i know there are a lot of pet owners on PS..

[loriken214]

Dying is the easiest way to save money. Sorry guys, my eye rolling was aimed towards DF. This isn't the first time he started a thread like this. It's really a thinly veiled middle finger at all the pet owners here. I already put in my guess as to how long it'll be before he reminds us that his "pets" are worth a lot more in the resale market.

not really!!...do you know how much it cost for a Chinese traditional funeral these days? try $25-$30K!!,so i told my Chinese friends ...if you don't have money "don't die" yet...

That's what life insurance is for. Cremation is also cheap. You can get a plastic container from the 99 cent store.

PUAHAHA!


Honestly, I don't even know WHY people would want their families to spend $25-30K on a funeral. Cremate me, and plant a tree or two in my name. Then take a shot or two, and party that I'm finally gone and out of your hair. No flowers. No casket. No ridiculously expensive plot.

Well said!!! Who is the expensive funeral for anyway???? Who are you trying to impress? Wouldn't that money be better spent on charity or for future generations who could use the money....I don't see the logic of spending tons of money on a dead person vs. a living being that needs a forever home. We don't have the blessing of having children and our two furbabies are like family. We lost our Clyde on December 18, 2011. He was our Big Boy mini dachshund dog and was 12 years old when we lost him. He is cremated and will be buried with me or DH when the time comes. Same thing for his Sister, Bonnie, and our Cat, Bonnie.

Lori

 

[loriken214]

The little bit we've spent on our pets over the years doesn't amount to much, all considered.

Especially since studies have routinely shown that pet owners live longer than those that have no pets! A good investment, no?

Especially if we're trying to avoid paying $25-30K for a Chinese funeral!

DF, how many Chinese people are able to afford this much for a funeral?

Lori

 

[loriken214]

One last comment from me on this subject......I was buying a beautiful asscher spinel from Jeff White when Clyde became very sick. LIz, Freke, was selling a bunch of my gemstones for me so I could get the beautiful stone from Jeff. Well, we had HUGE medical bills for Clyde and I needed the money from the sale of my gemstones to pay the vet bills and couldn't get the gemstone from Jeff after all.

I don't think Liz understood what I was doing, but I would do ANYTHING to save my precious Clyde....we did all we could up until the last minute. So, yes, I gave up my dream gemstone to try and save my family.

Lori

 

[Dancing Fire]

The little bit we've spent on our pets over the years doesn't amount to much, all considered.

Especially since studies have routinely shown that pet owners live longer than those that have no pets! A good investment, no?

Especially if we're trying to avoid paying $25-30K for a Chinese funeral!

DF, how many Chinese people are able to afford this much for a funeral?

Lori

it may shock a lot of Americans,but believe me i have attented many $25-$30k Chinese traditional funerals. when my dad passed away in 2007 his funeral cost us about $27k.

 

[loriken214]

The little bit we've spent on our pets over the years doesn't amount to much, all considered.

Especially since studies have routinely shown that pet owners live longer than those that have no pets! A good investment, no?

Especially if we're trying to avoid paying $25-30K for a Chinese funeral!

DF, how many Chinese people are able to afford this much for a funeral?

Lori

it may shock a lot of Americans,but believe me i have attented many $25-$30k Chinese traditional funerals. when my dad passed away in 2007 his funeral cost us about $27k.

How are you able to afford such a funeral? Does the average Chinese family pay this amount?

 

[LAJennifer]

An expensive funeral just seems incredibly wasteful to me. I prefer to skip the embalming, throw me in a biodegradable, wool casket, and bury me at the base of a tree. Then I will become food - for a tree.


p.s. My cats are my life.

 

[Dancing Fire]

[quote="loriken214|1361860559|


How are you able to afford such a funeral? Does the average Chinese family pay this amount?[/quote]



my dad had about $15K in life insurance and us 3 siblings chipped in the rest.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Dying is the easiest way to save money. Sorry guys, my eye rolling was aimed towards DF. This isn't the first time he started a thread like this. It's really a thinly veiled middle finger at all the pet owners here. I already put in my guess as to how long it'll be before he reminds us that his "pets" are worth a lot more in the resale market.

LOL, I'm with you ForteKitty. I would have used a rolling eye emoticon in my reply to him but I didn't feel it was worth the energy. Not even sure why I replied to his thread except perhaps to rub it in that his daughters cost (and probably will continue to cost) way more money than any pet could...ha!

i feel sorry for you guys if you can't distinguish the difference b/t human beings and animals...

 

[ForteKitty]

And there it is, the zinger we've been waiting for. We don't know anything, DF. You are all knowing.

 

[Dancing Fire]

And there it is, the zinger we've been waiting for. We don't know anything, DF. You are all knowing.

let me put it this way...i'd rather starve my pets than my daughters...

 

[ForteKitty]

Nobody put that up as an option. YT said she'd rather starve herself than her dogs. She didn't say she'd pick her dogs over her kids.

Have you ever considered that maybe some people can't have children? Must you demean them? Oh, these people only have pets, they must not know what real love is... right?

You've started countless threads about children vs. pets, and every single time, you always stay the same things. Sometimes it's not a choice. Some people are infertile. Can you understand something as simple as that? Must you rub it in? Can you even see that you are offensive? Or do you not care? My guess is that your head is so far up your anus that you never even considered that people may not have a choice in having children.

 

[madelise]

And there it is, the zinger we've been waiting for. We don't know anything, DF. You are all knowing.

let me put it this way...i'd rather starve my pets than my daughters...

Wow, really? I played along so far, for the sake of the topic regardless of your behind-the-scenes intentions. Who is starving their children for the sake of their pets? Is anyone? Really?

 

[ForteKitty]

Exactly, this kind of question is as absurd as asking which daughter you'd save if both were hanging off a cliff.

1) it'll never happen unless all of you guys like rockclimbing.
2) it's a stupid question that's just looking for trouble.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Nobody put that up as an option. YT said she'd rather starve herself than her dogs. She didn't say she'd pick her dogs over her kids.

Have you ever considered that maybe some people can't have children? Must you demean them? Oh, these people only have pets, they must not know what real love is... right?

You've started countless threads about children vs. pets, and every single time, you always stay the same things. Sometimes it's not a choice. Some people are infertile. Can you understand something as simple as that? Must you rub it in? Can you even see that you are offensive? Or do you not care? My guess is that your head is so far up your anus that you never even considered that people may not have a choice in having children.

as i said before i do own pets just not dogs or cats.

 

[ForteKitty]

Then why do you always turn it into a children vs. pets debate? Do you realize that for people who cannot have human children, their pets ARE their children. Your snide remarks and false pity of people who "don't know the difference between human and animals" insulting. Love is love. What's it to you? It's not like they're starving your children!

 

[madelise]

You can't cuddle with fish.

But birds are brilliant. So so brilliant. And live very long lives. I love birds. But most people store them in a cage, and never let them out or hang out with them on hours. Do you? It seems like you're not "getting" it because you haven't experienced it. I'm sad if you don't have a relationship with your parrot. Birds are truly majestic, and have so many deep emotions.

 

[ForteKitty]

This is unconditional love. No expectations.

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

Wow DF, you totally took my post and ran with it... I never said I would starve a child before I would starve my pets. I was making a point that pets are just as important as human children. They love me unconditionally. Through thick and thin they are there for me. Even when I know they don't feel good, my dogs make sure I know they they love me. So all the money in the world couldn't make me get rid of my dogs.

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

One thing that makes me irate, no matter what, is when people think pets are not an important as children. People are so ready to get rid of them when hardships arise. DF, your daughters were expensive to raise I'm sure... If you had lost your job and had to move into a 1 bedroom apartment, would you get rid of your daughters? No. So why get rid of an animal that you promised to be responsible for, promised to love and care for?

I may sound calm, because I don't want to be kicked off PS, but I am fuming right now.

 

[JewelFreak]

This isn't DF flipping the bird at pet owners -- he's being contrary to get a good debate going; it's a DF specialty. I did the eye roll. I'm not gonna play!

--- Laurie

 

[princesss]

Cat expenses are put in my food/fun money budget. The point of having money (for me) is to create a life I enjoy living, and I like having pets far more than I like having the $8/month (guesstimating, a bag usually lasts about a month and a half) I spend on their food.

 

[Malbec54]

but if you are trying to save $$$ why do you still own pets??.. pets are so expensive to keep just think of the money you can save each month w/o owning any pets,soooo...i don't get the "how do you save money thread" since most of us are pet owners.

Maybe I'm missing something...
Whether we have children, pets, reptiles, a goat---a cost is always associated with anything and everything that is in our lives. There are ways to minimize costs, but in the end, we all pay in some form or fashion.
While your posts encourage dialogue (which I like), this thread feels and smells like someone who has nothing else better to do than rile people up...I hope that this is not the case.

 

[VapidLapid]

$27,000 for a funeral is just absurd, and the result is the same as if you spent nothing. Put my ashes in an old paint can and toss it into an active volcano. Then go out and get a dog or cat that needs a home and to love and be loved. Spend 10k or 20k over the pets life for food, clothes, entertainment, medical care and sundries. That done in my memory will be better solace to those who loved me, and a greater honor to me than putting me in a uselessly fancy box and taking up 21 sq ft of the earth's surface in perpetuity.

And since you couched this query in terms of economy, $10k spend on a pet's expenses over its lifetime, even without the benefits the pet returns, versus $27,000 for a morbid party and perpetual incarceration in a box under the earth, the pet is a SAVINGS of $17,000. Also, keeping a pet is far more likely to save your soul than a brocade lined, french polished walnut box.

 

[justginger]

$27,000 for a funeral is just absurd, and the result is the same as if you spent nothing. Put my ashes in an old paint can and toss it into an active volcano. Then go out and get a dog or cat that needs a home and to love and be loved. Spend 10k or 20k over the pets life for food, clothes, entertainment, medical care and sundries. That done in my memory will be better solace to those who loved me, and a greater honor to me than putting me in a uselessly fancy box and taking up 21 sq ft of the earth's surface in perpetuity.

And since you couched this query in terms of economy, $10k spend on a pet's expenses over its lifetime, even without the benefits the pet returns, versus $27,000 for a morbid party and perpetual incarceration in a box under the earth, the pet is a SAVINGS of $17,000. Also, keeping a pet is far more likely to save your soul than a brocade lined, french polished walnut box.

I don't think I have ever agreed with a post on PS as vehemently as I agree with your last sentence, VL. My babies, both foster and forever, give my soul a kind of redemption that nothing else does. Money is beyond frivolous when considering such matters.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

You can't cuddle with fish.

But birds are brilliant. So so brilliant. And live very long lives. I love birds. But most people store them in a cage, and never let them out or hang out with them on hours. Do you? It seems like you're not "getting" it because you haven't experienced it. I'm sad if you don't have a relationship with your parrot. Birds are truly majestic, and have so many deep emotions.

Yep, I have a fish and a cat and have to say that there is a huge difference between the two. Fish are pretty to look at, but they do not provide the warmth and cuddles a kitty can provide. Though, my son was very upset when his fish passed away!

Re: birds. My mom use to let her birds out and fly around and they even nuzzled up and slept with her. There were HER babies after I moved out. She was extremely attached to them. She also was a very fruggle person but she NEVER once included the expenses of caring for her birds in with her frugality. Actually, she kind of spoiled them. ETA - and my mom also RESCUED birds from owners who kept their parrots in cages all day. Apparrently, when a bird is unhappy, they start pulling their feathers out. She'd bring these birds home and nurse them back to health.

 

[maccers]

I don't know that I agree with his initital assumption that pets are expensive. Most of the time, they aren't. My 50 lbs dog costs me a bag of premium locally sourced and manufactured food at $65 a pop. That lasts a month and a half. My coffee habit costs more than that (and I drink one coffee a day). His annual vet checkup $170. That's $0.47/day for the year. I expect that as my dog ages, the vet bills will increase. But who cares? He's my responsibility and I'm thrilled that I have my dog in my life.

OP - have you worked out how much it costs you in water and electricity to run your fish tanks? I'm serious, I've wondered about that in general.

 

[tammy77]

Well some countries EAT cats and dogs. I think it's awful and disgusting, but that's because I've loved both dogs and cats as if they were my family. That said, personally I find it appalling that someone would suggest not having pets in order to save money on a forum where so many people clearly adore cats and dogs. Seems like someone just wanted to stir the pot, and of course it worked.

Saving money is important, but if I ever choose to save $20 extra dollars a month over having my kitties then I've lost my mind and my heart. Bleh, so annoyed.

ETA: I also think that since this is a diamond forum where obviously most (all?) of us have the flexibility in our income to support a pet or two without hurting financially, it's bound to come across as an extremely callous question. It would be different if the "audience" could even remotely identify with the idea of not paying their bills in order to feed a cat/dog/etc..

ETA2: Regarding the expensive funerals, it's a cultural thing (from my personal experience with my ex husband, who is Chinese). It's very important to pay your respects to the dead and that is conveyed not necessarily with emotional speeches so much as a lavish funeral service. I'm not going to belittle that choice, but I don't think it was a wise idea to open that can of worms when hinting that people should dispose of their beloved pets to save a buck!

 

[Dancing Fire]

$27,000 for a funeral is just absurd, and the result is the same as if you spent nothing. Put my ashes in an old paint can and toss it into an active volcano. Then go out and get a dog or cat that needs a home and to love and be loved. Spend 10k or 20k over the pets life for food, clothes, entertainment, medical care and sundries. That done in my memory will be better solace to those who loved me, and a greater honor to me than putting me in a uselessly fancy box and taking up 21 sq ft of the earth's surface in perpetuity.

And since you couched this query in terms of economy, $10k spend on a pet's expenses over its lifetime, even without the benefits the pet returns, versus $27,000 for a morbid party and perpetual incarceration in a box under the earth, the pet is a SAVINGS of $17,000. Also, keeping a pet is far more likely to save your soul than a brocade lined, french polished walnut box.

so what would say to the pet owners who spends thousands of dollars to have their pets bury in a cemetery?

 

[ForteKitty]

How often does that even happen?

Again, you're using a rare example that doesn't apply to most people. You're reaching...

 

[Dancing Fire]

OP - have you worked out how much it costs you in water and electricity to run your fish tanks? I'm serious, I've wondered about that in general.

about $100 per month,but if i were trying to save money i wouldn't have pets,plus you don't wanna know how much i spent on building the koi pond and still not be happy with it.