[Music] thank you to brilliant for supporting PBS Digital Studios our hold it good job ok now let's get a brooding one what's this Oh Basil's headshots headshots yeah I mean I thought about how much money we put into this little guy we don't get anything in return except love and companionship there's no reason he shouldn't start pulling his own weight so I made a list of all the jobs basil could do you know like sheepdog guard dog firefighter but I decided on internet celebrity is there money in that how are you kidding boo the Pomeranian
makes a million a year from book deals and endorsements and grumpy cats net worth is estimated at over a hundred million dollars cool we're gonna need a couple more for nails in here maybe a softbox how we feelin about costumes [Music] cats and dogs have been friends with humanity for tens of thousands of years and in the early days the relationship was mutually beneficial the animals got a safer life with plenty of scraps to eat in exchange for keeping predators and vermin away from our homes today it's much more of a one-way street Americans spend
more than sixty billion dollars a year on our furry friends without getting any obvious financial return on that investment and according to one survey 98% of cat and dog owners significantly underestimated the lifetime cost of their pet the majority thought it would be less than $6,500 and twelve percent expected to pay less than $650 for the pets entire life these people know that animals need food right so how much does it cost to own a pet well the ASPCA estimates that the average lifetime cost is around fifteen thousand for dogs and 12,500 for cats and
that doesn't even include things like property damage or boarding a more expansive study in the UK put the numbers even higher that may sound surprising but it makes sense once you start itemizing take the average owner of a mid-sized dog after the initial costs of adoptions baying and neutering and purchases like crates and bowls he or she can expect outlays for food medical bills grooming toys and treats that total on average about 47 dollars a month they'll spend about 500 a year in boarding and dog sitting and almost 400 a year replacing damaged property like
shoes sofas and doors that's an annual cost of about one thousand four hundred sixty dollars if the dog lives an average of twelve years that's a lifetime cost of about eighteen thousand dollars and that doesn't even include any money for emergency medical visits most people considering a new pet probably don't think of it as being as expensive as a new car or a down payment on a house hmm maybe basil doesn't have what it takes to be a celebrity we should have started him earlier mm-hmm well even if your pet doesn't technically work for its
living it doesn't mean you aren't getting some kind of financial return on investment like home security many people consider dog ownership to be a more effective crime deterrent than burglar alarms which average $1,000 for installation and $30 a month and then there's your health many studies have found a relationship between pet ownership and improved mental and physical well-being people who own a dog or cat tend to make fewer visits to the doctor and have lower rates of depression children who grow up with animals in the house tend to have stronger immune systems making them less
susceptible to viruses and allergies and seniors who care for pets actually tend to live longer than those who don't but that doesn't mean you can't still be cost conscious you can save hundreds of dollars right off the bat by adopting an animal rather than buying one from a pet store or a breeder not only are you helping alleviate the widespread problem of animal homelessness but shelter dogs and cats tend to have fewer health problems and if you want animal companionship without the financial commitment you could possibly volunteer to foster an animal in your home not
only will the shelter pay its medical costs but some of your other expenses may be tax-deductible some people purchase pet health insurance as a way to cut down on medical costs but most plans will not save you money on routine vet bills just rare procedures like surgery and if you have a purebred dog many plans will specifically not cover the conditions your breed is prone to Philip and I preferred keep an emergency fund is that aside for any unexpected medical costs that way we know we don't have to choose between treatment and staying out of
debt none of this is to say that you should feel bad about spending money on your pets our pets make us happy and happiness is a good reason to spend money but keeping track of how much you're spending will help you make better financial plans for the whole family and in the off chance your pupper does become an Instagram star you'll know exactly how much to bill them for plus interest and that's our two cents thank you to brilliant for supporting PBS Digital Studios are you excited to apply the concepts you've learned on to sense
but confidence when it comes to your math or science skills you could try brilliant org for that brilliant org is a hands-on way to strengthen those number crunching muscles from algebra to calculus logic to probability it's a fun way to develop a confidence and ease with numbers science and more you can learn more at brilliant org slash two cents [Music]
