I had been contemplating getting rid of my pet insurance for a while, especially after a youngandthrifty reader (and ex-employee of a pet insurance company) mentioned on my post (whether my pet insurance claim would be approved), that pet insurance companies paid out 50 cents for every $1 that you pay in pet insurance premiums. The anxiety waiting and waiting for a cheque (or rejection letter which is more so the case) really ate away at me, especially when they make up another reason why the claim can’t be covered this time.

I was using Petcare because I didn’t want to be paying the $40 a month it would have cost to sign up with Trupanion or Vetinsurance.  That was kind of a mistake because Petcare seemed like they would raise rates and penalize you for making too many claims.  Apparently Trupanion and Vetinsurance claim not to do this, that they raise rates (if needed) as a whole to all members, and not solely you for making claims.  Unfortunately, I did a review of how to save money on pet insurance AFTER the fact.  You may be wondering why I didn’t just switch pet insurance providers.  The problem with switching to a new pet insurance provider is that you start from scratch- any conditions your pet had with one provider becomes a pre-existing condition of the new provider.  So basically you’re getting less and less covered.

So I was still humming and hawing, and staring at the $30 on my credit card each month for a few months, deliberating on whether or not to cancel the pet insurance… when I got a letter in the mail from the pet insurance company.

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High Interest Savings accounts are a great way to have someplace to stash your money so it can be readily accessible.  These days, their rates are pretty much the same as GIC’s so might as well keep them here to avoid a penalty if you withdraw a GIC too early.

Some people keep loads of money in their chequing account or “savings” account at the bank so they feel good when they withdraw money from the ATM and it tells you your large balance.  The savings accounts at the bank offers what, 0.3%??  AND they make you have a minimum balance and ‘ding’ you for using too many transactions.  These are not savings accounts.  You want a real one that gives you some substance.

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