I love my pups. Thing 1 and Thing 2 (pictured above) are my furry kids that have an affinity for digging in the trash. Love, love, love my pups. Balancing the budget to take care of a pup was easy when we had just Thing 1. He's a little guy, has been pretty healthy and doesn't eat a whole lot. Then we got Thing 2.... a.k.a, my MillionDollarDog. She's 75 pounds of snugglepup and trouble. If there's something to get into, she'll find it. Plus she eats a TON.
So, her food bills can get pretty hefty. I counteract that particular strain on the budget by shopping wisely. Most of the time her food comes from Sam's --- the warehouse store closest to me. I know exactly how much per pound her food costs there, and generally that is the cheapest. I buy a 52 pound bag, and that lasts quite a while. It gets stored in a clean trashcan, and then overflow is stored in those large Glad Plastic Storage containers. I really need to get a larger can to hold the entire bag -- but they are SO expensive, so I just make do with what I have.
Anyway, generally the food comes from Sam's --- but ever so often, Publix will run a really good deal where I can combine a coupon with a sale on a smaller size bag of her food and get a better price per pound. I really like when those happen -- because a 30something pound bag is a lot easier for me to carry in from the car!
This is where knowing your unit prices for items comes in handy. I know without a doubt when I am getting a TRUE deal on the pup food, instead of mindlessly hefting a bag of dog food into my cart and thinking I'm getting a deal when I'm not.
Do you keep track of your unit prices? Does it help you manage your grocery bills better?
I remember my mom teaching me about unit pricing. And I do a similar thing with cat litter. The cheapest is at Sam's, for a 42 lb bag, but sometimes you can get the 25 lbs box for less per pound elsewhere.
ReplyDeletePlus, I have a "cat" savings account, where I put $30 a payperiod aside that goes for food, litter, and vet bills.
My pup budget is $50/month. That generally covers annual shots and screenings, flea preventatives and heart worm preventatives, plus one not normal visit per year. Thing 1's health scare during the winter pretty much zapped the "rollover" I had built up -- and then some! Pup food I keep as part of our regular grocery bill, its just easier for me that way.
DeleteYup, I do use unit prices a lot. Sadly, most of the time, sales will be selling you items that are MORE expensive per unit than their smaller, non sale versions. I dont like when they do that at all, because they know well some people are just attracted to sales, and sales are sales. I've gotten down to the unit price of a lot of food items, not just meats (like eggs, cheese, spices, condiments, etc.). Thing 2 is really cute.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I think she's adorable myself! I keep track of the unit pricing on other stuff. Funny how even with the increase in grocery prices, I can still get a lot of things for the same unit price as 5 years ago. That doesn't apply to everything, but it does make me strive harder to keep the other things in line too.
DeleteSuch a cute dog! Big dogs = more food and then to top it off our 2nd big dog has skin problems so we had to switch to a premium pricey food, so it's even more cost. I use unit pricing too. Sometimes smaller is cheaper, especially when it's on sale and a coupon.
ReplyDeleteExactly! That's when it really "pays" to know your unit pricing ---
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