I was reading through the ASPCA information and I came to pet care costs guide on what they believe the cost is for an animal in the first year.
I have a 5lb Maltese that is 8 years old that I picked up from the pound. After running through their numbers, I thought they were a little off - So I did some figuring on my own. I was figuring that the cost to feed, groom and see the vet were more around a $75-80 range per month. After figuring out the cost, that would be wishful thinking. Instead the total came to over $125 a month, $1656 is what I totaled it out to be.
Her vet bill is higher this first year because she got the 3 year rabies and her license is a 3 year as well. I don't pay health insurance, instead I pay extra to the vet and build up a credit with them. What did put my total larger is the boarding - which is a good 7-10 day vacation a year and the grooming that she gets done about every 8-10 weeks. Over all, a handy way to figure out expenses and really, she is worth every penny when she brings a smile to my face.
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Speaking of food - How to buy eggs.. Do you know the difference in appearance between a AA grade egg and an A grade egg? I didn't. And it's interesting to read about how other countries grade their eggs as well.
And speaking of shopping - Do you know the best time to buy? The Go Frugal blog has a list of 75 products and services and the best time to buy them. It is a handy guide to bookmark as I know I won't need all the information now, but good to refer back to.. like the airline tickets. Keep watch months in advance.
And if you are tired of shopping and it doesn't bring you happiness - Modern Tightwad has a great Rule of Things that I fully agree with.
Finally, if all you want to do is learn I have a few links that have some great links of their own for free online learning:
➤ Lifehacker recently gave info on Foreign Service Institute's free language courses - "you can access audio, texts, and tests in 41 different languages" So don't buy that Rosetta Stone software until after you check this out.
➤ I stumbled on Education Portal when looking for free accounting classes
➤ And The Buck List has 10 free online sites for colleges and courses. I have watched some of the videos from the MIT OpenCourseWare.
". . . she is worth every penny when she brings a smile to my face."
Amen. I always smile at these kinds of studies, people are amazed at how much a pet can/may cost a family, but they never seem to take into consideration the REAL and PURE joy of having that unconditional love from the pet.
My cat has a dietary restriction that keeps monthly food costs higher than what I would pay monthly for a 'normal' pet. I don't care. She is awesome, and there is very little I would deny her for a healthy happy life. She gives me joy daily, I give her healthy cat food. Seems a fair deal to me. ;-)
Adorable photo of your pup!!!
Cheers,
Laura
I can't believe how expensive the pet health insurance was. It's a good thing you have a system worked out with the vet. I will probable lead to savings in the long run. She's adorable, btw.
Pets are always worth the money, in my opinion. We have two little old lady kitties who eat a ton of wet food (no appetite loss here!) and have kidney problems, so we go through a ton of litter. I finally gave in and subscribed to Amazon for pet food delivery since I was going to the discount store every other week and it was just getting ridiculous. Costs a little more, but no more panicking about being out of kitty food with two hungry picky babies meowing incessantly at me. A small indulgence but worth it for them.
We were moments away from adopting a maltese shih tzu cross from the pound a couple of weeks ago. Gee, the costs associated with the dog are pretty steep. And I was going to add a column to my budget concerning only the dog. If it does happen I'll be sure to keep an eye on the associated costs too.