Do I have enough money to adopt a pet?

Finance & Money Blog

Pets add joy to your life by offering unconditional love and affection. However adopting a pet does come with its own set of new costs. If you are wondering if you can afford a pet, keep reading for some tips on how to make an adoption budget.

Adoption costs

Adoption costs can vary substantially depending on which kind of pet you are after. For common options like cats and dogs, you can expect to pay a couple of hundred dollars at your local shelter for a rescued animal and up to a few thousand if you head to a breeder and look for a specific and unusual breed. 

Food and accessories

You are no doubt already considering the ongoing food costs, but you also need to cover other costs such as litter for an indoor pet and leashes for going walking. These can quickly add up but you can save money by shopping in bulk at pet stores. You can also cut back in this area by making your own pet toys, as pets are often just as happy with an old tennis ball as they are with a newer pet toy. 

It can be tempting to switch to a lower cost food, but lower cost pet food can end up being more expensive if the lower cost food ends up leading to medical issues and vet visits. 

Vet visits

Vet visits fall into two categories, planned and unplanned. Planned visits include neutering and vaccinations and unplanned visits including accidents and illnesses. It can be sensible to save a small amount each month for emergency visits, to avoid stress if your pet does have an emergency venue. Alternately you can look at getting pet insurance to cover some costs. 

Ongoing costs

Larger pets can also need to be registered with your local council. The exact amount will depend on your local council, but the costs, if your pet gets loose and is picked up by a ranger, can be much higher. If you travel regularly you'll also need to factor in costs for boarding and/or walking your pets while you are away. 

As you can see there can be a range of costs associated with owning a pet. In fact, some sources quote the lifetime cost of a pet at between $12,000 and $25,000. Working on a budget for large expenses such as pet ownership with a financial advisor can make sure that you can enjoy your pet now while having enough money for other goals later on. 

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28 March 2016

Money Makes the World Go 'Round: A Finance Blog

If you want to thrive, you need to understand how money makes the world go 'round. Hi, my name is Martha, and I love writing about money. I used to work as a financial adviser, and now, I am launching a career as a day trader. In this blog, I want to share expert tips and advice for people who are interested in learning about money. I plan to write about everything from saving money, to investing money to understanding how it works. I invite you to explore my blog, and if these tips and ideas help you, please share my posts. Thank you for reading!