Pets on a millennial budget: Love comes at a cost

When it comes to advising younger clients who are looking to welcome a new fur baby into their family, certified financial planner and cat owner Cindy Marques has one overarching philosophy — “put yourself first.”

Though affording a pet is certainly possible for young Canadians with the right financial mindset, Marques said she too often sees clients with rocky finances inclined to adopt or purchase a pet, potentially digging them deeper into a financial hole.

“A lot of what I do, ultimately, with clients is heavily rooted in cash flow planning,” said Marques, who is also the director of education and financial planning at Open Access Limited.

“At the end of the day, you have to get practical and start to think about whether adding a dependent to your cash flow is possible to sustain.”