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If you want something a bit more romantic than a personal finance book today, check out Xin Lu’s article at Wise Bread: “Cheap and romantic ideas for Valentine’s Day (and any other day of the year)”. My favorite suggestion? “Do something that your partner likes to do but you do not necessarily appreciate…Doing something you normally would not do for the sake of your mate can be very romantic.”
Since writing about early retirement resources last Friday, I’ve spent some time hanging out at the early retirement forums. They’re great. My colleagues at FIRE Finance recently compiled their own list of resources for early retirement planning. Like me, they recommend Bob Clyatt’s book, Work Less, Live More: The Way to Semi-Retirement. They list many other books, forums, and web sites for those interested in the subject.
Finally, here’s an article that just might help our household save money. Kris and I have four cats. We do what we can to keep the expenses down, but they still cost us several hundred dollars a year. Thus I was pleased to find an article about how to save money on cats at The Way of Cats. Note that most some of the info here is also applicable to dogs.
Simon is a very friendly boy…
This article is about Spare Change Wednesday, 13th February 2008 (by J.D. Roth)
February 13th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Thanks for the link, I downloaded the book for my wife.
February 13th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
thank you JD, I downloaded the book for myself
February 14th, 2008 at 1:58 am
Ooh, thanks for the free PDF link! And that is a gorgeous photo. Someday i’d love to have a cat to save money on.
Also, i pretty much ignore Valentines day, but Google’s image for it this year is really cool. They’re on the retirement theme too!
February 14th, 2008 at 4:58 am
I have never celebrated the commercialized love holiday that is today!
That my wife’s birthday is just over a week afterwards might have something to do with it…
February 14th, 2008 at 5:52 am
How sad for your wife! You brag about it too. Very impressive, and oh so romantic. Every holiday is commercialized in this country. Why don’t you make her a Valentine or make her a nice romantic dinner. It’s your choice to ‘uncommercialize’ your holidays but to skip Valentines’s is just plain sad for your wife. If I didn’t get a Valentine from my husband and my birthday was the following week I’d go on a vacation by myself for my birthday!
Thanks for the book link, JD.
Happy Valentine’s!
February 14th, 2008 at 7:08 am
While the general common sense measures of proper vet care and good diet are applicable, there is little else in the cat article that can be applied to dogs. For instance, dogs must be vaccinated on the schedule required for their vaccines. Most county health departments require it.
February 14th, 2008 at 7:33 am
The Oprah site must be overloaded with requests. As soon as I click the link, IE shuts down. Hmm.
I was bracing myself for some really awful suggestions in the cat article (like buying cheap food) but was pleasantly surprised. Great source.
February 14th, 2008 at 9:30 am
@IJS: I’m not JerichoHill’s wife, but I know that my husband and I never “celebrate” Valentine’s Day as a matter of personal agreement… we choose to celebrate days that have personal significance to us, and disregard the pack. I am a wife whose husband doesn’t do anything for her on Valentine’s Day and I’m not saddened by it - in fact, I’m proud of him.
February 14th, 2008 at 9:56 am
@Michelle[7]
If you just click on the link, IE will attempt to open the file with your PDF reader. This is probably what’s causing the problem. Try right-clicking on the file, and choosing “Save target as…” (or whatever sounds similar!). This will download the file instead of opening it.
Thanks for the links JD!
February 14th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Thanks so much for the link!
February 14th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Ahhh, I wish the items in that article *always* resulted in lower vet bills. We paid almost $2,500 in vet bills last year alone (we have three cats and one dog). Funny enough, the one outdoor cat (whom we inherited when we bought the house) was the cheapest of the lot, she just got a wellness visit and one vaccination. We feed them only high quality food (Canidae and Felidae) and yet one of the indoor cats got what seems to be a UTI this week (still waiting on results of urinalysis). So $180 later, we’re hoping that the antibiotics do their trick. Owning pets is definitely not for the faint of wallet *ahem* heart.
February 14th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Thanks for posting these links! I’m about to adopt a cat and I didn’t even know such sites existed!
February 14th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Thanks JD for the mention and nice note on our post on resources for Early Retirement. We really appreciate it. Actually we are grateful to you for setting the initiative to compile the resources in one place.
And we really love the photo of your cat Simon. We are cat lovers and your link is well appreciated.
Have a nice weekend ahead.
Cheers,
FIRE Finance
February 15th, 2008 at 9:47 am
@Rachel - You might ask your vet if you need to change the cat’s diet. Male cats can be prone to UTI if they are getting too much protein (I think) or other intakes (according to my vet tech mother). That’s not to say that they will be prone to this, but that they can be.
To everyone else - Your local animal shelter (if they are reputable - some are not, sadly) can be a great source for tips about containing pet related costs.
February 16th, 2008 at 7:58 am
Kitty!!!!! Thanks for posting a pic of your cutie. He’s adorable.
February 16th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Thanks for linking my article on Wise Bread JD! My hubby ended up cooking for hours on Valentine’s day that I felt sorry for him. His parents sent us flowers..it’s pretty funny.
February 17th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Wow, I was so ready to hate that cat article, but those are great tips and all things that we practice in our household with our 2 furballs
http://flickr.com/photos/pquinn/2187881811/
http://flickr.com/photos/pquinn/1429264496/
March 2nd, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I completely missed out on the chance to download this book. Can anyone send me a copy? I’ve been looking around & found someone selling the version of the ebook on ebay. I don’t want to buy it off that person… I don’t think its right.
Thanks!
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:03 am
Hi
I know I’m late reading this but can someone out there send me a copy of this book,Please
Thanks everyone
March 24th, 2008 at 8:32 am
I’m late too, and wondering where I can still get a free copy of the Suze Orman book to download???
March 24th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Hi Jo Ann
Did you find a copy of this book? If so can you send it to me.
Thank you
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Greetings,
I too am hoping for a pdf download of the Suze Orman book. Can anyone help? Send to PastorAlyce@aol.com
Thank You!