Can You Own a Pet and Still Be Frugal?
August25
As I am writing this, I am getting ready to take my dog to the vet. During the night he jumped off the bed and broke his leg. I can already hear the dollars adding up as I take him in to the vet’s office.
So that got me to thinking, as an owner of not one dog but three, how in the world can I be frugal where my pets are concerned? Do I skimp on the vet visits? Do I buy the lower priced dog food to save money? How in the world can I frugally care for these pets without causing a strain on my budget.? Here are a few of my tips.
- I don’t buy the cheapest dog food simply because it is not good for your dog. In fact, I don’t feed my dogs dog food at all. I visit my local grocery store and they save their meat scraps for me. I bring them home and package them in baggies and cook them when it is time for them to eat. This is much healthier for them. For a little starch, you can make them some oatmeal, and I only feed them once a day.
- We always make sure we stay up to date with shots and regular visits. This way, nothing sneaks up on us regarding their health.
- I make my own flea spray by using equal parts vinegar and water. I spray on my pets every couple of days and this causes the fleas to flee my pooch’s skin! Fleas hate the taste of vinegar and the smell, so they steer clear.
- Walk your pets daily! Exercise is crucial for your pet’s health.
- I bathe the dogs in baking soda. You can mix up baking soda and water and it makes a great cleaner. In between bathings, you can sprinkle baking soda on their fur and then brush it off and it will leave their coat shiny and odor free.
- For dog treats, I just make them homemade. Here is a really good one for Bacon Dog Biscuits. There are several others on this website as well that I have tried that my dogs find delicious!
Well, now I am off to the vet’s office. Hope that this post has helped you find ways to own a pet and still live frugally without breaking your budget.
Great tips! Do you have some for owning a cat?
I think the most important frugal tip for pet ownership is to take a realistic, honest look at the costs before you take on the responsibility of a pet. We made the mistake of getting a cat we couldn’t afford when we were younger and she had two litters of kittens because we never had her fixed. We had great difficulty finding homes for those kittens and feeding all those cats took away from needs our family had. Now we’ve plainly told our dc that we aren’t getting any pets. It’s not fair to the animal if we don’t have the resources to take proper care of it. Until there is money in our budget to take good care of an animal we won’t have any. That being said, I’m sure there are ways to make pet ownership less expensive. Dogs don’t really care if they have high priced toys and designer sweaters
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[...] Someone I’ve heard of added an interesting post on Econobusters Blog Archive Can You Own a Pet and Still Be Frugal?Here’s a small excerpt [...]
I would like to think that frugality isn’t the god that we serve so much so that we can’t enjoy the things we really enjoy, like pets for example. I personally do not care for pets, but I know so many people love them. It gives them such pleasure that it really is a shame not to have them for frugality’s sake.
Instead of making your own flea spray, you should check into buying some Diatomaceous Earth.
It really helps keeps fleas as well as ticks under control. You just rub it on their fur and brush it through (it’s a powder).
If you buy the food grade, you can even put some in their food to help with internal parasites.
The Diatomaceous Earth is not only for pets but can be used in your garden and more. I actually buy the Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth and put a scoop in my storage buckets of wheat, rolled oats, rice, beans, and more to keep out any bugs.
The Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is not harmful to humans and pets but rather harmful to insects that do not have an internal skeleton.
Vinegar will dehydrate your dog’s skin and so is a bad Idea. You can experiment with homemade flea treatments but ultimately the one that works and is safe for your dog and family is the best one to buy. With Fleas you want to act quickly and be decisive. It only takes a few days for the problem to be out of control.
We have 3 dogs and a cat. I order their heart worm medication online. I watch for them to go on sale and when free shipping is offered. I budget for it and I buy a year at a time.
I have also saved money by taking them to the local Humane Society for their shots but have found that after calling several vets in the area I found one that I like and is reasonable. I like it much better than the Humane Society because my vet knows our family now. I would however use the Humane Society for spay or neutering as they usually offer those services at quite a discount.
We buy Diamond brand dog food at the local feed store. It is a good dog food that is healthy and a little more economical than the name brands. However, in researching the label we found that the regular Diamond isn’t as good and the Lamb & Rice so I would recommend the Lamb & Rice. We feed our cat Diamond cat food as well. Some local feed stores will have vets come in once a month for low cost shots.
If you are really brave you can even order your pets shots from online companies and administer them yourself. However, you do have to take them in for their rabies shots.
Hope this helps someone.
Thank you all for your tips and ideas! Enjoy your pets!!
I agree that vinegar is good to scare away bugs . I also agree that it is very drying and very smelly. Another thing you can try is tea tree oil. We add tea tree oil to the bath when we wash the dogs and the cat. We have been doing this for three years now and have had no problems at all with fleas. Their coats also look really good.
Molly where did you get your website? I love the design.