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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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Date Started: Sep 14, 2006
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Home > Arizona Trip

Arizona Trip

October 3rd, 2025 at 02:12 am

Oct 1

This is the view from my office. I probably haven't seen very many clouds for roughly 4 months. So I was enjoying the show and the contrast of all the different cloud colors.

PatientSaver mentioned she was considering a 'photo a day' project in 2026. I decided that sounded fun and would try in October. The past couple of Octobers I have done daily spending tracking. I find that diving into the minutiae makes for a lot to talk about and share (when I have no idea where to begin). But actually sharing every purchase does become overwhelming. & that was during low spend times (in the grand scheme of things). Maybe a picture is easier. A picture does not require words. & if anyone else wants to join in, I think it would be fun.

MH's Arizona trip was *amazing*. He had the time of his life. The film festival there was clearly A+ when we went together some years ago. Very small and not much turnout, but the small size was nice and we had a blast. It sounds like word is getting out a little more, so MH met some bigger names this time. They also had a tour on the last day, touring some of the places where bigger movies have been shot. MH showed me pictures of where they filmed some scenes from Three Amigos. The National Parks there make for dramatic movie backdrops.

Grand Total: $187 (4.5 Days)

$20 hotel (tip), $30 Uber ride (from airport), $137 food

Hotel & airfare paid for with credit card rewards

Mental note to self: Never discourage MH from doing this trip. Everything was very last minute re: short notice. As the charges started to roll in on the credit card, I recalled how low cost Tucson is. The lower cost was astounding (to me) when we traveled there together some years ago. I just didn't think about this time, until I started to see the credit card charges.

Posted in Just Thinking, Picture Project | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Arizona Trip”

patientsaver Says:
October 3rd, 2025 at 01:16 pm 1759493762
1759493762

I will join you in the photo a day challenge! Starting today.

I can't promise how long I'll stick to it, but it will be more fun if someone else is doing it. I plan to post my picture a day here daily. I'm sure you'll all be snoozing in no time.
LivingAlmostLarge Says:
October 3rd, 2025 at 07:23 pm 1759515791
1759515791

oh so beautiful. how do you put the photos in the post? I should do that. And maybe i will.
MonkeyMama Says:
October 4th, 2025 at 04:01 am 1759546873
1759546873

@LAL - you click on the add/edit image icon at the top of the 'blog entry' screen. I figured out when it doesn't work (with no explanation) that I just have to downsize the photos. I have just been doing 25% - 30% of full size, and that seems to work.

@PS - Same, I don't know how long I will stick to it. But I am excited that more blogger might participate.
Lots of Ideas Says:
October 4th, 2025 at 06:34 am 1759556054
1759556054

Nice picture.
We need beauty right now!

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Arizona Trip

4 Responses to “Arizona Trip”

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