Subscribe
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Apts
Classifieds
Shop
I'm a raging frugalista. If a shirt costs $22, it goes back on the rack. I buy eye shadow at the Dollar Tree. My latest décor is from Goodwill.
The irony set in when I plopped my debit card on the counter at the vet, unfazed by a $58 tab for a three-month supply of flea/tick preventative
.And just last night, while scanning old receipts, I found one for $106 at one pet store, $158 at another the next day – we were getting ready to bring Darcy home. I don't remember wincing at the bill at the check-out, I just remember me and Chris, smiley fools as we picked out a collar and leash for Darcy, wondering who she'd be.
Other frugalista embarrassments are as follows: $7 rawhides that last days, $23 for tub of chicken bites, $30 for Oklahoma Sooners water bowl, $59 for ottoman so Penny can jump on the bed (a set of two, Chris and I use the other in the family room), and $81 for hinged gate to keep Darcy in the kitchen.
I celebrated a $6.12 dinner for two at Qdoba the other day (BOGO coupon!), yet think nothing of feeding our dogs Blue Buffalo, a pricier mix with sweet potatoes, brown rice, chicken and vitamin pellets. Chris and I even bought the smallest bags until we wised up, sprung for a food bin and started buying the largest bags when they go on sale.
We're wising up in a few ways, actually. For two years, I bought Jif to fill their Kongs. Now, Penny and Darcy get generic and they love us just the same. And toys? Penny gets just as much enjoyment out of old knotted socks, or food pellets trapped in a water bottle, as she does the $9 squeaky toys the pet stores sell.
Everyone has a "biggest expense," and it's safe to say that Penny and Darcy are ours. I sleep on the world's worst pillow each night (whatever, it was on sale), but I wasn't going to deny my shy, new Darcy a $39 dog bed when she sat in it at PetCo.
Hey, their coats are shiny, they eat well, they sleep hard, and vet bills are (very worth it) facts of life. They're happy.
So I'm happy.
