--- title: How Gen Z Is Managing the Rising Cost of Pet Ownership description: Pet ownership is getting more expensive. Here’s how Gen Z budgets for pet care, prepares for unexpected vet bills and uses pet insurance. authors: - name: Liliana Hall role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/ bio: Liliana Hall joined Money in 2025. She is an Austin-based reporter for Money, where she covers a range of topics, including financial news, policy, banking, investing, passive income, financial planning and student loan debt. education: University of Texas at Austin at_money_since: 2025 articles: 137 covers: - Insurance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://x.com/lilihallllllll - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liliana-hall/ editors: - name: Kristen Bahler role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/ bio: Kristen Bahler has spent more than a decade turning culture, work and consumer spending trends into conversation-driving stories. Today, she leads Money's sponsored content channel and reader-favorite franchises like Best Places to Live and Best Places to Travel. education: Northeastern University, MA Journalism at_money_since: 2016 articles: 52 covers: - Insurance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-bahler/ published: '2026-09-29T14:52:35.000Z' modified: '2026-09-29T14:52:35.000Z' section: Insurance tags: - Sponsored word_count: 1047 canonical: https://money.com/how-gen-z-is-managing-the-rising-cost-of-pet-ownership/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Young man hugging his dog at home](https://img.money.com/2026/09/Explainer-Gen-Z-Afford-Pets.jpg) ## Key Takeaways - About 45% of pet owners under 30 spent $2,000 or more on their pets last year, roughly three times the share of baby boomers, according to a Healthy Paws and Money survey. - Nearly 3 in 10 Gen Z pet owners (28%) say pet ownership has influenced their financial planning or savings goals, compared with 10% of baby boomers. - Gen Z pet owners are also far more likely to have pet insurance: 51% have coverage, compared with just 11% of baby boomers. Sponsored by: ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/35945/1bb92553-9c42-4ba8-bff9-9da0ab7ac8f1.webp) Offer your life companion a pet insurance that nearly half a million pet parents trust: Healthy Paws. [Go to HealthyPawsPetInsurance.com](https://money.com/pr/l2c756a36c31?ap_referrer=%2Fhow-gen-z-is-managing-the-rising-cost-of-pet-ownership%2F) Getting a puppy or a kitten is one thing. Committing to keeping them healthy and happy for the next 10, 15 or even 20 years is another. For Gen Z, pet ownership can take up a meaningful share of a budget that’s already competing with rent, groceries, student loan payments and other financial obligations. Nearly half (45%) of adults below the age of 30 spent $2,000 or more on their pets in the past year, according to a [new survey](https://www.healthypawspetinsurance.com/pet-insurance-research/the-future-of-pet-ownership-how-rising-costs-are-shaping-gen-z-budgets.html?chad333) of 1,542 U.S. pet owners from Healthy Paws Pet Insurance and Money.com. That’s three times the share of baby boomers who spent that much on their furry companions. But that higher spending doesn’t mean these young adults are being frivolous with their money. Younger pet parents are more likely than older generations to proactively include the costs of ownership in their budgets. Nearly 3 in 10 (28%) say having a pet has influenced their financial planning or savings goals, compared with just 10% of baby boomers. For many Gen Zers, affording a pet means making room in their budgets for the full cost of care — including the expenses they can’t predict. ## What pet owners need to budget for The financial commitment that comes with pet ownership is twofold: Recurring expenses such as food, grooming and vaccinations can add up to more than many new pet parents realize — and that’s before an emergency strikes. Routine bills for a dog or cat now average $4,272 a year, or more than $50,000 over a 12-year lifespan, according to [separate research](https://money.com/lifetime-cost-of-owning-a-dog-or-cat/) from Healthy Paws and Money.com. The costs of veterinary care, grooming and boarding have risen 38% since 2021, while veterinary care alone has climbed 43%, the [research](https://money.com/lifetime-cost-of-owning-a-dog-or-cat/) found. Bobbi Rebell, chief financial education advisor at Accredited Debt Relief, says pet owners can be especially reluctant to cut back because they don’t view their pets as discretionary expenses. “It’s important to acknowledge that pets are a part of the family,” she says. That can make simply telling pet owners to “spend less” an unrealistic solution. Instead, Rebell advises owners to treat pet spending like any other line in the budget. Take stock of what you’re actually spending and separate essentials such as food, preventive care and medications from nice-to-have purchases like toys or accessories. Some savings can come from small changes that don’t affect a pet’s quality of care, such as bathing a pet at home more often to reduce professional grooming visits. Spending more intentionally now, Rebell adds, means fewer painful choices later. ## How Gen Z prepares for unexpected vet bills The biggest wildcard in a pet parent’s budget is medical emergencies. The cost of unanticipated injury or illness can force owners to make difficult decisions — especially young adults who aren’t anywhere near their peak earning years. That appears to be one area where Gen Z is planning differently from older pet owners. Healthy Paws and Money.com found that about half (51%) of Gen Z pet owners currently have pet insurance, compared with just 11% of baby boomers. The survey also suggests coverage can change how manageable a major vet bill feels. Among insured owners, 72% say they feel better prepared to cover a serious veterinary expense, while 70% of current and former policyholders say their coverage helped pay for some or all of their most recent big vet bill. Coverage may also affect the choices owners feel able to make when a pet gets sick. Nearly half (47%) of currently insured pet owners say they’d pursue every treatment their veterinarian recommended, regardless of cost. Only about half as many pet owners who never had pet insurance would do the same. Pet insurance is one way to prepare for those costs, but it doesn’t eliminate them. Owners pay premiums and may have deductibles, reimbursement limits and exclusions to consider. Depending on the policy, they may also have to pay a vet bill upfront and wait to be reimbursed. Still, insurance can make it easier to absorb a large, unexpected bill without draining savings or taking on debt. If you’re considering a policy, look beyond the monthly premium. The deductible, reimbursement rate and annual limit all affect how much you’ll actually pay out of pocket. Timing matters, too. Because pet insurance generally doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, the longer you wait, the more likely it is that a future policy will exclude a health problem your pet has already developed. ## How to know if you can actually afford a pet Rising costs are already leading many owners to reconsider a second pet. Overall, 55% of current owners say higher costs have made them less likely to get another one, and that percentage rises to 62% among millennials and 60% for Gen Z. That makes the math worth doing before adding a pet to your family. Estimate what you’d spend in a typical month or year on food, preventive vet care, grooming and other routine needs. Then ask how you’d handle a much larger expense, like an emergency surgery or treatment for a chronic illness. Rebell recommends building a dedicated pet fund — similar to an emergency fund, but earmarked for pet care. That savings can cover routine expenses and smaller surprises, while pet insurance can help protect against bills large enough to throw the rest of your budget off course. You don’t necessarily need one specific dollar amount saved before getting a pet. The bigger question is how you would handle a major expense if it happened tomorrow. If a few thousand dollars in vet bills would have to go on a credit card, that’s a sign you may need more savings, insurance coverage or some combination of the two. The real test is whether a pet's ongoing costs fit into your budget without crowding out your other priorities. If you can cover them and still keep up with your bills and savings, you likely have room for a pet. If those expenses would mean regularly falling behind elsewhere, it may be worth running the numbers again before you commit. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/how-gen-z-is-managing-the-rising-cost-of-pet-ownership/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/how-gen-z-is-managing-the-rising-cost-of-pet-ownership/", "name": "How Gen Z Is Managing the Rising Cost of Pet Ownership", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-09-29T14:52:35.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/how-gen-z-is-managing-the-rising-cost-of-pet-ownership/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2026-09-29T14:52:35.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "How Gen Z Is Managing the Rising Cost of Pet Ownership", "articleSection": "Insurance", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/09/Explainer-Gen-Z-Afford-Pets.jpg", "width": 1829, "height": 1219, "caption": "Explainer-Gen-Z-Afford-Pets" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Liliana Hall", "url": "https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/#author", "description": "Liliana Hall joined Money in 2025. 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