money saving tips

Save Money On Pet Ownership With These Tips

February 12, 2020 By Tamila McDonald Leave a Comment

Many households drastically underestimate how expensive pets can be. For example, on average, a dog can cost $1,001 to $1,448 a year, depending on its size. And that total doesn’t include a variety of one-time expenses, such as spaying or neutering or the cost of a pet carrier. Cats can be similarly expensive, potentially costing up to $1,000 annually. While you don’t want to cut corners on your pet care, finding ways to save might be a must. Otherwise, affording your pet might be impossible. If you want to save money on pet ownership, here are some tips that can help.

Adopt When Possible

The cost of purchasing a pet is usually the first upfront cost households have to shoulder. If you want to keep that expense as low as possible, looking at adopting a pet from a rescue or shelter instead of buying from a pet store or breeder.

Typically, adoption fees are relatively affordable when compared to the $1,000 or more you might spend on a purebred. Plus, you don’t necessarily have to forgo getting your favorite breed. Some rescues focus on one or a small group of breeds, so you might find a suitable pet there.

Plus, most adopted pets come spayed or neutered, and their shots will be current. That’s mainly what the adoption fee covers, making it an expense you don’t have to shoulder after paying for your pet.

Find a Low-Cost Spay or Neuter Option

If you do need to handle the spay or neuter, then look for a low-cost clinic or provider. Most cities have at least one option or may operate a program that helps lower-income families own pets by covering a portion of the cost.

For those who live in an area without a program or who don’t qualify, shop around before you schedule an appointment. Spays and neuters are common for most veterinarians, so the vast majority will be incredibly experienced. As a result, it doesn’t hurt to see which clinic has the most competitive prices.

Shop Around for Pet Supplies

Comparison shopping is usually a good idea, particularly for pet supplies. A product’s price tag can vary wildly from one retailer to the next, so it’s worth taking a look. Examine the prices at nearby retail locations as well as those offered by online stores. By adding options like Amazon and Chewy.com to the mix, you can make sure you get the lowest price possible.

Additionally, many stores have price-match guarantees. Both Petco and PetSmart have price-match programs. By doing a little research, you might be able to save while still using your favorite store.

Consider a Subscribe and Save Arrangement

For pet supplies you’ll need regularly, explore subscription service options. Many retailers offer discounts if you are willing to commit to a particular schedule and set up auto-delivery.

Here are a few stores that offer price reductions for subscribing:

Amazon – 5 to 15 percent and free Prime shipping for members
Chewy – Save 30 percent on your first order on autoship and get up to 10 percent off select items in your future orders
PetSmart – 5 percent and orders over $49 get free shipping
Petco – Save up to 30 percent on your first repeat delivery order and get free shipping on orders above $49

Sign Up for Rewards Programs

Rewards programs can be a great way to save on pet supplies. In some cases, you’ll earn dollars-off coupons or percentage discounts on qualifying orders. In others, you may be able to cash in points for free items.

For example, both PetSmart and Petco have loyalty programs. Through PetSmart Treats, you earn points that can be exchanged for discounts. Through Petco PalsRewards, you earn points that can be converted into coupons.

Stock Up During Sales

Many retailers put certain items on sale on a somewhat regular schedule. A product might rotate on once every two or three months and, once you figure out the approximate timing, you can stock up at the right time.

Monitor sales on items like pet food, cat litter, or other staples where you might have a preferred brand. Once you see the price dip to a low point, buy enough to last until it goes on sale again. That way, you can always get the lowest price possible. Just make sure to check any expiration dates on the packages first, and you want to make sure your purchase will last until it’s time to buy again.

Don’t Buy Treats, Make Them Instead

Dog and cat treats can be surprisingly expensive. Plus, many of the options aren’t particularly healthy.

Luckily, you can save a bundle and offer something that’s better for your pet by making them yourself. For example, some dogs go nuts for ice cubes, while others consider sweet potato, carrots, or eggs to be excellent treats.

Hunt Down Discount Gift Cards

Many people end up with gift cards they don’t actually want. In some cases, they decide the best thing to do is sell them, usually for less than the value of the card.

By looking for discount gift cards for pet stores, you can save money by getting cards worth more than what you pay for them. Options like Raise, Card Cash, and Gift Card Granny could help you stretch your dollars, so considering checking out several sites to find the best deals.

Avoid Shopping at the Vet

In nearly all cases, the prices for collars, pet food, and medications are higher at the vet’s office than elsewhere. If your pet needs something specific, don’t automatically buy after your pet’s vet appointment.

Instead, ask your vet what they charge, get a copy of the prescription (if needed), and shop around to see if you can do better. Options like 1-800-PetMeds and Chewy can be great for a range of medications and other products, so they are worth exploring to see if they can offer you a better deal.

Handle Grooming Yourself

Most households can handle basic pet grooming. Brushing, bathing, and nail clipping aren’t typically difficult to learn how to do, and managing itself can save you a bundle.

A single trip to a groomer can cost $20 to $100 or more. By doing as much on your own as possible, you can limit (or eliminate) the need for a professional groomer. While you’ll spend a bit on supplies, you will usually save overall.

Do you have any tips that can help pet owners save? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Savings Tip: Make Your Clothing Last

October 17, 2019 By Flanice Lewis Leave a Comment

Wouldn’t it be great if you could make your clothing last longer instead of paying to replace them regularly? The average adult spends about $1,800 per year on clothes. You could save your self over $1,000 by following these simple tips.

Follow the Care Instructions

In case you didn’t know, the little icons on your garment tags are the care instructions. Depending on the label, they might have even written the instructions down. Either way, figure out what your clothes need and do just that if you want them to make it past one wash cycle. They will give you guidelines for water temperature, wash cycle, bleach, ironing, and drying.

Update Your Routine

Are you doing your laundry the same way you did in college – you toss everything in the washing machine and then the dryer? Beyond the fact that you missed the first step of looking at the tag, you also failed to sort.

Sorting

Sorting is usually done by color family to avoid dye transfer, but you also have to consider the type of fabric. Delicates need a gentler cycle to prevent rubbing against the agitator or coarser materials. You might want to forego the washer altogether and handwash them in the sink.

Fabric Softener

Are you washing workout attire? You may want to skip the fabric softener. This additive can destroy the stretchy fibers in your tights and tank, making them ill-fitting. Additionally, it can cause your gear to retain odors or lose their moisture-wicking properties. In other words, fabric softener can defeat workout clothes’ entire purpose.

Drying

Further, everything doesn’t need to go in the dryer. You should hang clothes to dry if you don’t want them to shrink or the tag says to avoid high heat. When hanging them up, you can minimize wrinkles without using an iron. Thus, you can eliminate burn marks or that sheen on the fabric. Again, check the tags to see if you’re supposed to iron your clothes and at which setting. If you must, ironing while damp can alleviate wrinkles better than ironing dry fabric.

Buy Better Clothes

Now that you know how to maintain the clothing you own already, here’s how you find new pieces for your wardrobe. Search for clothing made out of quality, durable material. I know you can find most of the items you’re looking for on Amazon for a fraction of the price. However, you will probably need to replace them next month and the month after that. I’m not encouraging you to spend $100 or more on undergarments by any means. I’m recommending you compare fabric and durability before you invest in the product. You get what you pay for with clothing. If it’s cheap to purchase, it’s probably cheaply made.

Properly maintaining your clothes may take more time, but it will make your clothes last longer. It will also save you money, even with a small increase in your laundry costs. If you buy quality pieces you love, then take care of them, you may have them for years to come.

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Dryer Savings Tips to Reduce Laundry and Energy Costs at Home

August 23, 2019 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

There are so many great dryer savings tips. If you’re not implementing them, then you’re really missing out on savings. When you implement these tips, you reduce energy waste in your home. Therefore, you’re saving the earth at the same time that you’re saving money on your energy bills. When you fail to implement these tips, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to green your home and save more green.

First, Try to Stop Using Your Dryer, Period

Fun Fact: The average clothes dryer uses 5000 watts of energy. That’s likely more than your home air conditioner. It is one of the most expensive appliances in the home to operate.

All of the dryer savings tips in the world aren’t as good as just not using your dryer to begin with. I stopped using my own home dryer a long time ago. I confess, I did that out of necessity. At first.

I live in an apartment building. Therefore, I have to pay quarters to do my laundry. For a long time, the dryer in our building didn’t work properly. It would eventually dry the laundry inside, but each load would take four or five times through the dryer. It simply didn’t make sense to feed $10 or more into the machine just to dry my laundry. After all, it would dry just fine without the dryer.

I live in a damp, foggy city. Plus, I live in an apartment. Therefore, line drying outside doesn’t really work for me either. My sister knew of my apartment’s dryer situation. She kindly sent me an indoor laundry drying rack. It’s the number one best present I’ve ever received. I use it all of the time now. It has a bunch of different racks and hooks to easily dry all sorts of laundry in a really compact way.

My landlord eventually did repair our dryer. However, I’ve gotten used to using the air dry method. I prefer it. Why would I go back?

Therefore, I strongly suggest that before implementing any other dryer savings tricks, you try giving up the dryer all together. If you can adjust to not using it, you’ll save yourself a lot of money. Plus, if you realize that you don’t need your dryer, then you might even decide to sell it. That will put a nice chunk of change into your savings account.

Top 7 Dryer Savings Tips

Fun Fact: Drying one load of laundry per day typically adds up to $200 per year spent on using your home dryer.

That said, you may find that you want or need to use your dryer some or all of the time. If so, then you’ll want to use these top seven dryer savings tips to reduce costs:

1. Dry Them Before You Dry Them

In other words, don’t put sopping wet clothes directly in to the dryer. Here are some alternatives:

Use 1-2 extra spin cycles in the washing machine to help dry thick clothes like towels, jeans, and blankets.
Let the clothes sit in the washing machine or in an open-air basket for 1-4 hours before you put them in the dryer.
Dry the clothes on a rack. When they’re almost dry, run them through a short dryer cycle just to smooth out wrinkles.

As a bonus, remember that clothes will continue to dry a small bit as they cool down in the dryer. Let them sit in there, absorbing that heat and completing their dry cycle.

2. Load the Dryer Properly

There are three key dryer savings tips for properly loading the dryer:

Don’t overload the dryer. The whole load won’t dry which means that you will have to run the clothes through again.
Don’t underload the dryer. Make sure not to waste space. If you only have one towel to dry, it’s better to air dry it than to pay money to run the dryer.
Sort your clothes before loading the dryer. Separate lightweight items from heavy ones. Dry the light ones first to heat up the dryer in preparation for the heavy ones. This way, you run each load for the minimum time necessary to get the clothes dry.

Bonus tip: add a clean, dry towel to an almost-full load of heavy clothes. It will absorb the moisture, reducing the total amount of time necessary to dry that load.

3. Clear All Lint

Hopefully you already know that you should clear your lint tray every single time you’re about to use your dryer. If for some reason you have to run the same load through twice (for example, you made the mistake of overloading the dryer), then you should still clear the lint tray between those loads.

Most people do clear the lint tray regularly. However, a lot of people get lazy about clearing their outside dryer vent. This can clog up the vent with lint. When that happens, clothes don’t dry as quickly in the dryer. Perform those regular lint checks to prevent problems.

4. Set The Dryer on the Least Heat

Whenever possible, use settings with the lowest heat. Delicate and permanent press are two great options. You can use them on any lightweight clothes. Of course, you won’t easily dry a thick blanket with delicate settings. However, you may not need the highest heat setting either. Play around with your dryer to figure out the coolest setting that properly dries each load of laundry.

5. Know Your Settings

By the way, if you don’t pay much attention to your dryer settings, now is the time to learn all about them. Some dryers have dozens of different options. Make sure you understand what each setting is and how to best utilize it.

For example, does your dryer have an automatic censor option? If so then you should use that instead of setting a timer. This will tell your dryer to shut off as soon as the clothes are dry, rather than continuing to run unnecessarily for whatever set period of time you may have chosen.

6. Pay Attention to the Temperature of Your Laundry Room

Your dryer heats up the place. Therefore, you want to think about how hot that room gets. More importantly, you want to think about how that affects the rest of your home heating and cooling.

In the summer, your dryer can make the house even hotter. Therefore, you would spend more trying to cool it down. In that case, close the laundry room door to confine the heat to that room. Use the dryer during hours when you don’t mind the house getting a bit warmer.

In contrast, take advantage of the dryer’s heat in the winter by leaving the laundry room door open so the heat will spread to the rest of the house.

7. When It’s Time to Buy a New Machine …

You don’t want to replace your dryer before it’s necessary. However, once it becomes less cost-effective to keep using it than to buy a new one, it’s time to invest.

First, ask yourself if you can go without. This goes back to rule number one: not using a dryer is better than any dryer savings tips you can implement when using one.

If you do decide that you need one then you want to choose a gas-operated machine. Gas dryers are less expensive than electric dryers, so if that’s an option in your home, then choose it.

If you have to buy a washing machine at the same time, then make sure that you choose a side-loading washing machne. This will dry your clothes more effectively in the spin cycle than a top-loading washing machine can. Therefore, you’ll save on dryer costs over the long haul.

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