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Got a $4k bonus and it’s all gone within days
Worked so hard for this bonus. I was gonna buy some clothing and put the rest in savings. I was really looking forward to it. The last time I bought clothing was over 5 years ago. As soon as I get paid, my cat needed all his teeth removed= $2400, and now the oil tank in my house is leaking and needs to be replaced, there goes the rest of it. Pictures of my gummy bear for cat tax.
I feel you. Bought a house and have been plauged with sudden catastrophes. Bought a car and it has been a parade of failures. Every money that comes my way is SWALLOWED by misadventure.
EDIT: But, you are a hero if you put your kitty before yourself. Good cat parent!
Same here lol. My dad gifted me 10.000 bucks he got early for his retirement. I wanted to be a good noodle and invest it in an ETF. Nah, broke the car twice in a row, then came insurances and then our other car broke down. Sorry Papa, will invest another time 🫠
I bought a house last year and supposedly redone over and on the 4th night of owning it there was a rain storm and I found out the foundation has a leak and I had to get a $20k loan to cut the slab and run a channel to a pump,sump pump,back up battery for the pump, deal with mold....if I sell this house im never buying another again fuck this
And yeah, this is definitely the one time I am owning a house. I would rather rent and know somebody is coming to fix something.
It is wild how everything feels OK and then, suddenly, your water heater is gushing and it is the holidays and nobody can come out for two weeks. And every shower is a blizzard. And then your sink drops and you have to learn how to mount it since nobody wants to fix it. And then the roof starts leaking. And then your fucking HOA tells you to trim a tree in your yard and that is going to cost another thousand, since it is above your roof and the neighbor's roof.
My daughter, just a year out of college, bought a condo, third floor walkup. SO many things went wrong !!! She sold it, after being there for about 6 years, moved to RENT an apartment instead !!!
This is the side of car ownership few people talk about. You'll often see people who choose to buy a used car instead of new and go online and parade themselves as financial geniuses. Makes it seem like buying new is a terrible move. Here's what they don't tell you (select all that apply):
They got extremely lucky and bought a used car in near-perfect condition
Their car has left them stranded several times
How much money they've sunk into keeping the car operational
They have a garage with ton of tools to fix said car
Buying used is often smarter because you aren't stuck paying out a loan with interest while paying for the car problems that are going to arise anyway.
It really depends on the loan and the car, and this take is pretty disingenuously vague.
A 5% 84 month loan on a 70k Ford/BMW/basically anything not Japanese new car? Yeah you’re gonna have a bad time and be in the hole before it’s paid off on repairs and maintenance.
Get a good, reliable Japanese car that basically will run itself on oil changes and tire rotations for years at a reasonable rate with a good downpayment and stick the extra money into an HYSA? It’s just free money.
I have a 2022 subaru BRZ I got at the end of 2021 with a 2.5% loan. The money I would have spent on fully paying off a car I put in an HYSA that has earned on average about 4% over that time. I’ve needed to change the battery once, tires once, oil changes and tire rotations maybe 2 times a year (mileage dependent of course). Beyond that, 0 major repairs or maintenance I couldn’t easily do myself.
Yeah one guy I was talking to on the apps said he would only buy 5+ year old used cars that have over 60k in mileage.
And I was like…okay but the money you save will end up going right back into recurrent maintenance and fixes. And he kept insisting that he could learn to fix them via YouTube videos to save on it.
When I tried to shift topics, he always went back to either that or trying to get me to watch his finance gurus.
Needless to say, we didn’t even make it to the first date.
All my cars have been used and 2009> my whole life, my fault for buying 2000s subarus lol. 2 years ago I bought my first brand new car and I didn't realize how stressed I was turning on the ignition and wondering if it will start 😵💫 i had a 2005 Jetta and the oil changes on that thing were $200
Im pretty sure I've spent more money on my used cars then I'll spend on my hybrid AWD SE corolla 🥰🥰🥰🥰
On the upside your emergencies didn't take a chunk of your current savings.
Your cat is happy for healthier and your house doesn't burn down. I'm assuming. I've never lived anywhere with oil tanks. I just have a propane tank. Death by gas or explosion.
Leaking oil tank is more of a environmental hazard than safety hazard because the heating oil doesn't catch fire easily. But leaving them leak can make for a crazy expensive bill when they need to be cleaned up.
Also the tanker drivers will refuse to fill it if it has even the slightest leak. So you either replace it immediately, or you go without heat.
Oil sucks.
100% this. Im on the opposite side of this, my senior dogs health both physically and mentally has rapidly declined in the last few months, but we’ve not had the money to put him out of his misery, his health started its decline right after my partner lost his job, we’ll finally be able to do it next month, but that is to say it’s extremely difficult when you need it but don’t have it
Lap of love euthanized my 17yo cat and they are amazing. I work in vet med and would highly recommend lap of love to anyone, they were so kind to my girl.
Yes! Our vet thru LoL came to us at the tail end of an ice storm for our Lymphoma baby. She was so compassionate, factual, patient...she grieved with us. I think about her often.
Ugh I’m so sorry my cat was a GI lymphoma. I worked in veterinary oncology for years and when she started vomiting in my gut I knew it was something bad. I hope your baby finds peace ❤️
Thank you! I'm so sorry about your sweet baby, too. It's so hard to watch them decline. Mine had a stroke from everything going on, and I couldn't do anything because everything was shut down during the storm. People who work with grief or hospice, anything like that, are angels, and I'll never forget that compassion.
I had to have a cat put down a few years, she was amazing, id had her since she was 1.5, shed had health problems before the thing happened (autoimmune disease so she had to get a ton of teeth pulled) and then she injured her spine or some underlying injury that we hadnt noticed got a ton worse, and she started having violent seizures and a rapid decline in physical health and ahe seemed to have brain fog or something, so we had to save up to get her put down at a vet, unfortunately I did not know about LoL otherwise I would have liked to choose that, the cat was only 9.5 when this happened :'(
That’s HEARTBREAKING !!! You know, its only recently, the vets can “save” your pet, against all odds ! They used to just tell you it would be “kinder” to have it “put down”. And sometimes, it was.
I mean our vets car was her personal car, and she asked me to carry my girl to the car (which I wanted to do anyways as a last rite). Your mileage may vary.
I already did that, I called around to all the vets in my town, I’ve only found one that does payment plans and it’s through affirm, and I don’t have good enough credit to be accepted, same for the care credit, I also called the shelters in my town and the low cost vet from the humane society but they are no longer accepting new patients. I’ve even called vets in the towns surrounding my town, and although I’ve found that the ones out of town are cheaper they still don’t do payment plans. I’m not just letting him suffer for shits and giggles, I have desperately searched for a way to put him down sooner but outside of doing it myself there are no other options, and the last thing I want is to make his death painful.
His health might be declining because of the stress of your partner losing his job. I have recently learned from personal experience and what doctors have told me that dogs absorb all the energy from us good or bad so if it’s negative energy aka stress and all that their job is sadly to absorb and try to take that from you but sometimes depending on how much negative energy it is and their age it can be too much for them and their health pays the toll. If possible try to destress as much as yall can or when having tough conversations do it outside or in a different place from your dog and if yall have a hard it’s good for him to sit on the grass and do “groundin” for a good 20 minutes to release whatever heavy energy he has into the ground and just fill him with as much love as possible to try and outweigh the negative.
These were things that were going to happen without you knowing regardless of the $4k or not. Imagine what this would’ve been like for you if you didn’t get $4k and this happened anyway. This is a blessing.
Oh I feel this one. But as someone else said. Better to have it when you need it. Then to not. Had a similar thing happen recently. Cat went to the vet. 600 bucks for nothing and some tests on my payday. Then I find out my old vet was bought out by an investment firm. Or whatever they call them I can’t think of it right now I’m too stoned. As bad as that sucks I’d rather my pets be healthy and happy in the end. They’re part of our families. And love us unconditionally. It’s the least we can do for them. And besides look at that face. Best few grand ever spent. She can eat and be happy mom! Also, every small business is getting ruined and bought by private equity! There it is. Came back to me. That visit should have been a couple hundred bucks. They doubled all the prices. And cut staff. You don’t say? I also wanted to bitch again about private equity.
Bitch all you want about private equity, also known as a 'hedge fund'.
My BIL is a doctor (anesthesiologist in a major city), and he's sooo pissed about the fact that he's no longer a doctor, but merely a wage slave to the private equity / hedge fund that bought out the medical practice he was a part of.
At the very end, before he retired early, he said he was earning the equivalent of $55 an hour. $55!!!! That's like $115,000 a year - the same as what my insurance adjuster cousin with a BA in Philosophy makes at Geico!
I got a raise, 7%, not bad. Two weeks prior my dog got diagnosed with an endocrine disorder. His meds over the course of a year is almost exactly my raise.
Two weeks ago, I accidentally locked my keys in the car. This week, I got offered extra hours. The extra pay is almost exactly what the locksmith charged.
Kinda feels like I have a guardian angel. Maybe you do too.
I'd think of it this way, the money came when you needed it, vs needing it and not having it. I'd count my blessings on that one. Btw that cat tax pict is totally worth the money 😁
literally just did this exact thing. 7 teeth pulled. But there is actually good news, your Meow Meow is/was probably in lots of pain because of the teeth and when they are removed they will not hurt anymore
Good on you for taking your commitment seriously enough to use the money on a pet you've committed to taking care of! It's up to you to decide in the future if that's worth it to you, but regardless, I think you did The Right Thing™ and that's admirable!
It’s no consolation but just know I feel for you friend. Whenever I have extra money and actually think I’m gonna get to treat myself an emergency pops up.
I’ve always thought about how these things happen. I always assume it’s for a reason, something is happening soon that I’ll need the money for.
Recently I got a great refund from my school loan than I was like “I don’t need this I’ll just put it back”. Then I got a concussion at work and needed a CT scan, now here I am. Needing it.
Time to go thrifting my friend, better for your wallet and the environment anyways ✨
Good on you for putting your gummy bear first. Hate how unaffordable pet care has become as if everything else isn’t already drowning us all financially.
I’ve been saving for a new car for 5 years… I wanted to put down 1/2 so I can still afford to eat while I made payments. My deck fell apart Labor Day weekend & it couldn’t be saved. No one got hurt so I’ll take that as a win but I’ll be driving my 11 yr old car now a lot longer. Things could be worse
At least you won't have to get any more dental cleanings. For my two cats it's going to be $2200 each time. So there's that silver lining, if it makes you feel any better. KITTY says thank you
Is your cat actually named Gummy Bear? If so, maybe you brought this on yourself? Seriously, we have a toothless wonder and it cost so much but what can you do. She still bites us though 🤷♀️
i got a 18k bonus from work and a month later, my kitty decided to have an obstructing hairball on a weekend that required emergency surgery. Literally all my bonus went to it. Was mad at first but then the thought of having to say bye to her because i didn’t have the money felt even worse.
It’s common, I started purchasing pet insurance for my cats in 2016. Most people can’t afford it though unfortunately. And if you don’t get it when the pet is young without any pre-existing conditions, you’re pretty fucked
My cat recently passed but I think I was paying $65/mo for a 8 year old cat with a 90% reimbursement rate. And I think my rate was considered cheap.
Everything is better in Sweden lol
Yes, the US is very expensive when it comes to all kinds of healthcare. People are complaining veterinary care is expensive here, but it's even worse across the Atlantic.
I get a small discount on the insurance because I have all of insurances with the same company, and there's also a discount if you're a member of the union.
We got our Sage from a rescue and she was supposedly healthy. I met her at a cat cafe and looking back her stomach was a bit bloated even then. I picked her up a month later and she was very bloated with her hips sticking out at 6 months old. Had diarrhea immediately upon getting home. Turns out she had Giardia, coccidia, and tapeworms. The rescue insisted she got it from our cats somehow.
We got that taken care of, but she got sick again with different symptoms. She ended up having FIP and when all was said and done we spent around $4500 on her. She has been healthy for over a year now and I don’t regret it one bit, but it was hard using up most of our savings.
I don't know where you live. I also don't know what your financial situation is like. If you are able to however, I recommend pet insurance. I pay under 75 usd a month. I get reimbursed 90 percent of my total vet bills. I just had an emergency this week that would have cost me hundreds of dollars. Instead it was under $50 after I got reimbursed. Dental cleanings, meds, wellness exams, emergencies, I've gotten reimbursed for of all my submitted bills. 90 percent back.
Yeah it sucks, not trying to downplay that at all, but how would you be feeling if you were facing those emergencies without an extra 4k in your pocket?
Honestly I think you were blessed to have the means to fix the issues financially that came, can you imagine how much stressful of a situation you would be in if you didn’t have the money nor the means to gain the money soon enough, bad problems become worse problems if unable to be dealt with.
That so sucks. Right when you feel like you're getting ahead something happens. Thank goodness your were able to take care of these things without going into debt, though.
As someone who needs to take their cat to the vet rn, I wish I had that bonus! And if it did go into your savings, you would’ve been happy to use it for your cat :)
Make sure you get a second opinion on the teeth. Had a vet tell me my cat needed all the teeth removed and a second vet confirmed that was not needed and an insane cash grab. Cat lived another 8 years to 20 with no issues.
Now imagine that you never got that bonus and all those things happened. You would have to take money out of your savings and other accounts to pay for all those things. Not saying that what happened was a good thing (it’s bad ofc) but everything happens for a reason.
This just happened to me too. $2,000 bonus I wanted to put in the baby fund. Instead dog needs dental surgery and expensive heart testing. She’s lucky I love her so much.
I know it’s sucks but another angle is that you can be proud that you were able to cover those emergencies. It would have sucked way more not to be able to afford them.
Any clue why your cat needed to have all teeth taken out. Seems weird. Just want to make sure it's not some private equity firm wanting to money and they came up with some shit.
2 very important things. Sucks you couldn't necessarily do something for you (seriously does suck) but imagine if both those expenses came up wo that bonus.
Got a bonus in ~April for about $15k, part went in roth, the rest went towards a new door. Immediately then my water heater sprung a leak and I needed about $3k worth of plumbing done. Needed car work suddenly. Shit hit the fan at once. Lol fun stuff.
Lowkey best scenario though. Kitty is fixed up now and hopefully won't have issues. Got a new oil tank and you didn't spend a dime you already had saved. Imo that's a win win. Life throws you curveballs, but having that 4k at that exact moment was def a blessing!
Yep, spent $6k since June on my cats health issues. Been at the Emergency Vet twice for blood transfusions. Pet insurance refused to help because she tested anemic 2 yrs ago and they say it's pre-existing.
Cutie! That sucks and it’s ok to feel frustrated!
the teeth issues are so expensive. You can be grateful you made that money and also feel disappointed you didn’t get to spend it on those things. I hope kitty feels better.
Btw This is my entire life, can’t get ahead but somehow things get covered just barely. Sometimes it’s harder but sometimes there is a little help from the universe. This post reminded me to not be so hard on myself and to count those times as wins even though they feel a little lack luster. Especially hard when we see people living it up all around us 🥰
Are you sure the teeth thing was needed? had a cat they tried that predatory shit on, and it turned out it was a tumor in their throat. Fuck Private Equity.
I want to preface this by saying I understand the power of pets and the importance to people. We have as a family had dogs for ever. But, I am not paying that for teeth. sorry.
Omg gummy bear looks like a lynx point! Did you get to see the toasting? My boys nose was all black and slowly lost its color and is pink like you boy! Such a cutie
Sadly this is the way. It's like around tax return time, any service you need becomes 1000% more expensive. You have money, the Universe knows you have it, and will try to do what it can to take it away.
I can relate, OP. It seems any time I actually have a chance to get just a little bit ahead it's immediately taken away by circumstance. I've learned to hold my breath, now, any (rare) time something good happens, waiting for the inevitable clawback from the universe or whatever.
Same shit happened to me a few years ago with my Spatz, he peed out blood and we took him immediately to the vet. I just got my summer vacation check, just like you 4grand. Guess how much his vet bill was…. Yup. There went my bonus.
i feel this. first time in my life i managed to accumulate my savings, my cat got mysteriously sick and his treatment lasted around 3 weeks. completely drained my savings. brought them back up a bit over the next few months, and my cat got kidney failure and died. now i dont have my cat or the savings to pay for therapy to deal with the loss of my baby.
OP, maybe look into a home improvement loan. That way you can make needed personal purchases with your bonus, but then can stretch out your payments for your oil tank for 1 to 2 years. Or ask your oil company if they have financing/ payment plan for a new tank. Or apply for a new credit card which offers 0% interest for a full year, pay for the oil tank, and tear up the card so you're not tempted to use it to go further in debt.
I got a bonus in August. I used most of it to pay down a debt consolidation loan for medical expenses in 2024/25, ( I have cancer. Cancer’s fucking expensive) and was going to turn around and obtain a new loan to cover some new major medical expenses. ( this was all under advisement from the loan officer at the bank)
Well, they denied my new loan. So now I was out $3200 that could’ve gone directly towards my medical expenses and just keep paying the loan down monthly.
Life is funny.
I feel your pain, friend. 💜
I feel you on that. I got a $1,500 bonus (after tax) and then had a $1,700 home repair expense less than a week later. Glad I had it basically covered. Love the one lone fang hanging out, hope your cat is ok.
Friend the last two years were the first time in my 30+ years of life that I’ve earned bonuses, and both of them went to cats who suddenly declined in health and sadly passed very soon after. I had the money to ease their suffering when it was time and I was thankful to have it. Life is like that sometimes.
I can't be infuriated at all with this cute photo of your cat. Not even mildly. I get it though, I had my last bonus eaten by a windfall too. It sucks, but that's why I budget my life around my normal earning and let the bonus be a bonus or pad the landing as needed.
at least you aren’t in debt! i know it sucks, but having your baby healthy and happy without the added stress of spending money you don’t have is better in retrospect. i’m sorry you went through this but i guarantee that money will return to you very quickly.
This used to happen to me yearly. I’d get a bonus, and Dad needed something - hot water heater, steel door, dishwasher, hearing aids, car, plumbing repairs, etc.
I just got used to not keeping bonuses.
And then it happened to me. I got a rather substantial bonus one December, which went directly into old window replacements. Oh well. Better than pissing if away on a vacation with nothing to show for it.
2400$ for theeth removal is crazy. My cat needet that (I live in Germany, and have no pet insurance) and I had to pay 600€ How come this is so expensive
I'm sure you know that it was good this things happened when you could afford it. So I'll just commiserate and say that's such a bummer. We all deserve to have some extra spending money to spend on something we've been wanting. I hope extra money comes to you out of the blue and you can spend it on something fun.
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u/eyehate Sep 19 '26
I feel you. Bought a house and have been plauged with sudden catastrophes. Bought a car and it has been a parade of failures. Every money that comes my way is SWALLOWED by misadventure.
EDIT: But, you are a hero if you put your kitty before yourself. Good cat parent!