Renaissance Living

I can't imagine living my life without pets.  I have often been accused of living in a zoo, as the number of creatures sharing my household is usually at least double the number of humans, but I make no apologies for any of them.  I love them all, and they each add something to the household.

Today, we said goodbye to Dot, so I would like to indulge myself for a few minutes to remember the loving contribution she has made to my family over the years.  We first saw her as a tiny kitten some 17 years ago.  My oldest daughter brought her home.  We in no way needed an additional pet, but that's what I have said almost every time one has crossed our threshold.  She was a muted calico kitty that actually matched the sofa we had then.  My girls named her Dot, not because she had dots of color on her, but rather after the softball star Dot Richardson.

Starting life as Paige's kitty, she became Leann's kitty when Paige went to school, and then when Leann went to school, she became "officially" my kitty.  Dot was one of those elusive creatures who was very independent.  When she chose to sit with you it was very special. Her long hair was very soft and she would gently purr and generally just made you smile. She liked to play with water and would come into the bathroom when she saw you enter and meow at you until you turned the faucet on for her.  She calmly put up with the dogs, but was no where to be found when an unknown person entered the house.

All in all, she was a sweet, loving cat who enriched our lives for many many years.  She lived  a carefree, gentle life up until the last month when kidney failure caused her to rapidly go downhill. We will miss her.

Sales and discounts are a good thing.  Right?  Except when they aren't.  The thing about sales and discounts is that they often suck us into the same spending pattern we're trying to get out of.  I was recently tempted by two different offers.  One was an incredibly deep discount on some cute clothes.  The other was on pet medication.

 I was really excited about the clothes because the savings were so good.  The clothes were cute.  They had my size.  But I really didn't need the clothes.  Are you saving money when you buy something you don't need?  Not really, no matter how "good" the deal is.  It's a classic example of want versus need.  I passed on the clothes.

The other temptation came on my pet medication.  I have 3 dogs and 2 cats.  By the time I buy heart medication for the dogs and flea and tick control for all 5, I have spent quite a bit each month.  The discount I found really brought the price of each individual application down, but I had to buy the product in quantity.  My dogs are different sizes so they can't even share one box.  The total of the order felt way outside of my monthly budget.  But the product would last more than 3 months.  When I divided it out per application per animal per month, I couldn't turn it down.  I went ahead and spent the money today.  I believe that it was a frugal choice over the long term.

 Living frugally often means taking advantage of sales and discounts.  Sometimes I find things on sale that I don't need right now, but I will need later, so they are still a good deal.  But I have found that I have to be very careful with sales, so I don't end up spending money on something that I don't need, and might not even really want.

The clothes were a want, but the pet medication was a need.  I'm proud of myself for carefully analyzing my options.  I think I made good choices today.  And I think that's the trick to frugal living...making reasoned choices, not impulse buying.