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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
Total Visits: 16,755,054

Home > Weekend Photos Part I

Weekend Photos Part I

November 4th, 2025 at 03:28 pm

I did take pictures through the end of the month, but then time got away from me. Today I am going out of town and tomorrow I have an 8-hour class. So I don't expect much down time this week.

My takeaway is that sharing a photo is a much smaller time commitment than blogging. & it was also enjoyable, so I will infuse my blog with more photos. Once a week is probably more realistic, though I don't have any reason to stick to that.

Oh yeah, and October 2025 was the most calm month I remember in the past 8 years. Phew!!

We did go to a local college arboretum this past weekend. I think it's a 4 mile loop when you walk the whole way through. We usually go in the spring, but figured we'd go during a different season.

$0 spent. Sometimes we also get lucky and get a free car charge. But no suck luck this time. Which means we probably spent about $1 on electric fuel. It was a bit of a drive.

& then this website wouldn't support all my pictures in one post, so I broke this out into two posts.

Posted in Just Thinking, Picture Project | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Weekend Photos Part I”

Tabs Says:
November 5th, 2025 at 02:44 am 1762310676
1762310676

Free car charge means you are driving an electric right? What kind and is there any reason why take pictures of "hot cars" that are also gas guzzlers? Sorry if the wording came out weird haha. I'm just a curious guy.

Thank you for sharing the lovely pics. Especially that first one. At least as a photo, it looks very serene.
MonkeyMama Says:
November 5th, 2025 at 04:54 pm 1762361680
1762361680

Yes, I have an EV category in my blog. I have a Chevy Bolt.
I don't understand the hot car question. I am taking pictures of what is around me, and what other people seem to be really excited about.
Tabs Says:
November 19th, 2025 at 11:15 am 1763550952
1763550952

I meant “hot” as in attractive vehicles, similar in concept to “Hot Wheels” eh… nevermind me haha.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Weekend Photos Part I

3 Responses to “Weekend Photos Part I”

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