Why choose expensive pure-bred pet over a mix?

Many people ask: "Why should I pay so much money for a kitten or a puppy if I am not interested in showing or breeding but just want to have a good pet? There are many "affordable" pets advertised in newspapers or Internet for free or almost free!" 
There are few valid answers to this:
1. First of all, I really admire people who adopt "discarded", homeless or pound animals, - truly! Kudos to you and we need more like you!
However, not all of us are so altruistic. These animals often come with a very challenging "baggage" of either lack of control or abuse and neglect. Yes, sometimes they are wonderful animals that just lost their beloved and loving owners to sad circumstances but way to often they have never known a good caring home. What happens when you adopt such an animal is that it may take years to compensate for the unfortunate conditions their personality has developed in, if at all possible. Personally, I am not heroic enough to devote potentially years to an animal that may not ever become a good, not to mention, "perfect" pet.
But then, one might say, - why not take a little puppy/kitten. Wouldn't it be the same? Unfortunately, - no, there are no guarantees either.
Because:
2. Only with a pure-bred animal you would know exactly what to expect! Both aesthetically and behaviorally.
Every baby, whether it is human, puppy, kitten, chick or any other young creature is absolutely adorable, no doubt about it. And those of you who have ever held one, know how difficult it is to go home without bring it with you. Whether you pay a $100 or $1,000, you will love it the same and you will have to spend the same money for its treatments, food, toys and training. Well, NOT always the same - in many cases, especially if the pet came from a puppy mill or just a dishonest breeder, it may carry many genetic diseases that are extremely expensive to treat!
Reputable conscientious breeders will provide a written health guarantee against these diseases because they are interested in promoting and improving the breed and will never breed a "problematic" stock. And really great breeders care not only about appearance (i.e., breed standard) but also animal's behavioral characteristics specific to that breed that are predefined by the parents (particularly, the mother) as much as other genetic traits. That's why if you want to have a field dog, for instance, you should  acquire a puppy from the parents who are good at working in a field.
On a personal note:
​Like many of you, first time dog/cat owners, I purchased my first puppy when I saw it and it was SO irresistible (and his mom's picture shown to me was very beautiful ;-) Hence, a year later, the second, VERY pure bred best pedigreed dog joined our family to satisfy other senses! Since then I have never changed my mind and whenever a new dog (and later, a cat) joined the family,  it was a pure-bred, i.e., bred for a specific purpose and adhering to the particular standard of looks and personality.

But how much does it really cost to take care of any pet - adopted or purebred?

This excerpt from one of the pet insurance companies survey is really very modest in my estimation and covers only the MIN expenses. Like most of the pet owners and lovers, we cannot resist all the temptations of pet industry advertising and buy a LOT of things we can spoil our pets (and ourselves) with. It also does not include required education resources like books (that personally, I spend a LOT of my money on even after almost 50 years of being in the industry because like everything in life, educational approaches and training techniques change and develop all the time.