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Do red cars cost more to insure?
You may have heard the myth that red cars cost more to insure, often with varying reasons why. The truth is, the color of your car has nothing to do with your premium. Insurance companies are more interested in your vehicle’s make, model, age, safety features, and your driving history. What’s not a myth, though — is that people really can save a ton of money by switching insurers. Check out Money’s car insurance tool to see if you could, too.
First of all, hello and welcome to all of our new subscribers. Occasionally, we get bursts of new readers, and in the past few weeks we’ve added a few hundred of you! This newsletter is still small potatoes, but we’re growing quickly! Welcome to the Cents of Humor Village!
Secondly, I accidentally sent the newsletter on Tuesday night last week instead of Wednesday morning. My overtired mom brain meant to hit “schedule post”, but instead I clicked the “publish now” button and immediately yelled “no no no no no no no!” But alas, the email was in the ether and I figured you’d all forgive me for sending you a late night newsletter. If you haven’t forgiven me yet, I am SORRY AND ALSO MY BABY WAS IN A SLEEP REGRESSION SO I AM USING THAT AS AN EXCUSE FOR EVERYTHING.
I want to talk about pets for a minute. I’ve had pets all my life. I grew up with a dog and a cat, Lilly and Tabitha Pickles. Then when I met my husband, he’d recently adopted the most perfect good boy retriever in the entire world. We had our Rudy for a decade before he passed away a few years ago. He was somewhere around 14 years old.
Handsome Rudy. A perfect dog.
Now I have a puppy named Dottie. She is currently in her Tyrannosaurus Rex phase of young dog life. My girls adore her and she is slowly but surely growing on me. Forgive me, I am a postpartum mother with an infant and toddler, my patience for the puppy has been somewhat limited. I’m sure she’ll be my best friend once she is out of her own toddler-dog stage.
Since my parents paid for the care of my childhood pets, and our dog Rudy didn’t cost much until he got sick at the end of his life, I’ve been taken aback by how expensive our newest furry family is already.
Preventative vet visits, pet food, treats, toys, bones, obedience training, town dog registration, the list never ends! And Dottie’s costs are increasing every year. In fact, according to NPR the cost of pets has risen 60% in the past five years alone! That’s WILD.
Veterinary clinics are also being gobbled up by private equity firms. This means services are generally increasing in price while decreasing in quality care. Pets are big business and PE firms know it.
Inflation is like ticks — everywhere and hard to avoid. Inflation hit the pet sector quite hard. I mentioned the 60% increase in overall costs, but specifically speaking, pet food is up 20% since 2020, adoption costs range from $100 to thousands of dollars, and Americans are spending upwards of $38 billion per year on their pets. It’s estimated 45% of American pet owners have gone into debt to pay for their animals.
Owning a pet is now a small luxury. It’s truly unfortunate because anyone with a loving dog or cat will tell you how much joy their animal brings into their life. So is it worth it? By many measures, yes, of course it is (see adorable picture below).
If you’re thinking about adding a furry friend to your family, I would seriously crunch the numbers first. How much, per month, will this animal add to your budget? Do you need pet insurance? What does the insurance cover? Can you truly afford it? Before you fall in love with the puppy in the window, make sure you know how much he’ll truly cost.
Our t-rex puppy, Dottie.
A few financial considerations before adopting a new pet:
How much are the upfront costs?
How much is the routine vet care? ($300-$700 per year on average)
Are you financially prepared for an emergency vet visit?
How much is pet insurance per month? What does it cover?
How much is their food per month?
Will this pet need grooming/daycare/boarding? How much per month?
Does your home need “pet-proofing”?
How long is this pet likely to live? It’s usually at least a decade-long commitment!
Ultimately, our new puppy is a great addition to our growing family. I’m excited for my kids to grow up with their doggie. Even though she’s pricey, the bond she has with us is priceless.
TWO MORE WEEKS!!! TWO MORE WEEKS!!!
My comedy baby, Vape! The Grease Parody is opening in New York City at Theater 555 on Monday, November 3rd. I’d love for you to come see it! We could all use a bit more laughter these days 🙂
Tickets are available on vapethemusical.com !!
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