[gemy]

I love the term puppy purse. So many ways it can be done too. A separate savings account with automatic withdrawals going into it every 2wks or once per month. You can set it up so that you can't write cheques or anything against it. Here in Canada, and I'm assuming something similar in US, we can buy Canada Savings Bonds, 100% backed by the federal gov't, and these will give you a better rate of return than a savings account - and again can be set up by the bank to withdraw $x per month out of your account. They can be redeemed yearly, or in a pinch during the year, you would just lose a bit of interest on the amount.
We don't have anything like care credit up here, but of course credit cards.

Maybe OP it would help to know that 10yrs ago a customer survey was done by the AVMA on lots of aspects of consumer spending. One question asked was; "How much are you willing to pay annually for vet care'? The answer was very low indeed about $250 or so. Even less was a consumer willing to pay for cat care.
This opened my eyes, to ppl's beliefs/values etc.