Smart Money Podcast — Overcome Rising Veterinary Costs: Affordable Pet-Care Tips
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Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast, where we answer your real-world money questions. In this episode:
Learn how you can balance the joy and financial responsibility of having a pet without having to compromise either of them.
How much does it cost to own a pet? How can you make pet care affordable without compromising quality? Hosts Sean Pyles and Ronita Chaudhry-Wade share personal stories about their pets and discuss the rising costs of veterinary care to help you understand how to manage pet expenses effectively. They discuss various financial aspects of pet ownership, including tips and tricks on managing the rising costs of veterinary services, creating a rainy day fund for pet emergencies, and leveraging community support for pet-sitting. Chloe Butler, a new kitty parent in Tulsa, also joins the show to talk about the process of becoming a pet owner.
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, veterinarian and CEO of the San Francisco Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), joins Sean and Ronita to discuss strategies for affordable pet care and making informed decisions about pet adoption. They discuss the time and financial resources required for pet ownership, tips for sourcing cost-effective pet supplies and treats, and common financial pitfalls new pet owners should avoid.
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Have a money question? Text or call us at 901-730-6373. Or you can email us at [email protected]. To hear previous episodes, go to the podcast homepage.
Episode transcript
This transcript was generated from podcast audio by an AI tool.
Sean Pyles:
Fluff balls, fuzzy four legs, fur babies, scaly little dudes. We feed them, we walk them, we love them. They're our pets and they ain't cheap.
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
The cost of vet care has gone up tremendously, and it is going to continue to go up because of the vet shortage. If you're really disciplined, put money aside. Have a rainy day fund, and I recommend having at least $2,500.
Sean Pyles:
Welcome to NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast. I'm Sean Pyles.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And I'm Ronita Choudhuri-Wade.
Sean Pyles:
This episode kicks off our Nerdy deep dive into what it takes to financially support our furry family members, the cost to keep them fed, exercised, healthy, and happy. Ronita, I've been wanting to do this kind of series for years. Like 14 dog years.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Well, Sean, I am here to help fill your pet stories' bowl to the brim. Kibble bowl, of course.
Sean Pyles:
This isn't going to stop, is it?
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Nope. This whole series is just going to be really bad dog and cat wordplay.
Sean Pyles:
That is totally fine by me. All right, so tell us why you brought this idea to us for a series on the cost of pets.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Essentially, I've wanted a dog forever, but it's just that for years, it was like moving and with work, it never felt like the right time until about three years ago when my husband and I got our little Toy Fox Terrier, Moe. (We can only play this game if you give me the ball.) I will say his full name is Moe Montgomery Burns Wade, which is a Simpsons reference.
Sean Pyles:
That's so good.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
So when he gets in trouble, it's Moe Montgomery Burns, of course. But when we did get Moe is when I actually realized that while I was ready to be a puppy mom, I hadn't really considered what that may mean financially. And I figured I must not be the only one. How long have you been a pet parent, Sean?
Sean Pyles:
For the majority of my life at this point. Growing up, we got our first cats when I was in middle school, and then I got my gecko, Ozzy, for my 11th birthday shortly thereafter. Ozzy is still alive and chilling 22 years later, by the way.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Oh my gosh.
Sean Pyles:
I adopted my cat, Argus, about nine and a half years ago, and then when we moved to Portland six years ago. My boyfriend and I adopted our sweet dog Pepper, and more recently we acquired some tadpoles for the pond in our backyard, although I view those more as temporary house guests than actual pets. And here in a quick guest starring role is my cat, Argus.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Argus sounds adorable. But could you estimate what you spend on your small zoo over the course of either a month or a year?
Sean Pyles:
Yeah, so I did some back-of-the-napkin math, and I spend around $170 a month across all three of my pets. Most of that is for the dog and cat with that subscription service. And then there's food and treats and the occasional new toy for them. And of course, there are the crickets that Ozzy needs weekly. Can't forget about those. What about you, Ronita?
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Okay, let's see. So I make Moe's food. So I think for the chicken, rice, and vegetables, it comes out to about 52 bucks monthly. We give him some additional kibble sometimes, especially if I haven't cooked or forgot to. So that's about maybe another $20, a few treats. One expense is... A specific expense is his toenails. Because of a much longer story, we now have to go to the vet to get those cut. So we're looking at about 100 a month or so. And Sean, we're actually pretty typical of the average American pet owner. First of all, most of us own a pet — 62% according to a Pew Research Center survey sent out last year. And pretty much all of us pet parents, 97%, consider them part of our families. Not only that, but fully half of us say our pets are as important as the human members of our households.
Sean Pyles:
I can completely relate to that.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
I know, me too. Moe is seriously my best friend. He just knows everything.
Sean Pyles:
What's said to Moe stays with Moe.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
100%. He's the best listener a person could ask for. But Sean, all this love comes at a cost. A totally worth-it cost, but a cost nonetheless, as we've already noted.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah, according to the American Pet Products Association, we spent a combined $147 billion on our pets last year. That's expected to rise to $150.6 billion this year. Want to break that down for us, Ronita?
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
So we're looking at $64 billion on food and treats, $32 billion on supplies and medication, $38 billion on vet care and product sales and $12 billion on “other,” which include things like boarding, grooming, insurance, pet sitting, and walking services.
Sean Pyles:
That is a lot of doggy doors and litter boxes.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
It is a staggering figure, but hey, they're family. No cost too great, except sometimes especially toward the end of their lives. That's something we have to start evaluating in earnest, and something we'll address later in this series. In the meantime, we're going to explore what to expect financially for getting a pet, how to evaluate pet insurance, and how to decide on emergency and other care.
Sean Pyles:
All right, well, listeners, we want you to bark and meow at us with your stories about your pets and what it takes to keep them in kibble. What are you sacrificing in your budget to have an animal? Hopefully, you are not requiring a loan from your 401k. We want to hear any and all pet stories over the course of this series. So to share them, leave us a voicemail or text the Nerd hotline at (901) 730-6373. That's (901)-730-NERD. Or email a voice memo to [email protected], and if you have any audio of your pets, all the better. Okay, so Ronita, where did we start today?
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Well, we're going to start today with Chloe Butler. She's a new kitty parent in Tulsa. We want to hear from someone who's been through this process recently, and she agreed to share her story.
Chloe Butler:
My partner and I have two cats, they're bonded brothers. I went over to a friend's house who had found this litter and fully intended to come home with one cat and she just basically guilted me into taking two and now I would not have it any other way. I love both of them so much and it's just been so sweet. I have always been a cat person. I'm away from home quite a bit, so I really like just kind of how self-sufficient they are. They're very independent, but they're also really affectionate. I feel like we lucked out with really sweet cats that just love when we are around. They're so just cuddly and nice and sweet all the time. So 10 out of 10 highly recommend them.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And how did you decide that now was the right time to get one and now two cats?
Chloe Butler:
There's just something to coming home and even if it's not a person home with you, you've just got your little friends that live there with you. And I love that feeling of just you're never really by yourself, but you're also not being dependent on so heavily. I haven't had kids yet. I feel like I have been unsure if that's something I'm ready for, but having a little companion at home that is just hanging out waiting for you to get there but is also fine on their own is my favorite thing about having cats.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And how old are they now?
Chloe Butler:
They are just over a year old. So they're in their solid teenager phase, which has been disastrous for our home, but also really fun. They just haven't really chilled out into adulthood yet.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
So you mentioned you got them from a friend. Were they free, or did you have to give something maybe nominally?
Chloe Butler:
I guess they were free. I didn't pay anything. The main thing I paid for was just we take them to a vet that does a wellness plan. So you pay a monthly fee and it's $75 per cat. So we pay 125 total per month, but it includes everything from their vaccines. We got them microchipped in case they get out. It includes neutering and spaying and all of the routine checkups that they would need throughout the first year. And then now that the first year is over, I think it's 60 per month now, I would have to check. I'm pretty sure it's 60 because it's less shots and stuff they need after the first year. After all of that was done, it got cheaper, but that was the biggest expense we had for them.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
How did you learn about this service? This something you just knew from before or did you do research before getting the cats? After getting them?
Chloe Butler:
It was research from a previous cat I had had. I actually had one cat that got really sick, really young. They got a very rare neurological thing. So at that time... I mean it was devastating. That is the downside of taking on pets is there are just these crazy chances that something terrible can happen and you have no control over it. But during that time I was going to all different kinds of emergency vet clinics and trying to find just something that was still affordable. I couldn't spend just thousands of dollars on care for one pet. And that's the hard part I think of pet ownership, especially later on in their lives. It does get really expensive. I've got friends that have dogs with tumors or cancer and they're weighing all the time of like, hey, is their quality of life still high enough that we're going to spend all of this money to just keep them around? And it's a huge decision to make. But at that time I was just kind of shopping around for different vets that I could still afford and getting different opinions on stuff. I think the plan of just being able to pay monthly knowing that everything they'll need in their first year and beyond is covered within that plan, and they also have chat support that if they're acting weird or doing something weird, you can always contact a vet tech at any time and just ask, is this okay? Should I bring them in? What is going on? So it's been a huge service to me of just knowing it's kind of protected in all areas.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
That kind of emotional comfort, too, knowing that okay, if anything does happen, you have somewhere directly to go. And so you said that costs about 125 for both cats and you started that right from the get-go. Were there any other expenses, even everything from treats to everything bigger that you planned for, you made a budget for? Or how did you decide what you were going to purchase?
Chloe Butler:
Unfortunately, I'm not a big budgeter. I'm a big impulse purchase type person. Once we had them, we knew, okay, I can't just spend all of my money on gifts for them.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Very tempting.
Chloe Butler:
It's very tempting. So we've gotten a couple of nice things for them. We found a really high-quality little cat tower on sale, and that was $200, but it is also one that you can take down and rebuild as they get older. So it's still accessible to them. It'll last their whole life. So a lot of the things we've purchased, even their litter box, we got a really nice stainless steel one that's easier to clean, it lasts longer, it's not as smelly and it was more expensive than buying just a plastic more basic one. But I've tried to be really smart about buying things for them that just will last so I don't just have to replace it constantly. Food, we do pretty affordable, more generic food, but they also eat some of the same stuff we eat. I don't ever buy treats for them. They really love bonito flakes, these little fish flakes that are really common in Japanese food. So it's stuff we have around all the time. So we do a lot of research on what can they eat that might be waste to us. So it's been a lot of trial and error of just finding little treats and good enrichment things for them that are good for their diet and keep them healthy, but that we're not having to go to a pet store to get cat-specific branded treats that you don't really know what are in them. We would rather just feed them things that we feel good about eating and that are good for them, too.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And so just roughly how much do you think it costs total? And let's put the monthly vet expense aside as an ongoing, but how much would you say you'd spent total to get them settled and set up?
Chloe Butler:
I was calculating their food costs and it's less than $2 a day and they eat both wet and dry food. Buying a litter box was about $70 for a nice one. We do buy really nice cat litter too, also on a subscription, but it's like $20 for a bag that lasts three months. I mean we didn't even buy them that many toys, which makes me feel kind of guilty. But they're like shoestring cats, they just love boxes and random stuff. So the initial cost was not really any more than it has been to just kind of do all of the upkeep costs.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Were there any unexpected costs since getting your kids?
Chloe Butler:
So far? Not really. Yeah, not that I can think of. I feel like all of it, they've just been pretty healthy, like normal.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
You did say that you travel a bit, so I mean how do you decide your travel plans with your two little cats?
Chloe Butler:
It makes us very sad to leave. We have great neighbors that are just friends of ours and happened to be in the same neighborhood as us, so we kind of have a whole little very nearby village of people that, importantly, love to come see them because they're just very sweet cats. So it's very easy for us to find pet sitters and everyone is just always so kind and so down for it to just come see them and get their own time to hang out with the boys.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And I didn't even ask you, what are their names?
Chloe Butler:
Their names are Butter and Mochi because we're very food-focused people. It's one of our favorite desserts. It's called a Butter Mochi. It's like this Hawaiian little pastry. So when we got two instead of one cat, we actually texted our work group chat asking for names. I sent a photo of them, we made it into a little naming contest and that one was like immediately that has to be it.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
So for any prospective pet parents out there, do you have any tips, advice? And it can be along the lines of how to be financially prepared and even emotionally.
Chloe Butler:
I mean honestly now that I have two cats at once, I really can't recommend it enough. Our vet bill is technically doubled, but they also go in for appointments at the same time. They share a big crate. There's so much that is shared that I don't think it adds that much more cost really at all. Or it feels like it's about the same that you would spend on one. And it's so much better for them just emotionally and physically to have someone there with them. But financially, I think the biggest thing is kind of making do with what you have. I don't think you have to spend a lot of money on fancy toys and gadgets. We've thought about getting a camera or people have those really cool automatic feeders that you talk to your pets when you're not at home and it'll toss them a treat. It's stuff we've kind of toyed around with buying for them, but for the most part, we know they're going to be just as happy with the stuff that's in our pantry that we've just have all the time and not really fancy treats that we're spending way more money on. So we've kind of found this balance of having a home set up in such a way that they have a lot of enrichment there and they can mess with stuff and play with things and explore and get all these corners and under the couch. It doesn't really affect us negatively. If anything, it's very positive for us to know that they have full range of the home, that they're in way more than we're here. So they should get to do what they want and be happy.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
I love that. And keeping a whole stack of bonito flakes, right?
Chloe Butler:
Yes. I have to keep our pantry. We did have to buy child locks to keep them from getting in there. They were very into sushi nori and bonito flakes. If I forget to lock the pantry, inevitably I come home and there's bags of seaweed or fish flakes out on the floor and I know they've had a very fun day.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Awesome. Well, Chloe, thank you so much for talking with us today. It was wonderful to learn about Butter and Mochi and you and your partner seem like wonderful parents.
Sean Pyles:
Hearing Chloe talk about how much Butter and Mochi enrich her and her partner's lives is just the sweetest. It reminds me a lot of the dynamic that I have in my household. Our cat, Argus, is a little more bonded with my partner, Garrett, while our dog Pepper is a little more bonded with me, and they very much act like siblings with each other. They groom each other, wrestle each other, and they definitely annoy each other. But it's all done with so much love that it makes me want to squeeze them until they try to squirm out of my arms.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
I completely agree. I do love how thoughtful Chloe and her partner are about Butter and Mochi, ensuring they have each other to play with, but also as chefs, they integrate things they normally have around the house to enrich the kitties. So that is one person's experience, and you and I both know what it's like to bring a new pet home, but now let's hear from an expert.
Sean Pyles:
I think you mean petspert?
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
That is such a bad pet dad joke.
Sean Pyles:
You are welcome, Ronita.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Well, our next guest is Dr. Jennifer Scarlett. She's a veterinarian and the CEO of the San Francisco SPCA. That's the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She has 20 years of experience in for-profit and not-for-profit veterinary medicine. And she lives in San Francisco with her dog, Louie, and cats, Squitten and Olive.
Sean Pyles:
And the American SPCA is a national organization that doesn't operate shelters directly but collaborates with and offers training and support to hundreds of local agencies, including shelters, rescues and clinics across the country to advance animal welfare.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And so she's seen firsthand what it takes to make sure a pet can thrive in a household and what's needed to provide for those animals financially.
Sean Pyles:
All right, we'll hear from Dr. Scarlett in just a moment. Stay with us.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Hi, Dr. Scarlett, thanks so much for coming on the Smart Money podcast.
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
My pleasure. Thank you for having me.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
So to kick this off, I want to start with a basic question. What are some common reasons people decide to get a pet?
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
The most common reason that I hear from people that come in to adopt is they're looking for companionship. They want to come home and be greeted by a dog or cat. And I would say the second thing, especially for dogs, is I want to change my lifestyle. I want to get out and I want to socialize more. So companionship, but also getting out to meet more humans.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And what are some key factors someone should consider before deciding to get a pet?
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
I think one of the most important factors to think about is do you have the time? Because this is about companionship and you're part of a pair, so we have to think about the animal's social needs and needs for enrichment, not just the humans. So do you have the time? If you're always traveling or you're gone for months, that may not be the right situation for you. Because this is what it's all about. It's about building a bond. And the only way to do that as we know from our human experiences is you have to give it time. The second thing I will say is there's the time resource and then there's also the resources. Animals are living, sentient beings and so there's ongoing costs in terms of their care, whether it be the most basic from food, clean shelter, water, but also their medical care. So putting that all in context is number one, of course, is we have to meet their social and enrichment needs. And number two is they're dependent on us, so we have to be prepared to take care of those needs monetarily.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And what would you say are some signs that maybe a pet isn't right for you? What factors would make it maybe a less than good idea?
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
Well, one of the things that we do at our adoption center is we ask people, what are your goals? What are you looking for? What is your household like? And sometimes someone may fall in love with a very shy kitten, and as we talk to them, we realize they have three kids, they have a lot of parties, there's a lot going on in the house. That may not be the right animal for that household. The other situation that we find ourselves in a lot is perhaps it is someone who's a bit frail or has mobility issues wanting a big rambunctious dog, and we usually work with folks and try to find an animal that's going to fit their lifestyle, as well as the human's lifestyle fitting the animal.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Okay, so we're going to get down to some of the money questions, since we are the Smart Money podcast. What would you say are some of the initial costs associated with adopting a pet?
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
Yeah, some of the initial costs are we need bowls to feed them out of, water bowls. Usually you want to get a bed, a leash, a collar, so those things, they're going to last... Well, if you're cheap like me, they're going to last a lifetime. I usually go with higher-end stuff and plan to have it a long time. Adoption fees here at the San Francisco SPCA, we charge about $125 for a cat adoption, about 175 for a dog, and that includes, they come with their vaccinations and they've been spayed or neutered. That can vary from shelter to shelter. If you go to a breeder, it can be quite a bit more, but those are in general, your first initial costs in bringing home a pet.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And typically do you have to register a pet where you live?
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
Yes. Here in California, when a veterinarian gives a rabies vaccine, that information is sent to the local animal control that does the licensing. So in our jurisdiction, cats are not licensed. That also varies by jurisdiction.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Okay. That's something to keep a note of for first-time pet owners, see if they are licensed or not, or they have to do it themselves. I think with Moe we had to do it ourselves with the town.
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
Yeah, that's the most common way.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
So we covered the initial costs. What about ongoing expenses on a monthly or yearly basis? We can take it from the start with food.
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
Yeah, so monthly is we like to eat every day and they like to eat every day, so food is certainly one of the most common ongoing expenses. For cats, you're probably going to have a litter box and so you'll need to plan for that, but those are relatively low expenses. Dogs, depending on your lifestyle, you may want to invest in having a dog walker. It may be every day while you're at work or maybe a couple of days, but in most cases, I would plan on... If you have a dog, to plan on some kind of bolstering of their enrichment and exercise needs. On a yearly basis, even healthy animals should be examined by a veterinarian. And hopefully everything is fine. Some vaccines are yearly, other vaccines may be every three to five years depending on the lifestyle of the pet. Other ongoing costs to consider, and this is a consideration when you're getting your pet is grooming. I've always veered towards the short-haired dogs, but certainly longer-haired dogs and cats are going to require some grooming and that's something that you can learn to do on your own if you want to try to save money.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
What are your thoughts on training costs? Is that common?
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
It is. It's one of the best... Actually, I probably should have said this at the initial cost, it's one of the best investments that you can make. Whether you adopt a dog, whether it's an adult or a puppy. I love investing in a good positive reinforcement training program. And even if you don't go all the way to a basic obedience class, many, many trainers have what they call puppy drop-ins, which are... One is they're super fun. You take your young dog and they get to play with other puppies and usually they have, if it's a good puppy drop-in, they have their trainers there talking about what is consent play and when to bring them back. And you're kind of teaching them as they're playing, like, okay, now we're going to take a little break, but it's going to be all positive, right? And we're not going to penalize you for playing. The balance here is that's also when they're most susceptible to diseases. And so that's the teeter-totter that we're on. We want to get them out, see the world, but we don't want them to get sick.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Are there ways to save money on pet care without compromising on quality?
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
Oh, absolutely. One is, I'll start with food. There's a lot of opinions about food and nutrition. I personally go with a name brand that has a nutritionist on staff. I use Purina One. It's a good food. That company is able to trace every bowl of food back because they own the entire chain. There are a lot of foods on the market that are much more expensive, but they don't have a veterinary nutritionist on staff and they don't have control over their sourcing and chain. And that's important to me. Raw food diets, frozen diets are very expensive, and as a veterinarian, I don't see any great benefits to that. So I just pick a really good high-quality kibble, and then I cook some ground beef and some other types of meat as a topping for my dog. The other place I save a lot of money is on treats. Dog treats are really expensive. And I find that I can buy meat or basically human food and use it as treats, whether it's cheese that is cut up in small bits. You can bake a chicken breast and cut that up and keep it in the refrigerator, and that's much less expensive and it's very high value. So around food, you can save significantly. I want to say one other thing about how to save some money is when you get a pet, it's a great time to get to know your neighbors and build a community. Because another big expense is either you want to go on vacation and you can't take your cat or you can't bring your dog. Boarding can be quite expensive and it's a great service, a good boarding facility, but it's also a very good way to save some money. So if you know of someone who has a dog and your dogs get along, trade. I'll keep your dog while you're away this week and you keep my dog next week. Same with cat care.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
That's an expense that can very quickly add up.
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
Oh, absolutely.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
I'm going to switch gears and I want to talk a little bit about the SPCA. What resources and support does the SPCA provide to new pet owners to help them manage these expenses we talked about?
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
Yeah, so one is if you adopt from a shelter, like I said, most of the time they're coming vaccinated, dewormed, spayed and neutered. So you get all that cost taken care of upfront. Additionally, we offer our new adopters a discount for puppy training at a couple of local vendors so they can get off on the right foot. And then we have additional programs here at the San Francisco SPCA. We have no-cost vaccine clinics that we hold monthly. We have a low-cost veterinary clinic where we offer sort of the basics of skin, ear, mainly things that we can take care of right then and there as well as wellness. We have low- and no-cost, spay-neuter clinics, and then we have a full-service hospital that is full pay. But we also offer financial assistance for qualified clients who are really struggling to care for their sick or injured animals.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
That's so helpful for people that do want to enjoy the joys of having a pet. But yeah, sometimes the cost can really become a burden.
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
I think that's an important point is it's not uncommon that I hear, well, if you can't afford a pet, you shouldn't have one. But the fact of the matter is that pets come into people's lives in a variety of ways. Sometimes they show up on your doorstep and you feel pity for them. Sometimes you just really need company. And we should all have the benefit of unconditional love. And it would be ideal if everyone could afford it, but that's just not the case. We want folks to meet us somewhere along the pathway to good care, but we also know that we all go through really rough times and that shouldn't be a reason why you lose your beloved pet.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
So if you are considering getting a pet, what are some of the common financial mistakes new pet owners make and how can they be avoided?
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
I think one of the most common things that I see are people ordering, particularly dogs, but it happens with cats, online and these animals are shipped to you. The problem with that is multiple. One is you're oftentimes supporting puppy mills or places that perhaps don't have the best welfare of the animals in mind. Two is shipping a pet to you can be... It's very stressful on the animal and it's fraught with some dangers. And then you don't know what you're getting. So whenever possible, yes, there's plenty of dogs and cats in shelters. If you can adopt, great. But I also understand that we have propensities and we want the dog or cat that we want. And that's fine. But I would say go to the breeder and see the facility. I think the other piece is it's really important to establish a relationship with a veterinarian. If you need to go and get a low-cost vaccine, that's understandable, but be careful of going to places where you're going to get a vaccine and they're not asking you about the lifestyle of the pet or what is really needed for that pet. So you think you're saving some money, but they're giving your dog or cat a bunch of vaccines that they don't need.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Well, Dr. Scarlett, thank you so much for helping us out today, and our pets thank you, too.
Dr. Jennifer Scarlett:
It's my pleasure, and have fun with your pets.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
I felt I learned a lot from Dr. Scarlett's interview, even as a pup parent three years in.
Sean Pyles:
Oh, same here. And Ronita, full disclosure, I adopted my cat Argus from the San Francisco SPCA years ago, so I may be a little biased here, but Dr. Scarlett really represented the best side of pet care and ownership. You have to be thoughtful about how you're going to support and raise your little companion. You have to give yourself grace when things get hard. And often you need to get creative about how you're going to finance this furry friendship. Two of her tips really resonate with me. One, the importance of finding ways to make food more affordable, because it can get very pricey. And two, the need for developing your pet community. I met two of my best friends in Portland at dog parks here and now they are aunties to my little Pepper. And you cannot put a price on that.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Absolutely. And I think the really important thing here is to be aware that there are indeed costs involved in getting a pet. And that can include costs that may not be thought of firsthand like pet deposits, boarding, dog walkers and more. And as far as health, even if you start out with a healthy puppy or kitten, they're going to grow into a senior dog or cat at some point and the care is going to get more expensive as they age. And you just never know what's going to show up in them, especially health-wise, at any age. Kind of like us humans. It's certainly not an argument against getting a pet, of course, but it's really smart to think upfront about how you're going to finance this new life in your household.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah, it's kind of like planning for just about anything else, whether it's a vacation or a car or retirement. It's always a good idea to have funds set aside so you can deal with the inevitable surprises. And none of those things bring you eternal and unquestioning love.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
I'm not really sure if cats do that either.
Sean Pyles:
Well, it depends on the cat. I'll say that.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
True, true. That did sound like some eternal love from Argus.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah. At least until he decides to bite Garrett, my partner, for his troubles. He is sometimes an angel kitty, sometimes a devil kitty. All right, Ronita, tell us what's coming up in the second bark of this series.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Oh, Sean. Bark? Really?
Sean Pyles:
I can't help myself. Sorry.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Well, next time we're going to hear all about pet insurance. This is an industry that doesn't have an entirely positive rap. So we're going to examine what to look for in a pet insurance plan, what's usually covered and not covered, and how to know when it's something that could ultimately be helpful to your pet budget.
Speaker 5:
These days, there's so many advanced treatment options out there for animals to help them extend their lives, but not everyone has the budget to take advantage of those. And so pet insurance can help with that and really spare your family a heart-wrenching decision about how much treatment you can afford to try.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
For now, that's all we have for this episode. Do you have a money question of your own? Turn to the Nerds and call or text us your questions at (901) 730-6373. That's (901) 730-NERD. You can also email us at [email protected]. And remember, you can follow the show on your favorite podcast app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and iHeartRadio to automatically download new episodes.
Sean Pyles:
This episode was produced by Tess Vigeland. I helped with editing, Kim Lowe helped with fact-checking, Sara Brink mixed her audio. And a big thank you to NerdWallet's editors for all their help.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And here's our brief disclaimer. We are not financial or investment advisors. This nerdy info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstances.
Sean Pyles:
And with that said, until next time, turn to the Nerds.
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