First year costs

I thought it would be kind of cool to track how much having a puppy costs. I read an article in the paper recently that listed the yearly costs of pets. I'm not sure how much I agree with it, but here are their findings.

Dog - $695
Cat - $670
Rabbit - $730
Small bird - $200
Fish - $35

I know it obviously will vary with everyone, but $730 for a rabbit?! The largest cost for a rabbit was litter (which was over double what they averaged for a cat) - anyone ever heard of shredded up newspaper?! Also, I apparently don't spoil my kitties enough because I think I spend about half what they averaged!

I also know that this first year with Mia will be more expensive than an average year, with all of her start-up costs. So for my amusement, I will track "her" spending. So far I have spent $403.78. After graphing the "essentials" vs. "non-essentials" $397.24 was for essentials (adoption fees, medical, food, crates, bedding, toys, treats, etc.) and only $6.54 was for non-essentials (c'mon, she really needed those two bandannas and jacket and they were all on clearance!). Eventually I will put up some sort of spreadsheet for an easy-to-read way for you all to see just how high maintenance my little princess is :)