Frugal Tip: Wash Your Own Dog

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We have a dog. Dogs can be very expensive pets.

Once you add up vet visits, food and grooming you could spend hundreds of dollars a year on one dog. I am all about saving money but two things I will not cut back on for my dog (even though he is a pain in the butt) are vet visits and dog food. That leaves grooming.

We used to take him to Petsmart to get a bath and his nails clipped and it was no big deal. Fast forward to not having tons of extra cash and having three kids who I dread leaving the house with (plus we live at least 20 minutes away from the nearest groomer) and I decided to do the grooming myself.

I bought a pair of nail clippers and some dog shampoo for about $20, which is less than how much one grooming session with tip was at Petsmart. It really has been very easy to do everything myself, though keep in mind Binky is a Miniature Pincher (don't think I spelled that last part right) so he is small and has very short fur which requires no trimming. His nails are black so they are harder to cut, but the clipper I bought have a guard on them so that I don't accidentally cut too far back.

By deciding to do Binky's grooming in-house I am saving a lot of money, time and sanity which all contribute to making my life a little more stress free.