12 Easy Ways to Save Money on Pet Food
Owning a pet is not only a time commitment, it is also a big financial commitment. Pet food, toys, vet bills… It can really add up! If you’re looking for a simple way to cut back on pet care costs, I’ve got good news. You don’t have to break the bank to meet your pet’s nutritional needs. Check out these 12 ways to save money on pet food!
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The Ontario Veterinary Medical Association estimates that the average cost of owning a dog is $3,242 per year while cat ownership is estimated at approximately $2,083 per year. While the costs may vary from household to household, this is a clear example of the financial commitment of bringing a new pet into your home.
One of the major costs associated with pet ownership is the price of pet food. After all, you don’t want to skimp on your pet’s nutrition and well-being! Right?
If you’ve been searching for a solution to reduce your pet care costs, you’ve come to the right place.
Check Out These 12 Easy and Effective Ways to Save On Pet Food!
#1 – Take Advantage of Free Samples
While I’m not suggesting that you can feed your pet entirely for free, you can take advantage of free samples in order to lower your pet food bill.
If you are feeding a veterinarian requested diet, check with your vet’s office! Often, food manufacturers supply veterinarians with samples for their clients as a marketing aid.
While the samples themselves aren’t large, they can quickly add up!
Another place to check for samples is online.
Start by going straight to the source. Many pet food retailers will offer samples directly from their website.
In addition to the brand websites, there are many sites dedicated to compiling deals and samples. This makes it easy for you to find offers that fit your current needs.
Examples include:
Note: Pay careful attention when signing up for free samples online. While there are many out there that are truly free, others will require a shipping cost. Depending on the sample, this may negate any savings you experience from receiving the sample.
Don’t forget to keep an eye open for samples at your favourite pet stores!
Companies will often send samples when releasing new formulas or during a marketing push. If you know your local pet store staff, they may even give you a heads up when samples are available.
This is a good reason to get to know your local pet store staff better…
#2 – Sales, Discount Codes, Coupons and Other Deals
You may not be able to score free food, but discounts are the next best thing. Scoring coupons and discount codes may be easier than you realized, you just have to know where to look.
Much like the online free samples, it’s always a good idea to start your coupon search with the company itself. For example, Purina offers a full page of coupons on their website that you can take advantage of and Hill’s has a ‘Special Offers’ page with some great deals.
Don’t forget to join the company’s mailing list to stay up to date on all the latest deals.
Another great place to score deals directly from the company is to follow their social media accounts. Often companies will share exclusive contests, coupons and discount codes just for their followers on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
There are also a number of websites dedicated to sharing coupons and deals for your convenience. While these sites aren’t usually pet-specific, many include a pet section for easier navigation.
Examples include:
You can also watch deal sites like Groupon to pick up deals specific to your favourite pet store. For example, the site often runs coupon and promo codes for PetSmart.
#3 – Watch for Rebates
In addition to saving money upfront when purchasing your pet’s food, you may also be able to cash in a rebate and receive money back.
Pay attention to any signage when purchasing your pet food as some companies will provide rebate-related information to retailers in order to help get the word out.
In addition to instore signage and advertising, rebate options may be displayed directly on the pet food bag itself.
Check your bags over carefully before throwing them away, you may find a surprise!
Finally, try doing some online research to find out fi you can find a rebate specific to your pet’s food online.
While many rebates are advertised in store, you will occasionally find additional rebates available online.
#4 – Sign Up for VIP and Loyalty Programs
Most of the points on this list focus on an instant savings, but what about the long game?
If you are loyal to a specific pet store or pet food brand, check to find out if they offer a VIP or loyalty program. These programs often allow you to work towards discounts or free product with repeat purchases.
For example, if you shop at PetValu, you may want to check out the Pet Points Plus Program. This includes the buy 12, get 1 free Frequent Buyer Program (only for specified brands) as well as a 5% Case Discount Program for cans of wet food.
#5 – Don’t Be Swayed by Brand Names
There is a misconception that in order to feed your pet high-quality pet food, you must purchase the best known and most expensive brands. However, I’d like to challenge you to reframe your thinking slightly when it comes to pet food.
Rather than buying based solely on the brand of dog food and its reputation, try digging into the ingredients and nutritional value of the food itself.
There are many GREAT foods on the market that don’t have the name and notoriety of the biggest brands.
The difference? Often simply that they haven’t been around long enough to gain the same reputation…
Take the time to review the ingredients in your premium/name brand foods and compare it to some of the lesser known brands and you may find a lower cost alternative that will provide your pet with all the same great nutrition!
Nervous about trying something new? You can always reach out to your veterinarian for their advice!
#6 – Ask Around to Find Savings
If you’re looking to save money on a specific brand and/or formula of pet food, why not reach out to your network for their help?
You can post on your social media platforms asking your friends and family or even post in a local Facebook group for your region asking if anyone has seen a sale on that specific food.
Sure, you my come up empty handed, however, you may discover there is a sale nearby that you weren’t even aware of!
What do you have to lose? A couple minutes of your time…
#7 – Join Pet Store Mailing Lists
Many pet stores have e-mail mailing lists available that you can sign up for to receive their latest news and offers.
Why would you sign up to receive their ‘junk mail’?
Those newsletters often contain information about upcoming sales and even exclusive coupons and discount codes for their followers!
While traditional mailing lists are less common, you may also be able to sign up to receive flyers from your local pet store (if they still mail them).
This is another great opportunity to make sure that you don’t miss out on any great sales. Just make sure that you set some time aside to go through them when they come in! A flyer that is instantly set aside ‘for later’ isn’t going to help you!
#8 – Compare Recommended Serving Size and Price
If you read the packaging on your pet’s food, you will notice that it contains a recommended daily service size. This information is incredibly important!
Not only does this help you ensure that your pet is getting the nutrition that they require, but it will also help you find a good deal…
Often, we dismiss higher priced foods when looking for a good deal. But this may not actually be the key to saving money!
Lower-quality foods often contain a large quantity of ‘fillers’. These are ingredients that hold no real nutritional value, they are just there to bulk up the food.
What does this mean for you?
In order to meet your pet’s nutritional needs, you will need to feed them a larger helping and will, therefore, burn through the food faster.
To find the best option, you will need to do a little math…
Don’t worry, there’s a calculator on your smartphone for all the math haters.
Divide the total volume of the bag by the amount of food needed for each meal. This will tell you how many meals you can get out of a single bag (or package).
Then, take the total price and divide it by the number of meals. This will tell you the cost per meal.
If you are looking to save money, you want to find the food with the lowest cost per meal, not the lowest overall cost per bag. Sure, that cheaper food may only be $25 versus $40 for the higher-quality bag, but if you need 2 bags to cover the same number of meals, you’re actually spending more!
#9 – Buy Food in Bulk
It’s common knowledge that we can save money by buying items in bulk, that theory is what companies like Costco are built on.
But have you been applying that same theory to your pet food purchases?
Contact your local pet store and find out if they offer additional savings if you are purchasing in bulk. Many offer a discount depending on the quantity that you are purchasing at any given time.
No discount available at your local store?
Depending on how big your planned order will be, it may be worth reaching out to the manufacturer directly!
There are two important factors that you should take into consideration if you plan on buying in bulk:
- The expiry date of the foods that you are purchasing
- Storage methods for the food to prevent early spoilage
Remember, a bulk order isn’t going to save you anything if you’re throwing half of it away!
#10 – Cook Your Own Food and Treats
Most pet owners didn’t switch to homemade food options as a way to save money on pet food, however, with careful planning, it can be done!
The biggest concern with making your own food is to be sure that you are meeting all of your pet’s nutritional needs.
Therefore, you want to follow the guidance of a professional.
Leverage resources like the American College of Veterinary Nutrition Diplomate Directory in order to find a qualified veterinary nutritionist in your area, or reach out to a professional open to online consultations.
Do you feed your pet a combination of wet and dry foods?
Consider switching to making only the wet food portions or ‘toppers’ for your pet’s food while continuing to feed their nutritionally balanced dry kibble.
If the idea of making your pet’s food makes you nervous, you can always scale back your goals slightly by focusing instead on making your pet’s treats rather than paying commercial prices.
Not only are homemade treats generally cheaper, but they allow you to control the ingredients and avoid many of the recalls that we have seen over the years on mass produced pet treats.
Dog owners, check out my recent post ‘Easy 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Banana Dog Treats’ for some great recipes and inspiration!
#11 – Search for Online Sales
Have you ever jumped online to search for a good online sale? Why not do the same with your pet food purchases?
It has been said that the Internet is the way of the future, and our spending habits reflect it! Recognizing that many customers prefer online purchases, we’ve seen an increase in the number of brands that are moving online.
The online marketplace is incredibly competitive, and we are the ones that ultimately benefit from that!
Before you make a purchase, take the time to do some online sleuthing. Often you can find the same products available at your local brick and mortar stores at a lower price point!
Just don’t forget to factor in shipping costs!
#12 – Delivery Subscriptions
If you know that you will be purchasing an item regularly, like pet food, why not take advantage of a delivery subscription?
These regular deliveries will not only save you the hassle of remembering when to stock up next, but they also come at a discounted cost!
Looking for some options? Check out the delivery subscriptions available at Chewy.com or Amazon. These programs are convenient, cost-effective AND you save on gas by having it delivered to your door!
Do you have any tricks to save money on pet food that I missed? What was the best deal that you ever scored?
I’d love to hear your success stories in the comments!
These are great tips. We don’t have any furry friend at home right now but we are planning to get one
Thank you! They are such a special part of our family!
Hey Britt,
Amazing post! I am seriously planning to get a pup home especially with all this quarantine thing. For days I have been reading about info to take care of pups. Your blog looks like a one stop resource. 😀 Thanks for posting thses amazing ideas. I am sure this will come in handy. Bookmarking it rigt away.
Thanks
Thank you! Bringing pets into our family has brought me so much love (and plenty of laughter). They are a bright light in our lives!
This is amazing! I always buy my dog branded pet food! Thanks for the tips!
xoxo
Lovely
http://mynameislovely.com
Thank you!
Great post! I don’t have pets but I think your message about brand names applies to so many other areas of life! Thanks.
Definitely – these tips can be applied to many, many areas of our lives!
I’m very lucky that the clinic I work at is connected to a pet store and I get 15% off all products. However for those NOT in my position these are super helpful tips!
I wish I had a hookup like that lol We pay a small fortune in pet food, but they are worth it!
Thanks for the tips! I also mix rice, sweet potatoes and other mixers in to my dogs food! This makes my food last much longer then just giving her dog food!
I love mixing a little something extra into our dogs’ food dishes. Lately, the big winner with them has been canned pumpkin which has SO many benefits!
I find your post extremely helpful! Thank you!
Thank you!
So many awesome tips! Thank you so much for sharing, Britt. My cat has recently recommended we switch him to a much more expensive food. This article is going to help us get him the nutrition he needs without breaking the bank. Thank you!
Due to allergies, our pets are all on higher-end, more expensive foods. However, using these tricks, we’ve been able to keep that cost down quite a bit!
Thank you so much! I have 3 dogs and usually make homemade dog food to save money! I am going to check some of these out!
We make all our treats, but have been able to find some great deals on pet food – especially by getting to know the management at our local pet stores.
Pups can certainly be expensive! We are always looking out for coupons and deals for our dog’s food and treats. I’ll make sure to check out some of these tips too – it all helps!!
It adds up fast! With 4 pets in the house that all eat high-end foods, we have had to find ways to keep the costs down where we can.
These are great tips! I started using a new food last year and they placed really good coupons right in the bag! How easy is that? The worst part – I thought I had so much time to buy more bags with all the coupons I saved, but my remaining coupons, totaling $6 expired on Jan. 1, 2021 Ack! I was so mad at myself LOL! So remember to be mindful of coupon expiration dates. I’m going to check out some of the sites you listed here, thank you!
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
That’s a great point! We actually had $15 in-store coupons here that we had received from our local pet store. We skimmed over what they said to see that you had to way until Jan 2021 to use them (it was a new year’s promotion) but somehow missed the fact that they were only good for the first week, so they’ve expired now. Super frustrating!
These are very good tips. I use loyalty programs & I shop the sales. When our dog food goes on sale we stock up. I don’t do the delivery subscriptions because we travel so much.
There are a lot of savings to be found just by watching for sales alone!