Queercents

My previous two posts on saving money while having a dog were my two heavy hitters on how to save some dollars, since it’s how to make a month’s worth of food for around or less than $20 a batch and how in less than a year I was able to get reimbursed 82% of over a thousand dollars in vet bills.

Make Friends With Other Dog Owners
I have friends who have dogs who have unabashedly used their dogs to try and find significant others. My own little guy is a total lady killer. Seriously, he has paparazzi: last time I took him out, random girls were surreptitiously taking photos of him. Not that I’m bragging or anything. Though this has never led to a significant other for me, it has been a wonderful way to both meet new people and socialize with people I already know. Looking for a low cost outing? Pack a sandwich and organize a trip to the dog park. Or take the dog on a hike. Dogs need exercise to help keep them well-behaved and it also leads to outdoors time which is great for humans combating seasonal affective disorder, getting a dose of vitamin D and generally getting a mood boost. Even something as simple as a pre- or post- work walk with friends is good for you and your companion.
Having a doggie social network is also great for having built-in pet sitters and walkers. I have a network of friends in and around my apartment complex with whom I regularly rotate dog watching details. It usually works out pretty equitably in terms of time put in and the exchange of favors means I don’t have to shell out for a dog walker or kennel services. The bonus is they often chase each other, tiring one another out and reducing the amount of work you have to do to make sure your dog gets sufficient exercise.
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As we noted last week (and elsewhere), pets can be expensive. The daily expenses of food, treats and toys though are dramatically eclipsed by the terrible vet bills. They seem to come at any time and can be ludicrously expensive. So, what to do?

First, a little story
Once upon a time, I didn’t have a dog. Instead, I had a roommate with a pet. This pet managed to chip his tooth, resulting in an infection in one tooth and an abscess in another. Fixing the problem? Both teeth would have to be pulled and the pet needed additional antibiotics to control the infection. The cost? Nearly $1,600, which was bargained down to an only marginally less ridiculous $1,300. All to pull two teeth.
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The background
Once upon a time, Andrea had a regular feature on reducing pet costs that I completely ignored. Then I got a pet of my own and realized quickly that the costs add up quickly, as Paula noted. Nina raised the question whether pets are worth the price, but I will say without hesitation, “YES.” Having a dog has led to a huge improvement in quality of life for me and I cannot think of my life without my little dog. But on the limited income of a graduate student, covering the costs of having my little guy is a huge concern. He is EXPENSIVE. After taking him home, I used money that I had put aside to cover initial expenses–such as his adoption fee, food, food and water dishes and the like–but I needed something that would work to cover his regular bills that was more sustainable than dipping into my savings. Read the rest of this entry »

Pets are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. -Roger Caras

For my last Reducing Pet Costs post, I’m turning it over to you! But not before I wax nostalgic about my inaugural Queercents series. I’ve really enjoyed writing these posts, and I’ve learned so much as well. As a re-cap, I’d like to share with you the little tips I’ve taken from each post and applied to my own life.

In the first post of this series, we talked about saving money on pet food. Since writing the post, Grace and I have only bought our pet food in bulk. In addition, a quick call to the vet has us feeding Francie and Hammy only the amount they need, instead of the insane amount we were feeding them before. I had not realized that even if a cat still wants to eat, that doesn’t mean it needs to. If left to their own devices, they would stuff their faces all day and we would be broke.

Researching about pet medical expenses was a little disheartening, especially coming across story after story of people going broke only to have their pet pass away. Grace and I started putting away an extra $75 per month in a high yield savings account to cover a medical emergency for Francie or Hammy. Luckily, there has not been one yet and since they are both young (under 2 years), hopefully it will be a long way off. Read the rest of this entry »

For the penultimate post in the Reducing Pet Costs series, let’s talk about another great American tradition (besides pet ownership) – Taxes! While we may treat our pets like our children, we don’t have the benefit of claiming them as a dependant on our tax forms. Is this fair?

One of the most-emailed articles from this week’s New York Times, titled Pill- Popping Pets (requires free login) has this illuminating paragraph:

Marketers have a new name for the age-old tendency to view animals as furry versions of ourselves: “humanization,” a trend that is fueling the explosive growth of the pet industry and the rise of modern pet pharma. Americans forked over $49 billion for pet products and services last year, up $11.5 billion from 2003; other than consumer electronics, pet products are the fastest-growing retail segment. The market expansion is being driven both by more pets and by more spending per pet, especially by affluent baby boomers whose children have graduated from college. “I get asked all the time, ‘What is it with this humanization — do we suddenly love our pets a whole lot more?’ ” says David Lummis, who analyzes the pet industry for the market research firm Packaged Facts. “My theory is that it’s always been there, but it’s been sanctioned now. It’s not just the crazy cat lady. It’s marketers and all of this consumer advertising that have made it O.K. to spend tons of money on your pet.” Read the rest of this entry »

Maybe this series hasn’t appealed to you yet because you, like many people don’t have a pet. I too was in your position just seven months ago. Furthermore, I never imagined myself having a pet–I’d never grown up with them, and other than the occasional childhood fantasy, never seriously considered getting one.

Life is funny sometimes, because here I am seven months later, trying to shoo a kitten off of the keyboard. My journey to pet ownership was very unique – while it worked perfectly for me, it was clearly a very rushed process, leaving me little time to consider all the implications of what this new responsibility meant. Had I done it all over, these are the things I should have thought about before I jumped in. And then I’d probably have jumped in all the same, but with a little more foresight and the knowledge of what I was getting into- at least financially!

Having a pet has improved my life immeasurably, but not knowing the costs associated with them has definitely put an unexpected dent in my budget. Read the rest of this entry »

Whenever the weather turns as hot and sticky as it did this past week in NYC, I can’t help but think about how my cats are faring in the heat while I’m at work. So when I get home, I often subject them to my own ideas about cooling down cats in the heat: giving them ice cubes to play with, sprinkling them with cold water, and refrigerating their wet food. I’m sure none of these are particularly effective, because, like my partner Grace reminded me, cats are not people!

However misinformed my actions are, they are not misguided: we all like to be able to do something special for the animal members of our family once in a while. For this week’s Reducing Pet Costs post we move on to a much happier topic: the little extras we indulge in for our pets. From spa treatments to clothes, here is a list of ideas for pampering your pets at a fraction of the cost of traditional luxuries. You might even save enough to get yourself a pedicure! Read the rest of this entry »

A sad topic for this week, but a necessary one: sick pets. While we don’t like to ever think of our little friends not in perfect health, the reality is that more often than not, we outlive them. This means we’re usually in charge of important end of life care issues, as well as making sure we give them a loving and memorable goodbye. During these stressful times, our emotions often overwhelm us- honestly, I’ve been having a hard time even writing this post because it is so sad to think about- and often, it is at those times that we’re most unaware of our finances. Stories of people getting into serious debt due to medical expenses are common, and naturally, we find ourselves unwilling to think about financial implications when it comes to saving the life of any loved one. While I’m not advocating being cold-hearted in order to be money smart; through careful planning, it is possible to be both financially prudent and emotionally indulgent. Read the rest of this entry »

Although I live in Brooklyn, my family is in California. My partner Grace’s family is from Virginia. So between family visits, week-long vacations, and weekend getaways, we can be gone quite a bit. This leaves our cats, Francie and Hammy, up to their own devices, which, in all honestly, probably consist of sleeping, sleeping some more and trying to see how much hair they can get to accumulate on the rug. However our absence affects them, they seem to be a little sad whenever our departure is imminent- sleeping in our suitcases, sleeping this close to our faces, and (okay, maybe I’m projecting) giving us sad, feel-sorry-for-me faces.

I never expected my dad’s rejoinder to all my childhood pet requests to come back to me so strongly; he’d always say I’d never want to go on all my beloved vacations once I got a pet. While this is partly true- I do feel a pang of guilt and regret for leaving- having a pet to come home to is also the perfect antidote to post-vacation blues. Now that vacation season is upon us, here are some tips and considerations for making sure your pets have as nice of a time as you do when you’re gone. Read the rest of this entry »

I might as well come out and admit it: I LOVE shopping. Like the stereotypical femme, my ideal afternoon comprises of shopping, shopping and shopping, with maybe a spa treatment thrown in. When it comes to my cats, I’m no different. My partner has to tear me away from the cat toys and steer me out of the store when I start to get that glazed shopping look in my eyes. Shoppers, you know what look I’m talking about; I think we call it “the Zone.” How do I reconcile my love of shopping with my desire to stay on a budget? Simple: crafts!

For me, shopping is the hunt of finding something new; something unique and something perfect. Crafting is the art of making those things. With a little extra time and effort, I can feel so much better about my materialistic desires. This applies very nicely to pet toys and accessories, since most pet toys are easy and inexpensive to make. Now if I can just find the receipt to return that remote controlled mouse! Read the rest of this entry »