Save some money on dog grooming

Maybe it's a cost you have in your budget that could be a lot less... Monthly dog grooming costs? Below is how I save money by not going to the groomers for my big hairy furball. 

This is all dependent on the size of your dog (dachshund or Bernese mountain dog?), habits of your dog (are they a digger? Outside only dog? Love rolling in dead animals dog?) and type of coat they have (curly and non-shedding? Smooth and long with undercoat? No coat?), so this is just my own personal opinion and preference for my dog(s). Consult other blogs and breeder tips for your own specific breed. 

So I have a golden retriever. Until recently I also had a whippet (my whippy passed away). These are two very different coat types, and bathing them both took different tips at certain points. I'll write this with both in mind. My golden retriever has long hair and an undercoat, she has very sensitive skin and allergies, and she's a big goof (her nickname is Dizzy). The whippet was a white short haired dog who did not like to get wet or have her toes trimmed (her nickname was Diva). 

If you take your dog to the groomer there are probably a few things they do there, charging per item, like:

- nail clipping, either clip or grinding

- bathing

- drying

- teeth scaling (might be moving to a vet-only thing now?) and/or brushing 

- ear cleaning

- general trim and cut, plus full brush out

- de-matting and detangling 

- anal gland popping (..ew..)

Personally, I do all of these things myself, minus the last one. For the most part, if your dog has never had their anal glands popped, they will probably never need to have them done. If they have once, they will always need to have them popped. It's one of those things I've been told is a "groomers gold", as they can do it once and have a client for life. My dog(s) have never had theirs done (thankfully, as it's annoying and kinda painful for a dog when they get "full", and is usually characterized by the boot-scooting on the carpet). 

At-home grooming for most breeds I would say is easy and a must. And.. It doesn't have to be expensive. 

I went to Petsmart and asked what a simple nail cut cost would be, $11 plus tax essentially (or $14+ for nail grinding). Years ago I invested in a dremel to do my own at home nail grinding. It goes super quick, makes it easy for me to get the nails short, plus I don't risk cutting my girls' toes off and making them bleed like with a traditional nail trimmer. It will depend on the dog if they will let you grind their nails, but if you start with them young, they learn. Then buy a nice pair of very sharp and rounded tip scissors in order to cut away toe fur (so your dog doesn't look like and act like they're wearing slippers). Your thick kitchen scissors are probably not pointy enough to get between the toes and flat to the pad of the paw, so you should probably have a separate pair. 

I do all my ear cleaning and teeth scaling at home too. I buy a big bottle of dog ear cleaner at the pet store (watch for sales) and some of those dollar store circle pad packages (meant for nail polish/makeup removal). Douse a circle pad in the ear cleaner and scrub in your pets ear with the swab. Do it a few times with new pads until the pad comes away clean. For teeth, you can buy pet scalers which look like the pokey dentist tool you get on your yearly visit. The scaler is meant to chip away at any built up plaque. You can also buy doggie toothbrushes and toothpaste, as well as stuff for their water to help reduce plaque buildup. Or, antlers and hard bones work great too (plus that's more fun!)

Invest in a couple brushes too. I have a couple types as my girl gets the clumps of fur dropping twice-three times a year, so I have a long comb, a big flat brush and a "slicker", or wire brush. I also bought the dyson vaccum which has this awesome pin brush attachment that sucks up the fur as I brush her (and she loves it because it pulls cold air through her coat!). Depending on your dog, you might want a shaver too. A pet Wahl clipper is a simple way to clean up your dog's belly in the middle of summer when they are hot. I shave my girl's belly in order to let her cool off faster on my kitchen floor!

DO NOT completely shave a dog with an undercoat though. All these shaved goldens break my heart as it totally screws up their fur growth and removes their protective undercoat. 

Shampoos and conditioners are really up to your personal preference for the most part. Different scents and stuff are readily available. But there are also colour-specific ones, like the "whitener" one I would buy for my white whippet, or a red enhancer one you could buy for a golden. There are also formula-specific ones like the sensitive skin hypoallergenic ones I go for for my allergy-prone girl, or tea tree oil ones for bad skin. It'll depend on your dogs coat, and it'll usually take some trial and error. I don't use a conditioner on my golden (extra time bathing I don't feel is needed on her) but I would on the whippet to make her feel extra super soft. A tip for shampoo buying if you can afford the space in a cupboard is to buy it by the gallon (once you find one you like). You pay more, but you get a ton more product that is usually concentrated (so you mix it in another smaller bottle anyways). Buy one gallon, buy a pump top and you have up to 30 bottles (some I think are maybe 60, can't remember) for maybe the cost of 4 bottles. Ren's Pets Depot is good for gallon buying (and monthly grooming sales too!)

Then, for the actual bathing part, this is up to you! Personally, I like using other people's water and electricity, plus clogging their drains with my dog hair instead of my own bathtub. How you ask? With some brilliant self-serve dog wash stations at a couple stores near me! I used to go to Rens Pets Depot in Guelph, and they have a wealth of shampoo options, toe and hair tools, towels and more to give your dog a good thorough clean.

Recently though, I've moved over to Pet Valu's dog wash station as it is closer to me and cheaper too! For the $11 Petsmart would charge me just to clip toenails, I get a half hour of water, drains and dryer, towels and some shampoo/conditioner. I love that I leave the mess there (I do clean up a little though!) and end with a lovely smelling and dry dog! 

The dryer is the best part! Long hair dogs can easily get "hot spots" if a patch of hair and skin is left wet for too long. These are painful, so it's important to get your dog as dry as possible quickly. In the middle of winter, this can be tough since you can't let them outside to "bake" in the sun like you can in summer. Buying a good $99 dryer/blower fixes this, and eliminates the "wet dog smell" from the house a little faster too haha!

If you decide to do at-home bathing, I would suggest a grooming table as it makes the blow drying part so much easier as you're not crouched on the ground. It allows you to clip whiskers, even out the hair lines and pretty up the toes without bent-over stress on your back. If you have a "busy" dog in the bath, buying a suction cup with collar combo is a great doo-dad to help too. 

Lots of other ideas, but every couple months I spend $11 for a Pet Valu self-serve bath, and once a year I buy some shampoo and ear cleaner. After my initial investment, and a learning curve, I now save myself the cost of a groomers trip :)

Broke/Budget maxed out?

So you a stretched for cash, or used up all the money from your budget jars... But you still need to eat and have fun? Here are some thoughts and solutions I've done when my wallet was hurting:

- Dig deep in the freezer!  Wow, what a treasure trove!  Frozen veggies and some meat you got on sale one time are probably down in the abyss, under all the ice cream and frozen bananas. Easy, multi meals are just a defrost away. 

- dig around in the pantry. Cans of mixed veggies and beans can be a good start to a crock pot meal. Rice and pasta are usually stored in a corner and make large portions for cheap. If there's a craving for a dessert item, how about a box of cake mix and a can of pop (yes this works beautifully!), which saves the cost of cookies or doughnuts. 

- gift cards. I still have gift cards from like 2 Christmases ago. This might be cheating, but for my birthday and Christmas I just ask for gift cards. Mostly food, I can usually buy some large meal out to get a couple work lunches out of the deal too. Gift cards are great for entertainment too - use one for a good sale rack shopping trip in a store, or to buy a DVD for later. 

- parents or grandparents visit. Again, cheating probably, but maybe see if you can stop by for a visit to loved ones. I don't think I've ever made it out of their homes without a meal (either eaten there or sent with me in a doggie bag)! I've never had to do it, but if you needed a couple meals to tie you over for the month, your family is sure to help you out with either made or almost-made meals if you just ask. 

- discount sections of grocery stores. There are usually a couple racks of the "almost expired" food stuff that is great to cook up the same night. We usually buy our meat here and then freeze it. You can usually get bread, fruits, veggies, pies, buns, meats and others for nearly nothing. I've done this before with hot dogs (buns and weiners were on for half price) that we cooked up and had the same night. 

-coupon. Follow the Facebook groups and blogs in your area who post about the deals, and jump on a great deal if you can afford to. If you're in my area, I like the Savings Guru, who posts all sorts of deals. He does the work for you and you just go out and get the free butter, or the cheap eggs that are on that week. 

- use your points. You've been accumulating points on your various cards for years, spend them when you run out of cash! Gas, shoppers drug mart, PC groceries, air miles, etc. You can also sometimes buy gifts cards for other places with your points, just have a look through your wallet for all your points cards and see what is available.

- look up free event days. In my area, the local skating rink will have free skate hours, and sometimes museums will have a special free day. I haven't done a lot of research in this area but there are groups and blogs about this topic too I've seen, as parents are always looking for cheap things to do with the little ones.

- regrow table scraps. This could be for fun, or for continuous small bits of food. This one doesn't need a lot of explaining, and it actually works

- throw a party! This sounds a little backwards, but if you do it right it can both be entertainment and extra meals. Make it a BYO drinks, food and chairs, and advise you'll provide the bathroom, music/movies, plates and cutlery. Have a good time with friends, watch a movie marathon, and have a day of fun that doesn't cost people very much to participate it (just a bowl of chili and a case of pop each basically). 

- make crafts. There are so many great YouTube tutorials and Pinterest things about crafts you can make for nothing. Repurposing garbage items, making string from plastic bottles, using various items as stamps, origami of old chip bags, you imagine it and someone has made a craft around it. This is a good option for families with kids. Just pick an item and google it with the word craft. I did soda can crafts and holy cow, cooool!!

- sell stuff. You meet people, it can get you out of the house, and it'll get you a little extra cash quickly that you can go to that discount food section with. Try selling old clothes, an old kitchen item, shoes, books, kids toys, puzzles, etc. you could also try selling your newly made soda can crafts and who knows, maybe there's a business idea in here. 

- while on this topic, what about making a little mini business out of something easy? I recently found out that I am good at string art, and actually enjoy all the hammering (stress relief) and stringing (relaxing). It's a minimal investment (I have to buy $2 roll of string, a $2 box of nails and a few brackets to hold wood together at the back (about $1 each), plus find an old wooden pallet to break up). But.. I could sell it for upwards of $20 and offer custom options. (The ones below were for my mom for Christmas (which had a dog saying added to the blank area in sharpie) and the logo of a company that was visiting my work's head office)

There are tonnes of other ideas, but this post is long enough with all the pics. What other tips do you use? 

Making a Budget - pt 2: The Emergency Fund

Part of your budget needs to have a healthy chunk going towards an emergency fund. My parents have a couple names for this bucket including "Mad Money" (which must be a movie reference or something), I call it my "high interest account", but whatever you want to call it, this is money you never touch. It is the just-in-case money that pays for a new roof (and allowed me to pay for mine all by cheque at once and get a hefty discount), it is the money to pay for a sudden pet's illness, and it should be one of your first major focuses if you don't have one yet. 

Even if you have consumer debt with high interest you need to pay off, you STILL need to put money into this locked and no-touch account though. Money should go into this account and basically never come out, so allow for it in your budget at whatever amount you can actually afford. Before you cut the savings allowance in your new budget, cut the clothing budget or substitute two meals a week for canned soup from the back of the pantry!

If you have debt, hunkering down and holing up to spend every penny possible on this high interest oopsie is even more important. Still save, but instead spend 3 committed months to eat out of the freezer, watch Youtube tv shows instead of going to the movies, use those gift cards you got last Christmas for entertainment/food, and spend every penny getting rid of that useless and ever-growing debt. I read a great blog entry I should have saved which was basically a couple who "disappeared" for 3 months in order to pay down $8000 of debt - they didn't eat out, they sold whatever they could, they picked up odd jobs, and they actually paid off all that debt with just 3 months of being absent from the social world. 

I mentioned eBay moments and side hustles in my first budget blog, and above in that couples 3 month dedication... So you've made a budget that is based on your fixed income, what do you with all the extra money (hopefully!) that is above and beyond?Instead of taking any extra money and spending it on a home decor item or a dinner out to celebrate, put it towards your future (I know, I'm a killjoy). Boost the savings account that month or pay a little more on the credit card. You can never have enough savings!

Now there are a bunch of Pinterest "schemes" of how to save money without realizing it - such as the "every $5 bill you get you save away instead of spending", or the "week 1, put away $1, week 2 put away $2", and you can read a bunch of blogs and stuff with other examples to get the idea. These might work for some people, but to be honest, they are hard to maintain, remember, AND budget for. If you are just getting started with budgeting, start squirreling away a set amount each week and month for your savings account. You can plan around this far better, and if you set it up as an automatic transfer on payday you won't even notice (which is what I do and strongly suggest).  If you want to do one of these other saving schemes, feel free, but it should come out of your after-savings budget if that makes sense (so outside of that automatic transfer). I do this too with any change that is in my pocket by the end of the day, and at the end of like 6 months I have enough to get a great dinner out (at like East Side Marios where I can get 2-3 meals out of one order with their unlimited soup/salad and bread!), or enough to buy a souvenir at my next little mini vacation. It's not much, and I don't notice it daily, but since this is already after my $25 automatic transfer to my savings account, I feel like I can "splurge" a little with this "found money". 

The moral: Don't skimp on your savings. Make this a number you are proud of, and feel safe with, should anything go wrong. 

Making a Budget -part 1

"You're telling your money where to go, not wondering where it went" - BudgetGirl on YouTube

So my mom sent me links to watch this lady on YouTube, and I invite everyone to watch a few of her videos. She covers food grocery trips, meal plans, general spending and general questions. She has student loans and a tight budget (plus she's funny). Or.. Check out Youtube while you're there for millions of other budget videos and tips. 

Before watching her, I went to a new bank to take advantage of a 3% 90day GIC they have available for a limited time last week (since extra money is better in my pocket than my other banks), and the advisor I got was really impressed with how financially secure I was at my age. Both BudgetGirl and this bank interaction has led to this post. 

Make a budget. Everyone. Know where you have the money to spend, so you know when you shouldn't be spending any more. 

This topic came up with my best friend who wanted to get a car. His current budget didn't really allow for a car (it did, but basically only for the yearly insurance cost and nothing else). In order to afford a car, he needed to rework his budget and his numbers. Does he cancel his gym membership or his soccer team playing fees? Does he cut out eating out completely instead? Does he get a second job instead? All of these and more were things to consider. 

While I'm giving some back stories, let me say that I have no debt other than my mortgage. This for me is an accomplishment at only 26. I have a car, a house, a dog, completed renovations with a new roof+furnace+air conditioner+water heater+finished basement, a fiancé.. And I am able to eat, drive, work and play without debt. It is all thanks to budgeting (and couponing in part). 

My dummies guide to budgeting is a simple starting point. Read and Google all sorts of others, because having more to work with can never hurt. When I was getting started, I read everything I could and researched researched researched. 

Another good tool for me was Gail Vaz-Oxlade and her "life pie" I think it's called. This is a great guide for everyone, not just people who are in debt like her shows suggest. Her life pie tells you what percentage of your income should be going where at max.

 If your numbers in one area are out of whack, you need to adjust the other areas to balance. She's a huge promoter of the budget binder and the jars/envelopes method. She has a TON of resources on her website and she's a great first stop 

http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/resources/interactive_budget_worksheet.html

http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/resources.html

So, a budget? A budget is simply a way to manage your spending and not go into debt. It takes your income and divides it into quadrants of life to make sure that you can eat, drive, live and save, without spending money you don't have. 

Start with tracking your spending for 2-3 months. 1 month of spending might not get every bill you have for the house, or every expense like shampoo you don't need that month. Write everything down. Literally. Just write down what every single penny of your spending is going to. And don't just say "$2.00, gas station" write down what it was. There are a lot of apps that you can track this info in, but even just opening your notepad on your phone might be easiest. At the end of this time (or the end of each month), sit down with either an Excel spreadsheet or a big piece of paper, and start transcribing all of that info over into columns:   Food/drink,  fixed housing costs (you can't change them like the mortgage amount),  variable housing costs (like the electric bill),  transportation (from the CAA card to bus tickets),  entertainment (eating out tends to go here),  baby/child/pet costs, home decor/Reno,  savings (generic saving, retirement savings, automatic deductions),  and you can change these depending but I usually call them Bath & Body (like hair products, soap, shavers) and Home Essentials (toilet paper, cleaners, tin foil, etc). 

Total up your columns and then look at anything else you haven't figured yet....  For me I literally went through item by item what I would need. Like a car, in a year I would need wiper blades, oil changes, tire rotations, new tires every few years, new lightbulbs every few years, car cleanings, gas weekly, windshield washer fluid, CAA emergency roadside, insurance, license plate renewals and stickers, replacement parts/fixing/just in case fund. I googled the numbers for these items and wrote them in my budget. I did the same thing for the house, outdoor maintenance, the dog, myself, my health (what is and isn't covered by my work), gifts and birthdays, what I normally spend at Christmas, vacations, work-sponsored donation days, etc. 

Look at other website budgets too for anything you might have missed. A good starting point was this post. http://www.midgetmomma.com/2015/01/15/20-things-you-are-forgetting-to-put-in-your-budget/

Take your $ numbers and scale them up to show a year. If you buy gas weekly, x52 weeks. If you buy shampoo once every three months, x the number by 4. If you need tires every 3 years, take the cost and divide by 3. 

Once you have a final number in every category, divide it by 12. This will give the average cost of that column by month, and this is what you should be squirreling away each month to afford that item later. 

There is a TON of work that can be done here, so make sure you budget (hah, get it) a bunch of time to do it right. 

Then look at your income. Is it fixed? Variable? Different income types will call for different budgets in some cases, but I always suggest you have some sort of fixed income portion - maybe that's a paper route or a couple evenings burger flipping, but at least have some sort of predictable every month income budget amount. Write down the "take-home" pay, this is after the government takes their cut and the employer takes out the employee benefits information, and is what you actually have to work with. Maybe you have side jobs and eBay moments, great! But for the budget I would suggest sticking with some sort of concrete number you can bank on, so to speak. 

Add up all the columns in your tracking sheet, and compare that against your take home income. How far out are you? Look at Gails life pie and calculate the % numbers to see where you are spending too much money. She divides stuff into fixed expenses (things you can't change the payment amount of ) and variable expenses (everything else). If your fixed expenses are too high, then you have a hard decision to make of either generating more income or changing where you live/what you drive. Typically, everyone's variable expenses are way over budget too when you first make the budget. 

Work with the life pie idea and your income. How much should you be spending in each area? Work backwards if it's easier and then compare against your current spending. 

Then.. Cue the couponing aspect. If your variable transportation costs are too high, consider asking for CAA or wiper blades for your birthday. Think about carpooling options, buying gas in the middle of the week, home washing and cleaning. Where can you save money and eliminate it from your budget?

I know this was a long post so I'll leave it here for now. Get creative, do the research, ask for help. Especially if you have debt, you absolutely need to budget to be able to pay it off and avoid paying all those extra and unnecessary interest fees. Feel free to post any other good tips you have :)