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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.

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2025 Goals

[ ]Small monthly Charitable Contribution
...($557 @ 11/30/25)
...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
DL Teaching Credential

[ ]$10,000 to savings
...($4,677 @ 11/30/25)
...$1,000/month, plus interest
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$5,000 to investments
**STRETCH GOAL $7,500**
...($3,623 @ 11/30/25)
...$300/month, plus snowflakes
(Snowflakes: credit card rewards and dividends)
...Topping off with snowballs

[X]$1,700 to mortgage
...($1,700 @ 11/30/25)
...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% @ 11/30/25)
...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 @ 11/30/25)
...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: $65,000 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
Entries: 2,984
Comments: 8,191
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Home > Oct 23-24

Oct 23-24

October 28th, 2025 at 04:19 pm

Oct 24

I went for a morning walk on Friday and at first I noticed some dew on the plants and thought I might get an interesting photo during a different time of day. But then the birds were very loud and so I tried to snap a picture. They were mostly too small and I was surprised this came out at all. He stood still just long enough...

Oct 23

On Thursday I just got lucky. I don't think I took any other pictures. But happened to catch this sunset when we went out to dinner.

I've only recently figured out this hack. If I take my kid out to dinner, he will talk to me for 3+ hours. It's not like it never happens, re: kid living at home. & I am sure there are more frugal hacks. But it's a new thing I am experimenting with this year.

MH is not as big of a fan of this buffet we go to. So I took DL(20) a few times this year when MH was busy or out of town. I think it kind of started as a, "Well if MH doesn't come too, this is much more affordable." But then it turned into really good quality time with my son.

This time I made the mistake of giving him a heads up and letting him pick a day. I told him I figured we'd eat out one night while MH is in Austin. So we settled on Thursday. Then mid-day on Thursday he texted me if he could bring his friend. His bff friend. I *sighed* (thinking this sounds expensive and not what I had in mind) but I just let it go. He was *very* excited. Then it turns out his friend has never been to this buffet. What!? So it was cute watching her geek out over the entire experience.

The meal itself was not as fun, for me. But then we came home and had a deep talk for a few hours. The topic is always something completely different.

Posted in Just Thinking, Picture Project | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “Oct 23-24”

CB in the City Says:
October 28th, 2025 at 11:39 pm 1761694787
1761694787

My grandson would love that photo! He is a birder and a photographer. That's a great shot!
Lots of Ideas Says:
October 29th, 2025 at 07:16 pm 1761765406
1761765406

Both of these pictures are jigsaw puzzle worthy!

Your dinner idea is great. Sharing a meal puts you on equal footing as adults, teaches great social skills. You probably learn a lot just listening to a conversation between your son and his friend

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

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Oct 23-24

2 Responses to “Oct 23-24”

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