Over Prepare, Then Go With The FlowMonkey Mama*s Monkey Money Blog

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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 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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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
...(-$4,960** @ 3/31/26)
...$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
...($1,140 @ 3/31/26)
...$300/month, plus snowflakes
(Snowflakes: credit card rewards and dividends)
...Topping off with snowballs

[ ]$1,500 to mortgage
...($0 @ 3/31/26)
...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% @ 3/31/26)
...This is the minimum for the match; I'd otherwise rather fund IRAs.

[ ]$0 to IRAs 2026
**STRETCH GOAL $17,200 (MAX)**
...($0 @ 3/31/26)
...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: $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.

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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

I Found $180!!

September 14th, 2006 at 04:19 pm

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.

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Giving This a Whirl

September 14th, 2006 at 02:40 pm

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.

Posted in Just Thinking | 0 Comments »

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