/30/24)
...$350/month, plus snowflakes
(Snowflakes: credit card rewards and dividends)
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$2,025 to mortgage
...($0 @ 4/30/24)
...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% @ 3/31/24)
...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 @ 4/30/24)
...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>
2022: +$ 85,000
TOTAL: +$565,000

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

Nicknames

July 31st, 2016 at 03:25 pm

My kids are still "big" and "little" but it's probably just a matter of time before they are both the same size! Or... If the younger one ends up a little shorter (likely) I don't want to call him the little one his entire life. HA!

So I am trying to think of some new nicknames for this blog.

{Plus, I've never really liked the "BM" initials, you know - "bowel movement" - but just never cared quite enough to think up something else}.

I can do OM & YM for older and younger.

When I started this blog I had a small baby and a toddler. So... I guess their personalities have since emerged and evolved.

Science Monkey & Drama Monkey?

Monkey Monkey & Drama Monkey? (I swear if my older child could swing through the trees, he would. Big Grin ).

M11 & M13 to designate their age? I think that is probably the most clear for purposes of this blog. Then you don't have to remember my nicknames and you have some frame of reference as to what I am talking about.

Any other ideas?

Maybe I need a nickname for dh too. I just think "dh" is very clear and I don't really like "monkey papa" for whatever reason. Monkey Man?

Posted in Just Thinking | 10 Comments »

10 Responses to “Nicknames”

Jenn Says:
July 31st, 2016 at 04:05 pm 1469981158
1469981158

I notice that other bloggers use DS1 and DS2 for their kids. Or they could be BM1 and BM2 for 'baby monkey 1' and 'baby monkey 2', but that would put BM back into the equation.

I sometimes introduce my oldest son as "my first baby" even though he's 21 now!
Petunia 100 Says:
July 31st, 2016 at 05:55 pm 1469987700
1469987700

I like M11 and M13, because I don't have to remember their ages! It's all I can do to remember my own.
Carol Says:
July 31st, 2016 at 06:10 pm 1469988614
1469988614

I like M11 and M13. Dh is just fine.
ceejay74 Says:
July 31st, 2016 at 07:02 pm 1469991774
1469991774

I like the age idea too. When I started my blog I decided to use my first and middle initials (even though I don't go by CJ in real life), so to make it easier on my memory I just always use everyone's first and middle initials. It does get confusing for people reading my blog, I'm sure, but at least it's easy to remember what I used before for people I hardly ever name on my blog (like my downstairs neighbors).

This inspired me to list everyone's initials in my sidebar! That'll make it much easier for people who don't read my posts very often.
LuckyRobin Says:
July 31st, 2016 at 08:24 pm 1469996692
1469996692

Personally, I like drama monkey and science monkey, but I think it would be annoying to type it out every time. The age one is probably most practical. What about Monkey Hubby for DH?
Househopeful Says:
July 31st, 2016 at 08:43 pm 1469997788
1469997788

I like the Initial/Age thing bc as they get older, its so fun to see what they are doing versus how old they are (this really goes for any kid). I am going to have to pick something to call my daughter, instead of just 'The Baby'.
Buendia Says:
July 31st, 2016 at 08:51 pm 1469998303
1469998303

I like the age thing, too! Might have to adopt that! It just made me realize that our kids are the same age - F is also 11! Is yours going into 6th? Is this the drama monkey or the science monkey? (If F was at your house, she'd be the soccer monkey!!!).
FrugalTexan75 Says:
July 31st, 2016 at 09:38 pm 1470001130
1470001130

I like the age idea too.
Bluebird Says:
July 31st, 2016 at 11:44 pm 1470008678
1470008678

I laughed out loud reading this, especially because it never occurred to me about the BM other meaning, having read your blog for 10+ years! My boys are 11 and 9 and I still call them my babies :-) Use whatever nickname feels comfortable for you, we'll adjust!
MonkeyMama Says:
August 1st, 2016 at 02:05 am 1470017109
1470017109

@LR - I actually don't mind typing it out. I guess I like the personal-ness of the cute nick names some bloggers have. My only concern is that more dominant personality traits might change over time, but I guess that's okay to just change again down the road. Ooooh, and I like Monkey Hubby!

@HH - HA! Yes, 'The Baby' might have to change eventually.
@Buendia - Oooh, I like soccer monkey! Yes, drama monkey is going into 6th grade this year.

Since the overwhelming majority prefer ages (& I understand why) I may just go with that for now. If I think of a great nick name I can always throw in the age in parentheses. Why not do both?

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Nicknames

10 Responses to “Nicknames”

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