Sunday, July 08, 2007

News That Amused

Actually, "amused, saddened and disgusted" might be more like it: a couple of not-especially-recent NY Times items that I haven't managed to mention yet:

June 28: A story that made me feel better about the fact that I spend $80 to get my hair cut, and currently have one or two extra bottles of moisturizer that I don't really need. Compared to these ladies, my maintenance is lower than low: SKIN DEEP: Beauty Regimens Reach for the Gold Standard.

''We have more procedures than we did 10 years ago to help you maintain your appearance and to undo some of the damage you did to yourself by sitting in the sun,'' said Dr. Flor A. Mayoral, a dermatologist in South Miami. Dr. Mayoral said that she asks every new patient the size of her yearly beauty budget and works within the limits. She estimated that many of her patients spend $2,400 a year on facial injections and $2,000 a year on hair coloring.

Lisa Oliver, the head colorist at The Salon by Maxime, calculated that her clients spend even more on grooming.

''Depending on how much Botox and the pricier stuff you get done, when you add in hair care, nails, face and body, it's got to be between $2,000 to $3,500 a month,'' Ms. Oliver said. In Los Angeles, she added, such grooming is considered basic maintenance.

''If you are high maintenance, you could spend a lot more money,'' Ms. Oliver said. ''I can think of a couple of people where $3,500 a month might be low.''


And to completely switch gears from that last story, see this article from June 30: For Poor Families, an Added Burden of Too Many Pets.

Excess animals, dropped on dark roads that wind through oak and pine forests and cornfields here, tend to end up in the care of people with bigger hearts than bank accounts. People like Mr. Swetman and his wife, Alicia, who have a hard enough time paying their own mortgage and gasoline bills on what Mr. Swetman earns as a machinist at a bathtub factory but have ended up with a large menagerie nonetheless, mostly because of abandoned animals and unplanned births.

The Swetmans live on a back-country road near Finger. They keep two dogs in their cluttered concrete-block house, two tethered to trees and the rest in three wire pens. They somehow eke out $26 a week to buy two 50-pound sacks of dog food.

“I’d do without food myself before they do,” Ms. Swetman said. But they say with some despair that veterinary care, which can run $100 a year per animal for vaccines and $100 or more for spaying or neutering, is far beyond their reach.


Do you think these people are doing the right thing by adopting all these animals?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Pet information is a absolute stupid 'tax' on the people keeping those animals. We lived on the farm and if the animal was not giving more back than the cost of feed and care, then it is not worth having. So, yes we had a dog yet it was a work dog and did a lot of the herding on the farm and protected the livestock so it 'earned its keep' as well as the cat who lived in the Barn.

Recently, I was trying (stopped this with this person) to help a person who was working on getting some financial advice. OK - Seven pets in the house - Ferret, Dogs, bird, lizard, cat, snake - What the hell!

All the normal excuses of why they could not live without the 'love' of these animals. Get real..Understand that if you need one pet yet not the ark of pets. Also, one child has critical allergies to animal dander that costs about $2K a year in costs...Wow..lets see..

Save - $2K in medical
Save - $2K in pet costs
Better health in House...
Less noise as the dogs bark all day

Nope can not due this as it would 'break the hearts' of the children and the pets too.

Oh well, I do believe that my biggest tax in life has been my stupid actions and I can recognize stupid in action....Pets over your health and family is stupid.

Simplicity in Kansas

Anonymous said...

You know, I wouldn't spend $80 on a haircut, but then again, I am a man. I get my haircut about once a month. I have access to out local military base where it costs me $9 w/ tip. Otherwise, I would spend about $15-20. Most women don't get a haircut every month, and if you get it every 4-6 months (reasonable) that is the same cost as it would be for most men over the same time period (assuming the man does not get highlights). $80 is not unreasonable - especially in the city. :)

SavingDiva said...

I used to spend about $200 on my hair every 6-8 weeks. I have gone back to my roots (literally) and get my hair cut at a school. I pay about $15 for a hair cut every 3 months.

Animals are a luxury. If you can't afford to take care of the animals, give them to someone that can!

Bhetti said...

Are pro haircuts even essential?

And, yeah, I think the nice poor people should try finding a new home for their adopted friends.

Anonymous said...

Keeping a dog tethered to a tree is illegal in CA. These people's "big hearts" are actually inflicting cruelty on their poor animals. Pets should live inside and never be tethered to anything for very long. They should give the animals up to someone who would REALLY love them and take proper care of them.

Anonymous said...

It's not that the people don't "REALLY" love the pets. They do love them, or they wouldn't try to sacrifice so much for them. It's likely just a case of misguided love and a lack of education. I think they're doing the best they know how, but it is wrong to leave animals tied up outside. I think it shows they care though, that they would put themselves out to take the abandoned animals in. Maybe they should just keep two, to minimize costs and maximize indoor space. The thing is, these animals may not be wanted elsewhere. Animals are unwanted and killed every day.

Anonymous said...

I think it's appalling that the animals are left tied up and caged. It would be kinder to have them put down, especially since they say can't afford vet bills.

I pay around $200 every 8 weeks for a cut, colour and products. My hair is waist length and I have a lot of grey, so most of the money goes on covering the grey and products to keep it in good condition.

Yes, I do think a 'pro' haircut is necessary for me - I do without other things in order to keep my hair looking good. It makes me feel more feminine to have beautiful hair and it's worth the expense. I can scrimp on other things.