Lizzy and Lissa break down the hidden costs – financial and otherwise – of pets. We know that furry friends and other pets offer us things money can’t buy. But when you really look closely at the numbers, does having pets make financial sense? Let’s talk about it!
Lizzy and Lissa break down the hidden costs – financial and otherwise – of pets. We know that furry friends and other pets offer us things money can’t buy. But when you really look closely at the numbers, does having pets make financial sense? Let’s talk about it!
Main Topics
00:00 Introduction
01:08 Running The Numbers Segment
02:48 Meet Buckets
03:27 Childhood Pets
06:47 Becoming a Pet Owner
11:57 The Financial Costs
18:36 Unexpected Expenses and Emergencies
23:22 Pet Insurance
24:18 Time and Freedom
30:39 The Impact of Pets on Relationships
35:34 Legal and Emotional Costs
40:38 The Joys and Benefits of Having Pets
45:17 20 Cents Segment
Our dogs' Instagrams!
🐶 Buckets - https://www.instagram.com/officialbucketsthedog/
🐕 Miles - https://instagram.com/officialmilesprower
🐶 Rocko - https://www.instagram.com/rockoprower/
References for Statistics
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/pet-insurance/pet-ownership-statistics/#sources_section
https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/pet-insurance/pet-spending-trends/
Lizzy Marie: Look at this little face-
Lissa Prudencio: Oh my gosh.
Lizzy Marie: ... and tell me he's not worth thousands of dollars.
Lissa Prudencio: Man, he is priceless.
Lizzy Marie: This little guy.
Lissa Prudencio: He's so cute.
Lizzy Marie: So the real question is, are pets worth it? Let's talk about it.
Lissa Prudencio: Let us talk about it. Welcome to Net Net with Lizzy and Lissa, where we analyze hidden costs and empower you to make your own damn decisions in life. He's so cute. Each episode covers a different facet of life, and at the end of each episode, we each give our takes on whether we think something is net positive or net negative.
Lizzy Marie: I'm Lizzy, a strategist and consultant with 17 years of experience in finance and investing.
Lissa Prudencio: And I'm Lissa, a personal finance expert and an accredited financial counselor. We're best friends who talk about money.
Lizzy Marie: And everything else.
Lissa Prudencio: So, are pets worth it?
Lizzy Marie: First up, running the numbers on pets.
Lissa Prudencio: According to the American Pet Products Association, 66% of US households, so 86.9 million homes, own a pet.
Lizzy Marie: Damn.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. Two-thirds-
Lizzy Marie: Two-thirds.
Lissa Prudencio: ... own a pet.
Lizzy Marie: Wow. Okay. Well, millennials own more pets than any other generation. So of that 66%, 33% are millennials, followed by Gen X at 25%, and Baby Boomers at 24%, according to the most recent American Pet Products Association National Pet Owners Survey.
Lissa Prudencio: In 2022, pet spending averaged $741 per year with millennials increasing their spend from previous years, and everyone else ended up decreasing relative to previous years. I'm not going to lie, that feels low.
Lizzy Marie: That feels really low.
Lissa Prudencio: But it is an average. And I know some people-
Lizzy Marie: I'm like, "Damn, I've spent that in-
Lissa Prudencio: ... would be skimping out on... Yeah.
Lizzy Marie: ... the past month."
Lissa Prudencio: We'll talk about it. We'll talk about it. Yeah.
Lizzy Marie: So, women also spend significantly more on pets compared to men, $647 on average versus $282 annually. So, almost three times as much.
Lissa Prudencio: 282 a year? What?
Lizzy Marie: Those poor-ass pets.
Lissa Prudencio: Or it must be easy pets, like lizards.
Lizzy Marie: A fish.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah, fish. Fish. Fish.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah, fish.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah, maybe a lizard's not that easy. Yeah.
Lizzy Marie: Well, I don't know.
Lissa Prudencio: Well, we know that there's more to life than statistics and numbers, so let's talk about it. Are pets worth it?
Lizzy Marie: Are pets worth it?
Lissa Prudencio: Well, let's meet Buckets.
Lizzy Marie: This is Buckets. This is my new puppy that I've had for I think four weeks today, and today he's 12 weeks old. He's really my first pet of my own.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah, of your own.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: You've had family pets.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah. I had a family dog, but I was kind of already out of the house.
Lissa Prudencio: I'm going to be distracted this whole episode, but that's okay.
Lizzy Marie: Look at this little guy. Yeah, we had a dog. I think we got him... I was like 19. So, I was kind of out of the house. And then, we have another Corgi now, my parents and my brother, kind of like a collective dog. But when I was young, we had pets. We were not successful with pets, I'll say.
Lissa Prudencio: What pets did you have?
Lizzy Marie: We had one dog that was a little asshole, and it turned me off of dogs for a long time. We had hamsters and rabbits at different points. There are just lots of stories, I mean, we had five kids in the house, it was chaotic, of like they put the cage outside because it smells, and then it dies in the rain, or gets fried on the trampoline. Just poor pets.
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, I had a couple sad ones too.
Lizzy Marie: I definitely got a newt at one point. This is kind of funny. I was a little kid. We would run wild. So, I think I was maybe eight or nine. Me and my friends would go walk up to the shopping center, and there was a Petco there. I just had change that I had saved up, and I just bought a newt, and I brought it home.
Lissa Prudencio: What does a newt look like? Is it like a lizard?
Lizzy Marie: Yeah, but they're colorful-
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, okay.
Lizzy Marie: ... and gooey.
Lissa Prudencio: Right. We're going to have to throw a picture up on the screen because... A newt.
Lizzy Marie: And then, of course, I didn't take care of it. I was a little kid, and I didn't even ask if I could have one. So, it got a little chaotic. But yeah, so I didn't have that experience growing up. I was not really a pet person until recently.
Lissa Prudencio: And so now in your mid-thirties, you adopted your first, this is your own-
Lizzy Marie: This is my first little guy.
Lissa Prudencio: ... dog, your own puppy.
Lizzy Marie: My son.
Lissa Prudencio: He's so cute.
Lizzy Marie: Bro, okay, can I just tell you it's really embarrassing how much I didn't understand pet people and how I am the most insane pet person now?
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, yeah. It happens.
Lizzy Marie: I talk to him in baby talk all day long.
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, yeah.
Lizzy Marie: I sing him songs. I tell him stories.
Lissa Prudencio: You make up songs with his name in it.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah. << Buckets the dog >> It's so embarrassing. I'm the worst.
Lissa Prudencio: He's so cute.
Lizzy Marie: Hi, baby. Hi, baby.
Lissa Prudencio: I've had two dogs for the last 10 years. 10 years.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah, 10 years.
Lissa Prudencio: And throughout that 10 years, I've had a lot... Oh my God. I've had friends who have gotten dogs in that span, they're similar to you, and same thing. Overnight, they're a different person. I'm like, "See, I've been trying to tell you," but I'm sure I did that too before-
Lizzy Marie: Probably, yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: ... I had dogs myself.
Lizzy Marie: It's funny because I've always thought this, that would be the case when I have kids eventually. But I like other people's dogs. I am obsessed with him. And it's the love that you feel-
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, yeah.
Lizzy Marie: ... and the care. And the stuff that would gross me out with other people's dogs, it just doesn't bother me the same.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. I have my set of animals that I love, like my sister's dogs, my mom's dogs. And then there's other friends' dogs that I also have taken care of before. But outside of that, it's like, ugh, I don't even want to pick up another dog's poop.
Lizzy Marie: Right. Right, right, right. Yeah, exactly. Just so you know, you are the first person in the whole world who I picked up their dog's poop.
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, really?
Lizzy Marie: Do you know that?
Lissa Prudencio: No, I didn't know that.
Lizzy Marie: When you lived in Playa Vista, and for whatever reason, I was watching the dogs.
Lissa Prudencio: You took them out?
Lizzy Marie: Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, interesting.
Lizzy Marie: I was like, "That is love." Because that was a hard no for me.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. And it's weird when it's someone else's pet, like changing someone else's diaper. Someone else's diaper. Someone else's baby's diaper.
Lizzy Marie: Or someone else's. Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: It's like you have a very few kind of babies you would do that for.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah. Facts.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah, yeah.
Lizzy Marie: Okay. So, how did you end up a pet owner?
Lissa Prudencio: I always had pets my whole life, but my mom never let us have a dog.
Lizzy Marie: Okay.
Lissa Prudencio: Supposedly, my older siblings had a dog when they were growing up because there was a big age gap between us, and they didn't really take care of it. And so it was like that-
Lizzy Marie: A lot of work, that kind of thing.
Lissa Prudencio: Supposedly.
Lizzy Marie: Okay.
Lissa Prudencio: I don't know if that actually was true.
Lizzy Marie: Or that's the story.
Lissa Prudencio: That's the story.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: And then, so my mom, whenever we wanted a pet, she would always convince us to get more pets that were easier to take care of than a dog.
Lizzy Marie: What did you guys have?
Lissa Prudencio: So, we had a lot of birds.
Lizzy Marie: Oh, okay.
Lissa Prudencio: So we had canaries, we had budgerigars, we had pigeons. They were white pigeons, so they kind of looked like doves, but they were actually pigeons.
Lizzy Marie: Okay.
Lissa Prudencio: We also had a dove. I had turtles. Turtles, amphibians. What other reptiles and amphibians did I have? Fish. We had everything except a furry pet.
Lizzy Marie: Okay.
Lissa Prudencio: And we could never get cats because my mom's allergic. And then I found out later-
Lizzy Marie: You're allergic. Right.
Lissa Prudencio: ... I'm also very, very allergic to cats.
Lizzy Marie: Okay.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. So, that was my history throughout life. He's-
Lizzy Marie: Oh, damn. That was hard, buddy.
Lissa Prudencio: For the people not watching the video, Buckets is biting the note cards.
Lizzy Marie: And my hand also.
Lissa Prudencio: These are my brand new note cards.
Lizzy Marie: I know. Sorry.
Lissa Prudencio: It's okay. Okay. There's a whole stash of them. So, that was my childhood. And then when I was in my twenties, when I was first starting out working and stuff, I didn't think of getting a pet because I was like... I could barely take care of myself financially. And I'm always partying. I'm always out of the house. I can't take care of a dog. And then when I started to make a little bit more money, it was always in the back of my head that I wanted a dog. So, then the idea got planted in my head 10, 12 years ago, and then it was there. And then I ended up just one year thinking, "I'm going to go to all these adoption places and see where I could find myself a dog." And then it just happened. And then I got two. Yeah.
Lizzy Marie: So, tell us about that.
Lissa Prudencio: So, here's how I ended up with two dogs. I went to an adoption center in the Valley here in Los Angeles County, and the first dog that they brought out ran straight up to me, and I was like, "Oh my God, he's so cute." They were like, "His name is Duke. He's 10 months old. His owner surrendered him." He was so cute and came up to me. So I was like, "Okay, I want him. Done. How much does he cost?"
Lizzy Marie: It's the one.
Lissa Prudencio: I think it was like $120 to adopt him because he had already gotten neutered.
Lizzy Marie: Oh, nice. Okay.
Lissa Prudencio: And he had all the shots and stuff. And then I was like, "Okay, let's take him." And then two minutes later they brought out his brother, another boy dog. And they were like, "His name is Bonnie." I'm like, "Bonnie? Who named him-
Lizzy Marie: Poor name.
Lissa Prudencio: ... Bonnie? Why would you guys do that to him?"
Lizzy Marie: Yeah, poor boy.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. And they're like, "If you take both of them-"
Lizzy Marie: BOGO.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. They were like, "We'll give you him for half off. So buy one, get one half off." So, all-
Lizzy Marie: Bamboozled.
Lissa Prudencio: So, all in, $180 for two dogs. And I didn't even think twice. I was like, "Oh man, if I split them up, they're siblings, they're going to miss each other." So, I went home with two dogs. I had two roommates at the time. So, I called them up and I was like, "I'm going to be coming home with two dogs."
And it was a Sunday. It was a Sunday. It was Father's Day, actually, in 2014. Part of it was me... My dad had already passed at that point. And I was like, "Wow, this is kind of symbolic. I couldn't celebrate Father's Day today, but I'm going to become a dog parent."
Lizzy Marie: A dog parent twice over.
Lissa Prudencio: So, I had to find a store that was open because I didn't have anything. I had no leashes, no crate.
Lizzy Marie: Oh, dang.
Lissa Prudencio: And it was a Sunday on a holiday. I barely made it in, it was closing time, like 5:00, six o'clock, and bought a bunch of stuff. And I didn't even look at the price tag. I just threw it in the cart and said-
Lizzy Marie: Throw it in the bag.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. And figure it out later. Got home, and then we were like, "Oh my God, look at these two scrawny..." because they were malnourished. Wherever they lived before the pound was not great. Yeah. Rocko's missing a tail. Yeah, he has a broken tail. So, they were malnourished. Now they're living the good life.
Lizzy Marie: Facts.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. So, that's how I ended up with dogs. And I've had them for 10 years, and they just turned 11. Yeah.
Lizzy Marie: All right. So, talk about the cost.
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Lizzy Marie: You talked about the cost for you to acquire your dogs. Let's talk about some of the other costs.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. So, financial costs to getting a dog specifically. A couple of years ago I did this whole spreadsheet analysis because I was like, "What is the range?" People always ask me like, "How much does it cost? Because I'm thinking of getting one." And obviously, there's other things you have to think of, we'll get to that, of having a pet. But financially, I was like, "Well, let me do some research and see what it costs on the low end and the higher end."
Because for context, like I said, my dogs, Rocko and Miles, I'll put a picture of them on the screen, but Rocko and Miles, they are living the good life. They get fresh food, so it costs way more. They have BarkBox, which is toys that get sent. So, they live the good life. So, I wanted to know, well, if someone is not going to give their dog luxurious food and-
Lizzy Marie: There's a spectrum.
Lissa Prudencio: ... buy them kibble, what's the spectrum? So, here's what I found. And this was a couple years ago. So inflation, I believe, is probably going to affect-
Lizzy Marie: For sure.
Lissa Prudencio: ... these numbers. So, the cost estimates that I found was in your first year, it's going to cost more. And the reason being is some dogs still need to get their shots and their initial vaccinations. And then you need the initial equipment like a crate, leash, random things.
Lizzy Marie: Grooming stuff. Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: Grooming. Random things.
Lizzy Marie: All kinds of supplies.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah, collars. There's things you need up front. So, first year is typically going to cost more.
Lizzy Marie: For sure.
Lissa Prudencio: And then there's still going to be ongoing costs every year because of food, medicine, grooming, other things. Other things.
Lizzy Marie: They grow.
Lissa Prudencio: Right.
Lizzy Marie: You need to replace items.
Lissa Prudencio: So, first year, the range was kind of crazy. What I came up with was anywhere between 400 and 2,500. So, it was a pretty big range, a $2,000 range there.
Lizzy Marie: Oh, man. I'll fill you all in on my numbers so far.
Lissa Prudencio: And then subsequent years after that initial year was a little less, around 300 to 2,000. But again, it depends on the size of your dog or size of your pet, what kind of food, what kind of equipment they need.
Lizzy Marie: For sure.
Lissa Prudencio: And that's straight up for dogs. I didn't look at other pets.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah. And some, for sure, like if you have a fish tank. Fish themselves can be expensive, and then-
Lissa Prudencio: Because you got to clean that. Yeah.
Lizzy Marie: ... you have the maintenance and the cleaning. Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: So since you have more recent numbers, and this is-
Lizzy Marie: Lord.
Lissa Prudencio: ... four weeks of this, how much have you spent?
Lizzy Marie: So, I haven't totaled it up, but I can break it down. So, I went through a breeder because I knew I wanted a Golden, and there's a lot of potential health issues with Goldens. So, I did a ton of research and was very, very specific in the breeder I went through that was American Kennel Club certified with all the health checks on his parents. So, he was $3,700.
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, so you way surpassed-
Lizzy Marie: ... which was very much the high end for Golden puppies. There were Goldens for 500, but I don't know what-
Lissa Prudencio: You didn't know where they came from-
Lizzy Marie: I didn't know where they came from. Are they healthy?
Lissa Prudencio: ... if they're taken care of. Yeah.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah. And my initial trip, I think I texted you after I went to Petco to get a bunch of supplies for him, the first bill was, I think, like 400 for crate, bed. Not all the basics. A lot of them. I ordered a bunch of other stuff on Amazon. I am feeding him this pretty high-end kibble right now, and it's 50 bucks a bag. I'm not sure. I had to just order the second bag. So, let's say a four-week supply. So, 50 bucks a month for food. His initial round of shots, the breeder took care of one. The second round for shots and heartworm medication and stuff was, I think, 200. He goes back again on Tuesday. Let me think. What else? Probably spent at least 1,000 in addition to the 3,400 so far.
Lissa Prudencio: So, four weeks, at least 5K in.
Lizzy Marie: Oh, yeah. For sure. For sure. Yeah. Now, that's like a lot of the upfront costs, but the ongoing stuff-
Lissa Prudencio: And that's also about right. My sister has always gotten dogs from breeders for the most part, and I always feel like it's around that 3,000, $4,000 range.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah. I think certain breeds... Someone was telling me that Frenchies can be 5,000, but it probably varies and definitely depends on the breeder and how they take care of them and what they guarantee you and that kind of thing. Yeah. So a good start, a good healthy budget-
Lissa Prudencio: Good budget.
Lizzy Marie: ... going into this.
Lissa Prudencio: Now, did you plan the budget beforehand?
Lizzy Marie: Not really. I had been considering it in the back of my head and then floated it with my family because if you've listened to prior episodes, you'll know that I'm currently living with my parents and my grandmother at the moment. And I travel a lot for work in... Well, I travel a lot in general, which I'll slow down, but I travel a lot for work. So, another cost is just managing the time. So, I discussed it with them, if they would be willing to watch him and take care of him while I travel, and that kind of set the ball rolling. And then it became like, "Oh my God, we're getting a puppy." So, I didn't set aside a lot of money in advance for it. I have pretty healthy savings, so I just dipped into that. This boy is tearing these cards up.
Lissa Prudencio: To be fair, 10 years ago, this was my pre-knowing anything about personal finance, I also did not plan it. I just knew that, "Oh, I have a paycheck and I get paid pretty well. I'll figure it out." Even if I did estimate what it would cost to getting a dog, I ended up getting two dogs. So, you got to double-
Lizzy Marie: Budget out the window.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. Some things you can share costs, but no, you're doubling the food. You're doubling the dog insurance, all that.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah. I just got him pet insurance just the other day. The one I signed up for is 62 a month. But that can save you a lot in the long run. So girl, talk about it.
Lissa Prudencio: So my dog insurance I just renewed for the two dogs, and each policy cost over $1,000, like 1,100 or something. And I was trying to get it lower like, "Can I increase their deductible?" I was like, "Should I switch them to another carrier?" They're considered senior dogs now. I think after seven years or 10 years, somewhere around there, depending on the insurance company, they consider them a more senior dog. And so they were like, "Well, we can bring the policy down to 800 if you increase the deductible to $1,000." So a deductible is when, all right, if something were to happen and one of my dogs needs surgery or something, I'd have to come out of pocket $1,000 before anything would be covered. I'd be increasing the deductible and taking that chance to get the cheaper policy.
Lizzy Marie: Sure.
Lissa Prudencio: The problem was they were like, "Yeah, but you can never go down to the lower deductible in the future." And I was like, "Oh."
Lizzy Marie: You're locking that in.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. And I'm like, "You know what? Whatever. I'll eat the $300 per dog cost to keep them on this policy." But for those pet owners, dog owners, you know how annoying pet insurance is. It's not like human insurance, health insurance, where, yeah, all your typical things are covered. No, they're not all covered. Emergencies are covered. And I know because Miles, my dog, Miles, I've taken him to the emergency at least five, six times in his life. Not for genetic things. Things that-
Lizzy Marie: He eats.
Lissa Prudencio: ... he eats. And I don't want you to think I'm a bad dog owner. These have all been pure accidents.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah, accidents. Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: So one, you know those beef jerky bags where they have the little packet inside?
Lizzy Marie: Like, the preservatives. Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: The preservative, do not eat. So-
Lizzy Marie: Read, Miles!
Lissa Prudencio: ... that was in a bag. It was ziplocked shut in the trash, and he took it out and opened... He's smart. He knows how to open bags like that. And so, he opened that, bit into that. And then when I found it, I was like, "I don't know how much he ate or didn't eat," so I had to take him to the emergency. So, it was like a $500 visit, easy.
And then there was another time where a friend was staying over for the weekend. We all had a basketball tournament we were playing in. And so, one of our friends, he lived farther out of Los Angeles, so he stayed over. He brought his stuff to do laundry so that he could use his basketball clothes the next day. And so, while we were all hanging out, I guess Miles went into his bag to find a Tide Pod, and bit into it, chewed it. And so, that whole night, I took him with the vet overnight, and so I'd got no sleep for the tournament the next day because I don't know how much he ate and whatever.
Lizzy Marie: Right.
Lissa Prudencio: And there's something about fragrant soaps and stuff that some dogs like Miles, he rubs himself all over. He'll lick it.
Lizzy Marie: Really?
Lissa Prudencio: He loves it.
Lizzy Marie: When I put on lotion, he licks my legs.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: There's too many stories to fit into this episode.
Lizzy Marie: You got a lot.
Lissa Prudencio: But the other one that Miles did one time was I had this vitamin E oil because I have these scars on my knees from surgery. And so, I was using this oil. It was completely shut, and it was on my nightstand. Miles got it, opened the cap, whatever, and got into it, and drank some. So then I took him... I just didn't know. I was like, "I think I got to go get his stomach pumped. I don't know."
Lizzy Marie: Right.
Lissa Prudencio: Oh wait, sorry, one more. Battery. A battery. And here's the thing, how can I predict this one? I would go to work, and the dogs would be roaming around the house. There was a remote control that I think I put on the couch.
Lizzy Marie: Like the arm of the couch?
Lissa Prudencio: On the arm of the couch. They must have had a fun little chase of each other because when I got home, the remote control was knocked to the ground, the batteries had come out, but then there was bite marks on the battery.
Lizzy Marie: Great.
Lissa Prudencio: I was like, "Ah, shit. I don't know. I got to take him to the vet." So, those are all the times I can remember that I've had to take Miles to the emergency. And I've done my best to dog-proof my house.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah, it's just, stuff happens.
Lissa Prudencio: It just happens.
Lizzy Marie: Stuff happens, for sure.
Lissa Prudencio: So, each of those visits were like 400, 500. Maybe get-
Lizzy Marie: And that's with insurance?
Lissa Prudencio: No, no, that's without insurance. So, I think I was able to get a couple reimbursed back, maybe half of it reimbursed back. So yeah, insurance doesn't cover everything.
Lizzy Marie: Everything. Okay.
Lissa Prudencio: There's no out-of-pocket maximum or anything like that for insurance. The best thing that insurance has ever covered for me was when Rocko had to get teeth extracted last year. So, it was a major surgery. He got half his teeth taken out. He had gum disease. Which, again, is because it's kind of my fault. I don't brush his teeth every day. They say to brush your dog's teeth every day. And who has the time? I brush my teeth every day, and I got to add two more mouths? I'm going to try. And it's not just that. When they get older, they're bound to get issues. Long way out for you.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah. One of my other best friends had the same thing, but her dog had to get almost all of them.
Lissa Prudencio: For tooth extractions?
Lizzy Marie: Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. As Buckets is gnawing on some stuff.
Lizzy Marie: We brush his teeth, not every day, but we do. He just likes to eat the toothpaste.
Lissa Prudencio: He's so cute. So, we've talked a lot. Financial costs. Obviously, it's going to cost a lot. You should plan for it in your budget if you're going to get a pet. But what are the other costs?
Lizzy Marie: The two big ones that jump out to me are just time, the lack of freedom, or the limitations on your freedom because you have another being to care for. And that's going to vary depending on what kind of pet you have, right? Cats are more independent. Fish are super independent. But a dog requires a lot of attention and you have to keep an eye on them all the time. So right now, he's mostly potty-trained. I have to take him out pretty much every time he wakes up and then a few times a day beyond that. I can't leave him for more than a couple hours. So, it's limiting, right? And then, of course, travel. Or before, you had to have a dog walker, right, to take care of your dogs?
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah.
Lizzy Marie: So, that's a huge one, for sure.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. I've been lucky that most of my adulthood, I've had roommates who have loved the dogs. So, I've had help. But there were a couple of years that I lived alone where I did have to get a dog walker. And the job I had at the time had me traveling a lot. So, I did have to shell up a lot of money for that. And I had to say no to certain trips, vacation, even personal trips when I can't find a dog walker, or if I don't have the extra money to pay. You're already paying to take a vacation or something like that, and then on top of that, you have to have money for someone to watch your pet.
Lizzy Marie: For sure. Yeah. And I think that's a big thing, too, is a mindset shift that I'm experiencing now, and I was mentally prepared for. But, all right, I was telling someone the other day, I've traveled probably already six weeks out of the year so far in August. And that was personally. That's definitely going to slow down significantly. The other piece of that is the emotional toll and the stress when I do travel. So I'm new to this, and obviously, he's a puppy, so he's more work, but coordinating that with people, making sure that they feel comfortable and I can leave with him. Before I got him, I had two trips planned that I was trying not to have to move. So, I went away for the first time last weekend, and then I'm going away for a few days in a couple weeks, but then I have to travel for work right after that. And it's stressful, right? How long can I leave him? The guilt.
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, guilt.
Lizzy Marie: The guilt is real.
Lissa Prudencio: Guilt. Guilt.
Lizzy Marie: I'm like, "What is he going to do without me? Does he miss me?"
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. Well, if it makes me feel better, I've had them, Rocko and Miles, for 10 years, and I was gone this week for three days, and the whole time I'm like, "Oh, are they thinking about me?" I still do that. So, it's never going to change.
Lizzy Marie: I don't know if that makes me feel better or not. At least I'm not alone.
Lissa Prudencio: I'm just normalizing it.
Lizzy Marie: But it's not going to end.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah, it's not going to end. You got to find peace with it at some point. On guilt, so I have friends, Janelle, Michelle, who will help me watch the dogs when both me and Allan are out of town, and there were definitely two trips last year... Oh, and my old roommate, Cindy, too. So, there were a couple trips last year where they were watching the dogs, that the dog, Miles, got sick, where they had diarrhea. And so, it's not just the guilt of leaving the dog behind and having someone else have to rearrange their schedule to watch the dog, but if the dog gets sick, cleaning up after them, it's-
Lizzy Marie: Yeah. And is he going to be okay for you? So, I have another friend who's going to watch him, going to puppy sit for a few days the next time I leave. And she's so chill about it, but I'm just like, "I hope he doesn't shit all over your house or something."
Lissa Prudencio: I know. Yeah. No. I mean, I'm-
Lizzy Marie: It's a whole level of stress I never would have had before.
Lissa Prudencio: I have a whole card, a laminated card, with their instructions of like, "If something happens, take them to this vet." And so, Miles, one of my dogs, has seizures, and I found that out... He had his first one after I've had him for three years. So, for the last seven years he's had seizures. And so, I've had friends see a dog have a seizure for the very first time with Miles. And it's scary.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah, that's scary.
Lissa Prudencio: It's scary if you've never seen anyone or any pet have a seizure. So, even me finding someone to watch the dogs, I have to pre-warn-
Lizzy Marie: Prep them, yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: ... prep them that, "If this happens, here's what you do. It's going to look scary, but just let it happen." And on that, another financial cost. It took me a lot of-
Lizzy Marie: Oh, buddy. All right. Going to rein you in.
Lissa Prudencio: It took me a lot of twists and turns to find out something to help manage Miles' seizures because vets were like, "Well, you can put him on seizure medication, but he might start being drowsy all the time." And I'm like, "He's too young to be drowsy all the time." And so, I was finding other remedies. Miles is on CBD, THC CBD, now that I get for him. This is a home remedy that I found on the internet, and it's been working. It's been making him have so many less seizures.
Lizzy Marie: Oh, that's awesome.
Lissa Prudencio: And he still has his energy to play. The problem is how much it costs. One bottle is 100 bucks.
Lizzy Marie: Jeez.
Lissa Prudencio: And he'll probably go through one in a month. So, I'm always buying that on top of everything else.
Lizzy Marie: Right. Right, right, right, right.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. So, it's wild.
Lizzy Marie: I had a thought and I lost my train of thought. He's distracting us, dog.
Lissa Prudencio: Buckets is distracting because he's cute.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah. And crazy.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. I get to look straight at him. Buckets, you got something to say?
Lizzy Marie: What do you want to say, buddy?
Lissa Prudencio: How do you feel about your new home? What's his voice?
Lizzy Marie: Oh, he's like a high-pitched, pre-puberty little boy. Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: So, something that was interesting to me throughout the years of having pets was how it affected dating.
Lizzy Marie: Ooh.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. So, before you had Buckets, did pets ever come into play when you thought about compatibility with someone?
Lizzy Marie: Not really. I guess the extent would be if, on someone's dating profile, they were like, "Must love dogs," I'd be like, "Well, not for me." I don't know that I have dated someone that had a pet.
Lissa Prudencio: Had a pet.
Lizzy Marie: Or at least never been serious with someone that had a pet, for sure. My last relationship, we were of a similar mind about it. We would always joke like, "Yeah, one day we'll probably get a dog when our kids want one, when they ask us for one." Obviously, that has changed. But yeah, so I haven't experienced that. So, what was your experience?
Lissa Prudencio: So my dogs, they're a little crazy. I don't know. I wasn't with them the first 10 months of their lives. So, they definitely got abused in some way because they're a little crazy with guests. They don't bite people or anything, but they'll bark.
Lizzy Marie: They're very protective over you.
Lissa Prudencio: They're very protective over me. One is like my personal bodyguard. That's Miles. And then one is like my bouncer into the house, like Rocko. He's always the watchdog looking out for someone to come in the house.
Lizzy Marie: We're going to put this puppy back in his bag.
Lissa Prudencio: You're going to need a bigger bag soon.
Lizzy Marie: I know.
Lissa Prudencio: He's growing so fast.
Lizzy Marie: We're going to get a wagon. Anyway.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. And so, what was the question? This is the first time I've been this distracted on an episode.
Lizzy Marie: Dating with guys.
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And so, I've had it be kind of a turnoff for other people, or for other guys, because two dogs. And then especially if they ever came to hang out, or if I had the dogs with me, and if the dogs didn't like them, that made them obviously feel a way. Yeah. And then, for me, I could never be open to dating anyone who had a cat because it would have come down to it's me or the cat.
Lizzy Marie: It's a health thing.
Lissa Prudencio: I couldn't live in the same house with a cat because I'm deathly allergic. So yeah, it did come into play.
Lizzy Marie: So, how did that go with Allan the first time?
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, yeah. So my fiance, Allan, I don't know, I don't think he knew what he was getting into when he moved in. When he met the dogs and he got to hang out with them, it was a warm feeling. So, he loved them immediately. But that's different from when you're actually living with them and being responsible for them.
Lizzy Marie: A caretaker. Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. And so, that was a transition, but it felt like a good one. I felt like it helped. So, something his mom said to me when she came to visit for the first time and met Rocko and Miles, she was like, "Oh my God, this is so good for Allan because he's probably so used to only taking care of himself. It's like something else that he has to now think of some other being besides himself." And I'm like, "Yeah, a lot of people don't have that." I think as women, we naturally take care of other things, other people. And I think for some men, not all, but some, they don't really have that until they have kids. So, I do think having a pet makes you... You have to think of, "Yeah, I can't be gone out of the house longer than however many hours." I think that was new for Allan, because Allan used to live in London, and he's lived in New York, where if it's a weekend, he'll be out the whole day.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah. Go, go, go. Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: Go, go, go. Hang out with friends, go to a bar, go to a restaurant. And I'm like, "Well, we can't really do that. We have to stop home and go walk the dogs, and then we can go back out." So, there are things like that that were a huge shift for him.
Lizzy Marie: I can relate to that too, so far, of, I agree, I definitely have that kind of caretaker thing, but I'm very independent, and so I haven't had to worry about someone else. And I think it's been a positive so far. I mean, it's obviously very early. One very specific thing, so this is kind of part of my ADHD is I'm not very good with time routines. Doing the same thing at a specific time every day has never existed in my whole life unless I had school, some external structure. And I would love that if I could handle that. But if it's just up to me, it's not going to happen. But having him, I feed him at 7:00 AM, I feed him at 1:00 PM, I feed him at 7:00 PM, and having that routine has been really positive already. Granted, he's waking up at 4:30 in the morning.
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, man.
Lizzy Marie: So, the sleep has been a big cost right now.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. But that gets better. It's puppy life.
Lizzy Marie: But having a little bit of that structure that's just not reliant solely on my whims I think has been good for me so far.
Lissa Prudencio: Something that I just thought of, the legal cost. Hopefully, no one ever has to go through a legal battle. I never have. But something I was thinking about recently, Rocko one time did accidentally bite a person that was in my house. It was a roommate of mine was dating someone, and they were at the house, and Rocko didn't just bite her. What happened was she was walking kind of fast from the bathroom towards me, and I think Rocko thought she was going to attack me.
Lizzy Marie: A threat, yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: And so, he didn't straight up bite her, but he nipped her thigh, and it bruised up. She was a good sport about. She was like, "Oh, it was an accident. It's fine." So I was like, "Okay, cool." But that made me think like, "Oh, shoot." I don't have any type of additional-
Lizzy Marie: Insurance.
Lissa Prudencio: ... personal liability insurance or umbrella insurance. I think it's liability insurance that you would add to a policy of yours to cover that kind of thing in case someone sued you. So, that was in my house, so that was different. But I think this happens all the time when people keep dogs off leash outside.
Lizzy Marie: For sure.
Lissa Prudencio: Or even on leash, if a dog attacks someone else, there's always a-
Lizzy Marie: Or even another dog. So actually, that happened to my aunt, maybe like a year ago. She was walking her dog, and another dog attacked her and her dog, and he didn't make it. They had to put him down. I know. It's awful. Which, that's the other thing. So jumping ahead, the emotional cost-
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, God. This is the part I didn't want to talk about in this episode.
Lizzy Marie: ... of losing a pet.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah.
Lizzy Marie: Obviously, they don't have the same lifespan-
Lissa Prudencio: I know.
Lizzy Marie: ... as a human.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. If you have a pet, you're bound to lose the pet. The pet will-
Lizzy Marie: You will outlive it.
Lissa Prudencio: ... pass away. Yeah. I was like, "What are the words?"
Lizzy Marie: I got you.
Lissa Prudencio: "What are the words? I don't want to say the words."
Lizzy Marie: You'll outlive it.
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, man. I think about this more than I should, and it stresses me out. So, the dogs turned 10, and everyone's like, "Yeah, they're old dogs now." But I have friends that are like, "Nah, they're halfway through their life. They're small dogs. They're going to live to age 20." I'm like, "Cool. I got a lot of years." But I do think about, oh my God, that grieving process. I've seen so many of my friends and family members have had to grieve the loss of pets, and it's so, so sad because, obviously, it's different from a child, different from a parent or sibling, but it's a family member.
Lizzy Marie: Your companion. It's a family member.
Lissa Prudencio: It's a dependent of you. It's-
Lizzy Marie: I mean, you spend so much time with your pets.
Lissa Prudencio: I know. And it's like no one prepares you for that, but it's like something... When you get a pet, you're not thinking of the end of it. But when it does happen, you have to be ready to grieve and do the proper process because emotional cost, man.
Lizzy Marie: Huge. Yeah. I mean, so like I said, we had a Corgi that we got when I was about 19, and his name was Sumo. He was a great dog. I only lived with him for a couple of years. And he was my brother's dog. But he passed away at, I think, 14. And the day they called me, I immediately started bawling, and I didn't realize how much I loved him until he was gone. And then now they have another Corgi who's also amazing, but my brother in particular still grieves and mourns the loss of Sumo and gets really emotional. You can't replace that bond. You can have a new bond with a different dog or a different pet, but it's not going to be the same.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. Quick story, my nephew, he was a lot younger, I'm just going to guess three years old-ish, when one of their dogs died because it was an older dog. It was my brother-in-law's dog for a long time and just so happened to be an old age and pass away when my nephew was really, really young. So, they didn't know how it was going to affect him. But pretty crazy. Two, three years later, when my nephew had more awareness of his emotions and could talk more, he would get sad. He would be like, "I miss Lenny." He'd have dreams about him and had to grieve it later on.
Lizzy Marie: Aw.
Lissa Prudencio: I know. It's so sad. And so I'm like, "Oh, man."
Lizzy Marie: So, I think what that brings me to, though, we've talked a lot about the costs.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. Oh, yeah. All right.
Lizzy Marie: We haven't talked about a lot about the benefits, right?
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. This is the easy part.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: Okay. Companionship, love. Okay, well, obviously, I'm talking about dogs, but everyone has their own pets and loves them in a different way, right? Even if you have a pet, like a fish that you can't touch or pet, it's something-
Lizzy Marie: It's still a companion. You talk to it.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah, it's still a companion. You can talk to it. But for me, dogs in particular, they've been my sidekicks throughout ups and downs, through everything, through breakups, through moving apartments, through changing jobs. They're my sidekicks. They're there every day. When I get home, it is a party. You're not supposed to, well, at least this is what my vet told me, you're not supposed to have big comings and goings because it might increase the amount of anxiety they have when you're gone. You're not supposed to be like, "Oh my God. Hello!" I do that anyway, but it's a party.
Lizzy Marie: Life's too short.
Lissa Prudencio: Every day I get to have that joy when I leave the house and come back. Even if I go and leave to the store for five minutes and come back, it's a party when I get back.
Lizzy Marie: Aw.
Lissa Prudencio: And so, that's priceless. How about you so far?
Lizzy Marie: I mean, yeah, I'll double down on all of that. The love is crazy. I obviously don't have kids, so I know that's probably the next level. But yeah, it's crazy just how much... I had this thought that the act of caring for this dependent little infant builds so much love. And I think that's something you can carry over to your life. It's not just a feeling, and it's not a feeling from receiving. It's by doing those things, it builds so much affection, and that's really fulfilling.
The other thing that's probably my favorite part is the playfulness and the silliness, the exasperating moments that are also hilarious. I didn't have as much of a place in my life for that playfulness at this point. And last night, I was sitting there on my bed, and I was making him kick, kick, punch, punch, punch, punch, punch. And he's beating me up. We dance and just play little games, and it's so fun and brings so much joy, and I don't do that with you.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Lizzy Marie: So, that's been pretty priceless.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. I mean, I got stories for days on all those things. One of my dogs, Rocko, I get so frustrated with him because he'll get on the bed. He knows he's not allowed on the bed, but when we're working throughout the day, he'll go in the bed and get under the covers somehow, and there'll be fur all over the bed that we got to clean every day.
Lizzy Marie: There's another cost.
Lissa Prudencio: It's another cost. But it's so hilarious because what we've tried to do in the last two weeks, we've tried to put a Ring camera to catch him in the act because we're actually not sure which dog it is, but we think it's him. And anytime the camera's up there, he doesn't do it. We've tried to hide the camera. How does he know? So, we've not caught him on camera yet. It only happens when the camera's not there. It's just hilarious, day-to-day adventures with these guys. So, it's hilarious. Yeah. I could go on and on about benefits. The caring thing is interesting. I don't know. It's a selfless act because you're opting in to... Right? There's no accidents here. There's no just accidentally getting pregnant and having kids. You're choosing-
Lizzy Marie: You're choosing this. Yeah.
Lissa Prudencio: ... yo have a pet in your life and to care for them, hopefully. I know that there are stories of people not treating their pets well-
Lizzy Marie: Right, of course.
Lissa Prudencio: ... which is very, very sad. But I think the majority of people, I'm hoping, have that bit of selfless care. And it makes you a better person in life.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah, I think it makes you more patient and more loving, more understanding, I think.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah, I think so.
Lizzy Marie: Hopefully. I'm new to this, but he's the best. All right, we ready for this?
Lissa Prudencio: Yes. 20 Cents. 20 Cents is the segment of the show where both Lizzy and myself, Lissa, each get 60 seconds to give our 2 cents on today's topic, whether it is a net positive or a net negative. Where does 20 Cents come from?
Lizzy Marie: Well, you get the opinion of two dimes, y'all.
Lissa Prudencio: Two dimes. All right, Liz, are pets worth it?
Lizzy Marie: Come on, y'all. Look at this face. Look at this face. Yeah. Hell, yeah. Very, very worth it. I know I'm new to this, and they talk a lot about the puppy blues, so maybe I'll experience that. But I went into it pretty eyes wide open, knowing what I was getting into for the most part. And I've definitely been significantly happier just on my day-to-day. The standard has risen. I'm much sleepier and my health has been affected, but I know that's short term. And yeah, it's my family now. It's my son. I wouldn't trade him for the world. So yeah-
Lissa Prudencio: Easy.
Lizzy Marie: ... net positive. Easy.
Lissa Prudencio: Easy-peasy.
Lizzy Marie: Easy money.
Lissa Prudencio: Easy-peasy.
Lizzy Marie: What about you, Lissa?
Lissa Prudencio: Oh, man. All right. Easy. Net positive, 100%.
Lizzy Marie: No question.
Lissa Prudencio: No questions. I'll give a little bit of context. Obviously, we talked about some of the stressful things that come with pets. You don't have freedom of your time like you might if you don't have a pet. You have to pay for things, like if emergencies happen that you can't control. But that little bit of stress added to my life is nowhere near how much joy I just have from having pets. So, 100% worth it for me. And like I said, I didn't even budget for it. I think people should, but I didn't, and I made it work.
Lizzy Marie: YOLO.
Lissa Prudencio: And you kind of just make it work. Yeah.
Lizzy Marie: You know what? That reminded me of one more benefit. I feel like I'm a lot more present. I'm spending more time in my day just playing, being with him, versus doing some other bullshit that's not worth my time. So, that was another benefit.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. Well, that was probably no surprise to you, but remember, this is what we think at this moment in time and for the rest of time, for sure, for me. But no one can make that decision but you. What do you think, for you, are pets worth it?
Lizzy Marie: Hit us up. Let us know what you think. DM us @netnetpodcast or email us at hi@netnetpodcast.com. And if you want to follow us individually, here's where you can find us.
Lissa Prudencio: I'm @wealthforwomenofcolor on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
Lizzy Marie: And I am @live_well_lizzy. Buckets here does not have an Instagram.
Lissa Prudencio: Yet, but you need one. I'll drop Rocko and Miles' Instagrams also in the description.
Lizzy Marie: Yeah. All right. He'll probably have one soon.
Lissa Prudencio: Yeah. All references, statistics and resources mentioned can be found in our show notes. This podcast is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only, and should not be constituted as financial advice. Remember to always do your own research, consult a professional as needed, and feel empowered to make your own damn decisions.