Poll Question: We are all going through hard times and money issues are not uncommon these days with layoffs, no raises at some jobs and just the cost of living from day to day but if you plan on having and keeping gliders or any other pets you should have some money stashed away just for them, and an emergency. With all the medical posts that we seem to see here I thought I would get a poll going on what should be our emergency fund. Usually an emergency would include one glider but may include more than one for treatment like in the case of "Giardia" as an example. If you have or plan to have an emergency fund how much per glider in your opinion do you think you should have saved PER GLIDER? Any opinions on why you choose the amount you did would be welcome. Any and all questions or thoughts are appreciated. Choices: $50.00 $75.00 $100.00 $150.00 $200.00 $250.00 $300.00 $400.00 $500.00 Other Amount or Opinion

I currently have $350 put back, and here is how I did it. I have 2 kids and they drive me crazy when I in the store for quarters and so I decided to stop carrying change because I had just 1 to many little plastic toys being left in my floor and car. So I kept a jar and when I or my husband come in I put my change in there and so does he. And we counted the change up once and I ended up with almost $100 and the next day Patrick need to be seen and I had the jar money and used it. And from there on out I continue to keep change and once the jar is full I cash in the change but save it just in case. And currently I have $356.00

Times are hard right now I know, but this is a easy way to save without taking a big bite out of a single check at a time. It works for my family so it could work for yours too!

I save my change too. It is very helpful in an emergency. I have a special savings account set up at the bank just for my gliders and I currently have $1,000.00 there for my babies. With 5 gliders and other various animals running around here you just never know. It's always tempting to dip into it and spend it on other things but as of yet I have not touched it. It is for emergencies only. My vote was $200.00 per glider. A neuter alone cost me over $200.00 for one and I still have one left to do.

I voted $100, but that amount is easily higher. I figure the vet visit alone is gonna be around $50, just to see them, and then whatever meds are needed on top of that. But if the bill is around $200 and I can pay half of it up-front that day, most vets are gonna be ok working out a payment plan to finish paying it off the next month or two, and if that doesn't work, I can make up the rest on credit cards. So I don't necessarily have to have all the cash in hand that day.

From what I can tell, glider-knowledgeable vets know when anything is wrong with a glider, that time is of the essence. They want to treat the glider and worry about money later. And if you have a good relationship with your vet, I don't think it's that big of an issue either. They know you come in every 6 months and never have problems with payment before, much more likely to work with you than it being the first time they've seen the animal and it's 3am in the morning.

You should always have at least $200 saved up, but more is most likely going to be necessary in some emergency cases.

I say 200 per, so that a more expensive emergency with one glider can be covered with no stress (other than the "OMG SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH MY SUGGIE!") and so can the less expensive things that happen to all of them at once. :)

i say credit cards!! i dont keep money saved around im really bad at that.. but i always pay my cards.. so dats wat id do..

Not everyone has a credit card.

I voted $500 per glider, which might seem extreme, but I'd rather be completely prepared. I have $1000 in the bank for my two gliders emergency fund, and then however much in a general emergency fund that I would need to live off of for 3 months. I read this rule somewhere when I was much much younger (pre-teen, maybe?) that you should save enough to live off of for 3 months just in case you ever lose your job, so that's what I try to do. I don't live the life of luxury, and account just for very basic needs, so it's not a lot, but it's a security blanket (though I won't lie and say I don't ever dip into that emergency fund when I see something that 'gotta have'.)