{"id":3131,"date":"2017-08-01T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2017-08-01T16:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/?p=3131"},"modified":"2020-06-24T18:47:25","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T01:47:25","slug":"5-ways-to-save-money-on-your-pet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/adopt-dont-shop\/5-ways-to-save-money-on-your-pet\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Save Money on Your Pet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Owning a pet can be a big responsibility, and nothing makes that more apparent than the costs that pets can accrue. Food, toys, and even vet visits can be a huge drain on your finances, and can deter many would-be pet owners from bringing a new companion into their lives. Fear not! We have some tips to help minimize the costs of owning a pet!<\/p>\n<p>Here are Five easy ways to save money on your pet.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Adopt, Don\u2019t Shop!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of the biggest things to think about when looking into a pet is the cost. Many breeders will charge a large fee for the pet alone, and it doesn\u2019t usually include things like vaccinations, registration, etc. Adoption, by comparison, usually adds things like that into the relatively minor fee they charge for adoption. If you are looking to save money on acquiring a pet, your number one bet is to adopt a pet from a humane society or animal shelter. After all, saving money is only one of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.emmetcountyanimalshelter.org\/why-adopt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">many benefits<\/a> adopting a pet can bring!<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Consider Do It Yourself Pet Toys<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/retriever-2230676_640.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3135 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/retriever-2230676_640-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/retriever-2230676_640-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/retriever-2230676_640.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Pet toys can come in a variety of shapes sizes, and costs, but a great way to lower the\u00a0cost of pet ownership is to learn to make toys yourself. Places like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vetstreet.com\/our-pet-experts\/5-diy-crafts-your-pet-will-love\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vetstreet<\/a> offer great little tutorials on how to make homemade toys for the dog or cat in your life, and are definitely worth a look at. Another advantage of homemade toys, in addition to saving your wallet, is that they can often be tailored towards the type and activity level of your pet, which can not only make them less expensive, but more fun!<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Be Proactive With Your Pet\u2019s Health<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Much like with people, preventative medicine is often one of the cheapest ways to deal with health problems. Instead\u00a0of waiting until a major issue develops, schedule complete physicals with your veterinarian. By doing this, along with blood tests and other diagnostics, your veterinarian can catch health problems before they develop, and save you and your pet a lot of time, money, and trouble down the road!<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Avoid Frivolous Spending<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/dog-2210717_640.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3133 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/dog-2210717_640-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/dog-2210717_640-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/dog-2210717_640.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Whether it\u2019s that adorable outfit you think your dog just needs, or that fancy\u00a0food, we all want to splurge on the ones we love, and our pets are no exception. But by questioning yourself and sticking to what is really a necessity for your pet, you can curb impulsive spending on things they don\u2019t really need. This means that when something does come up, you\u2019ll have the money. A great way to enforce this is whenever the urge to buy something extra for your pet strikes, instead put that money into a savings account set aside just for your pet and their needs. Then, when food, vet bills, or other unexpected expenses pop up, you\u2019ll both be prepared!<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Learn How to Groom Your Own Pet<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We all want our pets to look their best, and it can often be a great idea to take them for regular grooming. But these costs add up, and savvy pet owners may want to consider learning to do this themselves! In addition to saving money, it can be a great bonding time with your pet. There are plenty of resources\u00a0on how to do so, from videos to websites, and a little research can yield a lot of savings for you and your pet!<\/p>\n<p><em>What other great ways can you save money on your pet? Let us know in the comments below!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Owning a pet can be a big responsibility, and nothing makes that more apparent than the costs that pets can accrue. Food, toys, and even vet visits can be a huge drain on your finances, and can deter many would-be pet owners from bringing a new companion into their lives. Fear not! We have some tips to help minimize the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":3132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,6],"tags":[11,53,47,54],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3131"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3131"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5922,"href":"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3131\/revisions\/5922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sittingforacause.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}