PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 6

Survey Says
Pet
Expenses
Before
Retirement
Savings?
R
ecently, we asked NewsDash readers,
" Do you own a pet, and what
would you sacrifice to pay for an
emergency pet expense? "
Eighty-one percent of responding
readers own a pet. Asked which steps they
would take to pay for an emergency pet
expense-respondents could make more
than one choice-17.5% said they would
borrow from a retirement account, and
22.8% said they would suspend contributions
to a retirement account.
The most popular selection, made by
73.7% of responding readers, was " reduce
or give up discretionary spending. " Nearly
one-quarter (24.6%) reported they would
give up TV services, while 10.5% indicated
they would give up cell phone services.
More than one-quarter (26.3%) said they
would borrow from a friend or relative;
14% would forego paying credit card bills;
and 7% would forego paying other bills.
As always, all verbatim responses
reflect the opinions of individual readers
and not the stance of PLANSPONSOR or
its affiliates at Strategic Insight.
" I pay over $600 each month for my
dog's chemotherapy and medical visits.
Though she is 14, she is playful, happy,
insists on 3-mile-long walks every day and
loves life. She is worth every penny and
makes life worth living! "
" If something happens where he does
need emergency care, I'm sure we'll end up
weighing the cost vs. benefit and his quality
6 PLANSPONSOR.com April-May 2018
of life. As he's only 2, I'm hoping this day
never comes. "
" I paid over $200 for a vial of insulin
every 68 days for my diabetic cat. I gave up
discretionary expenses to keep her alive. But
when she had a stroke and her quality of life
was expected to be poor, I sent her across the
rainbow bridge. "
" We have such great medical insurance
at work that the amount I pay for pet insurance
is more than I pay for our insurance! "
" My pets are my furry children, and I
would do whatever was necessary to get them
the care they needed. "
" I keep a CareCredit card with a $3,500
limit for emergency pet care. "
" I would sacrifice just about anything
that didn't hurt my human family. Keeping
the mortgage paid, the lights and heat on,
and food on the table would trump pet care.
But everything else is fair game. "
" One option not given was going further
into credit card debt, which is what we did. "
" My husband and I put quite a bit away
into savings for a 'rainy day' fund ... or an
emergency pet fund ... or a one-of-the-manythings-in-my-house-broke-down
fund, ... etc. "
" Anything more than $500 would
Art by John Cuneo
probably be too much. There are lots of pets
needing homes and care. "
" Not having pets to begin with prevents
me from having to make decisions like this! "
" I would pay for emergency pet expenses
... out of my emergency fund. "
" This is why I have pet insurance: so I
am never forced into the position of having to
make a financial decision over the life and
well-being of my pets. "
" My three dogs are my kids. I'd do
just about anything for them. When I was
laid off and didn't have much money for
food after paying rent, my dogs ate chicken
breasts, grains and veggies due to their allergies
while I lived on pasta and salad. "
" If an urgent pet expense jeopardized
my retirement savings, I'd sacrifice the pet! "
And the Editor's Choice goes to the
reader who said, " Our pet is a very important
part of our life (family). We usually
have extra money stashed away, should
anything happen. I will say I am sure my
wife would sacrifice me to save the dog ...
LOL. " -Rebecca Moore
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PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018

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