It's Raining Dogs and Vet Bills

Boy, around here lately it seems like if it rains, it pours. For me, this means:

1. A never ending line of vet bills that are no less than $100 each (one of which is up around $700)
2. A car that has, officially and for real this time, entered the last stages of its life.

1. The never ending vet bills
You may have read my last post about how dogs are wonderful but can be a little pricey. Well, as Taryn said, "I think pain killers for animals is ok- it just depends on how long they have left to give, and other stuff like that."* and it made me realize that Bing has a lot left to give (he is only about five years old) and that if the pain killers make him act like a normal dog, then that's what he is going to get.

However, this past weekend while I was in Illinois with Armini and my brother** was watching the dogs, Tim got into Bing's meds and ate what was left in the bottle (around 20 days worth of pain medication). SO, to add to the fact that I have come to terms with the fact that I will be purchasing pain killers forever, and the $500 vet bill that still isn't completely paid off (but will be on the 13th!) ... I have Tim's vet bill from the E-Vet ($700)*** and the bill for HIS medications ($128) for his kidneys and his stomach (to make sure he doesn't get an ulcer) plus any bills that I will have to pay when he goes back to the vet in a week to get his kidney function tested.****

* That's right readers! Comment, and I will quote you, give you some link love and add you to my Google reader. (Taryn, I checked out your blog, it's awesome. I will be back)
** Who will forever now be known as That Punk Kid.
*** I don't have to pay for all of this bill though. Only 1/3rd (parents are taking care of a third and That Punk Kid is taking care of the rest), but I do have to pay for any treatments that he is going to need for follow up care, and heaven forbid, any long term treatments he could need.
**** Cue head explosion.

(PS - I haven't ever done the foot note thing before and I apologize for having so many. I got carried away. Please don't stop reading)

2. The car that has officially entered its final stretch
That's right people. The car = done-zo.

For the last month or so it has been a little dodgy on the whole 'starting every time you put the key in the ignition' thing. Sometimes the engine would catch and then die right away. Sometimes it would have to turn over a few times (or 20 or 30 times) before the engine would catch. It would start eventually though, so really I just tried to keep my eye on the prize and stick to my savings plan.

But this morning I had to get to the airport to catch a flight for a business trip (don't fear reader, Armini is taking care of Tim and Bing, not That Punk Kid) and the car would not start. I tried it like 6 times. I gave it some gas. The engine would turn over but not catch. So Armini and I took his truck (thank the Lord he has a car of his own that turns on consistently) and when I called my dad to let him know about the car trouble his response was "Maybe it's time to start looking for another car". My thoughts exactly.

3. The hitch in my giddy-up
I took $1,000 out of my car fund not too long ago to pay off a huge chunk of my credit card which means that I only have $300 in my car fund right now. I haven't been able to save more than $50 from my last few paychecks due to the vet bills that I have had to pay off. As a result of some really bad behavior, the chunk of credit card bill that I paid off is back again, mostly because I don't have any other way to pay for stuff (also, I was being very bad - which will get its own post because it needs to be examined).

So the long and the short of this is: I have some large bills to pay. I might have a car payment a lot sooner than I thought I would. I am not making enough money to take care of all of these things.

Also, I have my heart set on a car that is probably not one that I will be able to afford:

Behold, the Mini Cooper. Car of my dreams.

ACK. I plan on applying for a loan in the next few weeks, as well as developing a plan for some really aggressive savings plan/budget. At this point I am 99% sure that the plan will be something like this:

• Pay bills.
• Save the rest.
• (have no life until I get the super cool car)
• (continue to have no life until super cool car is paid off)

It is going to be awesome.

Dogs are Lovely ... and Come with a Price Tag

Remember way back when I talked about the joys of pet ownership? Well, that hasn't changed much. In fact, I would go ahead and say that it has gotten WAY WORSE.

A few month ago, Bing started crying whenever you would touch his face. At first we thought that maybe he had a pinched nerve (there were some funky things going on with his eyes at the same time) and so he went on some pain killers and anti-inflammatory medication. The pain went away, and I could tell because his personality changed. He had been hiding under furniture, not playing with Tim or my parent's dogs, very clingy - which is not how he acted when he first came home from the humane society in December of 2007. The change to this quieter, more clingy personality was so gradual that I hadn't noticed (now I know what to look for and as soon as his personality changes, I start to look for the reason).

So this past week I decided that it was time to figure out what the heck is going on once and for all, for the sake of my dog. Two x-ray's later we have determined that he has pinched disk space (which sounds to me like the very beginnings of arthritis) in his neck. Which explains his neck pain. The vet also noticed that his eyes are very irritated looking (something that I have also noticed in the past few weeks), but he couldn't find any clear reason for why they are so red and goopey.

All in all, my dog is on some pain killers (which make him feel SO GOOD - he runs all over the apartment chancing Tim these days, something that he hasn't done in a long, long time) and we are using some eye drops from another vet visit for his eyes, which will warrant another visit as well.

My total vet bill for ONE VISIT which included: two heartworm tests (for Tim and Bing), a physical exam for Bing, a tear test for Bing, two x-rays of Bing's neck, a month's worth of pain killers for Bing and 6 months of HeartGuard for each dog came to almost $500.

$500.

Let that sink in for a moment. Now, scream with me! (I did choke a little on my spit when the lady handed me the bill)

Thank God the office let me split it into two payments for an extra $5, which honestly, is cheaper than an overdraft fee so I'll pay it. But with rent due from my last paycheck as well as the first $250 for the animal clinic, I will have about $10 left over in my account until my next check on the 15th, which will be missing the last $250 from it.

But despite the fact that I had to put my groceries for the next two weeks on my credit card (because I had NO FOOD - no joke), I am pretty proud of myself for budgeting around this fairly unexpected bump in the road. Plus, the follow up visit is free if you go back within two weeks of your first visit, so that's a money saver as well.

Armini thinks that I am totally loony for spending so much on a pooch. My mom told me that she would never pay for prescription pain killers for a dog forever.

If you knew that you could do something for your dog if you just knew what was wrong, would have paid $500 to find out what was wrong? Would you pay for the pain killers for your dog (or cat, or whatever) if you knew that they would live a much happier life?

Am Not Dead. Send Money.

Well readers, it's been a while since I've posted on here for a number of reasons.

1. I finally got a feeling of being "master of my money" in real life, which made me feel like blogging about money was no longer something that I needed to do.
2. I finally got that raise at work and was all like "I have soooo much money now I will never want for anything ever again!"

However, I have discovered that getting a raise does not mean that I will never want for anything else, ever again and that I am in no way shape or form "master of my money":

1. My first paycheck (after my raise) (which was last week) was totally gone after a week (read: I have negative dollars in my checking account right now). That is a problem.
2. I have finally figured out what is wrong with Bing and that he will probably need to be on pain killers for the rest of his little doggy life ... also I had to shell out close to $500 this morning for the vet visit + tests + x-rays + medication. Woo!

So, because of the pain of having to write the vet's office two checks this morning and pay them the extra $5 to hold the second one until my next payday, I have decided to get back on this pony and ride. Talking about the problems and trails of managing my money helps me to really do it in real life. Plus - I like to write about it. Yay!

I will update the spend-o-pay-o meters in the next few days. I have gotten rid of a lot of debt (yay!) and one of my New Year's resolutions was to be totally debt free in 2009 ... something that I can definitely blog about and I am already well on my way!

Sorry for the long absence peoples ... I promise not to stay away anymore! Also, I have no idea if Ashely-Michelle will ever post here again (she still live in Kansas BTW [because I know you were just dieing to know what happened with the move to California], she got a scholarship to a great school for a great program and she just couldn't say no. She's still going out there, just not until she graduates).

Keep reading friends ... Hopefully I will get around to reading other blogs soon!

Peanut Butter Practicality

Sometime tomorrow, I'll update with the remaining three tips for college grads, but today, given that both myself and Super Careo are fur-mamas, I thought I'd share an ingenius money-saving tip.

So, most of us eat peanut butter. It's kind of an American tradition. And a large majority of Americans own dogs. Although the in-home care for pets has gotten better over the years, there are still a number of minor health issues that many fur-parents tend to miss. A big one is the importance of glucosamine in pets, especially larger breeds and animals pre-disposed to arthritis.

My Savannah, a German Shepherd-Brittany Spaniel mix, has suffered from arthritis for about seven years. The last year has been especially rough for her, so I started feeding her glucosamine tablets at the urging of the vet. I did notice it seemed to help quite a bit with her joint and bone pain, caused by the stress of her condition. Still, my vet suggested that I switch to a specific company.

The only problem is, the tablets aren't flavored, and both my dogs are notoriously finicky eaters when it comes to treats. Seriously, my Pomeranian loves to eat broccoli, but don't count on seeing him gobble down any treats designed to address his tartar and plaque build-up. Oy.

A few weeks ago, I got the idea to take a spoon and coat the glucosamine tablets with a small amount of peanut butter. Because watching the weight of an arthritic dog is so critical to maintaining their health and comfort, I always did a very small amount, just enough to make the tablet seem like a treat. When I noticed that the jar of peanut butter itself was just about too empty to use in making a sandwich, it occured to me there wasn't any reason why I couldn't just start using the tablet to scrape a small amount of peanut butter off the side. True enough, it's worked like a charm!

So, I suppose perhaps a good direction to take this blog is conservation of resources, as well as money management. I, for one, feel great that I'm not tossing out a jar of peanut butter that is too little to put on a sandwich, but just right to entice a dog to take her medicine.

My First Real Budgetary Breakdown = Success!

So, I vowed a few days ago to adhere more strictly to my budget with this upcoming paycheck. Like many people in my age bracket, I have a tendency to over-spend, but generally speaking, my indulgences have been on food (read: over-spending at the grocery store, or at restaurants) or cosmetics. Fortunately, my last day at ULTA was yesterday, and my boyfriend was kind enough to stock me up on my favorite line, Benefit, during his most recent visit.

In any case, I received my paycheck from the hotel yesterday, for $402.10, which I knew had to be properly placed and used for my bank accounts, bills and other expenditures from Olathe to Merriam. And thanks to an awesome article hosted on MSNBC.com, I even managed to save on my gas during the two and a half hours I was running errands.

My first stop was at Brotherhood Bank, where I keep a savings account. I deposited $52.10, and then received the rest in cash. I allowed myself to skimp on the $100 deposit because my paycheck is a little smaller due to trading shifts with Rachel last week, and because I'll be making an additional deposit this upcoming Friday from my cash-only job delivering fliers.

Oh, yes. I have a job that pays me that I have not calculated into my budget, because the hours are uncertain and inconsistent. Although it pays $12 an hour, it seems unwise to expect a bare minimum output, because I know as soon as I do that, Dixie is going to cut my hours like she did last summer. Anyway, the pay will be around $120, and $50 will be put into my savings account.

My next stop was my checking account at Commerce Bank. I deposited $200 of my cash because due to the ordeal of losing my bank card, I've written three checks over the last few days with the total being somewhere in the $120 range for groceries, debt and other needs. Although when I last checked my account balance a week ago it was over $200, it just seems better safe than sorry. In fact, I have a theory that with all the late fees and everything else that I've had to pay to Commerce in the last two years, they should name a wing of the bank after me. This is, of course, what happens when you fail to read the fine print and discover that your bank requires a minimum balance of $150 not to screw you over.

In any case, that left me with $150. So after I finished up at Commerce, I drove to the gas station to get gas, which I luckily found for $3.82, because it recently hit $4, much to the outrage of the greater Kansas City area. I put $30 in my gas tank, which used to fill it up but now only gives me half a tank, knocking my cash flow to $120.

After I finished pumping gas, I set off to Sprint to pay my bill. Because I downloaded a few ringtones and went over my minutes (slightly) my bill was a little higher than average, but at $40, right within my allotted budget. I even put forth an extra dollar, as a kind of downpayment on next month's bill, because I happened to find it in my wallet and wanted to deal with whole numbers. I left Sprint with $80 in my pocket.

I also needed to pick up Savannah's arthritis medicine, and her vet is located right next door to the Sprint building. For a month's supply, I had to cough up $43. Because her medicine alone exceeded my allocated budget, I recognize I'll have to recalibrate some things, but I was also glad I hadn't deposited $100 into my savings account. I forked over the cash, albeit begrudgingly, and rescheduled Little Bit's wellness exam for June 30.

My next stop was PetSmart, also conveniently located next door, so I didn't even have to drive and saved my car's gas consumption by walking. I picked up the dog food and courtesy of both my PetPerks card and some coupons, I only had to spend $20 on dogfood, instead of the usual $25. I also picked up some dental treats, bringing my grand PetSmart total to $30.

Although I had very few dollars left, I still needed to go to both ULTA (to pick up Barrick's birthday present) and Wal-Mart. Due to the nature of what I purchased at ULTA, I had to write a check and spent $79. At Wal-Mart, I spent $13, which I charged to my card.

The breakdown is as follows:

1. Gas
Total Allowance: $140
Total Used: $30
Total Remaining in Budget: $110

2. Grocery
Total Allowance: $160
Total Used: $13
Total Remaining in Budget: +147

3. Cellphone
Total Allowance: $40
Total Used: $40
Total Remaining in Budget: 0

4. Dogs
Total Allowance: $50
Total Used: $73
Total Remaining in Budget: -23

5. Miscellaneous
Total Allowance: $100
Total Used: $79
Total Remaining in Budget: +21


Dollars remaining for monthly budget: $261
Total debts to be resolved: $136
Total flow within budget: $125

So, it's about $75 short of my ideal $200 balance at the end of each month, but this is also independent of both my ULTA paycheck (which is automatically deposited into my checking account) and the paycheck from the hotel which will arrive on the 27th.

Still, I'm fairly proud of myself. I'm going to go over on my Miscellaneous expenses this month, just because I've spoiled Barrick for his birthday. I purchased him a bottle of
Burberry Brit cologne ($35; discounted courtesy of my employment status at ULTA) which also included a complimentary bath wrap, a Fossil watch ($33; discounted because I grabbed it from eBay), and the accomodations for our hotel stay in Las Vegas next month ($120).

Thankfully, I paid for the watch and the hotel stay prior to committing a budget, so it's really only his cologne that is setting me back, as well as whether or not I decide to engrave the watch ($20) and/or purchase him a copy of "Robot Chicken: Star Wars" ($10). But that would still fall within my allotted "Miscellaneous" allowance, because his cologne, engraved watch and DVD would only be $63.

Whatever the case, I feel so functional, it's almost impossible to believe that not only am I actually spending my money, but I'm doing it in a reasonable fashion. In fact, after this month, I'll have more money left over, because I recently found out that my employment at the hotel makes my gym membership free. Needless to say, I'll be cancelling my exclusive membership and jumping on the hotel's bandwagon.

The Joys of Pet Ownership

It has come time for me to head over to Petsmart and purchase a ton of dog essentials for my puppies. I thought I might detail them out here. I also wanted to take some time and compare the prices from the store or the vet and the 1-800-petmeds website which claims to sell the things I need cheaply and without charging shipping. These are the things that I need for the dogs ...

*Heatguard (to protect against heart worms): Luckily the dogs fall into the same weight category which means I can buy a year's worth and have six months for each dog.
*Advantix or something similar (to protect against fleas and ticks, well worth the money to avoid the hassle): Unfortunately, the dogs don't fall into the same weight category which means that I have to buy a box for each dog. Bleh.
*It's also time for them to go into the vet and get tested for heart worm and they both need their teeth cleaned which is a couple hundred for both of them.
*They also need to get groomed, which usually runs around $75 for both of them. At least, that's how much it was at my old groomer.

I will have to spend a little time looking up prices and calling my vet to see how much they'd charge me for this stuff। That information will be forth coming as soon as I have the time to sit down and do it.

EDIT/UPDATE: I called my vet and checked out some prices online, and it turns out that everything I need to get is cheaper at my vet's office! What's more ... I called and got the boys scheduled for their teeth cleaning in two weeks. Now get this - I saved a TON of money by staying with my Lawrence Vet rather than just going to one of the vets over by my parents' place. On average the cost for a teeth cleaning in town was $350 PER DOG plus they wanted to keep the dogs overnight to observe them.

My Lawrence vet charges $152 per dog and I get to take them home with me that night. Which I love because when you pick them up they're still a little doped up from the anesthesia and it's so funny to watch them wander around the house. So, I will get to spend the same amount to get both of my dogs' teeth cleaned as it would to get just one done here in Overland Park. I guess it's a good thing that I called around!

You might think that I would be upset about taking a day off to go to Lawrence and deal with 3 dopey dogs (my mom was so impressed with the savings that I'm taking one of the family pets with me to get her teeth cleaned too) when I could spend the day working. It really isn't all that bad! My boyfriend gets back into town the night before after being out of town for 2 1/2 weeks and so I will get to spend the day with him and get this dog stuff taken care of at the same time. Now all I need to do is get them groomed and I won't have to spend money on them again for another couple of months.