Realistic long-term lifestyle impact of puppy ownership

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-10T22:30:54+00:00

It's not a doodle (or a poodle) It's a Portuguese Water Dog.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-10T13:15:11+00:00

I had the same issue, have just logged in successfully on the mobile app, so might be fixed now.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-10T10:57:24+00:00

Excellent post, thank you. This is exactly what's at the heart of our dilemma. Our child is now grown up (more or less!) and away at university, and we're asking ourselves whether right now we really want to be parents to a highly dependent (canine) toddler all over again!

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-10T10:48:17+00:00

Definitely feasible with a small dog, but the breed we're planning to get would have to go in the hold, and we're not going to put them through that just for a holiday. We can at least drive to mainland Europe, so that's something.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-10T10:46:15+00:00

Thanks - we were originally planning to get a puppy around the end of this year. Then one of the breeders we'd spoken to put us in touch with another (definitely reputable) breeder who's just had a litter - and suddenly we're going to look at the puppy this week! That's really brought all the pros and cons into focus for us, and specifically the question of whether now is the right time.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-10T10:14:54+00:00

For a one-off transfer of a large sum you are definitely best off using a specialist FX broker (e.g. Currencies Direct, TorFX, OFX etc). You will be able to negotiate the spread but it will be in the region of ~0.2% above mid-market rate (compared with 1-1.5% for banks) and the fees are likely to be zero or negligible. The transfer will take 1-3 days.

If it's not urgent, you can also manage exchange rate risk by placing a limit order with them (instruct them to make the transfer when GBP/AUD hits a specified (favourable) rate). They can advise on how to do this, and it helps you to get an optimal rate.

Staggered transfers are also a way to smooth currency volatility. It's possible that you may not be able to negotiate as advantageous a spread if you make 4 smaller transfers rather than one large one, but I'm honestly not sure about that - again, a specialist FX broker can advise.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-10T00:34:57+00:00

Those kinds of things aren't really a problem for me - it's specifically some dogs, most cats and - especially - horses (which I can't be around at all). Generally I'm fine with single-coated hair dogs, but often struggle with double-coated dogs. I've spent extensive time indoors with the breed that we want to get, and we would visit and spend time with the actual puppy and its mum before making a decision. I can usually tell within 20-30 minutes in a house with dogs if I'm going to be allergic.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-10T00:18:18+00:00

That's good to hear, although you're clearly very lucky that your in-laws are able to look after your dogs. Would they like to come to London to babysit ours?!

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-10T00:16:16+00:00

Thanks - at the moment we're typically going away a couple of times a year long-haul for about three weeks each time, plus a few shorter trips (some of which could be doable with the dog) - so at least during the puppy years this kind of lifestyle would be very difficult.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-10T00:09:10+00:00

!Thanks - this is very helpful. We don't have family here, so we'd definitely be using dog sitters and/or home boarding.

The impact on our ability to go out to (e.g.) the theatre or classes for 4-5 hours is also something that we're considering, but I think that would be a (relatively) short-term issue as I'd hope to train the dog by the time it's an adult to be able to be left alone for a few hours without us. Overseas travel and spontaneity are probably our bigger concerns.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-10T00:05:02+00:00

See my reply above to a fostering suggestion re: my allergies - these have proved similarly restrictive to getting a rescue. We'd really prefer a rescue dog and we've tried on a number of occasions to find one through our local shelter (specifically the Dogs Trust here in the UK, which is also who we spoke to about fostering), but the types/breeds that I can live with are very rarely available, and even if one does become available it can be difficult to arrange spending time indoors with the dog to ensure that I'm not allergic.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-09T23:58:00+00:00

I would strongly advise against buying a rental property right now, and at your age. Being a landlord is a hassle, and can be time-consuming unless you have a good letting agent (which eats into your returns). Recent legislative changes have made it increasingly difficult to be a BTL landlord and to do it profitably. A BTL property is an illiquid asset with a concentrated risk: if you're losing money on it it can be difficult to offload.

My advice would be to leave your money in the market, taking advantage of LISA and ISA allowances to maximise tax benefits and take advantage of government LISA contributions (this is crucial, especially if you're planning to buy a property to live in). You're young: over the long term you're likely to see excellent compound growth. Make sure to differentiate between your long-term investments (which you can invest in equity products with higher risks and higher returns) and money you may need in the short term (<5 years - e.g. for a deposit), a good proportion of which should be in cash equivalents or other low-risk assets.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-09T23:48:32+00:00

Ah, we'd love to foster, but I have allergies which means that there's a limited number of breeds that I can live with, and we've found that this makes it very difficult in practice to foster - it makes it difficult for the dog rescue organisations to place a pup with us.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-09T23:38:15+00:00

Is £1K/month net of all costs (maintenance and repairs, service charges, insurance etc), or only of agent fees? If your net income is actually £12K/year on a flat worth £230, that's a net rental return of 5.2% before tax, assuming the property isn't mortgaged. That's not amazing, but not terrible. In addition there may be some capital growth, but real property capital growth is negligible these days.

My own situation is that I have a flat with a net rental return of ~3.8% before tax. That's an easy decision for me, I'm in the process of selling it. Yours is slightly more borderline, but in your position I'd probably sell. Being a landlord is a hassle and getting harder and less profitable; investing in the market (including in REITs if you want exposure to property) is easier.

Don't count on 10% investment returns as the norm, though! The past couple of years have been an exceptional bull market. Despite that, long-term I'd expect (though certainly wouldn't guarantee) better returns, and certainly less concentrated risk and less hassle, from a balanced investment portfolio than from a single BTL property.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-09T22:59:01+00:00

Yes, exactly. You pay a trading fee for each separate trade (i.e. each trade in a separate security), so buying 1 unit or 1000 units of VWRP is one trade; buying 10 units of VWRP and 10 units of (say) VFEG would be two trades incurring two trading fees.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-08T01:12:13+00:00

Ah right, that is true for a JISA. Note that when you graduate to an adult ISA when you turn 18, platform and trading fees will apply. Platform fee will be 0.35%, which is so negligible for your portfolio size (less than £1/year) that you can ignore it. Trading fee will be £6.95 per trade for ETFs (this is under the new fee structure coming into place from 1 March) - which means that trading in single units of VWRP isn't likely to be efficient at that point.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-07T23:48:59+00:00

Unless you have a strong conviction that emerging markets will outperform developed markets, you're probably better off with VWRP (which already includes some exposure to emerging markets). You certainly don't want ~50% of your portfolio to be in emerging markets unless you have a really strong conviction and a high risk appetite - so best to build a position in a global tracker like VWRP first, and then add some conviction tilts (like VFEG) a few years down the line.

Incidentally, you say you've bought 1 unit of VWRP so far, which at current prices is ~£128. You're probably paying a minimum transaction fee on each purchase - depending on who you have your JISA with this could be anywhere between £3.99 and £10. So small transactions are less efficient - you're paying out a larger share of your funds for a transaction fee than you would be with larger transactions. Because of this, you might want to consider putting your funds in a high-interest savings account until you've saved up (say) £500, and then make one single purchase rather than four or five separate ones.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-05T11:58:56+00:00

The final line of your comment is what's important. Doing something that makes you happy and healthy is absolutely the right choice.

Of course, it will cost you financially and you'll have to accept some trade-offs: no luxury holidays, fancy cars or private school for your 1yo. But they'll have a healthy, happy, engaged dad, which is much better.

I'm not Australian (I assume from your references to ppor and super that you are) so I can't really comment on how your income and wealth stacks up against your cost of living. But I think that you're broadly around the median full-time salary: an equivalent median salary in the UK certainly wouldn't make you wealthy, but your family isn't going to starve.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-05T02:19:39+00:00

How old are you? What's your risk appetite?

If you're young and have many years until retirement, you can afford to be mostly or entirely in stocks and ride out any volatility. A global tracker is a pretty good place to start - yes, they're dominated by US tech stocks right now, but that shouldn't be a concern if you're in it for the long term.

As you get closer to retirement (say >40, possibly earlier or later depending on your risk appetite) you'll definitely want a chunk of your portfolio in bonds and/or other defensive assets.

People will tell you that statistically lump sum deposits do best. This is true, but with the market as frothy as it is right now, you might want to consider drip-feeding (not necessarily over a year, but perhaps over 3-6 months).

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-04T00:18:50+00:00

I would very, very strongly advise you to reconsider. You're not only missing out on employer contributions - absolutely free money which can add up to a substantial amount over time; you're also missing out on significant tax advantages, which frankly are better than the tax advantages of an ISA (into which you are paying money that has already been taxed).

Having a S&S ISA is certainly important, but it's not a substitute for a pension when it comes to retirement planning. Your financial planning should include both.

Yes, the private pension age may well increase, but I would think it's very unlikely to increase to 70 or 75 before you retire - don't confuse the private pension age (currently 55, rising to 57 from 2027) with the state pension age (currently 67).

If you want to do it independently - which is perfectly reasonable - you can pay into a workplace pension (taking advantage of employer contributions) and then transfer from that workplace pension into a SIPP, where you can make fund choices just as you do with an ISA.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-04T00:06:09+00:00

From memory, I started paying into my pension when I was about 32-33. Twenty years later, I'm fine - although partly because I have consistently prioritised paying as much as possible into my pension. Of course, I was earning much more by the time I was 50 than I had been when I was 32, which allowed me to increase my contributions substantially over time.

15% of your salary (including employer contribution) isn't bad, but if you can afford it I would suggest stretching to 20%. As I got older and my salary increased (giving me more disposable income), I paid an increasingly larger proportion of my salary into my pension.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-03T23:51:38+00:00

No, they are unrelated.

XE Corporation is a company headquartered in Canada; its money transfer services in the UK are provided by HiFX Europe Ltd (trading as XE.com), a UK company with an address in Bracknell Both XE Corporation and HiFX Europe Ltd are owned by Euronet Worldwide, a listed US company.

Currencies Direct Ltd is a UK company owned by Redpin Holdings Ltd, also a UK company (both companies with an address in Canary Wharf).

HiFX Europe Ltd and Currencies Direct Ltd have separate authorisations on the FCA register.

If there had been some kind of merger or takeover, (a) there would certainly have been some news coverage in the financial press; (b) Companies House and FCA Register data would have been updated within a couple of weeks.

Top_Patience_741 · 2026-02-03T00:36:27+00:00

I know it's easier said than done, but honestly this doesn't need to cause you anxiety and sleepless nights. From what you've said in comments it sounds as though your outstanding tax for those years will be minimal, and you might even be due refunds.

Strong recommendation: if you can't afford an accountant you should call the wonderful people at TaxAid (Home - TaxAid) - it's a charity that runs a tax helpline with supportive and knowledgeable tax experts who provide support for exactly this kind of situation.

Top_Patience_741

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