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Old 09-07-2010, 06:50 PM   #1
ssiikmuz

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Default Keeping the family together during these times how to cut costs w/out cutting pet out
In these tough economical times we tend to see a lot of pets turned over due to people losing their jobs and homes but you never expect it to hit close to home. My Dad runs his own business but the economy I am afraid has not been kind to it. They are at risk of having to shut down and possibly even lose their land. I worry for him and my siblings but I also think about the canine family members that he is so desperately trying to keep as part of the family. He had done a pretty good job so far. He had 3 dogs, 3 Cats, 4 horses, 12 goats, and 3 Chickens. And to my parents and sisters they are all important members of the family. And have been for years. And to lose just 1 would be a tradgedy to them. And I heard today that my Dad said they may have to start finding homes for the goats, and the horses and the chickens. Because if they have to move they can't take those animals with them. He is worried about losing the dogs and the cats too but he will fight to keep them.

Money is stretched very thin and he may be in over his head at the moment but he is devastated. They lived pretty well for awhile but the last 3 years or so have been unkind to them. I do know he will take proper care in placing every animal himself if it comes to it. He also has a relative with a farm that may take on the farm animals so.

The reason I bring all this up is I thought it would be a good idea for a thread to discuss ways of cutting back to prevent cutting the animal out of the home. Basically what can we do to cut costs in our daily lives to make sure our pets can stay part of our family?

(When I say us I'm talking people in general. As far as my Dad goes he has cut and cut until he can't cut anymore and I admire him for that but I just don't if its going to be enough but he has done good)

So kind of a budgeting to keep your pets without your pets doing without and without having to get rid of your pets. So this isn't about my Dads situation but a thread for everyone out there that is hurting in these times and might consider surrendering their pets or keeping their pets and having them do without.

Feel free to post your ideas.
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Old 09-07-2010, 08:52 PM   #2
qCGfQR9T

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Some food banks carry dog food, and you can also buy it cheap from some shelters (or for free!). Ask at your local pet store, feed store, or even Wal Mart for a discount on bags that ripped, or cans that are dented.

One way to keep your pup's tummy from becoming upset if you have to change foods a lot is to mix all the different foods in a large bin, and feed it that way, instead of changing from one to another. It's what we do at the shelter to cut down on tummy trouble.

I know that cutting back on the cost of the food can sometimes up vet costs, but you gotta do what you gotta do, and hopefully bad times will pass.

Also, making your own dog beds with either fabric and stuffing, or a crib mattress and cover can cut back in that area.

Keep an eye on Craigslist for needed supplies, as well, and join your local Freecycle group.
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Old 09-07-2010, 09:03 PM   #3
ssiikmuz

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All good suggestions.

Some things I think could help as well on the human end would be.

Buy the store brand groceries, they are just as good and you don't have to have Velveeta Mac and Cheese, Kroger brand works just find. Or what not. Store brand is usually 10 to 40 cents cheaper sometimes cheaper than that

What kind of cable do you have. If you have the premium channels its probably time to cut back down to basic for awhile. (I think we spend $10 a month for cable, but we aren't big tv watchers so we don't need anymore than that)

Eat in more often than out.

Grow your own vegetables

If you have a dog that requires grooming, buy a grooming kit (will cost a little upfront) and do your own grooming from now on.

I see so many people on craigslist giving up their dogs because they can't afford to feed them. Well you probably have internet if you are posting on craigslist (I said probably) so why not get rid of the internet and there is $25 to $100 extra bucks a month to buy dog food.

That is the few I can think of off the top of my head
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Old 09-07-2010, 09:16 PM   #4
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Great topic and it will be interesting to see how many good ideas are posted!

We do everything we can to reduce money spent. Active about not wasting energy (light bill) and water (water bill), plan all shopping to get it all done in one trip (reduce amount of gas needed), use the dollar stores for name brand products, etc. We were shocked at how much you can save with some real effort.
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Old 09-07-2010, 09:26 PM   #5
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and don't forget free/cheap vaccination clinics to keep your dogs UTD!
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Old 09-08-2010, 03:16 AM   #6
ssiikmuz

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and don't forget free/cheap vaccination clinics to keep your dogs UTD!
Very true, I've made use of these a time or two myself during a rough spell
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Old 09-08-2010, 05:14 AM   #7
OwdBKKHO

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I do the shot clinic thing myself.

BTW, there's some good ideas in this thread on another message board I belong to for working (mostly) Border Collies.

Doin it on the cheap, or - BC Boards

You guys can probably figure out my username over there.
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Old 09-08-2010, 05:36 AM   #8
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I actually know how to do my own vaccinations. Other than rabies it is perfectly legal and very easy. You can have your vet show you how or watch an instructional video online. You can buy the all in one vaccines for about $5-$10 at Tractor Supply or online. Rabies you can get from local vets, AC or at a low cost clinic.

I don't eat out at all. Period. I go to restaurant when I get gift cards for holidays or when the in laws are visiting and paying

I shop at the resale shop for most clothing. There are about 5 within a 10 mile radius of my house. Its shocking what you can get if you dig through the racks. Last year I found 2 paird of Old Navy jeans with tags for my daughter to start school with for $5 each! I also got a brand new suede coat also with tags for $20. You have to dig and it takes time, but by making a few trips to the resale shops I got me, the hubby and the kids winter clothes for under $300 for all of us and that included coats.

I also replace towels from the resale shop. None of them match but the kids don't care and the dogs get to have the old ones.

Speaking of dogs.. I got a sewing machine from the resale shop very cheap and used old blankets and old pillow stuffing to make dog beds.

Craigslist is great for replacing things that break, but it can be addictive so you have to make sure you are looking at just what you need and make sure that you need what you are thinking of buying. CL is also awesome for making a few bucks if you have stuff taking up space.

I go to discount grocery stores. I use Sak-n-Save, Aldi's and Save-A-Lot for meats and things. As long as I go during the week I get great deals on quality meats equal to other stores. Weekends are a bad time to try that, though.

Invest in a deep freeze if you don't have one. If I find particularly great meat on sale I buy a lot of it and freeze it.

I use store brand personal hygiene items. I was paying a ton for 5 blade razors, for example, only to find a regional store brand thats just as good for less than 1/3 the price.

I cut out snacks and soda pop. Saved a ton there.

If you don't want to give up internet and cable channels try going to the competition and getting the introductory rates. When that expires you can go back to your regular company and get the new customer rates there again. When that expires, switch!

Cell phones can be expensive and so can landlines. We turned off our cell phones and got our home phone through our cable company. Saves us about $300 a month.

Give up getting fake nails and eyebrow waxes. So many people I have seen giving up dogs because they can't feed them could have fed them on what they spend on manicure, pedicure and eyebrows every two weeks. Real nails grow for free and tweezers can be found at the dollar store.

Yeah, I'm El Cheapo. My husband says I squeeze a penny so tight it makes lincold scream,lol.
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Old 09-08-2010, 05:52 AM   #9
Katoabralia

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We fine free thing to do around our area. A lot of times it includes the dogs such as taking them to the beach or to the nature reserve. We also go to a lot of the musuem free nights in the Twin Cities and go to the free zoo (we do give a ten dollar donation when going to the zoo though). If we get sick of eatting at home and looking for something different; my group of friends have starting having dinner night were we all get together at someones house and bring a dish to pass.
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Old 09-08-2010, 05:58 AM   #10
LfYaRf1S

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Well, with all our crazy vet bills lately, we had to TOTALLY cut back to get back on track. We usually eat mainly organic, but we've had to toss that for now and go with the cheapest we can while still being as healthy as possible. We can't do it 100% as with Raven having celiac, she HAS to have gluten free, so me and Daemon eat the cheaper stuff. lol As far as the dogs, I did a trial on food and calculated with the brands they did good on, how long a bag lasts, and how much per day it costs to feed each particular food, of course keeping in mind that the pets are on gluten free food to aviod cross contamination with Raven and the fact that some of them have allergy issues... we got it down to Scarling being on TOTW and the rest on Natural Balance. I also threw out a TON of dog blankets as I usually STUFF their kennels full of two or three loads of laundry worth so they have lots of nesting blankets, but now they get on blanket each in their kennel to cut down on laundry soap. Gaud... I haven't boughten them a new toy in forever, but they are just as happy rippin' up and tuggin' with an old piece of clothing as an expensive toy.

---------- Post added at 08:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:52 PM ----------

If I find particularly great meat on sale I buy a lot of it and freeze it.
Ya... we just did some of that as well. It was sorta painful though as none of it was organic. It gave me a migraine.

---------- Post added at 08:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:54 PM ----------

Give up getting fake nails and eyebrow waxes. So many people I have seen giving up dogs because they can't feed them could have fed them on what they spend on manicure, pedicure and eyebrows every two weeks. Real nails grow for free and tweezers can be found at the dollar store.
OMG. If that wasn't so sad it would be funny. I've NEVER spent money on any of that crap and am shocked to hear how much people spend it.
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Old 10-07-2010, 07:23 AM   #11
Xiciljed

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OUR personal list of things to save money-
*quit smoking, drinking, goin to the bar, eating out, wait for movies to go to DVD or a good pirated one come out
* i have a cat and for cat litter, i buy one thing of good litter, and mix it with some cheap stuff, makes it last longer
*walking to places near buy instead of driving
*we buy store brands, some of our grocery stores have a $1 aisle, and some of the stuff is just as good
*i quit taking 2-3 showers a day and just take 1 now
- what we could do
*(i cant live without internet) so instead of having the "best" ($40-60) downgrade to the $10-20? version
*cell phone plan cut back the minutes plan
*i need to find a job

---------- Post added at 12:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:21 AM ----------

Give up getting fake nails and eyebrow waxes. So many people I have seen giving up dogs because they can't feed them could have fed them on what they spend on manicure, pedicure and eyebrows every two weeks. Real nails grow for free and tweezers can be found at the dollar store. i have never been one to go and get my nails done, instead i go to walmart and buy the acrylic nail set (about $15, compred to $30-40, plus another to $20 to get them filled in!) when i want to feel pretty, lol, its the exact thing and works the same, plus for as many times as most girls have gone and had it done, they should know exactly what to do!!! plus it comes with enough stuff to fill them in quite a few times i actually found the stuff unopened that i use at a yard sale today for a dollar! and i have enough to last me like a year now!!!!
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