Have you ever seen a puppy online that was just so cute that you wanted it to be yours instantly? With that cute little nose, little floppy ears, and loving puppy-dog eyes, it’s just so hard to resist! Well, I never thought that I’d be saying this, but I couldn’t resist it anymore either. My wife and I are now the proud owners of a little Yorkie puppy named Lucy.
Financial Benefit?
For those of you that have been following this site for a while, you know that every decision I make is based on financials. If an endeavor does not benefit me financially, I simply never choose it!
For once in my life, I have made a decision with my heart, and not with my financially clogged mind. This Yorkie has absolutely no financial benefit, and yet, if I had to make the decision again, I would still choose to make her a part of this home.
The Full Story of Our New Puppy
My wife has been wanting a puppy of her own since she was a little kid, and I always wanted a dog as well. Since we’ve been married, we’ve often talked about a dog, but never pulled the trigger because we were either strapped financially or we were living in a rental property that wasn’t our own! As of August, we finally own a house and have a yard for a dog to run and play!
Since Mrs. LAMF recently found her dream job , we have more than enough cashflow (when adding in my day-job and side gigs) to take care of our mortgage in 4 years or less AND we could afford the puppy.
Christmas Surprise
While I had secretly been considering a puppy, Mrs. LAMF figured that it wouldn’t be happening for a while yet (since we’re not quite finished with our house yet). This seemed like the perfect situation for a surprise! 
On Monday, I found the perfect little puppy online. It didn’t have the $1,000+ price tag on it like many of them did, and no other Yorkie could match her cute face! I knew instantly that this was the puppy for Mrs. LAMF, and I had to jump on it because of the cheap price.
So, on Wednesday morning, I asked my boss if I could take a half-day (while showing her the cute puppy face of course) to truck across the state and bring this puppy home. Of course, she said yes, and I was on my way to St. Charles!
The trip was successful and I made it home in time to put a note on the door which said, “Hi Sweetie, I got you an early Christmas present. Come look under the tree. — Derek”
My wife came in the door a few minutes after, not knowing what the note was all about. When she walked into the living room and saw her “gift” under the tree, she absolutely flipped out. She loved it!
Here’s a photo soon after their first bonding experience!
Don’t Be Afraid to Make Those Memories
It took me quite a while to learn this, but sometimes you just have to make decisions with your heart and create those lasting memories. Sure, you won’t earn any money on your “investment”, but relationships and fond recollections can often outweigh the dollar signs!
Please take what I’m saying to heart, but also, if you don’t have any money, do NOT go out and buy a puppy! First, you must wait until you are financially secure (my wife and I waited 2.5 years for this moment), then you can start splurging on those memorable moments (as long as they don’t interfere with your long-term plans).
Have you been making memories? If yes, then how so? And, did it break the bank?
Very cute puppy. Congrats.
cashflowmantra recently posted..A Stock Dividend Plan for 2012
Thanks CFM. I’m sure we’ll love her for many years!
Financially speaking, pets increase happiness and good health leading. Statistics show that pet owners live longer so in my eyes a pet or too is a financially sound decision unless you have too many pets as pet ownership is not frugal at all! Enjoy that sweet thing! She is all kinds of cute!
Carrie Hetu recently posted..Refried Beans
I guess you’re right about that! I never even thought about the quality of my health! That makes this purchase sound a little more reasonable. Thanks!
Oh wow I need more coffee this morn! I didn’t even complete a sentence! I meant leading to a longer life span!
Carrie Hetu recently posted..Refried Beans
Don’t worry about it Carrie. We all figured it out.
Congratulations! Your puppy is adorable, and even though you’ll be spending a lot of money on her in the first year, she’s well worth the return in happiness!
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She is a cutie. Luckily, she already has most of her de-wormings and initial shots, so the future costs shouldn’t be too much. But, I guess we’ll just have to see!
This must be the best Christmas gift, ever! Has the cutie got a name yet?
My wife was pretty happy about it! The puppy’s name is Lucille Christmas (we call her Lucy for short).
Congrats on the new addition, she is adorable. Supposedly hey don’t get much bigger as they get older so she should remain fairly small and portable for some time
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I think Lucy will get up to about 5 pounds, so she shouldn’t be too much of a handful. She’ll stay small and cute for many years.
We scored our dog for free through a family friend, but we’ve spent plenty of money on him in the two years we’ve had him. He is so much a part of our family it’s hard to imagine life without him in it! Congrats on the new addition to your family!
I doubt you will ever regret this purchase
Newlyweds on a Budget recently posted..Rich and single or Poor and In Love?
Free dogs are always a good find, and yes, they do cost money, but they make some great memories!! I don’t think I’ll ever regret it either.
Our puppy was about the same size, until she grew into a 60 pound thrashing machine, hole digging, carpet destroying, wild animal. So wild the kids could never even come close to bonding. Hound mix, she had to go back to the SPCA and was adopted by another family. I’m sure you’ll have a better experience.
Hunter – Financially Consumed recently posted..Know Before You Owe – Credit Cards
60 pounds?!? Haha, I don’t think our dog will get past 5 pounds. I really hope she’ll be a nice, calm dog….nothing like the experience that you’ve had.
Derek some things cannot be viewed from a financial perspective because they are priceless. For example when you crawl home a ‘hell day’ at work and open the door and there is your little puppy wagging her tail and just so full of joy that you are home….priceless
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Awww. That’s true. I come home for lunch every day right now to let her out, and it’s always a blast to see her.
Great early Christmas gift and well done on the execution of the surprise! We have two little busybodies that provide us something to giggle at every day.
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Haha! Yep, this puppy of ours makes us giggle too. Although, I will be glad when she learns that our kitchen floor is not her personal toilet….
Just be glad she is not a Saint Bernard! Believe me have both huge and tiny dogs over my years……..a yorkie’s mess is soooooooooo much nicer to clean up! LOL
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Although I would prefer NO mess, a yorkie mess is probably much better than a St. Bernard mess. I guess I should count my blessings on that one.
That puppy is adorable! And it was good to wait until you had your own house with a yard. That’s what I’m doing. I just can’t add a dog into my home until we own it. (Oh, and I don’t think my cats would appreciate it either
)
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Yep. I’m glad we waited until we were in a house. It’s great to be able to let her out into the yard rather than walk around with a baggie….
Awesome gift. I’m hoping you didn’t stuff the poor thing into a box under the tree. Wouldn’t exactly be a warm welcome.
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Ha! She was in a box under the tree, but don’t worry, there was no lid.
What a cute puppy! I’m thinking of getting a dog myself but they are so expensive! I will wait until I have more saved.
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They are expensive initially, but after the puppy years, I don’t think the expenses are really that bad (I guess I’ll find out…hopefully I don’t have to eat my words).
Awesome – My Fiancee and I both say that our dog was the best thing we’ve bought!
Haha! I hope we end up saying the same thing. This afternoon, I wouldn’t have said that as I was picking up poop off the floor and getting my fingers bitten off…. but, we’re teaching her well and she will soon be a well-trained dog.
Your puppy is so cute! We have actually been looking at fostering to help free up some space for other rescues. We should have something in place soon. I agree with Ellie too. Sometimes you just have to live life and enjoy things and not always put a financial spin on it. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed not just balanced in the checkbook.
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She is adorable. I love coming home to her cute face! Plus, she is super smart and already learning tons of new things! I’m glad I made this decision with my heart instead of my head.
Aww! Very cute, congrats!
Thanks! I’m so excited today, she’s already learning how to sit!
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Congratualtions on your new family memeber!
If we made all of our decisions based on finances, no one would have kids, let alone pets, and yet they bring so much joy to our lives, they are worth every penny.
A few comments from a “veteran” dog owner- I hope you don’t mind.
Yorkies aren’t exactly known for being “calm” dogs. Make sure you socialize her at every opportunity- with people and other animals.
Make her walk on her own four feet. Dogs who are carried everywhere tend to have more behavioral problems, including biting. (And no, she can’t do as much damage as a big dog, but that doesn’t mean someone couldn’t sue you.)
Get in a puppy class. It’s not for her, it’s for you. Consistency is the key!
You’re a PF blogger, so maybe you’ve got this, but if not- start a pet fund. Some years it will just be shots and the annual checkup. And then one year, she’ll get stung by a bee, leading to inflamed salivary glands, aspirations and biopsies to make sure it’s not cancer, antibiotics and antiinflammatories, and all of this costing over $1k and this is before deciding whether or not surgery is the right option… (okay, maybe that scenario is just my 2.5y/o Beagle, but it doesn’t matter what, things come up).
But mostly, enjoy your new little girl. She will bring you and your wife years and years of joy, and in the end, you’ll wonder how anyone ever put a price on her.
shanendoah@the dog ate my wallet recently posted..Volunteer- From the Comfort of your Computer Chair
Thanks for all the great tips shanendoah! I am beginning to train Lucy already and she’s a pretty smart puppy! She already learned to sit and we’re working on “lay down”.
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hope she was from a breeder who ofa’d, showed, paid attention to bloodlines etc. she is sweet but all puppies are and people online aren’t always bad, but i am only concerned for you and lucy in the future… financially and health-wise. money spent on a dog bred for show, good temperament, and as few diseases in the line is a huge financial factor and well worth it though no puppy can have a health guarantee, i hope you do understand. a puppy bred with thousands of dollars put into it and never breaking even is when the breeder is only doing it for the right reasons. wishing for many years of happiness to come with lucy.
Lucy has been incredibly healthy so far, and I have no concerns for her health in the future. I appreciate the advice though!
Nice gift, really cute puppy
How is she now? I am sure you have lot of fun with her 
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Lucy is still doing great! She’s actually standing on my stomach right now as I write this comment! She’s spunky, and is very smart! Still working on that potty training though….