6 Pet Food Hacks That Cut Costs Without Guilt

Amy Castro (00:00.428)
Want to feed your pets healthy food without spending half your paycheck? Well, in this quick episode, I'm breaking down five smart ways to save money on pet food without cutting corners on quality. If you ever felt that pit in your stomach at checkout after grabbing your usual bag of food, this one's for you.

Amy Castro (00:22.072)
You've reached the Pet Parent Hotline, your lifeline to practical solutions for your toughest pet parenting challenges. I'm your host Amy Castro, and I'm here to help you cut through the noise and turn expert advice into step-by-step strategies so you can stop chasing your tail and start enjoying life with pets again.

Amy Castro (00:45.806)
Okay, full honesty, there have been months where my pets have eaten better than I have. And if you've ever stood at the pet food aisle doing the mental gymnastics like, okay, if I get the big bag today, can I still cover the electric bill? You're not alone. Feeding pets can feel like a financial juggling act. Especially this day and age. I am shocked every time I go into the pet food store to see how much even the most mediocre bags of pet food cost these days.

And especially if you care about what goes into your pet's bowl, it can be even more painful. And I think most of us do. We want to do right by our pets, but we also don't want to have to take out a loan every time we place a chewy order. So today, I just want to give you six specific and realistic ways to feed your pets well without going broke. These are things I've used with my own pets, with foster pets, and have shared with clients and friends who are trying to stretch their dollars without sacrificing their pets' health. So let's dive in.

Tip number one, buy in bulk, but don't get burned. So I have done this many times. I get in trouble with my daughter all the time for things that get thrown away because Amy Castro decided that it was better to buy more. I just got, I got in trouble this morning and got Facebook shamed for a rotting black banana that was hanging in my kitchen. And I had wanted to buy like five or six bananas, but she knows half of them end up going bad.

So I was cut back to three bananas when we went to the grocery store, and still I only ate two. So trust me, I know the urge to buy more than you need or to save money because the bigger bag's cheaper. But buying a bigger bag is not always a better deal. So let's just say, for example, you've got a 10 pound dog. That 30 pound bag of dog food might save you money per pound, but if it takes you three months to get through it, and the last third of it is moldy or stale,

You just wasted it. And that's basically like probably tossing a $20 bill in the trash can because that 30 pound bag of food probably cost you about 60 bucks. Instead, think strategically. Yes, if you've got multiple pets eating the same food, bulk buying is brilliant. I do it all the time. But make sure you invest in really good airtight storage bins. And we have some that are on our

Amy Castro (03:10.485)
website, but they are the Gamma 2 Vidal Vaults, and I have used those for years. They're a pain in the butt to get in and out because they've got a screw top, but they are the best thing that I have found to keep moisture, bugs, mold, mildew, and other funk, including pets and rodents and things like that when I have stored horse food outside. Keep things out and keep the fresh stuff in.

So if you store in a good airtight vault and put the original bag inside the vault as well, now you have a little extra protection. And it also gives you a reminder of your nutritional information and feeding guidelines. If you're buying canned food in bulk, make sure to double check expiration dates because that really great deal may be a really great deal because those cans of food expire in three days.

And I'm not gonna get into the debate about whether you can feed yourself or your pets expired food, but definitely check the dates and make sure that you're able to use that amount of food before the expiration date. And make sure you're rotating your stock because if you don't keep an eye on things, like maybe that canned food does last for a year, but you've bought new stuff because it was on sale and you figure, hey, I can store it and I can keep it. Make sure you're rotating the stock on your storage shelf

so that the stuff that is new doesn't end up at the front and you go to reach for that last can of cat food and find out that it expired five years ago, that's gross. So the rule is bulk smart, not bulk blindly. Tip number two is to take advantage of auto ship, but then be smarter than auto ship. Auto ship discounts are one of the easiest wins. Most retailers are gonna offer you five to 10 % off.

just for scheduling a repeat delivery. But here's the catch, you are in control. Set it, get the discount, and then if it starts to pile up, change the delivery dates or pause or delay. I had an auto ship for some food set for every six weeks, but I just had to bump it back because I wasn't anywhere near done with that particular food in the six weeks. So I pushed it out to eight and then you can push it out to 10 if you need to.

Amy Castro (05:31.219)
Or vice versa, if you're running out sooner, you can order sooner. One pro move is to line your pet food buying up with paydays. Or if you're putting it on a credit card, line your credit card bill due date up with your paydays. That way your pet expenses aren't landing before your direct deposit, or you're not getting a credit card bill before you're paid and you can't pay the bill. You can also look around to various retailers. You might...

get in the habit of shopping at a certain place and have not investigated another place that offers the same food for a better price. And some retailers will even offer an extra savings for first time customers, or they might have better coupons or better sales or discounts for frequent buyers. So sign up, get the discount. And if you need to pause it later, there is no shame in the money saving game. I can tell you that.

Tip number three, and this is a big one, and we've done several episodes on pet nutrition, and I don't want to get too far into that, but too many times we compare brands and we compare foods, or even worse, we don't compare at all, but we compare them by the price tag, or by a name that we saw, or by what my friend said to feed, or by even what my vet said to feed, or what my vet feeds their pet.

but it's really important to realize that expensive or a particular brand doesn't always mean it's better than a brand that you haven't heard of. And cheap doesn't always mean trash. And I've seen people walking out of the pet stores with these big bags of dog food on their shoulders. And I know that dog food is number one, expensive, but number two, the third ingredient is corn or wheat or soy. You know, if corn, wheat and soy are in the top five ingredients, that's probably not the best food that you want to feed your pet.

Meanwhile, there are probably, if the person investigated a little bit further, they probably could have gotten instead of a $90 bag of food, they probably could have found something closer to $45 or $50 that actually had real meat and not fillers and better digestibility for their pets. So the key is learning to read the labels. And here's a quick rule of thumb. Look at the first five ingredients. If you see things that you recognize, single things, chicken versus chicken byproduct.

Amy Castro (07:52.359)
Lamb versus lamb byproduct. Beef versus, I said byproduct. Say it again. You're on the right track. You wanna have recognizable protein sources as the top ingredients. If it just says something like, like I said, byproduct or meat meal, beef meal, any of those things are kind of like mystery meat and you don't wanna know where that came from because a lot of things can be labeled byproduct.

that you probably wouldn't wanna feed your pet, or certainly pay lots of money for. Also, don't get sucked into the whole grain-free is always better myth. For many dogs, whole grains are totally fine, and sometimes they're even beneficial. What's not fine is paying a premium for a food that's mostly pea starch and marketing magic. You don't need to become a veterinary nutritionist to get this done, but a quick comparison can go a long way.

And yes, I'm gonna link some resources for you, including a couple of past episodes that we've done in the show notes so that you can help to decode labels and understand ingredients in your pet foods a little bit better. Tip number four, and this is one of my favorite hacks, rotating your proteins. When I was younger and I worked at a veterinarian, we always told people not to change their pet food. And definitely if...

Your pet has a sensitive stomach and your vet has told you not to switch your foods around and you found that one food that agrees with them and doesn't give them diarrhea, don't listen to Amy Castro over your veterinarian. However, I have found, and you can do your own homework on this, that rotating proteins like switching between chicken, beef, and lamb can actually help your pet's digestion and reduce the risk of developing food sensitivities. But it also lets you shop for sales. So...

Chicken might be cheaper one month by $10, and I've seen this a lot in dry and canned food. And next month, it might be a salmon product that's on sale. Many times, the store sales are simply based on what is not selling. And just for dog food, as an example, people have a tendency not to focus on fish proteins for their dogs. People think fish is for cats and chicken and beef are for dogs, but that's not necessarily true.

Amy Castro (10:07.167)
Both species can eat both things. So here's the caveat. The one thing I would say is don't switch abruptly. So don't wait until you are already out of that chicken-based food and suddenly switch to beef on your pet. Now that is probably just asking for trouble. So make sure you make the decision to switch or you start watching the sales at least five days, probably more like seven days in advance so that you can gradually start

introducing new food just to see if there's gonna be any digestive drama. And again, unless your pet has known sensitivities, varieties can sometimes be your secret weapon, not only against your pet being bored about what they eat, but also to overspending. And tip number five is to stop wasting food. This one might sound totally obvious, but it really is a big deal. Wasted food is wasted money and it adds up fast. So,

especially for canned food feeders. know, I can't even tell you how many cans of expensive food I have thrown away because I put down too much canned food for my three cats and they didn't finish it. And in Texas, you can't leave that stuff sitting around too long before it starts getting disgusting. So I have wasted by just putting down too much food. The other thing is...

I would not go by the amount of food that the label says. You need to go by what your veterinarian says as far as the volume of food and your pet's healthy weight. If your pet is at a healthy weight, if you can rub their sides and feel ribs, but not too skinny, then you're probably feeding an appropriate amount of food. If your dog has two inches of fat on his ribs, then you're overfeeding. And same goes for cats.

When we overfeed, many times our animals will eat. know, unlike my picky cats, my dogs, and my bulldog is a perfect example. If I gave her seven cups of food for dinner, she would eat all seven cups of food. She doesn't need seven cups of food, nowhere near that amount. And it's shocking how she can keep her little bulky self bulky and be only eating a cup and a half of food. So overfeeding or throwing away food that doesn't get finished,

Amy Castro (12:29.433)
is definitely not something that you want to do. So a couple of things that you can do to help. Number one would be measuring properly, not just eyeballing. That doesn't work for us on a diet or keeping us healthy, and it doesn't work for pets. So using an accurate, dry measuring scoop, or if you're feeding a wet meal, using a digital scale to make sure you are accurately portioning out your pet's food. Make sure that you are storing things in

airtight containers, not just the dry food, but wet food, you know, not loosely covered with some foil or some saran wrap or something like that. Put, now this is a good tip just for anybody, put labels on things, put dates on things. I don't know how many times I've thrown away a can of food that was in the fridge because I forgot when I opened it. Or, and that even applies to my own food. So grab a piece of tape, write a date on it, get a lid that has a, you know,

or get a dry erase marker or something like that, and make sure you're dating those things so you don't unnecessarily throw away something that is still good. And then if you are somebody that feeds raw or you make your pets food, that's a whole nother subject, but obviously portion that out, freeze things, label, and repeat in that process. Also, don't fall for pet treats that cost $18 for a six ounce bag. We're gonna talk about human foods as our sixth tip, but you know,

chunking up boiled chicken breasts, chopping up some carrots, even unsalted canned green beans can make a great low-cost snack. If your pet tolerates eggs, a hard-boiled egg is a cheap protein boost, and that kind of leads me to my final subject. Tip number six, add healthy human foods without overdoing it. So one of the most overlooked ways to save money and boost your pet's nutrition is to look at what's in your own fridge or pantry.

You don't always need a pricey topper or some type of fancy schmancy mix-in for your pet. Many common human foods can be safe, healthy additions to your pet's meals, and they can help you stretch that expensive dry food or that expensive canned food a little bit farther without sacrificing quality. So obviously, do this in conjunction with a discussion with your veterinarian before you do it.

Amy Castro (14:51.165)
because not all pets are gonna tolerate things equally, but I'm gonna share with you some of the things that I do. If I've got some leftover cooked chicken that I'm not gonna finish in the next day or so, and it needs to go, I will cut off the outside if it has been seasoned and give my dog some leftover chicken or my cats. I gave it to one of my cats the other day, a little spoonful over their food or maybe a small amount added to each pet's meal.

can add up to less kibble or less canned food that you have to feed. A spoonful of salt-free green beans or plain canned pumpkin not only adds fiber, but it bulks up the food and those kinds of things, especially the green beans. Unsalted green beans can be a great way to make your pet feel full, especially if you've got a pet that needs to lose a little weight, to feel full and feel like they've had a large meal.

but also cut back on the actual dog food that you're giving them. whether it's a dieting standpoint or trying to save a little bit, as long as your pet is maintaining a safe and healthy weight, you're good to substitute some of those things. I mentioned the hard-boiled egg, giving them a hard-boiled egg sliced up, a half of an egg, a quarter of an egg, whatever it might be. It's protein, vitamins, a little bit excitement, something new that smells good, and it's all for very little money.

But again, you wanna make sure that you are smart about doing this. Obviously, talk to your veterinarian. Research any food item, any human food item before you give it to your dog or your cat or any of your pets. And stick to safe basics like plain unseasoned cooked meats, cooked eggs, steamed or raw carrots, broccoli, green beans. I tried the broccoli thing the other day and then I found people were playing.

with pieces of broccoli like toys around the house. They apparently were not impressed with the broccoli, but your dog might like it. Canned pumpkin is a great addition to a pet's food. Definitely make sure you are not buying pumpkin pie filling. That has got all kinds of things in there that you don't want to give your pet. A little bit of plain white rice or sweet potato. Those are all things that can be good ways to bulk up your pet's meal a little bit, even if it's not on a regular basis.

Amy Castro (17:09.441)
Make sure you're avoiding anything with garlic, onions, lot of spices, butter or oil, and definitely be careful about portion sizes. This is supposed to be an add-in to your pet's food, not a replacement for food. You want to get into crossing the line and cooking your own food for your pet, that's great, but a lot more needs to go into it than just stuff you're going to grab out of your refrigerator. If you overdo it,

with the human food, you're gonna risk the possibility of nutrition deficit for your pet because other supplements probably need to be added. Also, again, if your pet has specific health concerns, you definitely wanna talk to your vet first. But in general, rotating a little bit of whole foods now and then is not only budget friendly, but it's an enrichment opportunity for your pet. And anyone that's feeding multiple pets, know, one boiled chicken breast can stretch across a couple of meals as a topper.

and costs less than some fancy $15 meal enhancer that you would buy at the store that has all kinds of preservatives in it. So open up your fridge before you open up your wallet and you might already have something that your pet would just love to have. So if you found yourself nodding along or taking mental notes, go ahead and hit follow and leave a quick review for us and share this episode with somebody else who might wanna do right by their pet without maxing out their credit card every time they buy a bag or a can of food.

These little tweaks can make a huge difference over time, especially if you're feeding multiple pets. And hey, I wanna hear from you. So let us know what's your favorite food hack that saves money, but still keeps your pets happy and healthy. Post it, tag me, or shoot me an email using the link in the show notes. Feeding your pets doesn't have to feel like a financial burden. It just takes a little strategy and maybe a few airtight containers. Thanks for listening to the Pet Parent Hotline.

If you enjoyed the show, don't keep it to yourself. Text a friend right now with a link and tell them I've got a show that you need to hear. And ask them to let you know what they think. And remember, your pet's best life starts with you living yours. So be sure to take good care of yourself this week and your pets.