Covering the cost of your pet’s healthcare — whether it’s a standard checkup or a more complicated procedure — can be expensive.
Should you take out a pet insurance plan, with deductibles and copays, or create a special savings account to cover your fur baby’s care?
At The Motley Fool, Christy Bieber runs down the list of pet healthcare payment options, from pet insurance to personal loans.
The various methods of covering pet medical bills essentially come down to the following:
-
Paying in cash
-
Using money withdrawn from a savings account (either a dedicated “pet health care” account or an ordinary one)
-
Using pet health insurance to reduce costs (though you’ll have to do the maths on whether the premiums you’re paying are worth the coverage you’re getting)
-
Paying with a credit card and paying off the balance over time (try to use a credit card with a 0% intro APR to avoid interest charges)
-
Taking out a personal loan to cover exceptionally expensive procedures
These aren’t the only options, of course — you can always crowdfund your pet’s procedure, look for sliding-scale options, get your pet treated by veterinary students instead of full-fledged vets, check the Humane Society’s resources on applying for pet healthcare financial aid, and more. When you’re looking at an expensive veterinary bill, it pays to think outside the litter box.
How have you covered your pet’s healthcare costs? What’s the largest veterinary bill you’ve had as a pet owner, and how did you handle it? If you’re thinking about bringing a furry friend into your household, have you started budgeting for the costs?
Pets are like us, after all — they need love, they need food and exercise and entertainment, and someday they might just need an expensive medical procedure.
Comments