The Real Cost of Pet Ownership
Adding a pet to your family can be both extremely exciting and overwhelming. Pets come with many greetings at the door, snuggles, and high expenses. Let’s take an honest look at the real costs of pet ownership—the expenses you might not want to think about, but definitely should.
Pet Ownership Startup Costs
A significant portion of the expenses may occur immediately. Depending on the pet, you’ll have varying costs and items to purchase, but you can expect the following:
- Adoption or purchase fees: Each pet comes with a fee. If you want a rare pet, you can expect to pay a higher adoption/purchase fee. You can also expect fees to be less at a humane society compared to a breeder. Another thing to consider is the difference in cost of a younger pet vs an older pet. The younger the pet is, the more it will cost. So, if you really want a newborn animal, you should know that you’ll spend more on the adoption/purchase fee than you would if the animal is older than a year.
- Medical expenses: Most new pets will need to get their vaccinations and get spayed or neutered. Even if you purchase an older animal, they may still need some booster shots. You should take any new pet to the vet for an exam. This helps ensure your pet is up to date on everything and healthy. If your pet was spayed or neutered before you purchased it, that fee is typically included in the adoption/purchase fee.
- Necessary supplies: There are plenty of daily essentials that a pet needs. If you don’t already own one, you’ll need to get a bed or crate for them to sleep in. You’ll also need to purchase food and toys. Most of the time, the place where you purchase your pet will give you food to last a few days. However, you should make sure you purchase food right away before supplies run out. Each pet requires different supplies, so make sure you know what you’ll need before purchasing one.
Ongoing Costs
Having a pet requires several years of expenses. Let’s go over the costs you can expect to spend annually.
- Food and treats: Do you know how much food you must give your pet and how much it costs? You can research this before purchasing a pet to ensure you’re comfortable with the expense. The price may come as a surprise. Not only will you give your pet the necessary food they need, but you’ll also probably give them treats. You can plan on adding this to your annual food expenses.
- Vet appointments: Many pets require annual vet appointments to keep them up to date on vaccinations and ensure they stay healthy. The older your pet is, the more trips to the vet you might have, increasing costs.
- Grooming: If your pet has long hair that will need to be groomed, you’ll want to add this expense to your annual expenses budget.
Other Costs to Consider
We’ve discussed the necessary costs that you probably already knew about, so let’s go over some that might not be at the front of your mind.
- Pet rent: If you are renting an apartment or a house, you’ll need to consider pet rent. Most places charge a monthly fee for you to have a pet and a pet deposit that is non-refundable. Monthly pet rent can range from $20 to $50 a month. Another important thing to consider is that a lot of housing doesn’t accept certain breeds. Having a pet can also limit the rent options you have if you’re looking at moving because not all places allow pets.
- Behavior training: If your pet requires training beyond what you can offer, you’ll need to pay for a professional trainer. Prices can vary depending on trainers, and it depends on how long your pet will require training.
- Repairs: Pets are animals, and you can’t expect them to never ruin anything you own. They might chew on the carpet, furniture or even chew on your walls and make holes in them. You never know what damage they might do and how much they’ll cost you for repairs.
- Doggie day care: If you really want a dog but work all day, you might need to consider sending your dog to doggie day care. Dogs, especially puppies, can’t sit at home all day because they need to use the bathroom outside. Costs vary depending on where you send your dog during the day and where you live.
- Boarding costs: Whenever you go on vacation that your pet isn’t joining you on, you’ll need to find a pet sitter. There are plenty of options, such as dropping off your pet at someone’s house, having someone stay at your house, or taking them to a boarding place.
How to Handle Pet Expenses
Pets cost a lot of money and require work. That’s why we created a pet fund account called Paws and Plans Savings. This account can be used to save for all the expenses, planned or unplanned, that we listed above. Budgeting for a pet is crucial, and Paws and Plans Savings makes it easy to do so.