The Vet told us that his skin problem might be a reaction to the food we fed him. When we finally hit on Pedigree, all his problems vanished. Voila!
Samson doesn’t have a skin issue. We chose Purina Plus One for him after the initial Wellness Core for puppies.
Anyway, as we searched for dog food, we noticed prices. We feed our pups dry dog food. The price we paid for Science Diet dog food was $23-24 for a 20 lb. bag. After we settled on Pedigree, we now pay $17 for a 17 lb. bag of Pedigree at Walmart. Better food for our pup and for our budget. Nice.
That little exercise really got me thinking how much prices have gone up. A little research revealed that back in the 70s when the kids were young, a bag of Gravy Train dog food was something closer to $2.00, possibly less.
Maybe the kids remember our Elm Street place. It wasn't lavish by any means, but it was a nice home. I think it was $16,000 although I may be off. It's hard to remember. Anyway, my first job paid me about $600 a month. This wasn't big money, but enough. I bought a car back then for about $2,000 and a loaf of bread was 20 cents. I sometimes took the kids to the day-old bread store and got our bread for less along with some sweet treats. I think they liked that.
That was roughly 40 years ago. A similar 3-bedroom 2-bath house today might be 10 times more, about $160,000; a car today averages 10 times the 70s price, say about $20,000; and a loaf of bread averages $2.00 (again 10 times what it was in the 70s).
Given the trend of inflation, the dollar, in 20 years might have a terrible impact. It's reasonable to estimate that the cost of basic necessities is going to be 5 to 10 times what it is today. Not 10% more. Ten times more. Even 5 times more is a real wake-up call.
But what if it is only 2 times more? This means that if you pay $1,000 a month for food and utilities in 2012 -- you will pay $2,000 a month for the same food and utilities in 2032 when your income may be lower than it is now.
Speaking of income, your paycheck may keep up depending on your job. It may not. As you pass 50 years old, average workers tend to head toward earning less.
Social Security Income. Don't count on social security and medicare (if it's still around): When you reach full retirement age of 67, 70 or 72, it will most likely pay less.
Avoid Eating Dog Food in Retirement
If you don't have a healthy amount of money put aside for retirement — saved for the last 20 or 30 years of your life — you could be buying that 17 lb. bag of dog food for your Sunday dinner, unless you can't even afford that
Face facts. If you don't have a healthy amount of money put aside for retirement — saved for the last 20 or 30 years of your life — you could be buying that 17 lb. bag of dog food for your Sunday dinner, unless you can't even afford that.