Are Pets Worth the Money?

Let’s be honest, unless you are a dog breeder, your cute new puppy is not going to generate income for you. Rather the reverse. Your new pet will cost you a considerable amount of money throughout its lifespan. It represents another mouth to feed and another medical expense, not to mention requiring much of your already depleted attention and affection on a daily basis. Don’t get mad at us just yet though. It is our commitment here at Moneystretching.com to point out all sources of financial waste, but we are not without heart. So, are pets worth the money? 

We could cut right to the chase and simply state that no, from a strictly financial standpoint, keeping pets will not likely produce a financial return, and are not worth the money considering the deceptively high costs involved. But this is not the end of the story, and we could say that the value of having pets is subjective, so let’s take a closer look at the argument.

Some of Our Pet Friends are Old Friends

In prehistoric times, animals were domesticated for practical purposes…transportation, food, clothing from hides, and even protection. It’s unclear when humans began valuing the companionship of pets, but we know that as early as 12000 years ago clearly some people thought this way. According to research by Geoffrey David Miller at St. Louis University, a burial was excavated that painted a touching picture. A human skeleton was found holding the skeleton of a puppy with its left hand. Clearly, the bond between humans and animals goes back much farther than we might assume. Nevertheless, we need to examine the financial impact of pet ownership in modern society, because surely things have changed just a little in over 10 millennia.

First let’s look at just why people keep pets. Granted, some pets are easier to understand than others. The appeal of a tail wagging puppy is obvious, but the lethargic snake in a cage is less so. And for the purpose of simplicity, we’ll ignore some of the more exotic species which may be hard to justify in more ways than just financially.

Surely, the health benefits of owning pets cannot be ignored. According to the CDC, there are many positive health factors related to owning pets. These include:

Pets From a Financial Lense

Are we making the argument that the expense of pet ownership is justified? Not necessarily. We are just pointing out that there are benefits. What these are worth to you is quite subjective, and these benefits must be weight to determine if our pets are worth the money we are spending. Everyone feels differently about such things, and everyone has different priorities. The point of Moneystretching.com is to help you make your money go farther, not to say “Ah, what the heck….it doesn’t matter how much it costs, just do it.” We are not insensitive, just unbiased. You’re welcome.

Let’s take a closer look at the cost of pet ownership according to the ASPCA.

This table summarizes the typical annual cost to own various common pets. Aside from the fish, most of the others could be classified as a considerable expense. If you consider the average lifespan of dogs and cats to be anywhere between 8 to 16 years (depending on breed) this becomes allot of money. Oh, and we didn’t even figure in the cost of other things, such as grooming, collars, leashes, scratching posts, aquariums, training classes and other associated costs. Of course, the initial cost of the pet is also a factor. Finally, add in the distinct possibility that many homes own more than one pet. So, by doing the math it is possible to spend over $20,000 on a two-pet lifestyle over the life of the pets.

There are two things to consider here. First, some pet owners do not incur these amounts of expenses simply because they do not properly care for the animals. These are the people who really shouldn’t have the pets in the first place. Shame on you, you know who you are.

Secondly, the time period we are focusing on can represent the greater part of childhood and extend over a decade. For that amount of a person or family’s life, the expense can be more easily justified. Still, we are talking about college education-level spending here.

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