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About Me:

Monkey Mama

Just a 49-year-old mom of 2 in Northern California. My kids are Monkey Monkey(MM) and Teacher Monkey (TM). 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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2026 Goals

[ ]Small monthly Charitable Contribution
...($32 @ 2/28/26)
...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.
...#3 I don't understand why I would find student loan interest rates to be useful, as a middle class person with a high credit score. Would do better to borrow money from anywhere else. I think point #2 is more my 'hells no' reason, but this is my 'I don't get it' reason.

DL YEAR 1 ✔
DL YEAR 2 ✔
DL YEAR 3 ✔
DL YEAR 4
DL Teaching Credential

MM YEARS 1-5 ✔

[ ]$10,000 to savings
...(-$3,880** @ 5/31/26)
...$1,000/month, plus interest
...Topping off with snowballs
**Yes, that's a negative! 2026 started out rough, with some large emergency expenses.

[ ]$7,500 to investments
...($1,740 @ 5/31/26)
...$300/month, plus snowflakes
(Snowflakes: credit card rewards and dividends)
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$1,500 to mortgage
...($0 @ 5/31/26)
...Topping off with snowballs and/or excess cash
...Keeps us on track with $10K principal paydown per year

Taxable Investing/Saving rate is 14%.

[/]9% of household income to work retirement plans
...(9% @ 5/31/26)
...This is the minimum for the match; I'd otherwise rather fund IRAs.

[ ]$0 to IRAs 2026
**STRETCH GOAL $17,200 (MAX)**
...($0 @ 5/31/26)
...This seems pointless, other than the 'unexpected money' factor.
...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.

Total investing/savings rate is 23%. Making progress on dialing this down from 30%.

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**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**

As of 2026, our primary goal is just to contribute enough to retirement to receive employer match (9%).

~~Have decided to pretty much stay the course. Keep saving 20%+ to retirement. This means taking 401K match & maxing out IRAs.~~

Pre Financial Independence:

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.

Post Financial Independence:

I wish I could contribute 0% to retirement (age 50+). But that free company match... Just to be clear why we are dipping below that magic 10% number at this point in our lives. We are done saving for retirement and are letting the investments (and employer contributions) do the hard work.

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Debt: $60,000 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.

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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
2025: +$120,000
TOTAL: +$785,000

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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My Pages

Cheesesteak

July 13th, 2026 at 02:27 pm

July 5

$22 Movies

$31 Groceries

$57 Target

MH & went to the movies today. I had sticker shock. $14 for a 9am matinee? Something like that. We saw the new Minions movie. (I very rarely buy a movie ticket, so in my mind a matinee is still $6 or something? I don't know). MH has his unlimited movie pass, and I bought a snack.

The most amazing cheesesteak place *was* by my new office, and then it went out of business quickly. 😞 So I told MH I would go to the movies if we could get cheesesteaks (right next to the theater), which are honestly kind of 'meh' (in contrast). But it's all I got now.

I glanced at the cheesesteak hours as we walked by in the morning but completely missed the 'closed for the holiday weekend' sign.

So we went to the grocery store. I wanted a couple of items like bread, and told MH I'd prefer the 'ready to eat' section over eating out. Wasn't sure if I would buy anything, but my second choice was probably a pound of beef (which is very expensive these days, though would have lasted longer). So I picked up a take and bake pizza not knowing what the price would be. I think it was $11, and the kids devoured it.

The GF broke one of my favorite little 10 oz glasses. I popped online to buy more, but of course I can't find the ones I bought last time. *Sigh* I had already bought a couple of sets, but can't find them now. In the end, I love the new ones I ended up with. $30-ish.

I mentioned recently that I no longer deny myself things, within reason. While shopping online at Target, I found a few pretty notebooks. & then I remembered the granola bars are often 50% - 75% cheaper than they are anywhere else we frequent.

July 6

$17 Lunch out

$148 Groceries

MH did a grocery run.

On whim, I tried another (highly rated) cheesesteak place by my work. It did not win me over.

Posted in Just Thinking | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Cheesesteak”

Tabs Says:
July 13th, 2026 at 08:32 pm 1783974760
1783974760

Ah, that’s a shame about the cheesesteak place. I wonder if there are any good ones around where I am? I think there’s a new one nearby me, or is at least a ghost kitchen for it. Will have to check it out some day.
Turtle Lover Says:
July 14th, 2026 at 12:13 pm 1784031226
1784031226

I also went to the "matinee" to see the Minion movie and it was about the same price (after fees) I usually splurge for popcorn because I like it that much but I bring water and other snacks ... sometimes if I see a PPV movie where it costs $30 I just do it because it's about the same and I don't have to leave the house!
DK62565 Says:
July 15th, 2026 at 08:04 pm 1784145870
1784145870

Sadly, so many of the movie theaters are outrageously priced, even for matinees. Then i you get a snack or drink, you are talking big bucks.

Sorry about the cheesesteak place. It's like my DH and Italian Beef. Most places don't measure up to his favorite place in Chicago.

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Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Over Prepare, Then Go With The Flow

Cheesesteak

3 Responses to “Cheesesteak”

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