They're just getting older and creakier. Most of that is tests, some is for ongoing prescriptions and vaccines, and a goodly chunk will be for dental cleanings (that last was the biggest unexpected hit). They cost around $150 - $200 a month to keep as it is.
The real problem isn't the costs of cat ownership. It's that we can't seem to get ahead financially. Rent is not cheap but it's below average, food costs are pretty low, and it's not like we get out or do much of anything. Don't own a car (nor could we afford one) and even transit passes would be a nasty strain. I could out toss every bit of discretionary spending we do and it really wouldn't make much of a difference. Save a few hundred, maybe a grand over the course of an entire year.
That's not enough. Not even remotely. If we want to get out of this slowly spiralling fiscal deathtrap, I need to earn more - a LOT more (at the new job, the salary is $37k, after my deductions - I used to make $45k, but that was an unlikely stroke of luck), but that's not happening without school... which takes money!
On paper, we have enough money coming in to just barely cover all fixed expenses each month, but in practice what family household goes a full month without some minor cost or crisis coming up to eat a few dollars here and there? Meanwhile, my existing student loan payments are set to resume next month (suspended while I was out of work), as is my bike insurance (I pay the bike insurance six months out of the year... I'm hoping it's down to $100 per month this year, thank to all the certifications I completed last year).
I though this would be a good month since it was a "three paycheque month", but pretty much all of it going to the vet. Well, at least we did have that, rather than using my line of credit (which is quite low, at only $2300, but we just can't make any headway on it). I just thought I'd get a bit ahead for the first time in six months or more, but no such luck.
