<< Back to all Blogs
Login or Create your own free blog
Layout:
Home > Whale Aisle Beef Hooked

Whale Aisle Beef Hooked

March 24th, 2014 at 04:55 pm

Blindsided by WhiteCat's tooth malady. Could be abscess, could be infection, $52 for an observation yielding no real answers, looking at $300 for dental X-rays, more money for antibiotics, before even any blood panel & surgery. None of this was budgeted.

Thinking of how to pay for this. The cats went in for vaccination to a real vet this time, pricier than the mobile vet clinic that visited a supermarket (vacated our area) we used, so there's $413 to pay first for their shots.

I am still obsessing about reducing the debt, to have it re-amortized or consolidated. Every time I pick up a surprise invoice, or learn of an upcoming county-wide vote to raise motorized vehicle registration fees I fret. I fret because we cannot, will not cut back more than a dollar from my monthly budget. We scrimp on heat, car fuel, food, clothing, restaurants, household goods and entertainment. I use coupons and a price book. I make many concoctions and recipes from scratch, plus I check the priced-to-sell-today bins at supermarkets for meats and fish.

I'm not asking for budget help because I'll only stymie those who think the only budget savers are cancelling phone plans (we don't have one), ditching the landline (done), ending gym memberships and magazine subscriptions (none) and saying goodbye to cable television (haven't had it since January 1999). Pitching the obvious ideas from the lamebrain mass media articles will be fruitless.

My options so far:
1. Liquidate my 52-week savings challenge.
2. Use emergency fund.
3. Carry balance on credit card.

Options for either the car or HELOC. Metals & stocks are sliding like mud in Oso/Arlington.
1. Do nothing.
2. Stick to slow debt-reduction plan ($31.79/month snowball).
3. Learn how to use goal-seek and what-if scenarios in Excel to determine what combination of prepayment & consolidation is optimal.

Posted in untamed budget | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Whale Aisle Beef Hooked”

  1. doingitallwrong Says:
    March 24th, 2014 at 05:30 pm 1395682239
    1395682239

    Look into Care Credit (www.carecredit.com), if the vet will accept it. You can get 0% financing for 6, 12, 18, or 24 months if paid in full by the end of the term (interest accumulates and is added back if you don't pay it in full). You have to pay monthly minimums, and the 24-month option minimum payment amount is set up so that you pay it off in 24 months. Or you can get a fixed rate (around 15%) and fixed payments until it's paid off. You do have to check with the vet, though, because not all of them accept it.

  2. PauletteGoddard Says:
    March 24th, 2014 at 05:39 pm 1395682757
    1395682757

    Thanks for the tip!

  3. snafu Says:
    March 24th, 2014 at 06:49 pm 1395686954
    1395686954

    There is a huge amount of controversy about how many vaccinations our pets need and what they are getting just to boost the vet's bottom line. Can you baby-step cat treatment, try an antibiotic to see if treating infection is sufficient. Check You Tube for suggestions. Talk to your pharmacist to see if any human OTC product is viable, they are very knowledgeable.

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]