Monkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

Bummed to admit we went over on our minutes for about 5 straight months. I really have no idea WHY. I look at our phones as an emergency vehicle, not much else. Though I do use often to call long distance.

I am not sure if we had EVER gone over our minutes before this last year.

Anyway, 2 months we went over in a planned manner because we were on vacation and used them out of convenience. At least once we paid extra that month for more plan minutes. Plus both vacations cost $0 to us so we decided more money on the phone was okay. But I have no idea why we have gone over every month since.

We cracked down this last month and I Was shocked to just open our bill and see we were 30 minutes over. That is $12. Blech!! So much for cracking down.

I have a habit of calling my mom whenenever I am out. & from work since it is long distance. Whenever I am home I have pretty much resorted to the land line at only 3 cents/minute. It's nothing really. & from work I ALWAYS call and have her call me right back.

Obviously I called my mom too much from the car this last month!!

This month I will try harder. I think overall I will get back to the emergency mindset and just put the phone down. I bet you all of those calls could have waited until I had gotten home. ; )

"Live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else" -Dave Ramsey

"The more I am willing to be disciplined, the more numerous my options. The more carefully I plan, the bigger I dream, the better my life becomes and the more joy I experience." ~Mary Hunt, of Cheapskate Monthly

I have heard the Dave Ramsey quote in recent months and the Mary Hunt one now on this site. I LOVE these quotes so much, they speak to my lifetime financial philosophy.

Those around us scoff at many of our financial choices, our choices to buy very used cars (people looked at me like I was crazy when $5k was my car spending limit). I don't spend money on makeup and clothes, and I have many friends who think A am absolutely deprived. I don't like coffee and never go to starbucks, again always with the peer pressure (why would I drain my money on something I do not LIKE???). & then mention not being able to go to a $100 spa on the weekend (I hate massages and all that anyway - I guess lends to my frugal nature) & imagine the looks of PITY!! Beyond that I think last week I did not want to spend $25 to go to a concert for kids. OF course I sound absolutely deprived.

People do not realize it is not that I Do not have the money or the means to do so. But I choose other things with my money. Obviously what I value is reflected in my budget. & things I do not value I do not mind giving up in the least.

On the flip side, people come to our house and their jaws drop. YEah my husband has a dedicated home theatre room, but with some frugal choices it probably cost less than most t.v.s I see around here. HAving a 5th room on a house for this dedicated room is another story, but we moved somewhere cheaper to afford such. Yeah we have a really nice house and a smaller mortgage than anyone in our age range that I know. I just think it is proof that the little things add up. I think the only thing more shocking than seeing our house is people finding out they are paying more for rent or mortgage than we are on our mortgage 90% of the time.

I have been told I Am stupid for not believing in ARMs, but all I know is I Can sleep at night. & I have locked in a low rate for the next 30 years, what can beat that?

The looks of wonder and amazement when I Was able to take not only the standard 12 weeks maternity leave (CA has disability pay for this time) but even another month or 2 even though my hubby doesn't work.

The jealousy that my hubby doesn't work.

I get the feeling that many around us have not put 2 and 2 together. The sacrifices have reaped the rewards.

So seeing those quotes just nailed it all on the head for me. We do really live like no one else it feels a lot of the time in all of our frugal choices. Yet I also get the feeling we live like no one else in our options. & as mary Hunt points out, I Feel that we are happier than the average joe blow as a result. I love my job, I feel like working part-time to support my family is an option down the road, and I guarantee, barring the unforeseen, that we will retire young.

Okay, so I Was just reading another friend's blog on another site and she is extremely religious. Her ends were not meeting, and she prayed, and the lord provided with extra money here and there.

Well, I am not religious in the least, but I have a similar post - LOL. I guess personally I Always find that things just tend to work out. IS there some higher power that arranges this? I am not so sure, but haven't ruled it out. But anyway, when things don't work out, I know I try my best to make them work. & I know in my friend's case she did not sit and wait for the lord to rain money on her, she did have quite a hand in it herself.

Anyway, so in this case I have a little bit of *luck* and a little bit of *action* on my part to thank.

I wanted to sign my baby up for Gymboree because I wanted to do something special 1-on-1, and my work schedule has just sucked at me being able to keep up with friends and plan playdates. With my odler son we did the weekly park playdate, but those friends have moved on and did not have further babies, etc. I frankly don't have the energy or the will. If I pay for a class, it is not very frugal, but I know I will be motivated to show up every week, and I do not need to keep the energy to maintain friendships. At the same time, I feel bad for the interaction my younger son is missing out on. HE is home with homebody daddy during the day and sees lots of older kids with me (brother and his friends) but not much of kids his own age.

So I signed him up. It was about $180 for the rest of the year, and like his older brother's preschool I figured I Would make it work because I think it is important.

I did have friends pushing me to sign him up for Baby Signs and Kindermusik which came out to $20/week - just INSANE. Gymboree I could swallow at closer to $11/week. + you can take him to free plays up to 2 times a week for merely another $20 over 16 weeks. I am sold!

I played Bunco this month and won $75!!!!! I paid $11 & won $75 for a net of $64. I just started the month before and won that month as well, so this was pure profit. That is the luck part.

I have been chasing a $65 refund from a music studio for my older son since may. I just got a tip from a friend who to talk to and when she is there to get the refund. Sent dh yesterday and he came back empty handed but woman is looking into it (we were told 3 times check is in the mail by owner already). He swears he will not leave without the check if he has to go back next Wednesday. I believe him - surprised he was so soft on her yesterday.

Finally, I made $60 this month selling my Cookie Lee jewelry.

Add it all together and I have my $180 for Gymboree - woot. I am a happy girl.

I was also going to make around $200 helping a neighbor/client set up Quickbooks (on the side). I was going to use it for Gymboree, but now I think I will put it in savings. This month has proved well so far!

I have been reading about Pinecone (survery) and am considering giving it a whirl to come up with the $20 for the Gymboree free play days. We'll see!!

Anyway, Gymboree through December is taken care of and come January he will be old enough for the Community Center classes whch range from $5-$7/week. Phew.

Well, I joined this site because I need to get our finances back on track. I need the reality check of a community who is careful with their money, and savings & budget-oriented.

It is easy in our society to become very complacent. Looking at everyone with their fancy toys and debt up to their eyeballs, not a penny to their names. It is easy to feel like you are doing damn good in comparison to those around you.

Then you come to a site like this, see the super savers, and feel REALLY behind. But it is a good reality check. Just because we are doing better than average joe blow, really means squat.

My husband stopped working 4 years ago to stay home with our newborn son (now 3). He was actually laid off when I got pregnant so hence the 4 years. We now haver a new baby as well. WE had saved so much at that point - WAY ahead of the game at 25. We figured we would just try to get by on 1 income and then in a few years he would go back to work and we would save his entire paycheck again.

We were on a strict budget, but over time with raises we started enjoying certain luxuries. We didn't worry about saving for the long-term.

I just kind of woke up recently and started to worry that my hubby may not return to work soon, not ever. We were complacent about saving because we figure saving 100% of his income before and after was plenty. But being out of the workforce a few years, tax concerns, the nuances of working with kids, all that makes me wonder if it is worth him to go back to work anytime in the near future. & by the time it is time, will he be able to find a worthwhile job, having been out of the workforce so long?? Will my paycheck cover all of our needs by then? Maybe. So we are starting our savings strategy again with the assumption he will never work again. Not a FT 40-hour week anyway.

Anyway, I wish someone had smacked us and made us think about this a little more 4 years ago. LOL. We thought we had it all figured out, but maybe not so much. Looking back at the last 4 years, we could have invested better, we could have put $100/month away to start and built up from there. We could be so much further ahead.

Well, as far as our stats, we are both just about 30. We own a 500k house with a 200k mortgage. We have no other debt & close to 50k in retirement savings. We have 5k in other savings. That is where we lack and are trying to move forward. I would like to save up a good 30k as an emergency fund. It feels like it will take forever, but I will try.

Oh I lied, we bought a minivan and took a 5k personal loan. I owe 4k still and would like to pay it off by May. So we do have a little debt for the first time in our lives. It sucks - LOL. We could pay it off but interest is only 2-3% & I do not want to drain our savings right now, so we wait a few more months. This is what hangs over my head for now.

After years of buying extremely used cars ($1k here, $5k there), it is nice to have 2 relatively nice, new cars ($8k & $14k), but man it is a big chunk of change. The benfit I hope is to not need to replace them for a long while and repairs so far have been NIL. I thought we were redy to shell out a little more for the cars, but maybe not. Time will tell!! We bought hubby's car (the 8k one) quite a few years ago and from not working it has little miles and little wear and tear. It is worth it's weight in gold. I am just not so sure on the minivan as we paid far more than we have ever paid for a car. It stressed me out frankly. I have no idea how people do the new car trade-in every few years. ?????? I am sure it will work out, and I am glad it will be paid off very soon. That is for sure.