Just another typical Monday. Out running multiple errands. I hit CVS, Big Lots (another personal weakness), and the pet store.
I picked up some premium dog food for Tank (read why a frugalite buys premium food here), with a coupon, of course. As I stood at the counter waiting to pay, I noticed a small sign.
Huh? Financing at a mom-and-pop specialty pet store? I was briefly puzzled as I wondered what on earth someone might finance at a pet store. Duh. A dog. The adorable puppies in the windows cost an average of $800-$1000. Talk about an impulse buy waiting to happen!
Financing is just a fancy word for “going deeper into debt”.
My stomach turned. Yet another example of our buy-now, pay-later society. If someone needs to make payments, plus interest, on a PET, then they have no business owning one in my book.
Our local animal shelters are bursting at the seams, and people are “financing” designer pooches. Please tell me I am not the only one who thinks this is just wrong!?
Whew, thanks for letting me rant, I feel much better. But just in case you want to adopt a homeless boxer, this is where we got Tank.
I have fallen for the “financing” trap more than once. Even as a teenager, I opened up a Circuit City account and bought my first TV and VCR. You would think I learned my lesson after all that interest added up, but no. I did it again. Furniture. Carpet. The list goes on. Creditors make it all too easy.
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7
What have you “financed”? Was it worth it?
This is so embarrassing…the first thing I financed was a new outfit to wear to the…MC Hammer concert! Please don’t tell anybody!
Was it worth it? Well, I did look cute (I thought), but NO – not worth it! That began the buildup of debt. Too easy to keep adding on.
We currently have no credit card debt (Praise the Lord!!) and only use them to earn miles, etc. and pay them off monthly.
Lisa, your secret is safe with me.
That is so awesome that you have no CC debt! Wow! We aspire to get there, and will be soon.
I know which pet store you are talking about I take my son in there to look at the fish every time I go by beauty supply. I noticed the finace sign last time I was in there and thought the same thing, also have we become so dumb that all they have to do is slap the word designer to it and we will spend $800 on a Mut LOL! A sore spot for me as well thanks for sharing.
Financing pets does seem ridiculous. It would be so unfortunate if someone developed allergies or some tragedy happened to the dog resulting in payments for a dog they don’t enjoy anymore.
I’ve never financed a purchase, but I remember a salesman getting angry with me for saying that I would rather pay the interest to myself and buy something in a year than use their financing plan to buy it at the time. After that reaction, I decided not to buy it at all.
I totally agree with you! Financing a pet? Our society is…..well, it just makes me mad! Nuts! We have no CC debt and only use ours to earn miles and rewards. The only things we have financed are our house and our Tempurpedic mattress (which is an interest free loan). We have no car payments. The only time we finance anything is if we can get it interest free and pay it off quickly or if it’s something that we can’t help. For example, I had to have some major dental work over the past three years and when I had to visit the oral surgeon, we financed that. Again, it was an interest free loan if paid off in one year and we always, always, always, pay it off in the specified time. Hubby is very strict about those types of things and hates to do unless it is absolutely necessary. In the case of dental stuff, we have no insurance so that’s why we had to finance. It’s paid off though! Woo hoo! We even paid it off early!
I want to be free of all financing and if we could find a way to pay our house off, I’d do it in a New York minute!
Our most recent family member, Buddy the cat, arrived from an ice/snow covered back yard last December. He was about 5wks old and worth every penny we DIDN’T pay for him!
😉
One thing, in particular, that we financed that has been worth much more than money to us is our Disney Vacation Club membership. It will be paid off in 18mo, but by purchasing (and financing) it we have been to Disney World 3x and their Hilton Head Island resort 2x (since 2000) and we’ll be going to FL again next year. There is no way we could have EVER had such amazing vacations-and will continue for many years to come. Plus, the joy shown on our children’s faces is priceless. We would absolutely do it again in a heartbeat!
What did I finance? College. Sure there were times that I put things on the card that I shouldn’t have, but the bulk was necessities like books, food and tuition. It’s sad how fast the card can accumulate before the financial aid check comes in.
I had almost all of it paid off and then I got preggers and had an very expensive pregnancy where I had to quit my job and hubs was still in school.
Many years later, we have found a balance between living and paying down debt. We have come a looong way and yet still have a ways to go. Sometimes we go backwards, but for the most part we are moving forward and that’s a good thing.
As for the dog thing, that is absurd. I suppose the pet store does this because they are desperate to sell the puppies. This is why I would make a terrible business owner. I would never give an ignorant person that kind of opporunity to make such a stupid choice for a buck.
Alyssa, our latest GSPointer (Brownie) was a from the Ohio GSP Rescue League.
Worth it — we saved a good dog and got him for nearly nothing (just the standard adoption fee).
Any other dogs we bring in to our home will be rescued – the need is so great.
We feed premium food, too — and it’s a factor in why our GSP Bailey (who passed away last summer at age 12) lived for 4 years after being diagnosed with Cushings disease, and why her littermate (our old boy, Barnum) is now 13 and still in great health.
The financing thing – when we have used it for bigger purchases, we only do the zero interest for a certain term and then pay it off before the term is over.
As for CC debt – we do have that, after moving 6 times in 12 years…working hard to get back to zero balance on all that.
Financing a dog, though — that is just wrong. So many dogs are in need of homes – and the puppies you find in pet stores are generally the result of puppy mills where suffering abounds.
My two cents!
I financed our furniture for our house, but in our defense we were sleeping on a futon.
We paid it off very early though so we didn’t have to pay the accrued interest (thank goodness!)
Can’t even imagine financing a Dog!!! I’m having a hard enough time digesting the fact that we have to finance another car!!!
You know how I prefer to find my pets….they just follow the kids home from school!
I am not sure how it is in your area, but even adopting from the humane society is getting pretty expensive. We adopted a Basset Hound 2 yrs ago and it was over $200. That was just crazy!
I am not sure how it is in your area, but even adopting from the humane society is getting pretty expensive. We adopted a Basset Hound 2 yrs ago and it was over $200. That was just crazy!
I am not sure how it is in your area, but even adopting from the humane society is getting pretty expensive. We adopted a Basset Hound 2 yrs ago and it was over $200. That was just crazy!
I am not sure how it is in your area, but even adopting from the humane society is getting pretty expensive. We adopted a Basset Hound 2 yrs ago and it was over $200. That was just crazy!