Friday, January 22, 2021

Saturday, My First Chart and I paid off my first debt!


 I did it.  I completed the first chart of the year! I also squirreled away $200.00 and then my adsense check came in and I was able to pay off the remainder of that $780.00 debt.  My first debt of the new year!  I feel pretty darn skipper about it let me tell you. 

It has been very boring here sticking to a budget and not buying extra groceries. Of course with the lock down you can't go any where anyway but you can still figure out ways to spend money.  I am not doing that.

I also sold something on Facebook market place today which was a goal I had on my list.  So I am happy about that.

The missionaries came by with some sewing and brought the new toilet in and then they put all the Christmas decorations up in the garage.  It is so nice to be able to move freely in there.

I took Effie burgers into the same missionaries for dinner today along with a pan of brownies I made up.  Hubs was jealous but he got leftovers.  I did whip up a small pan of brownies for us and a really nice broccoli raisin salad.

I am about stir crazy with this lock down.  I still have clients and I still sew, but I am lonely for other kinds of company.  I can tell Hubs is frustrated also. Here it is Saturday and I have no plans.  I have plenty to do, but not anything I want to do.  We should all be so blessed.

Maybe I can get Hubs to help me get a few more things put away in the garage.  I would like to get to my geraniums that I am wintering over in the garage and they are covered up by his things.  I want to water them and then I think a run to the dump is in order.  Isn't my life exciting?

Went to Albertson's yesterday to get the Friday sales and they were out of the store brand brats but substituted the name brand, so I got 4 packages.  It was the same with their baby roses that I planned to get a bundle of, and they had to sub the larger. Dang! We went early in the day too.  Hubs thinks that stores are just not able to get in as much as they used to or that people are just really watching the sales and stocking up.  Either way I came out ahead.

The woman who purchased my facebook item just lives down the street and she is a dog groomer.  I was so happy to meet her as Rosco needs his nails clipped and glands emptied and his undercoat washed.  So nice to have someone just down the street.  She grooms the neighbors dogs.

I have never taken a dog to a groomer before.  In fact I disapprove of dumping money into animals when you are in debt. I understand that they are part of the family and I certainly love my animals.  We are at a point where we can afford this service.  But all the years the kids were growing up we never had a pet.  Maybe a stray cat that hung around and we fed it, but we did not doctor it.  I just would not have the extra expense. Finally, when the older two were grown or in college and B our youngest was home alone alot (as Hubs and I were working in different pits(theaters))we got our rescue dog Sandy, so B would not be alone.  But our vet came to the house and was very inexpensive. Having huge vet bills or grooming bills just does not make sense when you have no money.

Still I love animals and I can understand why people get attached.  DO you have pets?  Do you find them expensive?

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative. 


Kim


9 comments:

  1. I raised three boys and a girl in the country so we always had a variety of dogs, usually German Shepherds, and cats. Dogs are for protection and always sleep inside the house, and cats catch mice and usually sleep inside, but cats are cats, so if they want to be outside in the country, they would escape and come back when they wanted. I vaccinated them all. All my kids have animals where they live now, either dogs, or cats, or ferrets, all are inside night dogs, and most are large breeds mutt mixes, with a rescue German Shepherd in the mix. My youngest son adores ferrets, has four, a hedgehog, and a couple of rescue kittens I found newborn when mom died after hurricane Zeta, I dropper fed several times at night, and bottle fed those kittens, and then gave to him when they would sleep through night. My middle son has my deceased’s mother’s medium sized dog, and I dropped 2 grand last month saving dog’s life on emergency operation. She is worth every penny because she gave my mom so much comfort in her last years. My problem now where I live is that neighbor had lots of cats and just moved away, leaving the cats, who are feral. So, I feed them now, but cannot catch them. No, there is no animal control in the county, nor tiny town. They can barely pay their garbage collectors. County and teeny city are dead broke. But considering the large mouse, roach, snake, etc. population in this swampy, flat place, I am not complaining. I have zero mice in this old house and I attribute it to the former neighbor feral outside cats. I only, technically, have a very large inside pit mix dog for protection, and my rescue cat. My rescue cat is not worth a quarter at catching mice or anything. He is fat and lazy and hates the feral outside neighbor cats. Yes, animals are expensive, but the dogs in rural places have always been my first warning system, they have teeth, and cats keep all these rodents out of houses, so I am good with that, as we say here.....lol. I have an animal emergency fund, which is kinda low after mom’s dog had emergency surgery. My ex actually has a pet graveyard, complete with little headstones or rose bushes decorating two different little graveyards, and the kids bring the animals to be buried when they pass. The 18 year old cat just died two weeks ago and the whole family is sad, but realizes that cat had a good life. My friend, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2017, gave me that cat, and the kids all loved that cat. Ex was attached, so cat lived with him, he spent a lot on vet bills on cat in his last year. He txted me the exact time when the cat passed in the middle if the night. I will contribute to animals that were the kid’s pets. Ex is also a lawyer and has had income to maintain pets. The pets are family. My mom and his mom were from farm backgrounds so I do not know if that is why we always had animals or not. Plus we lived on several acres, when married. I have never traveled much, except to see daughter out West, because it is so hard to get away from job, so I guess I spent travel money on animal money. The beach is not that far so I do not consider that really traveling, and I have a friend I pay to feed ferals when I am at beach, and I usually board my dog and cat at Vet. Sorry for the epistle, I have insomnia....lol. The short answer is yes, lots of pets throughout the family, and yes, they are expensive. I never thought about it but when I call kids, I ask how they are, ask about grandchild, and then ask about pets.....lol.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My pets have always been my children. I have spent thousands on them over the years and would continue to do so. If I had to chose between groceries for me or taking care of my animals - they win. Gods creatures all deserve love and attention.

    ReplyDelete
  3. No pets on our side. We (in non COVID times) traveled a lot & just wouldn't be home enough to give a pet adequate attention.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm with Cindy and Cheryl...our four legged family members get the same level of care that the two leggers get. Full medical, quality food and lots of loving. I, too, would go hungry before my critters would go without care.
    Cindy, you might want to check and see if there is a trap, neuter and release program in your area. We, too, had a large number of feral cats that they trapped, neutered and/or spayed and released back into our area. We agreed to feed them after release. It really reduced the number of litters that found their way onto our property. They actually cut a tip off their ear (yikes) so that they can easily recognize the ones who have been fixed. We spend a fortune on feeding the cats, the birds, the squirrels, the opossums, the skunks and the raccoons...the last three by default. In spite of all their differences, they all get along together at the food bowls. We could all learn from that. :)
    Maggie

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, I'm a cat person. Yes, they can be expensive. We adopted a brother/sister at 8m as the family who had them needed to get rid of them. Brother was sick last year, off to vet, then specialist for ultrasound, diagnosed with lymphoma and crossed the Rainbow Bridge w/assist when he seemed to us to be approaching the pain stage of his illness. With pets, better a week early than a day too late, say vets. Sister developed a hyperthyroid problem about 6y ago and nearly died. She requires medication twice daily. So, when we travel we hire a sitter to come in twice/daily. Expensive? Yes. Boarding her is the same cost so she's at home and visited by someone who loves her. We're not going to dump her or euthanize her. We're in for the long haul. We don't think of pets as children, however they are living creatures and deserving of thoughtful care.

    Happy Weekend to you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You're an inspiration with the saving of money charts. Sometimes I get a tad bit stir crazy staying home, but get refreshed going for a drive. Makes me feel somewhat normal again. No pet at the moment, but I hope to have a puppy one day. We're in between pets. Lots of companionship with pets.
    Blessings,
    d

    ReplyDelete
  7. We had dogs as a child when people dumped dogs. I had a cat that lived a long time. When I married, I had a cat indoors. The cat caught distemper and I got pregnant, so no more indoor animals. I got a free dog at a yard sale when my son was seven. When she was hit by a car, she was treated better than I would have been. I cannot afford dog or cat, but neither can live indoors as I have allergies. I like both cats and dogs but am afraid of dogs and want them "Over there) not near me. I have rescued a few cats and dogs and found them homes.

    I had a dog after I divorced but it was hit by a car and died. Long, sad story.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We both grew up with lots of pets me a wide variety, and DH digs. We've pretty much always had a dog, expect the gap of five years between our Golden and my current baby, pup. He's almost 10 so likely will be our last pet as we plan to travel a lot in retirement. {u has been my lifeline in this stay at home, work at home life. He require daily walks care, and cuddles and play-which means I get all the same. We have to do sedated grooming twice a year, so very expensive to have him.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Daughter 4 has 5 rescue dogs. She gets help with the vet bill and dog food some. She does the grooming herself. Daughter 3 has 3 dogs, she grooms them herself and only gives dog food. Her dogs will let you brush their teeth (only dogs in family to do that) Daughter 2 has a dog and cat. Daughter 1 has 5 dogs from her first dog. Son 2 has 2 cats. We have 3 dogs. Vet does the nails that are thick as they are big dogs so no office call. I would say 2 of the dogs we have came from Daughter 2 when she couldn't afford a roof over her and her boys heads let alone take care of dogs. She had even took the pup in when she was already struggling. Not only did she learn the lesson but her 4 sons did also.

    ReplyDelete