How to save money whilst maintining your dogs living standards

We all work hard for our money and I don't know about you but I like to make it spread as far as I can without cutting back on my dogs necessities and their treats too.

Take a close look at your finances

With the way the economy is these days; high unemployment and cutbacks in wages, now is as important as ever to take a close look at our finances.  Previous recessions have shown that whilst us dog parents are quite prepared to cut back on our own treats, we won't cut back on our pets requirements but that doesn't mean over spending on them.  This has been born out with reports that Pets At Home has made a very healthy profit in 2020.  So here are my top ten tips:

Tip one: Make a list

This sounds obvious but list everything you buy for your dog/s monthly or weekly.  Things such as food, bedding, supplements, flea and worming products and treats. You will be surprised what you buy

Tip two: Shop around

We tend to be creatures of habit and will buy from regular suppliers such as our local pet shop or the same website, but here is the trick, each month I spend a few minutes googling the brands of food and supplements my dogs require.  You will be amazed how much you can save.  For example my dogs have Flea Guard to protect them against fleas and ticks (definite requirement when you own a cat!).  My local pet shop sells each 90 tablet pack for £14.99; but I found VetUK.co.uk  sell the exact same product for £6.42 and that is with free UK delivery for orders over £15.  So I saved £8.57 PER PACK; I use 5 packs per month saving me £514.20 a year.  Do you see what I mean?  Taking just a few minutes a month shopping around can save you quite a bit a year; so do it!   My favourite websites are www.vetuk.co.uk;

www.petplanet.co.uk and Amazon ofcourse!

Tip three: Pet Insurance or Home Insurance???

How close do you look at your home insurance?  Did you know that your pets are sometimes also covered in it?  Our home insurance covers us for accidents such as if my dogs chewed up the kitchen floor but also if we were burgled and one of my dogs bite the burgular!  Take a look at yours, you might be surprised what you find!

But what about health insurance, well I have multiple dogs so ours have a savings account that I deposit into monthly but if this isn't for you definitely look at health insurance.  Recently I was contacted by comparison website "Go Compare" asking me to consider advertising them here on DogsandBlogs.   I have always said I will never recommend a product I have not used myself and I have to say I have never used this site for my dogs insurance however, I  used them to research the best vehicle breakdown assistance and found them to be brilliant.  Everything was very clear and transparent on exactly what you will get for your money and I found what they had to say about how Vets have increased their prices since Covid hit our shores so I have agreed to include them here.  I think you might find this information as interesting as I did and might assist you in choosing your pets health insurance. https://www.gocompare.com/pet-insurance/coronavirus-hits-pet-industry/

Tip four: Super Markets

I was very surprised when Tesco's recently introduced their Club Card Scheme whereby if you scan your loyalty card at the til some items of shopping are as much as half price!   These deals are rarely extended to pet products but I was wrong.  One of my dog food brands, Forth Glade, are being sold for £1 a pack at the moment instead of £1.30 a pack.   Thats actually cheaper than buying a box of 6 packs for £7; which brings me onto the next reminder.  Always check the weight of the product against the price.  So for instance, if a tin of standard 125g dog food were 99p but you could buy a 350g tin for £1.50 then it is worth buying the bigger tin as you will be buying nearly three meals for less than the price of 2 standard tins.   See what I mean?   Somtimes, by just stopping and comparing items on the same shelf can save you lots.

Take advantage of buy one get one free products but only if you use them already.

Needless to say many of the Super Market loyalty cards can be used by converting your points into pounds for instance you can use your Sainsburys points as money off your bill at the til and Tesco send you money off coupons every three months depending on how much you have spent in the preceeding three months.

Tip five: Buy Second Hand

I am all for recycling and especially love a bargain, who doesn't!  I have often found brand new or rarely used dog beds and training equipment, infact just about anything on Facebook Market and other online/social media platforms for a fraction of the price of brand new items.  Whic brings me onto tip 6;

Tip six: Sell your unwanted items

Have a good clear out of your dog cupborads and anything that you no longer use or need, sell it!  It is dead easy these days to photograph your items and advertise them on local facebook market pages and you could raise funds for something new for your dog/s.

Tip seven: Learn how to make it or bake it yourself

I have to say I LOVE making things for my dogs, not only can I make them for a fraction of the shop price but  now.  And no you don't have to own a sewing machine or be a particularly talented crafter you just have to have the interest :-)

I also love baking my own dogs treats too, not only can I guarantee what ingredients my dogs are consuming but they are usually healthier as well without additives :-)

Tip Eight: Subscribe and Save

I have noticed on most websites that if you are buying items which you will be giving your dogs regularly such as probiotics, wormers etc that you can sign up to subscribe and save schemes; this means that the company will automatically post out your dogs items every month or 2-3 months, whichever you prefer.  You most definitely can make big savings using these schemes but before you sign up read the small print and make sure you can cancel your subscription at any time.

Tip Nine: Vets prescriptions

If your dog is on medications long-term then find out if you can buy the same medications online.  Now I give this tip with two major warnings.  One: always check out the website you are buying from and that the medications you are purchasing are from a reliable source and two: your vet will charge you to issue a prescription to you so do your sums and work out if the cheaper medication PLUS your vets fee actually does save you money.  If it does then go for it!

Tip ten: Take advantage of good quality free dog training tips

Ok so hopefully you will include this website in your list but have you listened to podcasts?  I travel alot with my dogs to shows and events and love, love, love Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett.  Really down to earth, common sense advice on training your dog that you can listen to whilst doing your housework, waiting for the kids to finish football/ballet or any other activity they may be involved in or, yes, driving home from shows.  You can find Susan's podcasts at www.shapedbydog.com

What are your tips?

If you have any tried and tested money saving ideas then please feel free to share in the comments box below.   Maybe you too have favourite websites or podcasts that you would like to share.

I hope you have found this post useful. 

Gina