5 Ways You’re Losing Money on Your Pets
Adopting a pet is a wonderful thing. They provide love, companionship, and humor, and they encourage activity and exercise. People who have pets are even said to live longer than those without one. But, benefits aside, pets cost a lot of money. Anyone who owns an animal could tell you that, and so could many people without one. The problem is that many ways to save money in the long run are counter intuitive. Don’t believe me? See if you’re guilty of any of the money-wasters below.
Slacking on Training
This one is especially true with dogs, but can apply to many other animals as well. If you don’t train your pet to engage in appropriate behavior, they can easily become destructive or aggressive. That’s bad enough if it only involves you and your belongings, but the financial and emotional pain are multiplied if your pet hurts someone else or destroys their things. As with many things, an ounce of prevention, in the form of training, is worth a pound of cure.
Not Meeting Needs
If you fail to meet your pet’s needs, they will do what they must to get them met elsewhere. So, if you have a cat, you should be providing a scratching post to avoid the much greater cost of damaged furniture. Small rodents of various kinds need material for chewing to avoid health problems from over-grown teeth. Dogs need exercise to keep from becoming destructive, neurotic, or hyperactive. In any case, meeting the need up front prevents a larger expenditure down the line.
Not Maintaining Grooming
From the very beginning, you should get your pets used to having their nails trimmed and being handled for grooming. The more grooming you can do at home, the less you’ll have to spend. Even if your type or breed of pet needs to be groomed professionally, having the ability to touch up the job between times will go a long way. A little daily grooming will keep long-coated pets from developing mats and tangles that may have to be shaved off by a professional.
Not Buying in Bulk
Buying pet supplies in bulk is a fabulous way that almost any pet owner can keep to frugal living principles. Supplies like cat litter and bedding and nesting material for small cage pets are easy to buy in bulk and can present a much better value. Also consider buying your pet’s food in bulk as long as you have adequate airtight storage available.
Skipping the Vet
Not taking your pet to the veterinarian on a regular basis is just asking for trouble. It’s exactly like skipping your own preventative care at the doctor or going without health insurance: it’s a gamble. Sure, your pet could be fine and live to a ripe old age without ever needing routine care. But if your pet is developing a health problem, it will be much easier and cheaper to catch and treat it at an earlier stage.
Having a pet is a wonderful, fulfilling addition to life, but not if you come to see your pet as a stress-inducing financial burden. So when you do adopt, do it with your eyes open to the costs and commitment and learn to save where it makes sense. Then you can reap all the rewards of pet ownership and skip the stress.
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This article is by Sabrina Matheson, a pet lover who shares tips on health insurance comparison and other money saving ideas for pets and their owners.
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