Being Frugal Can Come Back to Haunt You

Yes, sad but true... being frugal can come back to haunt you and when it does it is not pretty. Remember those cute little kittens I told you about us finding? Well we only have two left and one will be living her permanently. Yes, as in this is its new home.

I was very clear from the beginning we would care for them until a home could be found, I NEVER intended it to be our home. So I know you are asking what does this have to do with being frugal? Everything!!!! You see my daughter has learned to thoroughly investigate everything prior to even thinking about asking us for it or to do it and these kittens would be no different.

She started in with how cute they are, how soft they are, how cuddly they are, and how much fun they would be; I smiled and nodded trying not to even touch the subject; this went on for about two weeks. Then last week she smiled tilted her head while snuggling one and asked what the chances of keeping one were. I gave her a sympathetic grin and said listen honey mommy likes them too but we have a dog, a really big dog and well dogs and cats do not mix. Oh, but she had found that indeed they can with gently persuasion and patience. Next is where the frugalness comes in... I said besides you know pets are expensive. You have food, toys, treats, vet bills, and shots the list just goes on and on. I should have known she would have an answer to that too. She smiles inocently and proceeds to say $500; the average cost is $500 a year to care for a cat she spouts out.

I laugh... Sydney dear, mom and dad are not spending that kind of money on another pet and I am sure you do not want to either, remember your car and college fund? Then its her turn to laugh.. I won't have to really spend that much, I will coupon it. (That's our term around her for anything we will use coupons on.) She had been scanning cat food prices and coupons and determined it will be very feasible to stock up on sales combined with coupons to get free food. Ok, food under control what about the vet? She had decided to use the low cost clinics that set up at the feed store for vaccinations and am area clinic does low cost spaying and neutering. That still leaves toys for the darlings. I should have know my frugal zealot would have that figured out too, her room now has an empty cracker box, empty thread spools and material balls strewn about it. I guess she is well on her way to caring for her baby and maintaining her family tradition of being frugal.


In all seriousness, I am very proud of her. We did not intend to keep one but they have won our hearts. Izzy will be staying and Gus will be going to live in the country with a friend of Sydney's from work as soon as he is about 8 weeks old.

Sydney has managed to stock up 4 bags of kitten food totaling 15 pounds for free thanks to the great deals last week at Petco, thanks to Kroger's triple coupons she received 8 cans of moist food for free and a cute litter box with a lid, liners and scoop cost her $10 on sale after her coupon. All in all she has done great and seeing her compare deals, read labels and put all that economics/financial math to work makes homeschool parents proud, proud enough to even let a kitten live here :)

It doesn't hurt that she looks pretty cute with them all snuggled up on her lap.