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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.

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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.

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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

Nickname Update + Misc.

August 17th, 2016 at 10:58 pm

Okay, I hadn't updated nicknames yet because I hadn't figured it out. Maybe a little sidetracked with life...

LM told me he wanted to be a drama llama and BM never really came up with anything.

So... I renamed them to Monkey Monkey and Drama Llama.

I think it was Lucky Robin who came up with "Monkey Hubby" and I love that!

Now I just have to remember the new names. I will add their age to their initials too to keep it simple for more occasional readers.

It will probably take me a while to remember and I am sure I will use old initials once in a while.

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In other news...

I got a $50 MRI bill which I know is not right. Is usually more like $1,500. Doesn't really matter because even if they billed that wrong I am sure I will max out our deductible soon enough with foot stuff.

MH got a focus group for $150. Woohoo! It's probably been around a year since the last one. Since the gymnastics place really only takes cash, I might just use that to pay for next month. (Man, what a pain!)

That reminds me... I did get MM(13) signed up with a checking account. They printed him a debit card on the spot. I wasn't expecting that! I was able to automate his allowance.

I went a little back and forth on "reconciling bank accounts" and so on but don't know how relevant that really is in this day and age. (I don't remember the last time I had an outstanding item when it comes to personal banking? Everything clears so instantly). & pen and paper seemed so archaic. It's been over a decade since I've handled my own finances that way. But I mostly use software. Which I am sure he is more than capable of using, but felt like it was like teaching math with a calculator. Wanted him to get more used to the nuts and bolts first. I finally decided to just set up a spreadsheet so he could keep an electronic register. I think that is an appropriate solution for the here and now.

Posted in Just Thinking | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Nickname Update + Misc.”

FrugalTexan75 Says:
August 18th, 2016 at 02:46 am 1471488404
1471488404

I still reconcile my accounts in YNAB - that way I can easily see if I missed a transaction in entering manually, or if something HASN't gone through yet. I never did do it though when I only had a paper register ... it was only after getting online access to my accounts and YNAB that I sort of kind of started doing it. (Now do it more than not.)
VS_ozgirl Says:
August 18th, 2016 at 10:51 am 1471517515
1471517515

Cool names! Spreadsheets are a pretty easy way of handling budgets, good for a teenager.
MonkeyMama Says:
August 18th, 2016 at 03:48 pm 1471535312
1471535312

Oh yeah, to be clear my accounts are always reconciled. Probably on average weekly with the help of software and/or online tools. I just don't know that there is much to it in this day and age. I am guessing most of the time his check register will match his bank statements. (Unless there is a mistake to fix).
rob62521 Says:
August 18th, 2016 at 07:53 pm 1471550012
1471550012

You aren't kidding how fast stuff clears anymore. I asked our chiropractor how he got our checks to clear so quickly and he said because he takes a photo of them, the bank must really get on the ball.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Nickname Update + Misc.

4 Responses to “Nickname Update + Misc.”

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