Money, Macaws and Friends

[Birdman666]

I am laughing at this topic somehow. It's not 'funny' really but I guess part of me just has to laugh....at the disillusionment of adult reality.


I have always been pretty solidly "middle class". We never had a lot of money or stuff but we were never without what we needed. But I was actually "the smart one" in my family, school came easy to me, and I grew up in a region where I was constantly among rather well-off families. (DeLorean used to go to my church and we sat a few seats from each other.....plenty of big money all around me in my youth). I think I believed that if you are smart and work hard, it just "happens". Like you magically have a "good job" and make money and buy a Maserati. HAHAHA you naïve kid.


Yeah so many years of working, in my 40s, trying to be as practical as possible and feeling LUCKY with good health and job opportunities and I am STILL just a middle class chick scraping by, trying to pay off debts. Such is life.

I never wanted a Maserati, and I don't begrudge my boss for getting his... (It's the cutting everyone else to get his part I find distasteful!)

I never expected to be rich, but like you, I always figured I'd be able to make ends meet, live comfortably (so long as I didn't do anything stupid!) and be able to provide a nice life for my kid. I've never been a money grubber. But in the past five years I have gone so far backwards, that I am honestly on the brink of not making it anymore... and that's the part that gets to me.

Money only matters when there is not enough of it to make ends meet, and you can no longer do the simple things you enjoy...

When I asked my boss for a raise (after the $12 M payday!) he suggested I could save money by selling off my birds! (Trust me, I had some choice words, that I screamed in the car on the way home... and thus avoided getting myself fired on the spot!)

So, it's really just the frustration factor. Five years of this is a long time. There has to be something better out there... but what, and where?!

 

[Birdman666]

Exactly why I made sure my first kid graduated college debt free. But the market is tough so he's working at trader joes. However, he likes it and he has no debt.... And he has nothing but wonderful things to say about San Diego.

San Diego's a very fun town! I have some very good memories of that place... (I did a three week trial there once, ended up dating the night manager of the hotel I stayed at!) Then again, I am a surfer boy at heart, so it's my kinda place...

 

[henpecked]

Oh man do i need to stay out of this one.

 

[Abigal7]

Well if money is tight then you are making the right decision in not getting a macaw. I know my first responsibility is to pay my monthly bills that keep things like a roof over my head and food on the table (that includes food for the animals). It is one big reason I got a mini macaw and did not try to get a large one. Any one with children that have a degree as a engineer etc might consider moving to another part of America or another country to get a job. I hate for people to be far away fro love ones but no one owes the top people in America anything. My dad works in a nuclear power planet (he is lucky that he was a smart person born in the right time frame to get a job at one and work his way up). It is no doubt not a easy job. I know he has planned in his mind to leave America and work in another country. It is sad that he will be so far away but reality is it is the Ceos, politicians, the big rich people that are causing such people to do this. My cousin is a engineer (He loves mountains and all of the out doors). To be honest I know he would not be afraid to move but one thing that is keeping him in America is that his mother is alive.

 

[Abigal7]

I am laughing at this topic somehow. It's not 'funny' really but I guess part of me just has to laugh....at the disillusionment of adult reality.


I have always been pretty solidly "middle class". We never had a lot of money or stuff but we were never without what we needed. But I was actually "the smart one" in my family, school came easy to me, and I grew up in a region where I was constantly among rather well-off families. (DeLorean used to go to my church and we sat a few seats from each other.....plenty of big money all around me in my youth). I think I believed that if you are smart and work hard, it just "happens". Like you magically have a "good job" and make money and buy a Maserati. HAHAHA you naïve kid.


Yeah so many years of working, in my 40s, trying to be as practical as possible and feeling LUCKY with good health and job opportunities and I am STILL just a middle class chick scraping by, trying to pay off debts. Such is life.

I never wanted a Maserati, and I don't begrudge my boss for getting his... (It's the cutting everyone else to get his part I find distasteful!)

I never expected to be rich, but like you, I always figured I'd be able to make ends meet, live comfortably (so long as I didn't do anything stupid!) and be able to provide a nice life for my kid. I've never been a money grubber. But in the past five years I have gone so far backwards, that I am honestly on the brink of not making it anymore... and that's the part that gets to me.

Money only matters when there is not enough of it to make ends meet, and you can no longer do the simple things you enjoy...

When I asked my boss for a raise (after the $12 M payday!) he suggested I could save money by selling off my birds! (Trust me, I had some choice words, that I screamed in the car on the way home... and thus avoided getting myself fired on the spot!)

So, it's really just the frustration factor. Five years of this is a long time. There has to be something better out there... but what, and where?!

You were wise not to say anything to him. Funny thing is he probably has hobbies that are even more expensive then taking care of birds. I know you make your own toys etc to cut cost of caring for your birds. He may think differently if he knew birds get attracted to their owners like cats and dogs and that your birds are probably set in their ways. I also think he can not expect you to sell them cheaply or give them away for free since he most likely would never sell something that is nice for a cheap price.

 

[MrsKay]

I cannot imagine someone suggesting you sell something that you love and brings so much joy into your life. I think it is a selfish thought!
I don't believe someone like that will ever be satisfied or enjoy the kind of relationship you have with your pets. Incapable. They miss sooooo much!
I admire you for having the strength to do the right thing for yourself and your loved ones by holding your tongue at the appropriate time.
I believe in Karma, and you will be rewarded in more ways than one

 

[Colorguarder08]

Its not just my generation (I'm 24) who make poor budgeting decisions. My dad went all month last month without any groceries in his house instead he went out to eat at least once a week but complained everyday about having no food in the house. Whenever I have extra money I put it towards getting ahead on bills or buying extra dog and now bird food so as when I'm not making as much I won't have to worry as much. Growing up and there were times there was a gallon of milk in the fridge made me very determined to never experience it again. I know my dad did the best he could raising my brother and my by himself and with me having 9 surgeries I'm sure it made money tight but it still helped shaped the way I view people putting wants before needs

 

[joecomello1]

there is no need to pay 2000-4000 for a macaw
up keep cost on a macaw is no more then that of a large dog in fact I think I have spent more on my dog then I have my macaw
dog vet 55 x2 advantage $60 every 3 months 75lb dog food a month $48 dog tags $15

macaw
food $25 a month fresh fruit and nuts $35 a month vet $60 toys $60 (I make most myself out of scrap wood blocks $0)new perch $35 mineral $6
dog $941 last year plus toys and treats
macaw $881 with toys and treats

 

[thekarens]

there is no need to pay 2000-4000 for a macaw
up keep cost on a macaw is no more then that of a large dog in fact I think I have spent more on my dog then I have my macaw
dog vet 55 x2 advantage $60 every 3 months 75lb dog food a month $48 dog tags $15

macaw
food $25 a month fresh fruit and nuts $35 a month vet $60 toys $60 (I make most myself out of scrap wood blocks $0)new perch $35 mineral $6
dog $941 last year plus toys and treats
macaw $881 with toys and treats

Where the op lives b&gs go for 5k. Then there's the cage, which will go between 6 to 1k. I don't know where you get your vet, but I've never seen a certified avian vet that cheap, not to mention the tests that should be run on any bird brought into the home. And I don't see any way you could get a away with only spending $6 a week on fresh fruit and veggies and nuts.

 

[joecomello1]

a large part of me last posting was deleted because I posted a craigslist link about free macaws in Sydney
the point I was trying to make was that you don't have to spend 2000-4000 for a macaw they can range any were from free to 200-300 if you take your time and do some home work
and that it really don't cost more then a large dog to take care of
the main cost of owning a macaw is time and love and if you can afford that for the next 25-30 years as they have such a long life span

 

[tab_xo]

Joe ^

In Australia, where the poster lives, and myself, you will NEVER find a macaw less than 4000 dollars

Which in my opinion is a good thing, because we have seen how many macaws end up in rescues in other countries, at least people do their research in Australia before buying them!

Any macaw which is even listed for 2000 dollars or less will be a scam haha



Forgive me if i am wrong! But in Australia, the parents don't have to pay for university/college?


Don't we have that hecs debt thing.. So the student is the one who pays back the loan when they are earning so much a year?


I know i have added up like 6000 dollars so far this year in my studies.. My parents haven't paid for a thing except for my textbooks (which i find cheap second hand)..

My mum says i will pay back the university costs once i am employed ?


So Kinny- at least, maybe in however many years, you won't have to worry about your kids university education and you can start saving for your macaw!!

Who knows, in a few years, the macaw prices might have dropped a fair amount as well!


I remember a few years ago, they were 7500 for a b&g, and now they are 5000!


Sorry i haven't read all the pages of this thread, just the first.. and the university costs just came to mind!

 

[JerseyWendy]

a large part of me last posting was deleted because I posted a craigslist link about free macaws in Sydney
...

A large part? The ONLY thing that was deleted was the CL ad, which are against Forum Rules.

 

[Birdman666]

TAB:

The cost of a decent college university education here is now about $80,000.00...

And unless you get a scholarship to help defer that cost, you have to finance it through student loans. Student loans debt follows you for life. And the interest rates are like Mortgages on a home, only HIGHER!

Those that can least afford to do it, END UP PAYING MORE FOR THEIR EDUCATION! Sometimes prohibitively more, and right now, they are graduating university to find no jobs, and their student loan payments coming due.

Imagine starting life off $80,000 in the hole, and trying to pay that back working some menial job for $10.00 per hour... Then getting labeled a "deadbeat" and having credit problems the rest of your life because you were unable to pay that back! It's what is happening to our young people right now...

 

[Birdman666]

oh man do i need to stay out of this one.

too many wild nights in san diego, eh?! :d

 

[Birdman666]

[
You were wise not to say anything to him. Funny thing is he probably has hobbies that are even more expensive then taking care of birds. I know you make your own toys etc to cut cost of caring for your birds. He may think differently if he knew birds get attracted to their owners like cats and dogs and that your birds are probably set in their ways. I also think he can not expect you to sell them cheaply or give them away for free since he most likely would never sell something that is nice for a cheap price.

Well, his thing is skiing and hunting. He just bought a 2.5 million dollar second home in Colorado, to fly into for skiing purposes...

And a Maserati. He bought the Gulf Stream a few years back, because flying commercial is inconvenient and for commoners... (not successful people.)

His wife wanted a nice beach house, not a mountain retreat. So, to shut her up, he bought one of those too! Spent close to a million on that one as well...

But, my birds are eating me out of house and home... (it had nothing to do with taking a 42% pay cut 5 years ago!) and I have a spending problem!

 

[tab_xo]

Yes that is what i thought.. The cost is alot more in America than Australia! Like i was saying, we don't pay anything up front, it just all gets collected that the student pays back when they start working..

So parents don't have to hand out 20 000+ for their kids to get into their degree!


I guess being in Australia, and studying to be a paramedic is a very good career.. We are needing more paramedics..

2nd year students are getting part time work already, and third year students have full time jobs..

Our instructors are saying by the time we are third year, there will still be jobs available for every student which finishes.. So at least i won't have to worry about searching for a job once the degree is over!




That being said, i was just very lucky that my mum purchased me the 5000 dollar macaw who is asleep above me at the moment hahaha


I would love a hyacinth, but i would never pay the 100 000 dollar price tag, because that is an insane amount of money which could be a house payment!


But, as more and more people are breeding macaws, the cheaper they are becoming..

Realistically, in a few years time the prices should be more affordable!

I think there should be a test for parrot owners to see if they are able to own a bird or not..

It is the people who can't afford them who are usually the ones who make better parronts..

This man my father works with has ALOT of money.. He saw Fargo and said- I want to buy one of those, they would look beautiful in my house..

Once again, a rich person wanting something fancy to show off.. -_-

 

[Birdman666]

Don't tell me, let me guess: Fargo matches his curtains!

Yeah... seen that one a few times.

Hys here are $10 grand or so, which is still prohibitively expensive in my book.

And you know what?! Could there possibly be a bird out there that is more bonded to you than Fargo?! I mean, that bird is as mushy as they come, and as well behaved as they get...

Just like I wouldn't trade the bond I have with my GW Maggie for anything...

She's MY bird! What more could you ask for?! Who needs status when you have that kind of love and interaction?! Status is just BS anyway! Someone who is going to be impressed, and be around me, by something that has "status" is pretty friggin' shallow... and not the sort of person I would hang out with...

 

[Birdman666]

I cannot imagine someone suggesting you sell something that you love and brings so much joy into your life. I think it is a selfish thought!
I don't believe someone like that will ever be satisfied or enjoy the kind of relationship you have with your pets. Incapable. They miss sooooo much!
I admire you for having the strength to do the right thing for yourself and your loved ones by holding your tongue at the appropriate time.
I believe in Karma, and you will be rewarded in more ways than one

It was never on the agenda. And these are not animal people. These are wealthy redneck hunters...

I can't imagine spending big money to go out in the woods, sit in a deer blind and drink beer, and then shoot something just to watch it fall...

As I said, same planet, different worlds.

I need to do something else with my life. This is my wake up call.

 

[joecomello1]

Where the op lives b&gs go for 5k. Then there's the cage, which will go between 6 to 1k. I don't know where you get your vet, but I've never seen a certified avian vet that cheap, not to mention the tests that should be run on any bird brought into the home. And I don't see any way you could get a away with only spending $6 a week on fresh fruit and veggies and nuts

after reading op post I did some looking in austral and found 4 b&g for less then $600 two of them were free 2 of them came with cages I don't know how far away they are or any details but the point I was hoping to convey to her there was hope not to give up
my vet is and always has been crow wild life sanctuary and they charge me $60 they have also given me 2 b&g rescues
as far as fruit nut and veg. I may be a little off on my numbers but not by vary much I buy these things every week for the family but do the math 5-6 grapes 2-3 cherry's ect don't add up to a whole lot come the end of the week
I could give him more food but it would end up at the bottom of the cage

 

[joecomello1]

wow really $4000 I never realized how luck I was I have taken in and rehomed 7 blue and gold's I never paid any thing for them they were rescues and special need birds I found good homes for them my ex has one and of curse I still have my max
my dad sells them for $1200 each and I thought that was a lot as I see so many for less then half that that need good homes I cant wrap my head around $4000 wow