Emergency fund.?

[mychamtini112012]

As I think about getting into the chameleon world again, though it'll be a while as the babies mom still needs to get older, I am thinking of all the things I need to save up for. An emergency fund was something that came to mind, and I was wondering how many of you have an emergency fund and how much you think is good to keep in the fund.?

 

[Lathis]

Not so much an emergency fund as just a cache of cash (see what I did there!), I keep a pot of money as a "soft save" in my checking account. I have a rolling $500 bucks that I use as a reserve for anything Ferdinand needs. I deduct from that pot when I buy him something and then refill it over a few pay periods. It serves as a cushion should anything come up unexpectedly.

I make a reserve for everything - car, house, hobbies, vacations, pets, medical, etc. Once I got myself disciplined enough not to spend the reserves, it has worked like a charm. It can take awhile to build it up. i started with $10 a month back when I was in university and it was painfully slow, especially since I kept drinking away my reserve money (ah, college), but now I never have to worry about vet visits or sudden needs.

Long answer to your short question. Yes, have an emergency fund. A few hundred bucks should be enough for all but the most catastrophic events for your scaly baby.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Haha. Thank you for the answer. I myself am going to be a college kid in about four weeks, but I need some discipline. My parents take care of most of those things so I don't need emergency funds for all, but I am going to start saving up and emergency fund for my future Cham baby. Just don't know how much. I do like the fact that yours is for anything that might come up though. That's a good idea.

 

[Lathis]

That makes it flexible. Pricey new UVB light, crazy expensive shipping on silkworms, vet visits, it's all saved up for so my cham doesn't have to wait for me to get paid, then I can refill the reserve over a couple of paychecks.

I'm going back to school myself in January, so I need to get used to being broke again. Sigh.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. I think I might borrow your idea. My funds won't get to $500 any time soon, but I have quite a long time now.

Yeah. I'll be a broke college kid that still has to save. But I think I'll be able to work it. Haha. Hopefully.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Anyone else have an emergency fund.?

 

[VigilantSpearIII]

Not set aside for chameleons specifically, but I think most people will try and keep a savings full with as much liquid cash as possible. Build your credit, and get good credit. In an emergency, its always good to have a couple thousand in credit lines. Nothing much else to say, just save up or do some overtime if you have a job. There is no magic number here. Estimate that even a simple vet visit will run you 100 bucks. Surgery can cost you in the thousands. Just have a savings and stuff it with as much money as you can, chameleons aside.

 

[little leaf]

As I think about getting into the chameleon world again, though it'll be a while as the babies mom still needs to get older, I am thinking of all the things I need to save up for. An emergency fund was something that came to mind, and I was wondering how many of you have an emergency fund and how much you think is good to keep in the fund.?

I keep about $300 just for the animals , and when my kids want a new pet- they have to save $100 for a vet fund before they are even aloud to start to save for the animal its self - it takes them a while to save this $ - and it also rally makes them think if they really do want the animal - my daughter took 2 yrs to save up that much for a ferret - and at the end of the 2 yrs- she has a ferret ( we now have 2 ) when she wanted a turtle, that "wish" lasted about 2 weeks- we do not have a turtle
I think a vet fund is a must because when they get sick, and need a vet, they need one NOW- and you will not have the time to save for it

 

[houseofchameleons]

We keep an emergency fund of 500.00 and the other day I noticed my melleri had a swollen eye and the crack of his mouth looked funny, well anyways we went through 400.00 to treat an infection he has developed.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Lol. Thank you all for your help and what you guys do.

 

[Olimpia]

I would say that if you had to have a minimum, try to have at least $200. I don't think I've ever taken a reptile to the vet and had to pay more than $150-180 for a visit in one sitting (with any and all the meds needed). $200 should be enough for a visit and an x-ray, for example. Or a visit and a round of antibiotics. Maybe even for surgery (I've done 3 surgeries, none of which were over $150).

More is better but I think that with $200 you're in good shape for most things. And if you have to go over, that should still cover the bulk of it so it's not as much coming out of your monthly budget.

At least in my experience! I'm sure there are more expensive vets out there, but this is based on my experience with a handful of Florida vets.

 

[Dgood]

When I first got my Cham I had 150 bucks thinking that would be enough. After that 150 was gone and I was mislead by the petstore, I found this website and ended up spending another 450 on my little girl. Now she is happy as can be and I'm broke as can be ha ha ha. Should have found this forum first! Dang it.........

 

[sandrachameleon]

As I think about getting into the chameleon world again, though it'll be a while as the babies mom still needs to get older, I am thinking of all the things I need to save up for. An emergency fund was something that came to mind, and I was wondering how many of you have an emergency fund and how much you think is good to keep in the fund.?

I think its absolutely critical to have money set aside, yes. I keep $500 per chameleon.

In addition, I have my house emergency and funeral funds I can dip into, since I don't plan to die anytime soon (but the money is there just in case, so that if it should happen my family is not burdened). Luckily I live in Canada so I don't have to save up for a medical emergency fund.

You might find Olimpia's blog entry on the costs of owning a chameleon informative/interesting:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/olimpia/522-average-cost-owning-chameleon.html

 

[mychamtini112012]

Well I'm not concerned about getting the wrong things and spending more in the long run to fix it, because this new guy won't be my first chameleon. So the things I buy will be right. I know they will cost more than $200 though, I'm just wondering how much I should save on top of saving to buy everything for the chameleon and the chameleon itself. All in all, I'm thinking of saving around $700-800 and that should give me around $200-300 for an emergency fund that I will add $25 to every month. Woohoo! lol.

 

[amandagreeneyez]

Great idea Little Leaf! My daughter is 14 and now learning that wants come with a price. I believe I'll now start incorporating Pascals food costs into her allowance earnings. Thanks for the idea!