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About Me:

Monkey Mama

Just a 48-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. We've always saved 100% of MH's income, but we are starting to dial that down a bit in 2023-2025.

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.

-------------------------------

2025 Goals

[ ]Small monthly Charitable Contribution
...($431 @ 10/31/25)
...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
DL YEAR 4

[ ]$10,000 to savings
...($5,727 @ 10/31/25)
...$1,000/month, plus interest
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$5,000 to investments
**STRETCH GOAL $7,500**
...($3,023 @ 10/31/25)
...$300/month, plus snowflakes
(Snowflakes: credit card rewards and dividends)
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$1,700 to mortgage
...($0 @ 10/31/25)
...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% @ 10/31/25)
...This is the minimum for the match; I'd otherwise rather fund IRAs.

Goal savings rate = 25% of gross salary, plus funding IRAs from other sources.

[ ]$6,000 to IRAs 2024
**STRETCH GOAL $14,000 (MAX)**
...($0 @ 10/31/25)
...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 2025 taxes. In addition to that, can make a more informed decision based on our financial and tax situation for the entire year.

-------------------------------

**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: $70,000 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
2024: +$95,000
TOTAL: +$665,000

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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Home > College Fund - MM(22) July Update

College Fund - MM(22) July Update

August 16th, 2025 at 03:18 pm

I confirmed rent numbers with MM(22). Did some rough math and I think rent will just zero out earmarked college funds. Crazy how that works out. I am probably getting way too much credit for 'planning ahead'. We obviously have a tendency to plan ahead and erred on the side of not touching 'money saved for college' for as long as possible. But... that we will have just enough 'college' funds to cover Year 5. That is very random.

I also would have felt completely *shrugs* if MM(22) had to cover 100% of his college costs this school year (or any other year). To try to get across how this is not a, 'I planned everything down to the penny' situation. Far too many unknowns, and very little financial commitment on our part.

MM(21) gets a lot of credit for being frugal with his housing choices. His rent will increase 50% this year re: solo room. His housing choice is still frugal considering that he lives walking distance from campus (and comparing average rents).

I forgot that currently they are splitting a house 3 ways. & there was some talk of adding another roommate. Will see how it all ends up. MM has also lost roommates 6 months in, two years in a row. Things can always go either way.

MM(22) July 2025 'College Rent Fund': $2,400

Rent is paid through August 31.

MM(22) July 2025 'Gifted College Fund': $16,015 (+$5K ROTH IRA ~ unknown current value)

I pulled $3,400 out in July, to pay for Fall quarter tuition.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took me so long to post this...

MM(22) got me utility numbers for the first 6 months of the year. Was about $1,100. Between that and rent, his 'college rent fund' will be exhausted in August. Will be hitting the 'gifted college fund' pretty hard after that.

Posted in Just Thinking, College | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “College Fund - MM(22) July Update”

LivingAlmostLarge Says:
August 17th, 2025 at 12:15 am 1755386110
1755386110

That's amazing it's so affordable college in california.
MonkeyMama Says:
August 17th, 2025 at 04:39 pm 1755445145
1755445145

What's crazy is that this is the most expensive 'full sticker price' year. Will pay more this year than what we paid for the last 4 years combined. State grants are also very generous but limited to just 4 years.
rob62521 Says:
August 18th, 2025 at 11:37 pm 1755556639
1755556639

You've been a good planner; don't sell yourself short. If you hadn't been, you would have been paying far, far more.

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College Fund - MM(22) July Update

3 Responses to “College Fund - MM(22) July Update”

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