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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

Quick Check In

December 23rd, 2022 at 02:41 pm

I am absolutely exhausted. This week was a work hell week. I was too nice and I agreed to do the in-law Christmas thing tonight (2 hours away) though I have to work today. I regret this now. We usually do the prior weekend. Now that I type this out, I don't know if they were trying to plan around MM(19)'s schedule. At the time, sounded like SIL needed to reschedule. MM(19) got home late last night. MH was supposed to work today too (I was feeling less alone) but he got a text last night that he gets the day off.

It was shaping up that we were going to do in-law Christmas today, MM's girlfriend's family Christmas Eve, and then Christmas with my family on Sunday. But I guess the girlfriend's family has COVID and so that has been canceled. I am so relieved. I need a very long nap. I do feel bad though because their Thanksgiving was impacted by health problems. They aren't having much luck this holiday season.

I also appreciate not going to two big parties right before I visit my parents. We will bring less germs with us.

Financially...

MH keeps getting raises. He just got a third raise for the year. He usually just gets one raise every fall (for the season). I think they've bumped up his pay about 30% since the pandemic.

I am feeling less stressed about the new IRA max, accordingly. Wasn't sure if we would bother with that. But MH has enough raise to cover it. His net pay will be roughly $13K for the year (IRA max x2). With the latest raise, it might be more than that. So I have already added that to my goal list.

Other than that, just waiting for my raise. My boss was sick and is behind. I saw preliminary numbers and he's pondering a big inflation bump. I should have some clarity next week. Unless something drastically changes from the preliminary numbers, I think I will be very happy with things.

Posted in Just Thinking | 6 Comments »

6 Responses to “Quick Check In”

Wink Says:
December 23rd, 2022 at 04:28 pm 1671812920
1671812920

Merry Christmas! I hope you can recharge and enjoy the holiday!
rob62521 Says:
December 23rd, 2022 at 06:54 pm 1671821681
1671821681

Sorry your work week was atrocious. Hopefully you can relax and enjoy Christmas and stay safe and healthy.

Good deal on DH's raises! Hope you get a large one too!
mumof2 Says:
December 24th, 2022 at 02:49 am 1671850181
1671850181

Hopefully you can get some much needed rest...merry christmas to you all
VS_ozgirl Says:
December 24th, 2022 at 11:28 am 1671881336
1671881336

Hopefully now your schedule has eased a little you can get some rest! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Turtle Lover Says:
December 24th, 2022 at 01:43 pm 1671889391
1671889391

Merry Christmas!
MonkeyMama Says:
December 24th, 2022 at 03:54 pm 1671897266
1671897266

Merry Christmas everyone!

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Quick Check In

6 Responses to “Quick Check In”

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