Vet bill........

[nelson84]

My cat was peeing blood. Took him to the vet and an over night visit some antibiotics and $311.00 later he is back home. The cost of the cats visit isn't a big deal but how can someone factor these little expense in each month. They say to save some money for this, but how every month its something else, pressure tank $825 last month.

[sweeps]

Emergency fund.

[boefixepa]

I have many little funds for things like this. I have three dogs so I know the vet drama. I pay it like a monthly bill and let it build up in it's envelope...I have such funds as the following

Animal: Vet
Animal: Toys (I have sled dogs, sometimes they need a new harness or something)
Health: Deductable
Auto: Maintence/repair
Auto: New Car Fund
Home: Home Improvement
Home: Repair
Gifts: Birthdays
Gifts: Holiday
Gifts: Other (Usually wedding/baby shower/ etc)
Gifts: Donations (Helping family or Charities)
Baby Fund (for medical expenses and start up costs)

I also have other for things like yearly bills, vactions, self-balancing utilities. The system works for me. On top of this I do have an EF. If something really big were to come up I'd have to take what I lack from there, but I'm hoping to build these up over time to the point that they are self-funding and that will not be a worry, but that's going to take a bit more time.

[Sporkman]

We used to have birds, their vet bills were considerable as well.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Hmm...are you five figure vet bill? Then it's bad. I'm still only four figure vet bill.

[skydivingchic]

I do much the same as boefixepa. When I set up my Mvelopes account, I did my best to estimate annual, erratic expenses by looking back on my past records. My escrow envelopes include:
Cat care - food, litter, toys, vet, etc (estimated at $750/yr; two kitties)
Medical - doctor copays, prescription copays, deductibles, etc (estimated at $750/yr)
Auto maintenance - maintenance and repairs for both my RAV and my motorcycle (estimated at $1440/yr)
Gifts - b-days, Christmas, weddings, etc (estimated at $1000/yr)

On top of these escrow envelopes, I also have an emergency fund, which will be fully funded by the end of the year. Any thing over and above what is in the escrow envelope would be taken from my EF. I started this system about 10 months ago, and with the exception of a major car repair that occured right after I started this system, all expenses have been covered by the envelopes. If and when an envelope reaches about a year's worth of expenses, I will stop funding that envelope. But I don't expect to have to worry about that anytime soon.

After my EF is complete, I plan on starting to save for a new (to me) vehicle. That fund will also have its own little envelope, so that I can see what it is designated for and keep my hands off it until it is time to purchase said vehicle.

[scfr]

nelson84 -

As all of us who have pets, cars, and houses know that irregular expenses are a sure thing!

There are 3 ways to prepare for irregular and/or unexpected expenses.

Method #1: Have a general "emergency fund" (or "irregular expense fund"), contribute to it every month, and use it whenever irregular expenses come up.

Method #2: Budget an ample amount in budget categories where you anticipate and prepare for irregular expenses, so that you can cover them when they arrive. [For example, you could put $50 per month in your pet budget even tho your pet needs only $15 per month for routine care. You'd be putting in an extra $35 per month, and in 10 months you'd have enough saved to cover an $350 vet bill.]

Method #3: You could do a combination of the above 2 methods. You could put extra money each month in to your different budget categories to prepare for irregular expenses, AND save for a seperate (general purpose) emergency fund. How would you decide which funds to use? Well, you would have to decide which are "expect the unexpected irregular expenses" and which are "true emergencies." For example, in the case of a pet, if your cat started peeing blood as yours did, that would be considered an irregular expense and you would use your pet budget. However, if (God forbid) your cat was hit by a car and needed serious surgery, that would be a true emergency and you would use the emergency fund.

My advice would be to use whichever system works best for you, and the most important thing is just that you have a system in place where you can cover irregular expenses without throwing your finances out of whack.

Methods #1 & 2 are easier when you don't have as much savings built up. I used to use Method #2 when I first started budgeting, and when my savings grew I switched to Method #3. FYI - When my late cat developed cancer a couple years after I started using Method #2, I was glad I had planned for irregular expenses, because I had enough saved under my "pet budget" to cover a couple thousand in vet bills without racking up a balance on my credit card or having to go without in other expense categories.
P.S. - Did your vet discuss possibly changing your cats diet with you?

[FrugalFish]

I hope your cat is feeling better.

I have a chronically ill cat, who became such a little less than 2 years ago. She is doing well and lives a normal quality of life with minimal intervention, but she requires regular blood tests (averaging about 6/year), among other things for treatment and it really adds up. I think it costs us more to keep the cat than our 2 year old human daughter.

We sacrifice other things and squeeze the costs out of our already tight budget. I also have a CC that I keep on hand for vet costs, just in case it's too tight a month or expenses go to high. We do have an emergency fund to draw from.

After going through this with this cat, I'd really like to have a pet fund set up in the future- maybe like a money market account that allows you to write checks off it- and keep a couple thousand dollars in there just to write checks to the vet. It's not likely to happen with this kitty, but I think after she and boy cat are gone, I will set up a special fund before getting any more animals.

Vet costs do seem to vary by where you live in the country, but they can also vary widely throughout a city. I am very lucky to have a vet I love, who is very conservative in her approach- that saves us a lot of money too. Before we found her, all the vets we went to had a shotgun approach and wanted to do so many [expensive] tests.

[boefixepa]

Pets can be very expensive and pet insurance, at least the research I've done, is really a joke. If one of dogs get's sick it's at least $150 if they need a blood work done!! Knock on wood, that they three of them are healthy, but I've seen one thing costs friends hundreds upon hundred. I've had a cat in the past that costs me hundreds, so yep you have to plan for these things. Most people don't and sadly just put the animal down, even if the bill is $200-$300 because that is just 'too expensive' for them. If you can't afford to care for an animal, please respect them enough not become responible for them.

[TheTexan]

Sadly, boefixepa is right in saying that many people purchase a pet on an emotional whim, not to realize the costs associated with them. I do not think this is the case of the OP. The question arises though...at what point is it better to put down an animal? Do I think you should rack up your credit card to $5,000 for a 16 year old cat? Absolutely not. I guess it all depends on the circumstances as they may vary case to case.

[Ingtar17]

I do a combination between Method 1 and 2. I have a full record of the previous few years and attempt to estimate the category including minor emergencies. For example, if I spent $250, $400 and $300 in mypet category over the past three years, I would probably estimate $325 or so for my pet category that year. When I hit an especially unexpected and high expense in this category then I dip into Emergency. I contribute $100 to emergency every month, so if I will eventually replenish the fund. If it goes way down, I'll have to buckle down and re-arrange things to get the fund back up.

[FrugalFish]

The question arises though...at what point is it better to put down an animal? Do I think you should rack up your credit card to $5,000 for a 16 year old cat? Absolutely not. I guess it all depends on the circumstances as they may vary case to case.

I agree that everything should be looked at on a case by case basis. I had a cat with cancer about 10 years ago and rather than do anything for her, we should have just let her enjoy the short period of quality time she had left. Instead we did surgery and she lived a little longer than she would have otherwise, but in retrospect I think she was much more miserable- we should have left well enough alone.

The sick cat I have now is being treated in such a way that there is no harm- everything that is done for her yields positive results in a matter of hours. She is living a normal quality of life and treatment is minimal (though the costs do add up over time). I don't feel it would be fair to do anything less than that for her. If her quality of life were not being so easily maintained, I don't think we would fight so hard. Quality over quantity is sort of a mantra around here.

I always sort of expect that our animals will cost a bit towards the end of their lives. This cat has been a bit of a rude wake up call about chronic illnesses that can drag on for years. In speaking with other owners of chronically ill pets, it's not just the finances that can hurt, but emotionally it takes its toll too. A friend of mine recently had her chronically ill dog put down, not because of the financial costs, but because emotionally it was just too difficult on her and her partner.

[TheTexan]

I agree. Sometimes when we become emotionally attached to a pet or anything for that matter, it becomes difficult to make rational decisions. You brought up a good point, when is it too emotionally draining to care for a chronically ill animal? I guess, once again, case by case.

[nanamom]

I admit I am a vets nightmare. I had to take my Golden (died at age 16 last summer) to the vet for a rabies shot and she commented on how healthy she was for her age. At the time she was 14. I told him it was because she only saw a vet for her rabies shot every 3 years and not that if I could find a rabies clinic. He stopped the exam, looked at me and said you know you're probably right! He then offered to remove her broken tooth and when I said "why" He smiled and said you're right she doesn't need it done but most people want that kind of thing done. She got the other shots but I do them myself. I have higher vet bills when they are younger since I believe in spaying and neutering and giving heart worm meds because of where I live but that is about all I do. I'm sure if they were in pain I'd take them to the vet but otherwise I keep them slim and use a high grade of dog food and avoid table scraps (except on holidays of course!)