You get what you pay for

In an effort to save money to purchase our home, we cut everything we could possibly cut.

Literally.

We turned off our cable, our internet (gasp!), we ate every dinner at home and brown bagged every lunch. The phrase, “I need…” was scrutinized for truth. Every. Single. Day.

In one month we saved more money than I would have ever thought we would have been able to. It was freeing, enlightening, and fun somehow. I am very proud of our accomplishments and hope to keep a piece of our new found SUPER frugality with us.

But I never cut back on the pet food that I buy. Yes, I buy the “expensive” food. No, I would not be got dead with Ol’Roy® in my pets bellies. Ever.

And I do not believe that buying cheaper food saves you money.

Why?

Cheap food will more than likely lead you to an expensive vet bill. The ways that this can happen is another blog entirely.

But let’s break this down:

For example’s sake let’s pretend that Fido’s food is made of three ingredients – chicken, corn meal, and beef. No matter which dog food you buy, these three items are the key ingredients.

So why go with the expensive brands?

The cheaper brands may use these three ingredients on a consistent basis, but the price for these ingredients fluctuates with changes in the market.

One week corn meal may be sold at a killer price. Cheap brands stock up and put more corn meal in their food. The next week chicken goes on sale and the recipe shifts. Yes, this means pet food producers are able to keep their prices down, but the quality of the food is constantly shifting. The only guarantee you have is a full dog belly. You may purchase the same brand steadily, but the nutritional building blocks of the dog food are not uniform from bag to bag.

Now let’s say that the expensive food’s recipe is 30% chicken, 30% cornmeal, 40% beef. No matter what the markets yield, this food will be made the same way each week. The ingredient amounts are driven by the nutritional need for your pet and not the financial need of your wallet. Of course there are a million pieces to it, but the biggest selling factor for me is uniform recipes, no matter what.

Ahh, sweet consistency.