Pets are some of the best companions you could ever ask for.  They are a blast and love you unconditionally. One of the things you should do to make them a true family member is add them to your budget.  Right?!  That’s how you know the true measure of their status in the family lol.  Give them their own separate line in your monthly budget!  There are 3 things you should be considering when starting to add a pet to your budget.

If you are wondering how much a pet actually costs, check this out!

I got my first dog, Zoe, when I was just out of undergrad and going to vet school.  I had no idea how much pets cost and I definitely did not budget for her.  All I knew was I would do whatever I had to for her.  This dog was now my life.  Seriously, when my husband and I started dating it was difficult to make room for him.  He used to jokingly (but seriously) ask me, if he and Zoe were both hanging off a cliff, who would I save?  Haha, he really didn’t want me to answer that!

Pets are family, there is no doubt about that, and they are also financially part of our everyday life.  

When it comes to adding your pet to your budget there are only three line items you need to add.

1.  Pet supplies

In every monthly budget, you should have a line for pet supplies.  This basically includes food, supplements, medications, bedding, toys on a per month basis.  

For example, I know my dog’s food is around $60/month.  Every 6 months we replace the dog beds so, in that month, the pet supply budget increases to cover for that.  Every household will be different.

Pro tip: Look at previous months expenses to see how often you are purchasing dog food, cat litter, etc., to get an average of what you need to budget each month.  If you are just adding a new pet to your family, then it may take a few months to figure out what you will need to budget each month.

2.  Annual expenses

This will be a category of savings per month in preparation for their annual exam.  Things included in this are vaccines, heartworm test, deworming, heartworm and flea/tick prevention.  

The awesome part about this category is it makes your annual vet visit so much more enjoyable.  You won’t have to skimp on care for your pet because of finances. Everything you need for the visit should already be saved.

How do I prepare for this?

Call your veterinarian’s office and ask them to put together an estimate for the coming year’s visit for your pet.  Let’s say it will be $600 for everything that your pet needs.  If you are on top of it and have 12 months to save, you will need to save $50/month leading up to that appointment.

This is so easy, will make your life less stressful and allow you to do everything that you need to for your pet!

Use our Free Pet Expenses Checklist to easily add your pet to your budget!  Gain instant access by signing up below!

3.  Pet Emergency Fund

If you are familiar with how I operate our financial life, then you know I STRONGLY recommend having a $1,000 emergency fund for your family.  This is following those same principles.

In the pet world, emergencies happen ALL. THE. TIME.  As an example, I had a client who had saved for a dental for their cat, did a kidney work-up at the same time (blood work, x-rays, urine sampling), and spent all of their savings on doing everything that was recommended.  That night, when they took their cat home after the procedure, they found their dog had gotten into a human medication.  We were closed and they had to go to the ER and pay for an unexpected event.  This stuff just happens.

Rule of thumb for me is, having $1,000 pet emergency fund, should be enough to cover some of the basic pet emergencies.  This is a totally separate $1,000 from your personal emergency fund.  This will at least put you in a position to provide care in the case of an unexpected emergency.  And trust me, they WILL come up!

So that’s it!  If you have their monthly costs, annual expenses and emergency fund taken care of, you will be set!  No one wants to worry about money when it comes to their pet.  If you are already budgeting every month, this should be a breeze to start doing.  If you haven’t started budgeting yet, start here!

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Do you have any additional line items in your budget for your bestie?

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