Now our friend over at Free Money Finance has written a bunch of interesting essays on what kind of financial drain pets can be, and I agree with them whole heartedly. I have a dog and two cats and two years ago had a cat die of basically old age, but it cost me $1500 over 6 months for this to happen. I remember my parents having cats “put to sleep” because they were old, and it not costing that much at all. Is that heartless, maybe yes, but putting yourself into financial peril for an animal does strike me as a bit excessive.
Why am I ranting about this today? While away this weekend our local vet called twice to “remind” us about shots or pills needed for our pets. I am sure this person is well-meaning, but part of me keeps thinking this is like a drug pusher calling to ask why you hadn’t been by lately.
If you haven’t got pets but are thinking about getting them, read the articles on FMF and think about how much this is going to cost you, and where that money might go better (like a family vacation?).
My suspicion is that the “pet” industry is now a very large industry, and it is expanding rapidly. How big a company is Purina? Maybe it’s time to buy some stock in them?
