Petsmart jobs

So I’m autistic(as it seems many of us are) and I’ve been loving petsmart so far. It’s been a few months so luckily I’ve been getting put on pet care more often but I struggle sometimes with getting overstimulated when I’m on register. It gets hard to hear customers when my head is spinning from dogs barking, other customers speaking, and register system noises. I can still do my job but I end up making more mistakes, putting in numbers wrong, and being a little short with customers, not being able to make as much small talk and possibly coming off as blunt. I’ve had no complaints from management, I know I’m still one of the best and most hardworking employees out of the people in my store, but it can get exhausting with all of the noise in the front especially when there isn’t another cashier so I can’t leave to do other things around the store. Does anyone have tips?

Hi everyone! To briefly introduce myself, I kept bettas as a young child the way most parents gave them to their kids, although somehow they managed to all live for many years. A few years ago, when I was probably around 14, I invested a good deal of money into keeping some simple fish the right way, but they kept dying despite trying my best and I was never successful. I've just started a job at PetSmart and it rekindled my love for fish. I'd really love to get another betta, but I want to do it right this time.
I'm looking at getting a 7.1 gallon glass tank from a place called Buceplant, as well as a lid for it. I want to make it naturalistic and have an assortment of plants and good substrate, as well as some shrimp for a clean up crew. However, despite my research, I really have no idea where to start with filters and the best substrate (there are so many options on their website), among other things. I plan on buying a betta from somewhere online that has pretty decent reviews, I don't want to fuel PetSmart's ish standards for their animals more than buying different bottles to get the water healthy (pH and the likes) and ready for a fish once it's all set up.
With that being said, what filters can you personally vouch for? I want to shoot for one with the three different medias and not just those cheap filters, if that's even the best idea, but reviews are so mixed. I definitely need a lot of direction 😅. I greatly appreciate any and all help so much!!

i feel dumb for complaining because its honestly the least of the issues of petsmart but i am so tired. i dont think enough people realize the actual hard manual labor going into grooming dogs. i regularly have nail trims and pawdicures on top of 3 large, labor intensive breeds with only 4 hours to do it all. maybe im just bad at my job and slow but it gets so stressful sometimes. a few days ago i had a mastiff, chow, and golden, all absolutely filthy, their fur was compacted with SO much dirt and dust. none of them had the best behavior and because the mastiff weighed more than me, it was a struggle to make her move when she didnt want to. i also had 2 nail trims with dogs who werent thrilled with me touching their feet. my salon lead seemed a little irked with how long i was taking but it was just a really really hard day. i wish we were given a more appropriate amount of time based on the size of the dog. maybe im just making mountains out of mole hills but i wanted to complain and get it out of my system. i love my job but i wish my hard work was more appreciated.

DISCLAIMER: NOT LOOKING FOR MEDICAL ADVICE IT'S JUST A RANT.
I have been diagnosed bipolar 1 since I was 21. I was originally diagnosed ADHD at 16 but my dad pulled me from therapy (because he didn't believe in meds) and I was put on stimulants at 21 when I began seeking help because my life was in tatters. I had failed out of college on scholarship and couldn't hold a job. I was falling into a deep depression over my perceived failures. I cried all day and drug myself to work each day until I was too overwhelmed and ended up quitting each time. Then when I ran out of money I would get another job for another 2 or 3 months. Stimulants were a miracle in my life. Things turned around. I functioned normally. I was a powerhouse and got things done. I could think a sentence for the first time in my life. My mind cleared up like it had been covered in fog all those years. I could plan things and follow through like meals and priorities. I had energy. I even was able to fit working out and drinking water into my schedule like a normal human being.
The only drawback was the enlarged pupils. People constantly asked if I was ok while peering into my eyeballs. I had a severe anxiety attack one day on Adderall at petsmart where the cashier I was friends with noticed and tried to call 911. But I was normal before she got done and I talked her out of it because I had no money for a $1k ambulance ride. I told her it was just my meds and I would go get them changed. I went to the doctor myself and asked to switch to something gentler or lower the dose or something. My PCP referred me to a psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist did an entry level examination where he asked a bazillion questions. He discovered I have PTSD and depression alongside the ADHD. I figured the depression was due to feeling like a failure because since the stimulants I had felt normal and satisfied with life, no depression spells. And yeah I have PTSD. Duh. No big deal. He wanted to give me antidepressants. I didn't want them. But I took them for some reason, just to make the doc happy and get it over with so I could get a better stimulant that worked for me.
Well when I took the antidepressant it was 10 mg of something that starts with L and it was supposedly a low dose. I cut my hair and dyed it purple because I felt better on the stimulants like I had my life together for once. And my boyfriend at the time wanted to get more into BDSM and have an open relationship. We became very sexually active because our life was so great finally. I was everything he ever hoped for and he was the love of my life. When I showed up for therapy they said all these things put together meant I was obviously manic and must be bipolar. They took me off the Adderall and started me on antipsychotics. My life obviously fell into tatters again. So I looked like I was cycling. I lost the company I had founded, I lost my boyfriend of 3 years because he couldn't handle me suddenly being better and then going back to the way I was before (he posted an engagement ring for sale on facebook marketplace that day and I cried my eyes out), I failed out of college again, and I was living in a foggy hell compared to the clarity I had on stimulants. I became depressed again but it was worse this time because I was aware of just how bad off I actually was.
But they said it was my bipolar acting up. I was "cycling." I started spending way too much money to cope. I racked up thousands of dollars of debt. I became sexually promiscuous because I had lost the love of my life. I shaved my head because I just didn't have the energy to keep up with hair. I looked totally bipolar, up down up down, I can see that. They said I was such a severe case that they were changing my diagnosis to bipolar 1 even though I was not hospitalized. I tried to tell them the stimulants worked best for me NOT the mood stabilizers which didn't do ANYTHING. But they wouldn't listen and kept putting me on all these antipsychotics and mood stabilizers. I had severe reactions to most of these meds too so they called me med resistant.
And then the psychiatrist retired. I became outpatient at the behavioral hospital. They looked at my referral packet and saw that I was bipolar (no mention of adhd). They tried to treat me with different psych meds for years and years. It has been nearly 10 years with that psychiatrist. I have tried so many meds. I have forced my way through life. I have asked them so many times to just consider that I am adhd. I have straight up demanded that they give me the stimulants. But they act like I am some kind of druggie. They say they can't do that because it will make me go manic since I have bipolar "1."
But I have changed psychiatrists and therapists. On the phone he acknowledged that I have adhd. I cried so hard just to be listened to for once. But he said I am still diagnosed bipolar too... they gave me guanfacin which sucks and makes me extremely tired. It is a nonstimulant adhd medication that helps with hyperactivity. Ugh.
I have a new therapist too who is observing me for bipolar vs adhd or both or cptsd. I have to keep a daily journal which is super hard. That reminds me, I haven't written in it in about a week actually... She specializes in adhd. She has been sending me links to "how to adhd" and things like that so I am super hopeful that she can tell. I have told her my story on how I was diagnosed bipolar and she told me those are not even valid reasons to call someone manic. Especially not bipolar ONE. I am so sad feeling like I wasted nearly 10 years of my life. But I feel like I am near the end of this stupid battle with doctors. But I'm trying not to get my hopes up that I might be able to live my life soon... I have an appointment with the psychiatrist Thursday to be represcribed stimulants and regular therapy session Friday.
I don't know if I will ever not be called bipolar. I don't think it is right that it has stuck to me like glue all these years and I can't get it off. I believe that doctor was wrong. But who knows. I guess we will find out.

Hi. I've been a bather for about a year and a half. I started at petsmart as a bather and was working towards entering the stylist apprenticeship program once one of the girls at our store completed all her needed dogs to be able to work unsupervised. Whether or for better or for worse, I moved out of state and decided to not transfer stores as I really did not enjoy the culture towards pets or staff at petsmart. Instead, I took the first bathing job i was offered as i needed a job in my new state. It is under the table and pays more. I like my salon i currently work at, but they are not willing to apprentice me. the owner works part time now and isn't looking to add a groomer despite being booked beyond capacity and being unable to take on new clients. Both the grooming schools near me cost around $7,000. I already have nail clippers, a dremmel, shears, and clippers. Under my salon manager I learn obviously how to bathe, dry, and brush, but I also learned sanitary trims, paw pads, plucking ears, scissoring feet on a few breeds, scissoring etiquette, and even a few shave downs. It feels a bit silly to me to pay $7k for schooling where a few of the weeks will be wasted and I am paying for a tool kit that I already have some of the items from. I do believe grooming is my passion, between trying college and cosmetology, this is the first thing that really feels right to me. I light up when I talk about it, I know the ins and outs, I know the good and the bad. I just don't know the next step to accomplishing my goal of learning how to groom. Should I reach out to other local salons and see if someone will apprentice me? Should I pay for the schoooling? Should I take an online course in the meantime to start learning about the different cuts? I really feel quite stuck and don't know what to do next. Going to the school would mean an hour or more drive every day for eight weeks without a pay check while making car payment, insurance, chipping into bills with my partner. I'd love advice from a seasoned groomer. thanks!

Has anyone who worked petsmart management (and left for a different job) have any job recommendations? Hopefully around the same pay. I’m just looking for options, everything I can find is way less pay.

Recently got a job as a bather for petsmart and am in training but im having a hard time getting the hang of check ins and pet assessments and using the computer (inputting information, checking contact info, etc) i can easily do the hands on bathing and drying and handling the animals but everything else is difficult for me. Have any tips on how to remember all the packages and add ons and everything?

My location is amazing. Our manager and above has listened to us and done the best they could to accommodate and go around corporate bullshit. We put more bedding in cages, we feed fresh veggies to everyone, the beta wall has plants in every cup, iso animals are cared for quickly, the list could literally go on. I feel so horrible for other stores that have bad management, or a bad team who know nothing about the animals they take care of every single day. Our whole team is near expert in every animal we carry and then some, we provide the best care and advice we possibly can, and have many animals/reptiles/fish of our own at home. I read these posts on a daily basis and truly wish the best for all of you. This is one of the better jobs I’ve ever had in terms of workplace structure, besides the occasional shitty customer or corp bs. I truly wish your stores will one day be as amazing as mine is <3 much love for my fellow petsmart team, y’all are doing everything you can and hopefully someday someone will recognize that, because I damn sure do.

sorry if this has been asked before.(which is probably has) i'm in my junior year, going into senior soon and i'm thinking about getting a job. i like animals and i'd like to believe i'm pretty educated on them. i've heard pet smart has to deal with dead animals a lot and such but i wouldn't mind too much. i was thinking stocking could be good for me, as i'm fairly strong. but what would you guys say? how is your experience working there...?

Hey yo, when does Petsmart get paid? This week or was it last week? Trying to decide if I can afford to take a week off in between jobs

I was fired from my job because I was unable to show up to work due to a medical condition that I’ve been diagnosed with. Do I have a legitimate reason to sue? IN diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia with Miles app, which means I have excessive daytime sleepiness along with not being able to sleep efficiently. I had both of my medical conditions under control before I started work at Belk, which is a department retail store for a seasonal position with the possibility of permanent part-time or full-time employment. I have worked with Belk on and off again for years during their seasonal holidays, and as a student when I was in high school, I am now 23 years old. During my time working at Belk, I was showing symptoms of my sleep attacks starting back up again like I did before which resulted in me having to leave my last job at Petsmart which was before I was diagnosed. I immediately told the head of HR that my symptoms were coming back and my condition and that I had a doctors appointment that Thursday to do some test results to see if it would hinder me from working. She said she understood and to let her Know, but little did I know that these words were taken lightly. I went to my appointment and explain my symptoms to my doctor and she ran a test and I was waiting on the results which I did tell the head of HR the very next day, when I had to go in for work. That following night I had a sleep attack at the workplace where EMTs had to be called because I was unresponsive for about 3 to 4 hours after that, I went home and had another sleep attack in which my sister and other family members were unable to wake me up from which resulted in me missing my shift that day, and the following day After that, I receive calls and text messages from HR and my boss which my sister alerted them about the situation and that my sleep attacks started again and that I was unresponsive and that when I come to you, she will let me know which I sent a message or a voicemail explaining Everything. They said that they understood and I can keep them posted and will I be able to make my next shift which I was determined to you, so I said yes unfortunately when I looked at the schedule the next day, I did not have a shift there. I ignored it the next day and the day after that and the following week all of my shifts were gone and they were never posted no matter how much I called or try to get in contact with someone no one answered, or could give me a clear answer, and just said that they will pass on the message. Later on about a week after I received a notification that I was terminated from Belk. I’ve called and called to get a reason as to why I was terminated with the reason being big. I then had to wait months for a letter that was supposedly sent in the mail to my address, stating the reason on why I was actually terminated, because I believe that it was due to my medical conditions, which I did nothing was there, and just terminating me when we were working together to find a solution. It took months afterwards for me to finally get in touch with the head of HR after not returning any of my phone calls or messages or voicemails that I left with her voice, managers and other staff members that I was fired due to failure to show up for shifts. And that the letter will be mailed to my address which I am still currently waiting on, is this reason to sue. I get wanting to fire me for not showing up to a shift, but it was a medical condition that I could not control and that cleared up and I was trying to get it under control with their understanding and again I was there for the seasonal Position but they fired me before Christmas season even started

Hello. I am a petsmart manager. And on behalf of all employees- we do not have to guide you to the products. It is written in corporate guidelines. We can tell you it’s in isle 5, but it’s your job to actually find the product. I was showing a snake to a family who was interested in purchasing it and a dasher walked straight up to me shoved the phone in my face and asked where it was. I ignored him because he was a bitch. But please- if you ever go to petsmart. It is in petsmart corporate text that WE DO NOT HOLD YOUR HAND TO THE ITEMS. thank you. I’m gonna go back to closing now.

In the near future I’ll be putting in my two weeks notice because I got another job. I haven’t used any of my time off this year and wanted to do so before I left. Does petsmart pay out any unused PTO? And is there a certain amount of time off that I can use without having to pay them back for that time since I’m leaving halfway through the year?

“I’ve been secretly watering my neighbor’s plants.”
“Just this once I’ll do it for him. After that it’s his problem.”
“My hidden talent is that I can peel mandarin oranges in one piece almost every time.”
“I got a hug. She was nice.”
“Like, it’s super mundane saying ‘thanks boss’ to the drive thru guy giving you your food, but I think it’s really cute watching men interact with each other like that.”
“I had a crush on Chicken Little when I was a kid.”
“My partner and I ate free tomato soup that I got from work with homemade grilled cheese.”
“I was walking into PetSmart and a nice old man was walking out with a ChowChow on a leash. I said ‘Oh, so pretty!’ And without missing a beat he says, ‘Thank you. The dog too right?’”
“I bought foamy hand soap for the first time and didn’t open or smell it for a week to let the anticipation grow.”
“You’re never too old for your parents to help you.”
“I sat outside while a thunderstorm rolled in.”
“I got the 911 Operator job!”
“I took my friend’s deaf cat to the vet because I was housesitting and he ate a plant I gave her. He’s not deaf.”
“I spring cleaned for the first time in my life today.”
“I held three baby goats today but not all at the same time.”
“Just wanted to go browsing and there it was straightaway!”
“After finishing my last scoop of chocolate ice cream I found a single accidental blue sprinkle. That made me happy.”
“Y’all, Reddit is making me feel old.”

Could anyone give me some insight on what the pressure is around sales?
I was supposed to be going full time at petco this summer (which was discussed when I was hired a little over a month ago, as well as approved) and then when I asked about it I was told that I needed to hit certain goals to get more hours, and then my already part time hours were cut down to two days a week. I literally cannot afford to work 2 days a week as I just signed the lease on an apartment and I will be paying rent starting in june.
I do really love the job, and I had a lot of good ideas for it moving forward. I wanted to become the aquatic specialist there, as my biggest animal focus is around fish.
So I'm just wondering if petsmart is any better, aka will they cut my hours for not getting 30 donations in a 7 hour shift lol. This is mostly for people who have worked at both places, but I would also just like to hear from some petsmart employees as well. I'd probably just apply as a sales associate and hopefully move up there with time.
Thanks for any help.

I'm graduating high school and this is my last week. I have two pathways for this summer. Go back to my old fast food job which I hate or focus on community College only and feel like a leech. I want to go with the latter but I just feel so guilty. What I want to do is wait till I turn 18 around when summer ends so I have more job options like petsmart/petco and working at animal shelters, but I also feel this dread when I realize my whole summer I won't be doing anything society deems 'productive'. Was anyone else in a similar boat when they graduated?

Section One: Assets and Debt
Retirement Balance: ~$3,000 in 401k, ~$2,000 in TSP, ~$430 in my IRA, ~$440 in my husband’s, L, IRA. The 401k and TSP are L’s and I don’t have the login for them so I’m not entirely sure how the last year of the market dropping has affected them. Our IRAs haven’t seen much of a hit thankfully but there’s also not a ton in them
Equity if you're a homeowner - N/A
Savings account balance - $22,429.93
Checking account balance - $59.99
Joint checking - $1157.66
Discover - $386.56
Chase - $1173.97
Citi - $14
Student loan debt (for what degree) - $19,951 for a BA in Studio Art. I originally graduated with just over $24k in student loan debt and I had paid it down to about $16k during the interest pause but with the announcement of the student loan forgiveness, I had requested a chunk of that money back and we used it to pay down some business debt.
Car loan - $26,114.97 (L’s car, mine was paid off in 2018)
Note for the credit card debt: With the exception of about $200, the rest is already covered by sinking funds. I typically do pay offs every week depending on the amount and the card it’s on. For example, on our Chase card, that closes on the 1st so for any large payments, I wait til closer to the end of the month just to leave that amount sitting in our savings account and accrue a little more interest.
Section Two: Income
Income Progression:
2012 - got my first job as a receptionist at a chiropractor’s office. I started at $8 an hour and by the time I left, I was at $12 (I only got raises as California started mandating raising the minimum wage to $15)
2017-2019 - rideshare driver and photographer. I averaged about $600 a week through rideshare driving. My income as a photographer varied wildly from $0 a month to $200 a month to $2000 a month. I stopped doing photography at the beginning of 2019 as we were preparing for my husband’s separation from the military
2019-now - I was super lucky to land a job within two weeks of moving back. I started as a customer service rep at $15 an hour. 3 months in got my first raise to $16, at my year mark got a raise to $17. About 9 months later I asked for a raise to $18 as by that point, I had a lot on I had taken on along with essentially being co-customer service manager. January of 2022 I got a raise to $19 as I took on customer service manager and part time project manager. In August 2022 after some tumultuous position changing, I got a raise to $22.
Main Job Monthly Take Home:
My income - $3160 give or take some depending on overtime and if it’s a 5 paycheck month. I do have health insurance through my work for myself but they don’t charge us anything for it (yet.) L gets insurance through the VA so there’s no cost there for us.
L’s income - $4800
Side Gig Monthly Take Home
$0, still have my Etsy shop where I sell my art and hasn’t turned over a profit yet.
Any Other Monthly Income Here
L’s VA disability - $812
I do also pull from various sinking funds each month but the amount varies
Section Three: Expenses
Rent - ~$500 (L pays) we are very fortunate that my in-laws have a little mother-in-law suite that was vacant and allowed us to move into it to help us save for a house. All they asked for us was to pay the electricity bill which comes out to about this amount since we moved in
Retirement contribution - current $0 (haven’t been able to get this back into our rotation due to several savings goals for this year but working on it)
Savings contribution - $100/week + !$3000 from L’s income
Investment contribution - $40/month to my nieces’ UTMA accounts ($20 each)
Student loans - currently $0 due to the forbearance. My typical monthly payment is $139.13. I round it up to $140 and have continued to pay that through most of the forbearance.
Car payment - $607.18, rounded up to $610 (L pays)
Donations - probably $10-20 a month, usually to a GoFundMe or someone in need on social media
Electric/WateTrash - see Rent
Wifi/Cable - don’t have to pay at the moment, we use my in-laws’ internet
Cellphone - $101
Spotify Duo - $12.99
Hulu - $5.99
Car insurance - $204 (I pay $104, L pays $100)
HP Instant Ink - $5
Massage Envy - $75
Netflix - $19
Google Play - $2 (for storage)
Banfield Wellness Plan - $57 (only paying for one dog as she needed a dental cleaning last year and we didn’t have enough saved for that)
Gabb - $70 (phone plan for my nieces, we offered to pay for this for them to have a way to contact family due to some extenuating circumstances)
Groceries - $360/month (we do do HelloFresh now, so about $280-300 of this goes towards that)
Pet expenses - $360/month
Gas - $360/month
My spending money - $200/month
L’s spending money - ~$500/month
Fun - $200/month
Eating out - $200/month
For all of our variable expenses, anything that isn’t spent gets rolled over to the next month.
Day 1 - Monday
4am - My alarm goes off and it is taking everything in me to get out of bed. I tell L we should call out and he says we gotta get going. Someone has to be responsible I guess.
5:15am - I drop L off at work and then head to get breakfast. Five minutes into our drive, I realized I forgot to eat and forgot to grab something to eat so I go to a nearby bagel place I discovered recently to get breakfast. I order an egg sandwich and a hot chocolate and redeem a free coffee for my coworker. ($11.34) When I get there, they tell me their hot chocolate machine is broken so I get an orange juice and they offer me a pastry for the inconvenience. I’ve been eyeballing their chocolate chip cookies the last couple of times I’ve come in so I pick that.
6am - On my way back, my coworker texts me she forgot her keys. It’s no one’s day today. I finally get to work and get started. I’ve been doing more work in production the past few months so I go to our metal department to start laying out prints to heat transfer.
11am - I grab my lunch (leftovers from Chili’s last night) and head to my friend’s office to discuss both work and gossip. She’s my fellow operations manager so we go over where the floor is out and figure out our plan for tomorrow. We have to get orders from May 2 and back out and delivered in time for Mother’s Day and it’s looking like we’re gonna have to expedite some shipments.
3pm - I’m finally off work and I go off to pick up L. We were incredibly fortunate that when he landed his new job back in December that he would be working across the street from me. We carpool together most days abd it’s been both helpful with gas and nice to have someone to share the long commute with.
4:30pm - We get home and get ready to go on a walk. We grab the pups and head off. We moved in with my in-laws back in March and they live in a very safe, not highly trafficked neighborhood so we can take walks with our dogs off leash. We try to walk 3-4 days out of the week.
5:30pm - We get back and I check the dogs for foxtails (PSA from my vet sister: if you’re in an area with foxtails, please check your pets after walks or hikes otherwise the foxtails can sink into their skin and cause more damage.) They’re mostly clear, one just has a little splinter that we easily remove. L proceeds to make one of our HelloFresh meals for the week, a penne ricotta bake. It’s a 7/10, won’t be ordering again.
6:30pm - I go do some work in our office. I’ve been slowly prepping things to open a budgeting Etsy in between making merch for a convention I’m vending at in July.
7pm - I call it a day and go hang out with L before we go to bed at 8.
Daily Total - $11.34
Day 2 - Tuesday
4am - My alarm goes off for the second time. I tried to get up earlier but that period fatigue won out and I slept in for a few more minutes.
5:30am - I get to work after picking up my friend and we start our day. I found out some interesting info this morning that is shifting my plans to leave the company. I eat a Poptart as I contemplate these plans and do some work in customer service. One of our reps had quit back in March (we were planning on letting her go anyways) so myself and my friend, fellow co-manager, have been helping our remaining rep with the load.
10:30am - Some coworkers and I decide to get Chick-Fil-A for lunch and I head out to pick it up. ($11.89 for my portion)
2pm - I get off work on time today and head towards my older sister’s, K, place. My nieces had asked my little sister, Z, if we could take them shopping for Mother’s Day and that’s today’s mission. On the way there I stop to give my car a badly needed vacuum. To my pleasant surprise, the car wash place I stopped at offers vacuums for free.
3pm - Z and I pick up my nieces from school and stop to get them Happy Meals at McDonalds. Z and I share a 10 piece nugget meal. ($19.67)
4pm - We wander the aisles of TJ Maxx as the girls contemplate their options. I gave them $20 each to spend and Z chipped in another $10 so they were working with a budget of $30 each. After much consideration, they each get her 3 things and one bigger present together. I pay for a portion ($23.78) and I get some gifts myself. ($23.79) We make a stop at Target to get bags and while we’re there I get some Airbnb gift cards. They were having a special on a few gift cards if you spend $75 you get a $10 Target gift card so I got some for our trip to Japan next year. ($98.24)
5pm - We help the girls wrap the presents and then I head off to make the journey back home. On the way home I pick up Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner (I ate like trash today lol, $34.12) There was a whole mess to sort through with our order so it takes me a little longer than anticipated to get home.
7:30pm - I finally get home and we eat dinner while watching some Pitch Perfect before going to bed.
Daily total - $211.49
Day 3 - Wednesday
4am - Up for another day of work and I multi-task most of the getting ready time to feed myself breakfast, make our lunches, and feed the dogs. We’re out the door a little past our usual time but still get to work on time.
7:30am - I pop into the front office to check on things and see if I have any editing to do. I have a Poptart left from yesterday so I snack on that.
11am - L texted me earlier that he had eaten the sandwich I packed him earlier and asked if I wanted to meet up for lunch. We go to a ramen place nearby that I love and L is kind enough to pay. He drops me off and I head back into work.
3pm - There is some bullshit at work that has 3 of us like we’re going to quit and are serious about it. (It’s a whole long history of things that has us here.) My friend makes plans with one of our managers for us to meet with him to discuss some of our hangups. L comes to pick me up and on the way home I peruse Indeed for other jobs.
5pm - We stop at the bank and then Pollo Loco to get me dinner since L has leftovers from Buffalo Wild Wings and our lunch to choose from. ($10.21)
6pm - After I eat my dinner, I go to the office to do some crafting and finish editing some photos for my sister.
8pm - Lights are off and we are in bed like the grandparents we are.
Daily Total - $10.21
Day 4 - Thursday
4am - My alarm goes off and wakes me up from a bad dream. I tuck myself into L for a second before I get up to get ready. After letting out the dogs and doing my bathroom routine, I do a small load of dishes, pack L’s lunch, and make myself waffles. White those cool, I prepare the dogs’ breakfast and bring them in.
5:30am - I get to work and get to workin.
12pm - After dealing with some personnel issues and having a manager meeting before that, it has been a Day so I continue the last two weeks of eating like shit and get McDonalds. ($3.02 for my part) I check my phone and see a text that we’re finally getting reimbursed for the deductible I paid after my car was in an accident last August (I say my car because no one was in it at the time.)
2pm - I get off work and go off to run some errands before I pick up L. First I stop at USPS to drop off some packages from Mercari sales I made. Second stop is gas at Costco because Tuesday me decided it was Thursday me’s problem to get gas. ($49.27) Third and last stop is PetSmart to get some Greenies for our dogs. ($57.69 after a coupon) I normally get their dental treats at Costco but since I’m on a time crunch, I couldn’t pop in and risk a line to get them there.
4:30pm - We get home and I run to go film a couple of videos for my budgeting Youtube. Once I finish up, we go on our walk while I upload that to my Drive to edit when we get back.
7pm - I’m doing some work in the office editing and crafting when L comes in to tell me the burgers he tried making from HelloFresh are super disappointing. I try a bite and he’s right. He looks super depressed and was trying to get pizza tomorrow so I offer to get it tonight. ($32.07) He speeds off to pick it up since I try to be in bed by 8pm.
8:30pm - L gets back around 8 with dinner so I eat real quick before going to bed. He’s a lucky duck that only works 4 days a week so today is his Friday.
Daily Total - $142.05
Day 5 - Friday
4am - My alarm goes off and I decide after the week it’s been, I’m going in late. I text my friend and a coworker that I’ll be in around 8.
6am - I get up just before 6 and start getting ready. I do some dishes and edit a video to upload later today before heading out.
8am - I stop at the bank and then pick up my friend on the way to work. She wants Starbucks so we call a coworker to see if she wants anything and place an order. I try their new chocolate mint creme frappuccino (it tastes just like mint chip ice cream!) and get a cheese danish. ($9.10) We finally get to work around 9.
12pm - I go take care of stuff in the front office while I eat my lunch of leftover pizza.
1:30pm - I leave work a little earlier than usual because I have to pick up my parents from the hospital. My dad had a follow up surgery after undergoing surgery in December to remove a tumor and my mom can’t drive. I text my mom there’s traffic and as I head out, she calls me to tell me that she just got a call my dad was out and ready to be picked up. My brother was still with her so he offered to pick him up so I change directions and head home instead.
3:30pm - I get home and crawl into bed to take a nap. I don’t know if I’m exhausted just from the past couple of weeks of work or if it’s depression tiredness because of everything I’ve been feeling towards work this week but either way, I nap.
4:30pm - I wake up rejuvenated! I do some dishes and after seeing the leftover pizza we still have, I text L and we decide to finish those off and we can make the planned chicken dish tomorrow. He had gone off to watch a movie with his parents while I was napping so I sit down to eat round 2 of pizza by myself.
6pm - I go to the office and work on some crafts as per usual.
7pm - I’m losing sunlight so I go hang out in the living room for a bit. L has Delta Green today so I get to watch Queer Eye and cry with my dogs after I feed them.
8pm - In bed and lights are out!
Daily Total - $9.10
Day 6 - Saturday
5:45am - My alarm goes off which is unusual for a Saturday but we are going to Universal Studios today! My parents bought us season passes for our birthdays and we’re finally getting to use them.
8am - We get to Universal (where parking is $30) and start bookin it to Super Nintendo World. That’s today’s primary objective since we can come back again for the rest of the park.
11:30am - We finally get off the Mario Kart ride! I liked it but it’s a little bit of sensory overload. We don’t explore much of the rest of the area since it’s super crowded. Once we get out of the area, we stop at a little store to get a drink and a snack. ($9.34)
1pm - After going on the Studio Tour ride, we upgrade our passes before heading home. ($335.80) We have friends coming in a couple of months so we figure it’s worth it to upgrade since what we’re paying for the upgrade would be what we’d pay for for tickets + parking as our original pass was blocked out when they’d be here.
2pm - I’m dying of hunger so we stop at Red Robin on the way back to have lunch. ($49)
3pm - We finally get back to our area and stop to get gas ($47.09) before we stop at Target to get some flowers for our moms tomorrow. ($24.78 after a $10 gift card) Lord knows we don’t want to try to buy flowers tomorrow.
4pm - We get home and time to veg out for a bit. After laying for a bit, I get up to pack up another Mercari order and list some more stuff to sell. I finally started making my way through selling a box of stuff I saved from our move to resell. Once I finish up with that, I settle in to start reading It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover.
6pm - I’m still pretty full from our late lunch and L doesn’t plan on eating dinner, so like a responsible adult, I eat cookies and milk as “dinner.” I finish up while watching a Youtube video then head to the office to craft a bit.
7pm - I leave our office and go read some more and cry about how much I love Atlas Corrigan (iykyk.) L comes to join me after a bit to spend some time together before bed.
8pm - Bed calls to me and I crawl into it.
Daily Total - $496.01
Day 7 - Sunday
6am - The pups wake me up to let them out. I do so and crawl back into bed.
7am - I finally get up and do my morning routine. I hang up some clothes we had to leave hanging to dry because my in-laws’ dryer sucks and then I go sign some Mother’s Day cards for my mom and K. Once I finish that up, I go take care of putting away some dog food and throwing out old boxes.
9am - I decide it’s nap time.
10am - I wake up lost and confused because the dogs don’t have water and L is nowhere to be found. I look to the kitchen counter, see one of the flower arrangements we bought yesterday is gone, and I realize he went over to give them to his mom. I change my shirt real quick and throw on shoes to go wish her a happy Mother’s Day.
11am - I come back over and ready to make lunch. Those plans are quickly ruined when I open our potatoes and see half of them are spoiled. I sigh and head out to get us lunch. I get Subway for myself ($9.06) and L requests Jack In the Box. ($11.40) After I eat lunch, I sit down and finish devouring It Starts With Us and cry through the ending. I love love.
1:30pm - Almost time to leave for my parents’! I get myself together and gather what we need to take with us and we’re out the door soon after. I spend most of the ride fighting the Pizza Hut app then the site to get the order placed. ($78.89) My mom requested Pizza Hut as her Mother’s Day dinner so it was nice and simple for us.
3pm - We arrive at my parents’ with food in hand. My sisters arrive shortly after and I give them cards to sign. Once they’re all signed, I give one to my mom and one to K. We all sit down to eat and I’m v excited because I mcfuckin love Pizza Hut.
6pm - K cuts my hair as we have a graduation and family photos the next weekend. Once that’s done, we gather leftovers to take home and off we go. On the way back we stop to get gas. ($82.86, damn SUVs)
7:30pm - We finally get home. We feed the dogs and hang out for a bit before getting to bed.
Daily Total - $182.21
At the end of each day please tally up your daily expenses. Then at the end of your diary please tally up all expenses in the following categories:
Food + Drink - $298.21
Fun / Entertainment - $365.80
Home + Health - $0
Clothes + Beauty - $0
Transport - $179.22
Pets - $57.69
Other - $170.59
Lastly, reflect on your diary! How do you feel about your spending? Was this a normal week for you? Has this inspired you to make changes or has it given you a “wow I’m doing pretty good” confidence boost? Is there anything you’re actively working on? No need to answer any or all these questions but just use this space to write any thoughts you have!
To be honest, initially when I was tracking everything I felt like it was a very spendy week and as I was organizing everything to post, I was pleasantly surprised by a couple of the low-spend days. It does go to show though that it’s very worth it to actively track spending since it makes you aware of how often you swipe/hand over cash. Food continues to be our weakness and it’s especially been a struggle these past two weeks because a lot has been happening for me emotionally and food is where I go for comfort. But there has been some huge changes for us since last year so I look forward to checking in again next year!

Hey! I just got an offer letter at Petsmart and they offered me a job and I filled the paper work for the background check. How long after does it usually take before I have to go in and fill out my I9 form? I want to put I'm my week notice at Petco but I don't want to unless I know everything is set. The manager at Petsmart said I should be good to fill out my forms this week. For the background check it's just a criminal record?? I mean I got a few parking tickets but I should be fine right?

So I’m trying to apply for (mostly) retail jobs online and so far I’ve started applying to about 5, but all except one of the applications have asked me for my entire SSN or the last 4 digits of it, which I felt uncomfortable typing in. For example, I just tried applying to a Petsmart or TJ Maxx (can’t remember which one it was) and it required me to put in the last 4 digits of my SSN just to create an account💀. It seems that many online applications are requiring this, but it seems odd to me. My mom says that jobs don’t and shouldn’t require the SSN until after they give you the job, and that was the experience with the last store I worked at. I need to work, so should I just put in zeros if prompted to type in my SSN on the application? And if I do put in a false 4 digits (like 0000), could I possibly get into any trouble or would they just toss my application out?

let me start by saying i got my geckos when I was 9 from petsmart, obviously as a 9 year old I didn't do any research and just trusted the workers. So (please please please no judgement) since then, I have cohabitated my two geckos, and I am now 20 so they've spent 11 years together, no issues visible to me. I finally joined this subreddit and was scrolling through and read that it is a VERY bad idea to cohabitate, and read that I was doing a few other things wrong as well. So the next day I went out to the store, bought them new hides and other things to give them more coverage and hiding spots. Here's where I need the advice: I'm a poor college student, so I don't have enough money to buy an entirely new tank for them as of right now (I'm applying for internships at the moment so once the money comes in i definitely plan on buying another 20 gal). They are currently in a 20 gal tank together, and I tried to make a barrier out of cardboard to separate them which obviously isn't great, but I figured for the time being, them having their own smaller spaces would be better for them than sharing one larger one. I gave it a few hours before they started switching sides and staying on the same side together, so now I know the barrier isn't a good idea. I have one empty 10 gallon tank that I could put one of them in, but I would feel bad for the one with inadequate space (though I suppose that's the best option as of right now). What do i do? is it okay to have them together after all of this time and no issues? I feed them separately (meal worms with calcium powder) so they both get the same amount of food, but now I can't help but feel guilty that they might be stressed :( They are both in great health, shed regularly and all of the good stuff. Like I said, as soon as I have a job and the money they are both getting their own 20 gallon with everything they need, I just need to know what the best option is at the moment. Thank you!

I have been working at my local PetSmart since March of last year, and I'm honestly at my wits end with it. I started off as the only cashier they had for months, so they had me working 8 days in a row for 8 hours, until I was pushed into pet care when our only decent closer got so frustrated that they left. This is my first job, and it has nothing to do with my degree, but I was curious what kind of opportunities I can use this experience for?
I'm moving in a few months so I'll be needing to leave this job anyway (Thank God honestly) but every job app I've put in has been either ignored or rejected -- such as the way of job hunting -- so I was curious what else I could be useful for that isn't transferring stores.

Would it be unethical not to put a full two weeks in at Petsmart? A little backstory: so I had a conversation with them about transferring due to driving an hour to work everyday (so two hours total) and it’s starting to effect me mentally and always extremely exhausted to even do anything. My salon leader is all supportive for it, tomorrow is the plan to talk to my store leader about it and see what he says but I’m a little worried he’s going to deny it. I also got a better job opportunity with better hours and pay to be able to start and I’d like to start it as soon as possible, with that being said I’ve decided I don’t want to transfer anymore but just to leave and take this job. I also am kind of feeling bad if I don’t put a notice in BUT if they did approve my transfer then I would think/hope that the transfer was going to happen pretty quickly if not right away anyways.. or I was thinking to do a two week notice and just go part time if they’d let me or just at least say I can finish out the rest of this week.. I do feel bad but I also don’t know if I can do that hour drive back and forth full time for another two weeks.. any advice? Would be greatly appreciated!