October 8, 2012
A belated CONGRATULATIONS to Lazy Man and Mrs. on their new baby arrival!
Last week’s Carnival of Personal Finance: the Fall Traditions Edition was hosted by Tie the Money Knot and this week’s Carnival: The Leaves are Changing Edition was hosted by Walking to Wealth’s Adam Hagerman.
It’s the beginning of October and Kay Bell’s got a list of things to do for the month. Happily, in the chaos of all of Doggle’s health issues, and with the filing deadline of October 15th approaching, of course it seemed October 1st was the right time to sit down and power through. It only took about … 7 hours? Applicable excerpts for me:
Charitable donations other than cash: This year’s Goodwill donations included Mom’s entire wardrobe. I didn’t have it in me to go through that for anything to keep. Even now I can’t think about it. I know what was in there so I could list it for the donation, though, and it was substantial. But Dad wanted to donate everything but a small pile so I let him.
Medical costs: Out of curiosity, I just wanted to know whether I could deduct medical costs. Started to seem worth asking this year, having spent a few thousand or so on them. We would have had to have costs over $11, 500. Ooof. Ok, life doesn’t seem so bad now.
Athena just said good-bye to a lot of her mom’s stuff too. I’ve never been able to deal with actually being surrounded by too many things but it struck me how difficult it was to think about the idea of her things not being there anymore. Because it meant she wasn’t either. She used to rescue things that I planned to purge too, and I think it was to remind her of me. Now I have that double memory infused in that thing, as I let it go.
I grew up going to Chinatown in LA for cultural celebrations every year, shopping in the almost-musty shops several times a year, using the elderly and funeral services for my grandparents. I didn’t live in Chinatown but it was as much part of my extended neighborhood as any of the closely neighboring cities. And the idea of seeing a Walmart in that place that’s both a cultural entity and also a home is disconcerting. I wonder if the residential support for a Walmart comes from just wanting any general store in the area?
This is a super old story and I don’t know how I ran across it, but it was disconcerting anyway. Minnesota’s Public Health program and Team D was apparently how we managed to track down foodborne illness outbreaks so well in the past. I am so glad we shut that down….?
/sarcasm.
Not totally sure that we really needed this pointed out but NYTimes covers the perils of goalsetting. As in, you shouldn’t be setting goals without regard for how you reach them, or to the exclusion of all other things. Well, duh. “Reach this goal no matter what” generally results in bad. I’m certainly OCD enough that even I’ve had to retrain my brain to let in the rest of the world after focusing on Goals 1 and 2 but absolutely nothing else ever. Of course I’m saying this from a point of view of a person whose only goal is to freakin’ survive right now. So… you know. *shrug* Perspective. I got some.
Found this new-to-me blog called Farm to Kitchen to Table that occasionally shares recipes/creations based on a CSA box. I still haven’t convinced myself to get one because they are actually rather pricey, but someday….
Looks like Fabulously Fru-Gal also buys and returns (shoes) online. I do this for anything that has free shipping because I hate going to B&M stores. Energy is too precious.
DOGGLE UPDATE: Doggle’s recovering from his ordeal rather nicely so far, feeling full of himself and trying to go for broke on his limited walks. He’s doing much better than his mama, so I take that as a great sign!
MONEY UPDATE: Taxes were submitted and if I did everything right, we should be getting a rather large refund altogether. I wasn’t ready to screw around with our deductions from last year without having done a tax year as married filing jointly yet. Now that I have a single year under my belt, and waiting to see the IRS process it without hassle and quietly (fingers crossed, salt tossed, whatever), I may make some adjustments to our money.
I’m increasing his retirement contributions, definitely, to make up for my lack of a fund right now. I’m pretty sure we’re over the eligibility for ROTHs now but I’m not 100% certain so when I have some energy, that’s another thing to check. We may be able to increase his contributions to just max him out. I take over a different payment for him to balance the take-home cash availability since we don’t have time to deal with changing banks for the moment. Fair enough for both of us right now.
More plotting later ….
September 26, 2012
“If money is no object…”
It’s actually not the money part that terrifies me. Rather, when you hear that, you know that what comes next is going to be a serious treatment or procedure that is going to cause your baby additional pain and no little anxiety and fear.
Doggle had a mini-vacation with friends he absolutely adores and they utterly adore him, therefore spoil the stuffing out of him. And we appreciate that to no end.
Unfortunately, he came home with a hurt back, a reprisal of last year’s limping pain, only worse because this time he’s actually vocalizing pain when he sits down too hard, he’s hunched up most of the time and can’t really bear weight on his rear legs. This from the stoic dog that doesn’t emit a peep when he runs into things, gets stepped on, has had children swinging on him, accidentally smacked his head into cabinets, whacks his head on the kitchen table with a THUD every other day. He’s in real pain. Seeing him shuffle or scuttle, afraid to walk normally, slipping and falling when he least expects it, hearing him trip and fall when he turns too hard is just killing me.
We took him to the vet for an exam. The results were alarming. He had a physical and the interpretation of the x-rays from last year was much more strongly worded. As usual, Doggle didn’t react to the physical exam, but the vet felt the physical confirmed what he felt he saw in the x-rays: a serious disc/vertebral issue. This was definitely not what we were told last year and put this way, I would have proceeded to the suggested more aggressive follow-up route last year, the one the other vet said wouldn’t be necessary if he responded to pain meds, because “a serious back problem” says he is a high risk for recurrence, instead of just a one-time oddity that is life as usual with a relatively senior dog.
While we opted to take a more conservative approach last year and that resolved well enough, the last thing I wanted was for this to recur, and to run the risk of causing serious neurological or neuropathic problems!
I didn’t bring home this dog to start losing him less than two years later!
This is my puppy. He’s my heart now. I can’t bear the thought of … well.
So we’re drugging him for two weeks to alleviate the pain and discomfort. He’s loving that. (No, he’s not. He’s already accidentally chomped my finger while trying to spit them out while I tried to shove the pills back in his maw. We were a bit of a mess. Normally I’m great at pilling him so that he doesn’t taste the nasty ones but I let myself get all distracted and wrung out over the what-ifs & screwed it up spectacularly. So I have a sore ring finger/nail to show for it.)
Meanwhile, I’m asking for a second opinion, and another recommendation for a good place to go in case this is the right thing to do. And checking the treat stash to see which other ones I can feed him while he dissociates his favorite ones with disgusting meds. We (I) may need to mix up some special Mom’s baby food and rice dinners for a few days too while he gets used to being on medication. He’s having enough trouble standing physically speaking, I don’t know if he’s going to be able to mentally muster the motivation to eat.
I really really don’t want him to hurt anymore, I really don’t want this to happen again and I hate that it did this time. This is breaking my heart.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In the end, the money part scares me a bit too. I live in the Bay Area now and not only do I not have any kind of friend, professional or any other kind of animal health care discount that might have slightly defrayed costs in the slightest, pricing is between 25-50% higher than it is down south. – heart attack –
An office visit alone goes from $30 to $50. I go into the vet office and come out $160 poorer, 90 minutes later. Going to a specialist? I’m not joking when I anticipate the office visit alone starting at $100 and treatments starting in the thousands.
Back in my youth, teens and early twenties, I could only afford as much vet care as we needed for my dog pack by working really hard and being creative. (Not that I didn’t just repurpose my own pain meds for Doggle today. This is totally legitimate. He was getting prescribed the same meds I can no longer use and they are exactly the same thing.)
But now, if we’re going the specialist route, we’re paying for it straight up, and this will sting. *deep breath* Wish us luck?
** 11:30 pm: That was fast. The second opinion consultation has already come back. Get us to a specialist now before the damage is irretrievable. Ok.
June 16, 2011
Doggle’s Details, continued.
Now that I’ve shocked and appalled you all with the high cost of living in California, and particularly in Northern California… 😉
I’ve never paid more than $50 to adopt a pet, and rarely even that much, in the past, so this adoption was quite a bit unusual in a number of ways.
I have never considered purchasing from a breeder or a pet store – my philosophy against that is clear. Those future pets will eventually find homes because they were bred with the intent to be sold and someone has a vested interest in placing them elsewhere; animals in shelters and rescues are only a step away from euthanasia. I am an adopter, always. I was that kid hauling home strays trying to figure out who they belonged to and how to get them home if they had a home. Once in a rare while, we would become the new home. My parents were sympathetic but they weren’t crazy or wealthy so it was a meal and a roof until the dog could be placed somehow.
It was a lot easier, back in the day down south, when we had a yard. Someone was sort of always around to keep an eye on the pups running around or keep them separated if you had a new stray in. Surrounded by friends and family nearby, you could even easily phone someone for a quick drop in if you really had to on an extra busy day to feed the dog(s). We never did that but you always knew the safety net was there.
Now, though, PiC and I wanting to bring home a dog is a very different story. The simple lack of a yard alone changes the game entirely. Add in the frequently inclement weather, our working hours and commute times, all of these spelled out a need for a completely different approach.
Suddenly, we had to satisfy a profile if this was to work. We couldn’t just pick a nice looking friendly pup and call it a day. We especially couldn’t have a puppy: they need attention, socialization, training, access to the outdoors/potty pads every few hours while they’re learning bladder control since neither of us wants to have to unteach bad habits we helped instill.
I’d been wanting an older dog; PiC prefers larger dogs. We knew we needed a dog that enjoyed going for walks but could tolerate being indoors for long periods of time. This dog had to be dog-friendly and kid-friendly because there are loads of both running around here, and not a barker by nature. We’ve been living with a barker below us and it’s driving us batty but we tolerate it. I guarantee you, however, that the neighbors would not be so tolerant in return. There are some incredibly petty people in this HOA.
Looking at shelters alone didn’t quite cut it. While they were great starting points because they had all kinds of lovely dogs we were limited from the outset against adopting specific breeds, and the local shelter is heavily stocked with those specific breeds. My favorites were cut straightaway, the jerks! They don’t allow Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, Dobermanns, etc. Breedists. I despise blanket restrictions like that. I love dogs of just about any breed and pit bulls especially because they can be so very good-tempered, intelligent and trainable, and the local shelters prescribe mandatory training classes when they adopt out pit bulls which is absolutely smart, so it’s a great set-up for their lives, but noooo…. *still bitter about this*
We stumbled across a specific breed rescue that pulls northern breeds from shelters and puts them into foster homes directly, and while Doggle’s actually not really a pinpointable member of any of the breeds they cater to, he’s close enough that they couldn’t resist him.
He’d been with them a year, had a surgical procedure and follow-up, vaccinations, a microchip placed, and was mellow the whole time. Reviewing that year with him, his foster mom was able to give us his history of behavior, preferences, reactions to people, other dogs, changes, diet, toys, length of time he was happy to be left alone – all of this practically before we ever came to see him. When we met him, he was this chubby cheeked cheerful fellow that just radiated curiosity and goodwill. He’s been that way ever since. It would have been tough to get that consistent and detailed a perspective from most shelters.
While our local shelter does do fostering and would have been half the price, they didn’t have anyone that fit enough of the profile that wasn’t a Pit. (I love our Doggle and wouldn’t trade him but I’m still annoyed on behalf of the Pits who won’t get placed because of places like ours.) I truly look forward to moving into a home where the only rules are our own: a dog that is in need of a home, trainable and gets along with other dogs and people.
The high(er) cost for his adoption, then, was because of the rescue organization that we went with. They are non-profit, yes, and it also costs a lot to rescue, care for and maintain the dogs for the length of time it takes to get them to their permanent homes. All the volunteers, going all the way up to the top of the organization, work for free. (I checked.) While I’m not one to pay a higher price for perceived value, this was a higher price for something we put a high premium on: knowledge that we could rely on and the availability of a pet that was the right fit.
Also, let’s not kid ourselves about the cute factor.
May 16, 2011
You’ve all been quite patient about the travel photos but I think you can hang on just a few more days whilst they get organized, right? Especially since I’m much more excited about this news? Some of you already know, but we’ve decided to adopt. I was going to hold out, really, I was. We were just looking. And planning, and budgeting.
But that fine fellow from my previous post was adopted out from under our noses before we even had a chance to see him and the realization that if we were going to get a companion befitting our very specific profile dawned – we do have cash on hand if luck forfend, anything should happen, but we could also be looking for a very long time otherwise should we keep waiting for the perfect time. In fact, we could well just be waiting into next year and frankly, my stress levels are through the frakking roof. We both, scientifically speaking, do much better with dogs in our lives. [Please don’t ask for my datasets, they’re not currently organized.]
So we went to meet someone on Saturday, our game plan set: we’d meet him and regroup to discuss. We were not bringing anyone home on Saturday.
Except …..
…..
…..
I did leave behind a fat check for a non-profit breed rescue that’s been caring for this adult fella for the past year so that we can pick him up next week.
Technically speaking, we didn’t break the rules.
We’re both thrilled to bits! He’s awfully sweet, quiet as anything so far, inside and out, just a lovebug from the get-go and loves attention but isn’t pushy about it. If you stop petting him, he’ll wait with hope in his eyes but he won’t shove you about for more even if he’s big enough to. He does gentle nose bumps. I sat on the floor to examine him, head to toe, and he let me do it without protest even though I was a complete stranger picking up his paws, checking his ears, probing his ribs.
I’m grateful to the rescue for their work in keeping him safe and healthy and can’t wait to bring him home next week.
So far, the cost has been $250 for his release, and he’ll come to us with a collar, microchipped, current on his vaccines and preventative medications, neutered, and a full medical history. We will need to buy:
1. A bed,
2. 2 leashes (he doesn’t chew but I always keep a backup and he’s still learning leash manners so we may use 2 in tandem),
3. a secondary collar for training,
4. food,
6. food and water bowls
7. Shampoo
And schedule:
1. Vet appt
2. Licensing
3. Grooming (1st visit will be necessary, I’ll do all his grooming thereafter)
We’ll be getting an unused crate from family and I already have the
Furminator which is a must for this guy’s coat. We priced out the list above and I’m aiming to keep it below $100 for the purchases since we also have to pay for licensing and the vet. And then! The puppy fund for the dog begins in earnest. I have a
ton of budgeting to manage, these days. But having a dog to hug at the end of the day, every day? *happy sigh*
May 15, 2011
There’s so much going on these days to share, that the dearth of posting, in part thanks to Blogger’s downtime at exactly the wrong time, has naught to do with having nothing to say. Though, I’m hearing that blog posts and comments from mid-week were deleted so I suppose it’s a good thing I hadn’t posted anything close to that time – I’d be furious about losing those!
Where to start?
Work.
Thailand.
Dog.
Wedding.
(You’ll note that the wedding falls to the bottom of the list. That is representative of something.)
But I have been writing, organizing and doing and you shall soon enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Budget: Traditionally, my family expects you to spend between $20-30K on a wedding for a standard 300-400 guests (“they pay for themselves” etc). “Thank goodness for formulas” except PiC and I are going off the grid, particularly because “standard Asian traditional” for me would have gone right through the roof to 400 on my side alone. So we’re starting from scratch too.
I love regular budgeting but …. I don’t love wedding budgeting. Maybe it’s because I’m cranky about the mark-up on everything just because it’s a wedding?
No matter how awesome you are at negotiating, it eventually becomes a zero-sum game. You can either have it, make it, or do without if you’re going to hit your budget. Unless someone donates it. So again, somehow, it feels a lot less fun than regular budgeting even though it is exactly the same principle.
Vision: I haven’t got a vision. Or a theme. Or colors. For the love of smooshy, stop asking about colors, please?
Eemusings is also engaged but her take is a bit closer to my attitude of “Not ready to plan yet” despite my probably most-pending-nuptials of the three of us. I could use a real kick in the pants to get moving on making things happen because between now and the projected “Hey, can we do this?” date of early November – we have major work events (June), travel (July), more travel for work (undetermined), weddings to attend (June), work (August), other people’s weddings (September) …
Yeek! Who has time to plan a wedding? Or go to one?
Is it just me or do the years book up really fast? Is anyone else feeling a bit overwhelmed by their schedule and wanting to opt out? (Funny about Money, you come to mind.)
December 29, 2009
Some days, I feel impossibly old. But then my 15 year old fluffy mutt mix pops in and demands my attention. She’s always great for my blood pressure, until she does something weird or demanding like try to break through a metal screen door.
Her thing last month was that she no longer loves the Furminator. Sacrilege!! Fourteen and a half years, she couldn’t get enough grooming love, and suddenly she’s leaping and contorting like never before to get away from the brush. Or dramatically yelp-shrieking when the brush touches her. Note: There’s no pain at all, she’s definitely being a brat because I’ve gone over every square inch of her to make sure she’s not tender, cut, bruised, lumpy or any other darn thing that could cause pain. So, fine. Now I’m reduced to finger-grooming her which is seriously a bundle of fun with arthritic hands. But … she’s so CUTE I can’t really say no. Also? Soooo fluffy and furry, she looks like a furball about to burst into tons of little furballs.
Today, we played with tennis balls. Two large dogs, two tennis balls at the same time. (Such a bad idea every time I try it.) The other dog played fetch — he looooves chasing the ball around the house. She’s got the bad joint thing going on, like mama like puppy, so I gently roll the ball in another area for her, or just toss it to her for catching. She’s got a rule about fetch: If you throw a ball, she’ll chase it. But if you want it back, get it y’r darn self. She’s not your fetcher. *shaking head* It’s not something we’re going to discuss at this late date, though.
After a few tosses, she had gotten tired, but evidently still wanted to play: rolling around on her back, mouth hanging open, tossing her head from side to side, casting about for the ball. This time, she changed the rules. Now that she was tired, she laid in one place, grabbed the ball IF it came close enough, looked me dead in the eye, and tossed it over her back. The first time she did it, I thought she just got too excited about grabbing the ball and lost it. After the third time, it struck me: she’s throwing the ball back to me! And if I moved around from the side to the front of her, she’d throw the ball toward me.
Check that out. My dog recognized her limits, went right up to them, and innovated so that she could still have what she wanted without hurting herself.
March 30, 2009
