An Awesome Idea. Vet Approved!

Our vet (who we've had all of two weeks, since we've only had Ruby two weeks) came joggin by with her dogs a few minutes ago. Hubby and I were outside doing yardwork and she recognized us and stopped by. I told her that Ruby had had her babies and, of course, she wanted to come in and see them. (From her inspection they all --including tiny little Layla--got a clean bill of health .)

We got tho chatting and I asked her if it would be possible to make monthly payments to her office and just maintain an positive balance in case of emergency. She said she had never heard of anything like it, but that its a great idea and she'll get it set up. So from now on, we are going to pay the vet like a regular bill (we decided $50 a month). Adding it up, we figured that we will have enough saved for regular maintenance and then thousands saved by the time Ruby and Shannon get "elderly cat" problems.

I'm just so thrilled. Maybe ask your vets if they would be willing to do the same. They keep a steady cash flow, and your pretty much covered in an emergency!

It would actually be better for you to set up a bank account for this and keep the money yourself. You would get the interest instead of your vet. Also, what if she went out of business or filed bankruptcy? You could lose your money

Honestly, I don't trust myself to keep a animal care only account, but you raise some valid points. We've struck up a nice friendship with the new vet (she is coming to my DH's birthday party on Saturday) and I am inclined to trust her to return any money that is not "hers." I guess this will require more thought on my part. Because it is a new business (her clinic), I guess it could be risky. Thanks!

Her accountant may object of this, as it just creates extra paperwork. I tried this with my vet but it didn't last for just that reason.

There is a vet here that does that, mostly for breeders, though he will do it for anyone. He has been here for years, and I have never heard of a problem with him. He is the most expensive vet in town, but he is very good, and has a thriving practice. He keeps a cat specialist on staff for cases that need more than just regular vet care. This is one of these cases where you get what you pay for.

My vets dont allow monthly payments, but they have let me give them so much a month which they have put in an envelope in their safe for me to cover things - but then Pebbles threw everything out by needing lots of treatment, so I only had enough to cover one of the boosters!! I should really put it in a bank accoutn, but I already have three so dont know how I Can set up a third just for cats.

You might want to look into an ING savings account (ingdirect.com, I think). You link it up to your checking account and you're able to electronically transfer money into the saving account. You earn 4.3% interest on your money (I *think* that's the correct percentage), which is much more than you would earn in a regular savings account. My husband and I just opened an ING account as a way to save money for our cats and our car.

Good luck. (=

Originally Posted by Jillian

You might want to look into an ING savings account (ingdirect.com, I think). You link it up to your checking account and you're able to electronically transfer money into the saving account. You earn 4.3% interest on your money (I *think* that's the correct percentage), which is much more than you would earn in a regular savings account. My husband and I just opened an ING account as a way to save money for our cats and our car.

Good luck. (=

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I just read an article in money magazine suggesting the use of internet savings accounts because of their high interest rates (compared to brick-and-mortar banks). I need to look into that, as well.

If you are already paying $50, I would recommend paying about $15 per cat into an emergency care insurance plan and saving the rest for routine care, then if for any reason the vet does go out of business etc you are only losing the one years worth of routine care.

Originally Posted by AnnasMom

I just read an article in money magazine suggesting the use of internet savings accounts because of their high interest rates (compared to brick-and-mortar banks). I need to look into that, as well.

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That is exactly what I do. I opened a savings account with ING and they pay 3% interest. I can also set it up so it automatically takes out a certain amount per month from my chequing acct, so I don't even have to think about it. I decided to put in the amount per month that I would have to pay to pet insurance as a minimum. I also have an account for my car (just in case), and for anything else like vacation or furniture that i plan to buy in the future.

The vet could have a client account and pay you the interest like solisitors do..but really it may not be worth the hassle for her.

Originally Posted by Jillian

You might want to look into an ING savings account (ingdirect.com, I think). You link it up to your checking account and you're able to electronically transfer money into the saving account. You earn 4.3% interest on your money (I *think* that's the correct percentage), which is much more than you would earn in a regular savings account. My husband and I just opened an ING account as a way to save money for our cats and our car.

Good luck. (=

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I'm going to have to check into this!! thanks for posting!

It sounds like a good idea.... but you never know now-a-days... I'd be afraid that somehow you'd lose out on that money.

Suze Orman would tell you to put that money into an interest bearing account, even if it only earned you a little money.

But I totally understand doing it in whatever way makes sense for you. Plus, this vet may be more likely to let you make monthly payments on a bill if you go over what you have on account with her. Nice.