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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

DL College News

January 12th, 2023 at 04:04 pm

DL(17) was officially accepted into the local State college. They give very high priority to local high school students. I think it only took this long because their business college is impacted. He was getting a little stressed that his less studious friends were getting immediately accepted. So I know he is relieved that it is official.

I think there's probably a 90% chance he will stay home and go to this college. Has been leaning that way as more of his friends are choosing to go to this college.

This is the only college he applied to. His first choice (was) a Bay Area community college.

With Federal tax credits and state middle class grants, we are talking $6,000 for his 4-year tuition. (Full sticker price is $32,000).

This is why we did not spend decades saving up for college. The kids also both received ~$30K from in-laws for college. I knew this would cover a 4-year degree. I've been basing this off of full sticker price (in-state). Projecting future college costs (in the past) and concluding that $30K would cover tuition. I have never counted on tax credits that come and go. I had no idea we'd get so much middle class state aid. So pretty much we had set aside the full sticker price but are not paying anything close to that.

Posted in Just Thinking, College | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “DL College News”

Wink Says:
January 12th, 2023 at 08:28 pm 1673555283
1673555283

Congrats to DL! It's great that the costs are covered and are reasonable. So many colleges today charge just outrageous tuition and housing.
crazyliblady Says:
January 13th, 2023 at 03:44 am 1673581470
1673581470

That's awesome news. He will be grateful when he graduates that he does not have student loans.
LuckyRobin Says:
January 13th, 2023 at 04:38 am 1673584713
1673584713

Getting your son through school without student debt is like giving him a get ahead starter kit. So long as he heeds the financial lessons you've taught him along the way, he should be set to make smart decisions with money, too.
CB in the City Says:
January 13th, 2023 at 03:47 pm 1673624841
1673624841

The one good thing my ex did as a parent was to make sure my sons did not graduate with student loan debt. This is what I want for my grandchildren, too.

Your son sounds like an amazing well-balanced kid!
terri77 Says:
January 14th, 2023 at 03:04 pm 1673708678
1673708678

That is wonderful! And what a generous gift from your in laws. I think California definitely gets education right, with making it affordable and accessible for their students.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

DL College News

5 Responses to “DL College News”

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