The Best $350 I’ll Ever Spend
Posted by Kevin McKee on February 01, 2013Owning a home can be expensive. There are a lot of big purchases that can drain your bank account pretty quickly.
Sometimes your spend a lot of money and it’s really exciting. Other times you spend a lot of money and it’s super-duper lame.
I’d say $350 is a lot of money, so here are a few things I’ve spent $350 on so far:
- A fancy schmancy new stainless steel microwave (which is pretty cool)
- A big office desk for your two desktop monitors and printer (also pretty snazzy)
- A paint sprayer and 5 gallons of paint (kinda boring if you ask me)
- Underlayment and transition pieces for my floors (lame-o)
However, none of that can even compare to the $350 I spent yesterday. For a tax-deductible donation of $350 Tag and I welcomed this little rascal into our family!
This is Sydney. She’s our new Australian Shepherd puppy!
She was a rescue and needed a good home. We wanted a dog that would run with Tag and would play frisbee with me. Most importantly, we wanted a dog that would be protective of our family and be our last line of defense in keeping us safe in our home.
Sydney is perfect for us!
Yes the adoption fee was expensive, and yes we’ve already spent another $200-$300 on a crate, playpen, dog food, toys, a bed, food and water bowls, a collar, a leash, and probably a bunch of other stuff I’m forgetting.
And it’s worth every penny.
We have a house. We have a nice yard. And now we finally have a dog to share it with! This is a great addition to our family and will also serve as a nice warm-up for when Tag and I get married next year and start thinking about kids.
You’ll certainly be getting more pictures of Sydney over the next few weeks and months (as I’m pretty sure the pictures of her are 95,231 times more interesting than anything I’d ever have to say).
We are super excited, and thank you for helping Tag and me welcome Sydney into the McKee family!
How do you figure that the adoption fee is tax deductible?
Because the adoption fee was actually a donation to a non-profit organization that rescues dogs and places them in good homes. It will be itemized with my mortgage interest and other itemizable expenses next year.
Good call making that donation this year then. Your 2013 mortgage interest could put you over the $11,500 you need to itemize. If you had ade the donation in 2012, and you purchased your house at the end of that year, you might not have had enough mortgage interest/donations to meet the limit. Great timing!
And congrats on the puppy!
Congratulations on the new addition to your family! Shortly after moving in to our first apartment together, my wife (fiance at the time) and I adopted a cat from a local shelter. I really wanted to get a new puppy, but I just didn’t want to get a dog while we were still living in an apartment. They waived our $50 adoption fee, but we still made a $100 donation to them. And it’s still the single best “purchase” I’ve made in my adult life.
That face! So cute! We’ve been wavering on whether we want to get a dog at our new place (if we get it… fingers crossed). I think we are leaning more toward getting another cat, but I don’t know if I could have said no to that little girl!
Congratulations, and thank you! This is my favorite post of yours so far this year.
Congrats on the puppy! Dogs are fun to play with but make sure you save some money for unexpected vet expenses! Our adopted dog has allergies and we were glad we had some money saved to cover those costs.
what an awesome looking dog! Congrats kevin!
Congratulations! She is adorable. Looking forward to all the puppy pictures.
We adopted a dog (adult 2-3 yrs old) recently. She was our third adoption over the years. Yes, they are special and a welcome addition to the family. With family members, sometimes you have to break a few rules.
“and probably a bunch of other stuff I’m forgetting.”
Medical may be your most important forgotten stuff. You might want to look into pet insurance. Vet bills can get really high if your dog gets a major illness.
“95,231 times more interesting ”
I would say 94,758 times. Don’t sell yourself short.
I think my heart just melted a little. I want a puppy so badly, but we’ve got to wait a while before we can get one. It might end up getting put off until we’ve bought a house, which could be a few years.
Congratulations!! Worth every penny indeed =)
We only have a cat… but he is truly priceless…
Awww! So precious! Love her!
I hate to be a drag, but I remember in your article about getting bamboo floors someone commented that they are very soft and a dog will ruin them. Did you think about this at all when you adopted?
Congrats on your new family member!! Our poodle is giving two paws up that you adopted a fellow rescue brother!! We adopted our guy 10 years ago and he is our daughter’s best friend – she learned to crawl by scooting after him.
If you looking to save a few cents here and there, we love making our own treats. They are healthier and so much cheaper. Lots of great recipes online and pinterest.