Puppies are adorable. Kittens are adorable. They’re easy to love when looking at cute reels on Instagram, but getting gifted a bundle of fur isn’t always welcome.
WBBM Newsradio’s Rachel Pierson, whose father is a veterinarian, brought up the concerns and challenges that pet gifts might bring up this week during an interview with Shane Gornik, financial advisor at Forefront Financial Planning, on the Noon Business Hour. It comes just in time for the holiday season.
“I love my dog, but not the best investment. It might be the worst investment you’ll ever make negative cashflow, no resale value,” Gornik said.
Now, that doesn’t mean that pets aren’t wonderful. They can be a great emotional investment that bring families joy, and they can help parents teach kids about responsibility.
At the same time, that responsibility is something that can’t be ignored. Pets need time, food, toys, medical care and other resources that can stress budgets.
“One of the things people don’t understand is putting together that household budget for the cost of owning that pet,” said Gornik.
While they might have some of those expenses we already mentioned in mind when they get a pet, he noted that they might not be prepared for their dog “eating an entire Christmas ornaments or needing emergency surgery on Thanksgiving,” he added. An emergency vet bill like that could throw a $4,000 wrench into the holiday season spending plan.
Pierson mentioned that other medical issues such as allergies could end up adding expenses to the budget every month. Still, once puppy dog eyes are in the picture, it’s hard to give a pet back, even if they come with a hefty price tag.
“All of a sudden you’re spending… probably a couple thousand dollars minimum each year as an expense. And if you take that expense over, you know, let’s say 10 years… you re we’re talking $20, $30,000 that you would expect that you might have to outlay. And we do it all over again,” said Gornik. “You know, I love my dog… but it’s something that we need to factor in and we need be aware of.”
For households that decide to bring pets into the fold, Gornik actually recommends waiting until after the holidays to get them.
“A lot of times with the holidays, you have a lot of other things going on. You have lot of expenses going on that you might not normally have,” he explained.
