photo credit: j.reed

You’ve probably seen the posts about how much a dog costs and are wondering how in the world it can save you money, versus costing you an arm and a leg. While it’s true that you’ll have to feed, provide fresh water, and veterinary care for your pet, there are also many benefits of having a dog.  You may even save some money by having a dog!

1. You won’t need a burglar alarm or security system. Buy a Pit Bull, Doberman Pincher, or Rottweiler.  If someone tries to break into your house and they see Killer standing by the door foaming at the mouth, chances are they aren’t going to break in.

2. Save money on water by letting your dogs pre rinse the dishes. If you use your dishwasher, you probably rinse your dishes before you put them in (unless you are me).  If you let your dog lick the plate clean, you will skip that step!

3. You’ll drastically reduce food waste if you share leftovers with your pooch. In my household, when I’ve got some food that I know needs to be eaten before it goes bad (NOT food that is bad- that will cost you more money in vet bills!), I mix it in with my dogs’ food.  Of course, it has to be safe for them.  Don’t call animal control on me.  My dogs now love spinach, carrots, rice, and raw veggies!  It’s good for them too.

4. Owning a dog can reduce stress. They can improve your mood, provide emotional support, and encourage you to exercise.  Exercise=more endorphins, which in turn makes you even happier.  If your dog is fat, you aren’t getting enough exercise.

5. Activities you can do with your dogs normally cost little to no money at all. You can take a visit to a park, go to the lake, go hiking, go for a walk, or even car rides in the country.  My dogs enjoy all of those activities immensely!

6. Instead of getting married and having kids, buy a dog. Think of all the money you’ll save over a lifetime! The true test to see who will love you more- lock your dog in the trunk of your car for an hours and when you open it, your dog is still happy to see you. Wife? Not so much.

Do you have a pet? What money saving benefits have I overlooked?

photo credit: Johnath

I was talking with someone the other day about trying to get pregnant, and they ended up telling me “You can’t afford kids.” After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I asked them why they thought that was the case.  They said that kids are so expensive, and they know how frugal I am and that if I have kids they will probably have me stressed out all the time about money.

To be honest, one of the reasons we’ve waited to have children is because of money.  We wanted to make sure that we had stable footing before adding a child into the mix.  I don’t think that’s silly, but maybe other people do.  At one point, we had over $36,000 in student loan debt, my husband was in culinary school, and I wasn’t even making that much in a year while supporting us! To get pregnant would have been a strain on our marriage, finances, and sanity.

I know that we’ll never be truly 100% ready to have kids, but I want to do the best I can with what we have now to prepare.  I want to get as much debt paid off that I can, save up enough money to take a year off work to stay with the baby, and have a healthy emergency fund just for peace of mind.  I don’t think that having a baby is a decision to take lightly, and everything I can do to prepare will make it so much more worth it in the end.

To be honest, I don’t know if anyone can ever afford to have kids.  I think that you make sacrifices and deal with the cards that you’re dealt.

Do you think we’ll be able to afford kids?