Thrifty Reader Request: Saving with Your Dog

If you have a pet, you get to experience the joys of a friendly companion. They can become like members of the family. And like all members of the family, they cost money. Whether you have one or you are considering buy a dog, here are some ways you can save the cash but still enjoy man's best friend. I hope these help!

• If you are really strapped for cash and can't even pay your bills, now is not the time to buy a dog. This article discusses why pets are expensive and says that Americans spend $30 BILLION annually on their pets.

Me and my pup, Delilah

• Buy a small dog. - We are just THAT frugal. Lol. We have a chihuahua. I got her from a home that rescued one dog and bought a shelter dog. My pup cost me $75 before shots. When you compare that to the hundreds of dollars that other people spend just to buy a dog, I'd say we got a pretty good deal. Smaller dogs also eat less, use fewer toys, make less mess, and take up less space.

• If you already have a bigger dog, consider buying food in bulk. For my chihuahua, we buy 25lb bags when they go on sale. This one bag lasts over a year. Your bigger dog will go through it faster, but you plan on feeding them, so go ahead and buy it. You can keep the big bag in the garage and fill up a small container to store in your cabinet for everyday use.

• Do not buy food at your vet or go all fancy with the food. Check the ingredients the next time you're in the pet aisle. Many brands use the same ingredients and some are just cheaper than others.

• Also, to save your money and your dog's life, don't overfeed it. You go through food quicker and obesity in dogs can create problems for their joints and energy.

• Consider doing away with buying name brand treats and start making your own from scratch. This website has some awesome recipes, and the ingredients are likely already in your cabinets.

Another cute pic of Delilah

• Buy toys at garage sales. Gently used toys work great and cost a fraction of the price.

• Your vet will charge a ton for services that could easily be done elsewhere. You can get your vaccinations at pet stores or animal welfare agencies at a lower cost. 

• Make sure you get the shots done on time. Preventative maintenance is a great way to save money in the long run.

• If you think there may be something wrong with your pup, search the internet for home remedies first. If you are still concerned, call your vet. Be sure to price around as well.

• Groom your dog at home. For thicker coats, make sure you brush regularly. This will save you a headache for when you go to wash the pup. For small dogs or somewhat large dogs, your bathtub will serve a great place to do this. If you are worried about hair clogging the drain, invest $3 in a drain net. When it is warmer, you can wash/groom your dog outside. If you'd like a good tutorial, this video was helpful.

Eliminate Dryer Sheets and Minimize Fabric Softener

Want your clothes soft and static free AND cut back on costs? This tip is great.

Ingredients:

• A bottle of your favorite fabric softener
• A 2 gallon bucket
• A few sponges
• Water

Directions:

1. Pour the fabric softener into the bucket. 
2. Fill the empty fabric softener container with water. Pour into bucket.
3. Repeat Step 2.
4. Stir
5. Throw in sponges
6. Cover with lid or towel.

To Use:

1. Wash clothes without fabric softener.
2. Put clothes into dryer.
3. Wring out a sponge (or 2 - depending on load size). Toss in with the load.
4. Dry as usual.
5. Return sponges to bucket.

Your clothes will still be soft and static free. You are using a mere fraction of the amount of softener you'd normally be using AND you are eliminating your cost on dryer sheets.


Additional tip:

Find small container to store the sponges and a smaller amount of the liquid. This way, you can store it handy and you don't have the bucket in your way. Keep the remaining in the bucket, but out of the way.

Feel Green:

If you use this tip, you'll be eliminating the waste of your added fabric softener containers, the dryer sheets, and the dryer sheet box AND you will be using fewer chemicals in your clothes.

Another use:
Does your dog ever act strange when a thunderstorm is approaching? Some believe that they act this way because the canine feels an increase of static electricity in their fur. Wipe a little bit of this liquid on their fur and it will help remove the static, making them calm and fresh smelling all at the same time!

Let me know if you try it!

Homemade Laundry Soap (Liquid)

This is an easy way for you to start saving money. It is a great "experiment" to do with your kids, it saves money, and after you make it, your home smells unbelievably clean for days.

There are likely a hundred recipes on the internet for laundry soap. This is the one that we've found works the best, and we've been using it for almost three years.

All in all, you end up saving about 85% on laundry soap for however long you decide to do it. It takes about 15 minutes, will last about 64 loads (or 128 loads if you have a High Efficiency washer), and the ingredients will last for about a year or more. It does a great job for normal laundry. If you have a load of extra soiled laundry, you might want to add a scoop of OxyClean or use your leftover regular stuff.

All of the ingredients are found in the laundry aisle. Look high and low for them. They are there. If you happen to use a small store that might not have everything like Walmart, you can try asking a manager to order it for you. It's worth it. Trust me.


Ingredients/Supplies:

1 bar of Fels Naptha - a really strong bar soap for laundry (you will use one 3rd of this per batch) **You can buy a different type of soap, but you might need to use the whole bar in that case**

1 box of Washing Soda - We bought Arm & Hammer

1 box of Borax - We bought 20 Mule

A two gallon bucket (with or without a lid. We covered ours with a towel)

A whole bunch of tap water




Directions:

Use a cheese grater to shred 1/3 of the Bar of soap (you may need to use the whole bar if you bought something other than Fels Naptha)

Bring 6 cups of water to a high temp (doesn't matter if it's boiling or not) with the soap in it. (You can add the soap before or after it boils)

Keep stirring until all of the soap melts

Add 1/2 cup Borax and a 1/2 cup of Washing Soda and stir until it dissolves

Put 4 cups of warm-hot water into the bucket (we let the 4 cups boil in another pot while we were messing with the rest of the soap mixture)

Stir in soap mixture

Add 1 gallon and 6 cups of warm-hot water to the bucket and stir

Let it sit for 24 hours to gel

The end product will be a mixture of solid gel and water (similar to the texture of egg noodle soup)

This batch will last about 64 loads. If you want to add fragrance, you do that when you're boiling all of it.

Use a 1/2 cup of laundry soap per load. If you have an HE washer, use 1/4 cup per load.

We bought/found a pot, spoon, cup, and cheese grater that we will only use for this. I think that as long as you wash it with dish soap it will be fine, but we did that just in case. We also poured half our mixture into an old All container for easier use. Since it didn't all fit, we just left the rest in the bucket and covered it with a towel.

I'd say try it. Even if you decide that you don't like using the laundry soap or whatever, the ingredients individually are great for cleaning laundry, the kitchen, and the bathroom. They are also all natural, so you can feel like your being green at the same time!

I also know of a dry homemade laundry soap recipe, but you're just going to have to wait for that one!