Over the past few weeks, our family has had to say goodbye to a cherished member of our family, our eldest cat, Hunter. Although he was 16 years old, we still felt like he had a lot of life to live and who heartedly believe that if you accept a pet into your home, you are taking on the responsibility for their care and they become part of your family. He had developed a rare form of cancer on his paw and after various pet visits and a major surgery, our only choice left was to put him to sleep.

We spent thousands of dollars throughout this whole ordeal and would gladly do it again if it meant we could save Hunter. We accepted these risks when we agreed to take Hunter, and would do the same thing for our other two cats, Dunkin and Riley.

This got me thinking about how different people view pet ownership. Some people jump into owning a dog or cat (or bunny, guinea pig, ferret, bird, fish, etc.) without ever considering the costs.

In my opinion, if you hope to get ahead in your finances and hope to be a good caretaker for your pet, you need to understand and accept the costs associated with pet ownership before you ever consider bringing a new member of your family home. So, before you go adopt a pet, you should ask yourself, “Can I afford a pet?”.