Monday, August 5, 2013

Monthly Expenses: July 2013

As I was calculating our July expenses, I started to feel the pressure of posting these numbers publicly. Comparing to the other online doggie friends who are also tracking their expenses, we have been spending a lot more every single month. Last year, it was due to Maya's medical issues, but this year, it was mostly on things that are not "necessary" for most pets, like training beyond basic obedience, a fancy toy, or grass-fed raw meat. I know there are owners who work hard to make ends meet, but still try to give their dogs a good quality of life, and I respect them wholeheartedly. I don't want to portrait ourselves luxurious, wasteful, or superior, just because we are in the stage of our lives with some to spare on spoiling our dog. I thought about stopping these posts or even alter the numbers, but decided to stay true to myself, since that was the original reason I started this blog. Why should I care what other people on the internet think of me, right? Anyways, here's what we spent in July...


July 2013
  • Food: $58
  • Supplements: $32
  • Treats & Chews: $14
  • Toys: $32
  • Training: $483
  • Misc: $7
TOTAL: $626
YTD TOTAL: $2,319


Food

This month we stock up on two months worth of food, including, Marin Sun Farm Beef Pet Food, Ecopawz Salmon Grind, some bone dust, and some veggies. For her birthday, her daddy also got her a small piece of New York Steak.



Supplements

For supplements, we got a big bottle of salmon oil and a small jar of plain yogurt.


Treats & Chews

Since we started to take training classes, Maya has been going through her treats super fast. I have been making her dehydrated beef jerky from ground beef and it's not cheap, especially when rushing out to get it last minute from a local high-end grocery store in preparation for a training class the very next day. The good news is that the Marin Sun Farm Beef Pet Food works well for making the jerky, so I'll be using that instead from now on. This should cut the cost in this category down a bit.


Training

This is the biggest expense of the month, as we signed up for a training workshop, a 10 classes pass and a 5 sessions private gym pass. The passes haven't been used up yet, so could still last for while. I also paid for the TTouch training class in the mountains. 


Toys

It has been a long time since I purchased a toy for Maya, as she has very little interest in them and we have a box-full that rarely get touched. However, when I saw this new toy, I knew she would love it. It's like a cat teaser toy but made much bigger and sturdy for dogs. The store owner was nice and let us tried it out first. She literally went nuts! It's the first time I saw her pick a toy over a treat. So even though the price is beyond what I thought was reasonable for a toy, I still brought it home. I think it'll be great for preparing her for lure coursing as well as enforce her "drop it" command.


Misc
As for the miscellaneous expense, I got two rolls of bandage to "mummify" Maya, which I learned in the TTouch class.




2 comments:

  1. I thought a bit about the "comparison" game too, because I check in on others for curiosity's sake. But comparison doesn't have to be competition. Everyone's different numbers is just an expression of the various niches that these dogs occupy in our lives, right?

    That's one of the weird thing about personal finances. There's always a sense that we have to justify our expenses ESPECIALLY when it comes to pets because they're often seen (to some members of the public anyway) as "extraneous" expenses. But I think it's exactly because we don't talk about it that the relationship with our pets is so often undervalued. And I don't even mean that something is more valuable because it costs more. I just mean that something is more "valuable" because it is acknowledged as part of our way of daily life.

    I've been paying attention to Maya's training progress via your FB posts, and that does seem like a very enriching experience for both of you. *That's* the focus, not the price tag. The extra activity probably keeps her mind off her allergies, too? She's looking great!

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    1. Thank you for putting my thoughts in words better than I was able to. I think what really bothers me is that every time I feel like I have to come up with "excuses" or felt "embarrassed" for the exceeded money spent. Not that someone's judging me, but probably the Chinese values instilled in me that was talking.

      The training experience is great, and somewhat addicting, at least for me. As for her allergies, some days are better, some are worse, but at least overall she's better than last year. As long as we are heading the right direction, I have no complaint.

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