A monthly salary of two thousand five, life is more bitter than coffee.

I.

In the past, people often said that young people nowadays don't have children, they just love to keep cats and dogs.

Psychologist Erik H. Erikson believes that during the young adulthood from 20 to 40 years old,

the main task of human psychological development is to gain a sense of intimacy and avoid feelings of loneliness.

For young people striving in big cities, although they long for love and marriage in their hearts,

there are many practical difficulties—

keeping pets has become an alternative choice for many young people to gain a sense of intimacy.

When you type "why keep pets" in the search bar, a word that appears frequently in the search results is "healing".

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In the bustling big cities, young people bear various pressures from education, employment, career, and mortgage, tenaciously trying to take root in the city.After a day of toil and bustle, returning to one's room, there's always a desire for a method to heal oneself.

Experimental data suggests that interacting with pets can lower blood pressure, slow heart rate, and reduce the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body.

This significantly alleviates the work stress of contemporary young people and enhances their quality of life.

II.

As a result, the pet economy took off directly before.

The peak was in 2021, which was also the time of the strongest economic recovery, when young people's salaries were high.

In just that one year, China saw an increase of ten million pet cats, more than the current annual birth population, and as the number of cat buyers increased, the prices were driven up.

When keeping pets first became popular, it was thought that having a cat or a dog was very cute, and it seemed like they could survive with just some food.

However, it turns out to be completely different—

The cost of keeping a pet is exorbitantly high, and this round of the pet economy has indeed put many young people in a dilemma now, having already adopted them, they can't just give them up, but continuing to keep them is really expensive.The pet economy, which was expected to take off, is now not only failing to soar but is on the verge of collapse. Today's youth are so desperate that they would almost prefer to be pets themselves, becoming increasingly immune to such schemes.

The golden retriever, once the most expensive breed selling for over ten thousand, can now be purchased for just a few hundred dollars. A similar situation occurred with the Tibetan Mastiff, which was once hyped up and eventually crashed.

In the case of cat breeding, with two litters a year, one cat can become six or seven, which is a classic example of exponential growth, leading to a surplus very quickly. Dogs are even more of a no-brainer; when the prices of pet dogs soared, I had a friend who ran a dog farm in Northeast China and he was ecstatic.

Those dog farms in Liaoning used to raise dogs for meat, similar to raising pigs and cattle. Suddenly, they heard that in the cities, a Corgi or a Golden Retriever could sell for thousands, and there was no need for slaughter. His reaction was akin to someone who runs a printing press suddenly hearing they could print money at home, and he immediately switched to breeding.

In just a few months, they could breed as many dogs as you wanted. In their eyes, these animals were practically worthless.However, when young people bring kittens and puppies home, the endless spending begins.

If they happen to fall ill, minor illnesses can cost a month's salary, while serious ones can consume an annual salary, leaving many young people in an awkward situation.

Nowadays, finding a job is also difficult, and the rent in big cities is high, with little money on hand to begin with.

Young people under the age of 30, in terms of numbers, account for one-third of the entire society,

but in terms of consumption power, they only make up 5% of the whole society.

Everyone is already doing their utmost to take care of themselves; where can they find extra money for pets? As a result, many have become more rational.

Those who want to make money from pets have basically given up.

Pet food's first stock, Petking, has now seen its stock price halved; the first stock of pet e-commerce, Boqii, has a market value that is only one-thousandth of its peak;

The leading pet hospital, Xin Rui Peng, has indeed raised hundreds of millions and acquired more than 1,300 hospitals, but it has continuously failed to go public and has been losing more money year after year.

Not to mention, the owners of pet shops on the streets, there are hardly any who are really making money.Businesses today must understand that the current generation of young people, when faced with the high cost of housing, choose to rent instead of buying. If the bride price is too high, they may opt not to get married. When raising children becomes too expensive, they might even forgo having offspring. Life has already been tough on them, so capital should not be scheming to exploit them further.

The youth of today are also advocating for a clear-headed approach to life, spending where it's necessary and saving where it's prudent, working hard to maintain a decent standard of living. What they need the most is simple happiness, not inexplicable and costly bills.

In the past two years, what high-end expenditures have you given up? Share in the comments.