The Dog Days of Budgeting
Posted by RycePapers | Filed under RycePapers
Being quasi-retired gives me time to be in my garden, but it’s now June and I need to put last month’s finances to bed by adding up my budget numbers. EEEEEKKK!! Sorry, I meant to write ‘just as I expected’. With five months of comparable figures of real money spent, this helps me project my costs for the entire year and make any adjustments. Because I don’t have a crystal ball, I begin the year by estimating a budget and making a plan. I think it was strategic planning genius Henry Mintzberg who said: The reason you make plans is so you have something to deviate from. Get ready for some major deviation!
I looked at my biggest expense for the month. It is Pongo my Golden Retriever who will be 12 this month. It is heartworm season and a couple of his medications needed refilling plus kibble and cans and the result is $565 with the running total for five months of $2327. If you just thought ‘holy crap’ I can understand your reaction. My doctor told me that the majority of money spent on human health care tends to happen in the older years and it is the same with dogs. I lost my German shepherd girl a year ago, just shy of her 13th birthday. My total pet bill last year was $8020.
After you’ve applied the cardiac paddles and returned to reading this blog, let me explain. My dogs are my passion. Pongo means I don’t need a gym membership to keep my weight steady (we walk), a security system (he barks), satellite TV (he entertains me), medication (he is very funny and keeps my happy hormones firing), or a big clothing budget (he keeps me occupied so I don’t troll the shopping malls out of boredom).
The Greeks didn’t write obituaries, instead when a man died (and I hope for women, too) they asked: was he a man of passion? We all need our passion. Maybe you golf, scrapbook, motorcycle, enjoy theater, make charitable donations, travel, decorate, take your kids or grandkids on adventures or whatever your thing is. It’s what makes your life purposeful and brings you enjoyment.
For those of us 50+ we know we are ‘playing the back nine’ as golfers would say. It’s a different game than the front nine. Once you’ve taken care of the basics there is a reward: you get to choose where to spend your remaining money. I choose my furry friend Pongo. What I don’t choose is clothing. I spent $875 on clothes last year. No one ever calls me a fashionista and that’s okay because it’s not my passion. I would rather spend my do-re-me at the vet’s. Dr. Kathleen and crew do a fabulous job of loving the pets under their care and I think they are worth every penny.
Becoming an adult means we become responsible for our choices. No longer can we blame our parents, our peers, our society, or as Flip Wilson used to say ‘the devil made me do it.’ Whatever passion you choose, you get the full benefit of the money spent and shoulder the full consequences of that choosing. Choose means picking one over another. As my mother says, figure out what you want and then decide what you are willing to sacrifice to get it. The root of the word ‘decide’ means to cut off. Some folks have obviously been unwilling to cut off some spending since I read recently that nearly 2/3rds of those in the 50-64 age bracket in Canada are in debt and carry on average $91,000 in debt. Bow WOW as Pongo would say. I’ll write more about that debt next week, but right now I’m going out for our afternoon walk, or as I like to think of it, taking time out to tone up my thighs.
That is what’s on my mind today, what do you think?
Victoria Ryce
I am a former stockbroker, banker, international corporate trainer, and community shared agriculture worker. Have a Master's Degree in Human Systems Intervention (people and change). A big recycler, dog lover, reader, author of two books and yoga chick. Widowed and living in the country. Grow my own tomatoes and garlic to make salsa. Yummy.
June 5, 2012 at 9:28 am
I’m entering my 50s and am working very hard to get out of debt (although the numbers you give for those over 50 are reassuring to me–my debt isn’t even close to that). I enjoyed your article!!
June 5, 2012 at 5:55 pm
thanks teresa, and glad to hear you are in good shape.
June 5, 2012 at 10:33 am
I’m a newly turned fifty and must agree wholeheartedly with your blog. I get enormous joy from my girl who is still cheap at 5 years of age. She should live until around 22 years of age. I have medical insurance for her that costs $53.45 per month, her food is $19.98 per month and then her shots and vet bills for a check up are around $250-300 depending plus her tag license which last year went up to $30 and I’m not sure what it is this year. She has her own budget line of $106/month.
We have no debt and are working on supplementing our pensions. We’ve always maxed out the RRSP when it was available but the union’s pension now takes the entire allowed amount so we’ve been maxing out the TFSA’s. Mine are doubling as an emergency fund while hubby’s although I did ask that he do the same are in the market instead…
The only thing that concerns me is Misty’s back as she’s a dachshund and her back would be considered a preexisting condition and not covered.
June 5, 2012 at 5:58 pm
thanks for your added information. i lived in quebec where Pongo was born and that province did not allow pet insurance, otherwise i would have purchased it, like you. as you know, an older pet is harder to insure. loved that your girl has her own budget.
June 5, 2012 at 12:40 pm
I’m semi-retired, with no mortgage or debt and retirement funding in place. I believe now is the time to spend on wants; the early years were focused more on needs. Too many people have plans for retirement but then something happens, like illness or death, and they never have the opportunity to enjoy life after working for so many years. Saving for later sounds like a good idea but what a waste if “later” never comes.
June 5, 2012 at 5:59 pm
You are so right, Rae. My husband died at 58 and I was so glad he got to do so many things in his life before he died.
June 5, 2012 at 12:40 pm
I’m 52 and totally debt free. I have 2 dogs and 8 cats so I know how much they cost every month. I could care less about the “new” fashions outs, if I go to the mall 2 times a yr that is a lot, in fact I HATE shopping. My furry babies are what I choose to spend my money on. My greyhound just turned 10 and I have 3 cats that just turned 9 so my expenses have gone up a little, but like everything else I will find money in my budget to adjust to the raising costs.
June 5, 2012 at 6:01 pm
hi kate, thanks for reinforcing the non-fashionista point. besides, most of the time our clothes have those golden threads of pet hair woven in that make them priceless.
June 5, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Love your blog post today!
I also love my animals (currently a 15 year old dog, a 4 year old cat and a stray cat we feed).
We average about $300/month on our animals between the cost of food, medication, vet bills and grooming costs. Worth every single penny as far as I am concerned.
I would rather spend those dollars on my pets than anything else. I don’t need more clothes, I don’t need more knickknacks, I don’t need more electronic gadgets and I certainly don’t need the boats, RV’s, motorcycles and ATV’s that my neighbours buy to park in their driveways!
June 5, 2012 at 6:03 pm
you bet!! besides pet love is a renewable resource of the nicest kind and requires no oil or gas.
June 6, 2012 at 3:57 am
My husband and I are working our way out of student debt (ten years of university between us makes for a bug bill at the end!) but the one thing we would never give up is our baby boy – a Shepard/Collie cross. We don’t spend much money going out, neither of us go to the gym but we’re in good shape and we are greeted every day when we come home by a wagging tail. We get to spend lots of quality time together going to parks and taking long walks and if stress ever gets to us, he’s there for cuddles. We budget for everything he needs and besides, I’d much rather invest my money in my little buddy than waste it on the nights out in the bar like many people my age.
June 6, 2012 at 5:25 pm
I have two cats (6 and 12) and two senior dogs. Most of the pet budget goes to the almost 15 year old, but I wouldn’t trade any of them for anything. They make me happy and it’s my job and joy to make sure they are.