Blog Archives
My Dogs Ate My Paycheck
The obedience champions I grew up with never ate my homework.
Neither have the dogs of my adulthood – even during the year I took Spanish classes at a local community college and really did have homework.
However, my dogs do take a bite out of my bank account all the time.
Usually, they tear off their fair share for food, treats and maintenance medicine. Sometimes, unexpected health needs require a bigger bite of the budget.
Other times – like this past weekend – the dogs don’t really make me spend the money at all. But I still blame them.
The consumer pet industry loves him as much as I do.
I blame their muddy little feet from which I have to protect my car and home.
The brand name Pet Rebellion seems so apt.
The last car hammock I bought only lasted a month. This one seems tougher, and it has pockets for leashes and water bottles and bones.
And I blame their very dogness for being so awesome I can’t help but celebrate it through the purchase of items created in their likeness.
Well, we do need kitchen deco (and a dog to serve the coffee).
How could I not buy this?
Grand total for non-essential yet nice-to-have dog-related items purchased over the weekend: Approximately $80.
Ouch. It hurts!
But I can’t help it. It’s their fault!
“It’s good to have a red chair cover on Oscar night.”
What kind of purchases do you make because of your dog love?
Initial thoughts on the 100 Thing Challenge
In my attempts not to accumulate too much stuff, I do my best to resist purchasing too many needless knicknacks. But as an American, sometimes I just can’t resist. In addition to useless but pretty things, I am, according to Zach, prone to bringing home gadgets and supposedly purposeful items that I will be lucky to use once.
Examples that Zach might cite: a cold brew toddy coffee system, a dry-cleaning system for the dryer, bandanas for the dogs, a pair of ill-fitting (but adorable!) Puppia harnesses for Scooby, a silicone contraption that is supposed to make it easier to remove canning jars from the hot water bath, an ornate pie plate, a holographic metal etching of Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach. The list could go on.
Admittedly, I’m not quite ready to go on the 100 Thing Challenge. But I do like the tenets of the philosophy I recently learned of that is espoused by author/blogger Dave Bruno. His motto: reduce (get rid of some stuff), refuse (to get more stuff), rejigger (your priorities). That all sounds a little wayward in a way that I like.
I think I am on the right track, too. I already do a lot of my shopping secondhand — and as clothing goes, it’s mostly swapping with friends. Even most of the items in the ill-fated list above came from rummage sales. So did the piece of refrigerator magnet wisdom up there, which happens to be a piece of original art created by a volunteer at the Kansas City, Missouri, animal shelter. And the money I paid for it benefitted Friends of KC Animals, the organization that has helped us with our foster dog Machete. Plus, that handmade magnet was a gift for my Corgi-owning mother.
So, that must mean it counts toward her 100 things, right? Or maybe it’s a charitable exception.
How do you resist impulsively buying things you don’t really need? Can you imagine living your life with just 100 possessions?
