With the lockdown, many people have experienced greater levels of loneliness as they’ve been cut off from their normal relationships at work, church, sports, and so on.

As a result, people have turned to their pets for companionship and affection. Petsmart reported sales of pet supplies jumped by 36% back in mid-March when the lockdowns first occurred and overall were up 10% over the previous year.

And it’s not just dogs and cats that people are cuddling these days. The New York Post reports a massive increase in the number of city dwellers who own chickens. CEO of My Pet Chicken Traci Torres saw a 260% rise in demand since last year. “The main reasons are that people have more time on their hands now to look after a flock, plus they realize they are a steady source of protein and nutrition.”

People who don’t want the hassle of waiting for chicks to grow into egg-producing assets can speed up the process by going to Rent-a-Chicken, who leases full-grown chickens for the summer. (Once winter rolls around, you can send them back for someone else to coop up.)

Of course, if you really want to think outside the box when it comes to pets, Petsmart has rolled out an Augmented Reality (AR) lens to work with the popular Snapchat application. The AR lens provides a quiz that will transform the user’s face into a reptile based on the answers provided.

Once you achieve full lizard-man status, PetSmart provides you with a coupon worth 40% off your purchase of your very own pet reptile, along with a PetSmart Thrive Starter Kit – helpful for anyone new to owning a lizard, turtle, or snake.

Speaking of quizzes, one of the things we strive for here at is a strong commitment to constant self-assessment, review, and improvement. This goes for the services we provide and for the plans we create together. To build a solid financial future for you and your dreams.

There’s always room for improvement – so why not give us a call today at 513-563-PLAN (7526) or book online for your free 15-minute call?

There’s no better time than today to lay a strong foundation for tomorrow.

Regards,
Nikki Earley, CFP®