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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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Home > Eating Out

Eating Out

October 31st, 2025 at 12:09 am

Oct 25

I did not take a single picture on Saturday. So I pulled this one from Friday.

I developed a sudden intolerance to avocado in recent years. 😭 A couple of years after developing a banana intolerance. Apparently these are related.

Anyway, my employer buys lunch every Friday. I quickly realized that most sushi has avocado. *sigh* But I finally found something I like on this particular menu. Mango sushi. It's a vegetarian sushi with fried sweet potatoes. Yum.

Oct 26

Sunset picture on Sunday night. Picture taken through a windshield (with some window reflection).

More eating out... I went through a drive thru.

I initially offered to pay for dinner if DL(20) went out to pick up something. I just wasn't feeling it and hadn't gone to the grocery store over the weekend (we had too much food in the house, even though MH was out of town for 5 days). DL(20) said he wasn't hungry. So my plan B was to just grab a fast food burger. But then that enticed DL. Which somewhat surprised me because my kids are food snobs. They'd usually turn up their nose at fast food. But I guess I go DL(20) hooked on the chicken fries. & then he asked me, "Do they have shakes?" So he seem pleased with his meal. Since I am the only one in this house who would actually go through a fast food drive thru (in the house of food snobs), I just went. I mean, I was pretty much out the door on my way to get myself a burger.

Posted in Just Thinking, Picture Project | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Eating Out”

Tabs Says:
October 31st, 2025 at 06:46 am 1761893165
1761893165

I didn’t realize banana and avocado intolerance is a thing. Good thing mango and sweet potatoes are still OK, because they certainly are delicious.
Petunia 100 Says:
October 31st, 2025 at 02:04 pm 1761919464
1761919464

That mango sushi looks really good.
LivingAlmostLarge Says:
November 1st, 2025 at 04:40 am 1761972023
1761972023

Is it pollen to the fruits that makes you allergic? happened to my DH he can't eat raw fruits

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Eating Out

3 Responses to “Eating Out”

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