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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.

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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

Holiday Spending

November 22nd, 2017 at 03:56 pm

MH just bought some concert tickets (including one for my dad). I told him that we should just cover it. Make it a Christmas present. Is the same gift he got last year (but a different band).

This is about how much thought/energy I am giving to the season. We don't celebrate in any big or materialistic way. I'll be figuring out some other gifts, but nothing I have to "plan" for or will spend much energy on. We don't save any money for Christmas, accordingly.

For us, the focus continues to be more and more on charity every year. I am still not in a place where I have any time for the Holidays. So though we generally give more time than money, there's not a lot we sign up for this time of year. It's easier for us to just write checks in the month of December. But I am taking the week off after Thanksgiving and I saw that someone needed help with a giving tree, and so I volunteered to help. Will see how it goes and if I want to do the same next year. (I've volunteered for the sorting in the past, which is probably more my thing, but this year I signed up to shop).

Other than that, we usually donate my Christmas bonus ($200). To the local food bank and the animal shelters, though it varies.

In addition, we are getting a $1,000 check (from in-laws) to donate to charities of our choice. This is a new tradition. They started last year with $500. For this year, $1,000 has been thrown out. Wow! I am SO EXCITED about this! I don't know why I find that number so mind blowing. Because it is 4 figures? I don't know. It sounds/feels like so much more than we have been able to give in the past.

Posted in Just Thinking, Minimalism | 9 Comments »

9 Responses to “Holiday Spending”

My English Castle Says:
November 22nd, 2017 at 05:22 pm 1511371348
1511371348

That extra charity cash is so fun. Do you prefer to concentrate on one place or spread the joy around?
MonkeyMama Says:
November 22nd, 2017 at 05:33 pm 1511372019
1511372019

MEC - it depends. Last year we enjoyed giving it all to one place. This year was so brutal that I imagine we will probably spread it around (so many natural disasters, plus feeling more need to give to organizations like ACLU).
MonkeyMama Says:
November 22nd, 2017 at 05:45 pm 1511372748
1511372748

@MEC - it depends. Last year we enjoyed giving it all to one place. This year was so brutal that I imagine we will probably spread it around (so many natural disasters, plus feeling more need to give to organizations like ACLU).

When the world doesn't feel on the brink of apocalypse, I'd probably prefer to concentrate and make a bigger difference to one or two organizations.
terri77 Says:
November 24th, 2017 at 12:16 am 1511482602
1511482602

What a generous gift from your in-laws! That's going to be so much fun deciding where the money goes. I love giving to my local food bank because they really make the money go far.
rob62521 Says:
November 24th, 2017 at 12:34 am 1511483642
1511483642

Wow, it's wonderful that you concentrate on charities. It shows how you think so much of others instead of turning inward and concentrating on just yourselves. That's a generous gift from the in-laws as well. Happy donating!
scfr Says:
November 24th, 2017 at 06:33 pm 1511548393
1511548393

How wonderful that your in-laws are giving money for you to donate to the charity of YOUR choice! That sounds like a major win-win, as your desire to have a non-materialistic Christmas is met, and their desire to give in a big way is also met.
MonkeyMama Says:
November 25th, 2017 at 01:00 am 1511571658
1511571658

@scfr - HA! Unfortunately, it is not a win-win. *sigh* This is my totally insane MIL. There will be absolutely nothing non-materialistic about Christmas with them. But I welcome some sanity to balance out the insanity.
scfr Says:
November 25th, 2017 at 02:16 pm 1511619406
1511619406

lol - My bad for assuming the donation money was an "in lieu of" gift!
FrugalTexan75 Says:
November 28th, 2017 at 01:48 am 1511833732
1511833732

That is a wonderful gift!

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Holiday Spending

9 Responses to “Holiday Spending”

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