October 2016 Expenses

It's November!! Yay!! November and December are historically my favorite months out of the year. The weather gets cold, snow starts flying, my dogs are fluffy. My birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas. What's not to love.

Seeing as how it is the first day of a new month, I have calculated my expenses from the previous month.

I got a new phone last month.  For the last several years, I have used a budgeting app that I paid for a long time ago.  When I restored the new phone from the backup of my old phone, the budgeting app did not transfer. I was heartbroken.  Apparently the app is no longer even available in the app store. So I had to go through my bank transactions for the month to figure dog-related expenses. (I pay for nearly everything with my debit card.)  Does anyone have a budgeting app they would recommend?

October 2016 Expenses

Food - $92

Health - $24.77

Total - $116.77

Bam. That's how it's done. Health was, of course, the cost of Bruce's prescription.

The $92 spent on food actually purchased quite a bit of food. 140 pounds to be exact. I love my sources. I purchased 80 pounds of boneless turkey chunks and 30 pounds of turkey hearts from a poultry processor in a neighboring state, and 30 pounds of duck necks from a local meat locker. I am fortunate to know several folks who come together to place large orders of meat, and one person will make the drive to pay and pick up all the meat.  Because of this, I can get meat at wholesale or less than wholesale prices. For example, the turkey hearts were 70 cents per pound. Can't beat that.

I am hoping that November expenses are similar. It is currently bow season for deer in Indiana, and gun season starts soon. Hopefully my hunter friends come through for me.

September 2016 Expenses

It's officially Fall!!  Tomorrow is the first day of October, and I couldn't be happier about it.  I have calculated my dog-related expenses for September, and they are listed below.

I typically budget $300 per month for dog food, and nearly always come in under that, sometimes by quite a bit.  It is my main expense in caring for my dogs.

September 2016 Expenses

Food - $227.00

Health - $24.77

Total - $251.77

I made one order of beef tripe, ground lamb, and beef, lamb, and pork organs from My Pet Carnivore. I purchased some ground beef "dog food" and beef hearts from a local butcher. I went into same local butcher a couple of weeks ago, and to my surprise, they were making lamb and goat "dog food" that day, so I purchased 30 lbs of lamb dog food. This dog food consists of ground lung, organs, and trim. As usual, I also purchased several bags of chicken leg quarters and some chicken hearts/gizzards from the grocery store.

As ALWAYS, the lone health expense was the cost of Bruce's prescription medication.

This month was fairly typical. A bit more on food than most recent months, but I am still ok with the total.

August 2016 Expenses

It's September!  The first day of Fall is three weeks away! (It's pretty apparent that I am over summer...)

This month was ridiculously inexpensive, even more so than last month.

I track my dog-related expenses for a variety of reasons, but mostly to hold myself accountable. I also do for future budgeting, and to give folks an idea of what it costs to raise large, raw-fed dogs in the Midwest.

August 2016 Expenses

Food-$73.29

Health-$24.77

Grooming-$10.77

Treats-$10.69

Total - $119.45

I spent a little over $100 on my dogs last month. Success.  Next month will be more expensive, as my freezer is nearly barren.

The food that I purchased this month was some chicken leg quarters from the grocery store, and "dog food" (ground beef lung, spleen, liver, trim) from a local butcher. I also bought two four pound boxes of The Honest Kitchen from Pet Supplies Plus, as they were on sale for over 50% off.

The lone health expense was, of course, Bruce's prescription.

Money spent on grooming went to a DIY dog wash for Neeko yesterday.

For treats, I purchased a bag of dehydrated trachea pieces.  All the dogs love.

Once again, I am very pleased with how little I spent last month. September will definitely be more expensive.

July 2016 Expenses

It's August, and officially the Dog Days of Summer.  Heat and humidity creep up, and I look forward to fall and winter, and my dogs do as well.

I have calculated my expenses from the previous month, and they are as follows.

July 2016 Expenses

Food - $156.42

Health - $24.16

Total - $180.58

A nice inexpensive month.  The health cost was Bruce's omnipresent prescription cost.  In the food category, I purchased some "dog food" from a local butcher for about $30 for 30 lbs.  A couple of weeks ago I purchased 55 lbs of beef hearts, 15 lbs of pork hearts, and 40 lbs of chicken backs.  Also included in the food costs is 70 lbs of turkey, which I have paid for, but will not pick up until this week.

June 2016 Expenses

I use a budgeting app in my phone to track all of my expenses, including cost of living bills, etc.  It is extremely helpful, and helps keep tabs on all areas of my spending, as I pay cash (debit card) for 99% of things.  I have two categories for my dogs within this app - one for food, and one for non-food expenses.  It is handy because I can also jot down notes about what I purchased and where I purchased it at when adding an expenditure. 

Having said all that, I have calculated my dog-related expenses for the previous month.

June 2016 Expenses

Food - $220.55

Health - $317.65

Treats - $39.48

Grooming - $12.00

Total - $589.68

Hello, sticker shock. 

Food expenses include the normal chicken leg quarters from the grocery store.  I also picked up some organs, turkey hearts, and green tripe from My Pet Carnivore, and a small amount of "dog food" from a local butcher.  Also included was a little splurge purchase of Primal Turkey and Sardine frozen raw.

Health expenses were much more than typical this month.  Neeko had her yearly vet appointment, which included a heartworm test, tick-borne illness test, and a senior panel.  She's only six, but I went ahead and had them draw labs on her.  All of her blood tests came back perfect.  I also purchased four doses of heartworm preventative, as heartworms are a real concern in my area.  I also purchased Bruce's medication, as usual.

Treats expenses were a bag of treats and some bully sticks.

The rare grooming expense was a DIY dog wash for Neeko.  When she blows coat, which is later in the year than the boys, she gets a little stinky because of her coat texture.  So she earned herself a bath, which she was not pleased with.

Not including the costs associated with Neeko's vet visit, this would have been a very typical month. I have no complaints, and count myself fortunate in that I have healthy dogs who only see the vet once a year.

May 2016 Dog-Related Expenses

Better late than never, right?  Following are my expenditures on my dogs last month.  As usual, the bulk of spending went towards food.  I purchased more than usual in the "treats" category last month, some of which Sully got to enjoy while he stayed with me.  I keep track of my expenses via a budgeting app on my phone, and it helps to hold me accountable in all of my spending, not just what I spend on my dogs.  Keep in mind I live in the Midwest, where the cost of living is relatively low, and have access to farmers and raw food suppliers.

April 2016 Expenses

How is May already?!?  Seriously.  Where have the last four months went?

Anyways, I calculated my (modest) April expenses.  As usual the bulk (and just about only this month) of my expenses were on food, and even that wasn't much.  April was an inexpensive month, indeed.

March 2016 Expenses (and an unexpected raw food source)

I am the world's worst blogger.  Not really, but I feel like it.

It's April 2, so I am already a day late in documenting the previous month's dog-related expenditures.

Last month was a simple, inexpensive month.

March 2016 Expenses

Food-$151.90

Health-$16.42

Total-$168.32

As I said, simple and inexpensive.  Food expenses were approximately 90% of total costs, which is the norm.  I purchased from a local farmer/raw food supplier.  It turned out disappointing, as I was supposed to get a large amount of food, including complete ground lamb, goat kidney and liver, beef heart, lamb heart, beef tripe chunks, and goat heart.  All they were able to provide was goat liver, goat kidney, complete ground lamb, and beef tripe chunks.

I stopped by a local butcher, who also slaughters, to purchase some beef hearts.  The gentleman asked me if it was for cooking or for a science project.  I sheepishly admitted it was for dog food.  I was pleasantly surprised when he stated they made dog food.  It consists of beef lung, beef trim, beef fat, beef heart, beef kidney and beef spleen, all ground together, and they sell it for $1 per pound.  Unsure of how my dogs would like it, I purchased 3 packages of it, each approximately 2-2.5 pounds.  I am thrilled that they all eagerly ate it, particularly Neeko because of her texture issues.  I will be purchasing more.

I also bought some ground turkey and chicken leg quarters at the grocery store.

Health was (of course) the cost of Bruce's prescription.

It was an overall inexpensive month, and the disappointment of not getting everything I ordered was overcome by the pleasant surprise of a new, cheap, dog food source.

February 2016 Expenses

Happy Leap Year!  Or is it Leap Day??  Whichever it is, it is the last day of February, and I have calculated my dog-related expenses for this month.

So last month was cheap.  I knew this month would not be.  I was right.

February 2016 Expenses

Food-$281.51
Toys-$15.00
Health-$187.88
Gear-39.67

Total-$524.06

I've had worse months...

Food expenses included a large order from My Pet Carnivore, some Nature's Logic Rabbit Patties (splurge) and some chicken leg quarters from the grocery store.

Health was Bruce's annual vet exam and blood work, and the cost of his prescription. 

Big boy was exhausted after his vet appointment.

For gear, I purchased a new Lupine collar and leash set for the princess, who has a birthday tomorrow!!

Buying birthday presents for the princess. Love this collar and leash from @lupinepet #myrottendogs

A photo posted by Rebekah (@rebekah_lw) on Feb 27, 2016 at 12:09pm PST

Next month should be better.

January 2016 Expenses

It's February 1st, and time for me to calculate dog- related expenses for the previous month.

My spending on dogs has been down the last few months, due mostly to decreased food costs.  This is largely in part because of the large amount of turkey and deer I purchased late fall/early winter.

January 2016 Expenses

Food-$141.00

Treats-$22.00

Health--$16.42

Miscellaneous-$14.38

Total-$193.80

Another inexpensive months.  As always, food made up the majority of expenses.  I purchased some ground green tripe from a supplier, and some pork roasts and chicken leg quarters from the grocery store.  Treat expenses was a 5-pack of bully sticks, and the lone health expense was the cost of Bruce's prescription.  I also had to purchase a new poop scoop, which I filed under miscellaneous.

February expenses should prove to be more, as Bruce will be having his wellness exam and bloodwork, and I will be needing to purchase some bulk food soon.

How Much Did I Spend On My Dogs Last Year?

People often wonder what the exact costs are of caring for large dogs.  How much money does it cost to feed large dogs?  What are the total yearly expenses for large dogs?

I track my monthly dog-related expenses each month. 

I decided to tally them up for the year 2015.

I even decided to make an infographic.  Don't be too hard on it, it was my first attempt.  Thanks to Kimberly at Keep the Tail Wagging for cluing me in on how to do it.

2015 Expenses

In 2015, I spent $3,521.12 on dog-related expenses.  This breaks down to $293.43 per month total.  It further breaks down to $1,173.71 per dog for the year, or 97.81 per dog per month. 

Food-I spent $2,376.85 on raw dog food last year, or approximately $198 per month.  This was obviously the bulk of my expenses. 

Health-I spent $829.36 on health expenses last year.  This included vet visits, heartworm preventative, and Bruce's monthly prescription.  Food and health costs made up 90% of my expenses.

Treats/Toys-$243.70.  Plenty of bully sticks, a few toys, and some treats.  One could thing about blogging is that I receive ample amounts of complimentary treats.

Grooming-$33.40.  A few DIY dog washes for Neeko at Pet Supplies Plus, and a new slicker brush.

I honestly don't think this is too bad, particularly for three large, needy, raw-fed dogs.  I know singleton dog owners who spend more than this on one dog, so I am pretty pleased with myself. 

What they give to me is worth so much more.  It's priceless.

December 2015 Expenses

Dog-related expenses for the final month of 2015.  I will do a yearly expenses post in the next week or so. 

Last month was crazy inexpensive, mostly because of the large amount of turkey and venison I received in November.  Not a typical month at all. 

December 2015 Expenses

Food-$21.40

Health-$16.42

Treats-$22.00

Total-$59.82

Wow.  Kind of stunned, quite happy.  The only food purchases last month were three bags of chicken leg quarters from the grocery store.  Health was the cost of Bruce's prescription, as usual.  I purchased (another) package of I and Love and You bully sticks on closeout at Fresh Thyme Market. 

I probably won't be so happy when I do the full year expenses report.

November 2015 Expenses

Holy crap.  It's the first of December.  How did that happen??

Anyways, I've calculated my dog-related expenses for the previous month.

Last month may have been my most inexpensive month ever.  I am shocked, but pleased.

Expenses

Food-$78.31
Treats-$22.00
Health-$16.42

Total-$116.73

Wow.

Food expenses was the cost of some chicken and pork from the grocery store.  I got really lucky, and happened upon several hundred pounds of venison, so my food expenses will be low the next couple of months.  It's good to know people.

I purchased another 5-pack of 12" I and Love and You bully sticks, which is the treat expenses.

And of course the health expense is the cost of Bruce's prescription.

Next month I plan on tallying up yearly expenses.  I might be in for a bit of a shock.

October 2015 Expenses

I set and attempt to follow a budget, with both dog and non dog related expenses.  Sometimes I hit at or below it, other times I am way off.  I use a simple budgeting app on my phone that allows me to categorize and track all of my expenses and earnings.

Tracking my dog-related expenses not only keeps me accountable, but also helps me identify trends and patterns related to them.

Food is my single largest expenditure, nearly every single month.  Many argue that feeding a raw diet is much more expensive than feeding kibble, but I will eagerly argue that.  If my dogs were fed kibble, I would likely feed something along the lines of Instinct, Orijen, or Acana.  Large bags of these foods run anywhere from $60 to $100+.  I would go through at least three large bags of kibble per month.  So I budget myself $300 per month for raw dog food, and fall short of this nearly every month.

There are random treat, gear, grooming, health, and miscellaneous expenses, and the monthly cost of Bruce's prescription.

October 2015 Expenses

Food-$249.94
Treats-$23.00
Health-$16.42

Total-$289.36

Not a bad month at all.  As usual, food made up the majority of the cost.  I made a trip to My Pet Carnivore and bought some chicken leg quarters and pork loin at the grocery store.  A friend did a freezer clean-out last month, and gifted my dogs with some beef, fish, and pork.  I also made a turkey order, which I will pick up next week.

The only treats I bought last month was a five-pack of 12" I and Love and You bully sticks that were on closeout at Fresh Thyme.

The health expense was (of course) big boy's medication.

Do you have a monthly dog budget?

September 2015 Expenses

One day late, due to yesterday being Bruce's birthday.

Keeping track of my dog related expenses is easy for me, as I use a budgeting app to track all my expenses, and pay for nearly everything from my checking account.  It keeps accountable.

Some months are quite expensive, while others are relatively cheap.  It all balances out in the end, and can give folks an overview of the costs associated with caring for three raw fed dogs in the Midwest.

September 2015 Expenses

Food-$212.12
Health-$16.42
Miscellaneous-$10.00

Total-$238.54

This month was very inexpensive!  Expenses are relative, and everyone is different, but this was a very "cheap" month for me.  Food made up the bulk of the expenses.  I placed an order for green tripe and beef kidney from My Pet Carnivore.  I purchased beef heart, complete ground lamb, goat tongue and goat liver from a farming operation/raw food supplier in southern Indiana.  I also purchased chicken leg quarters, pork loin, and a bag of I and Love and You dehydrated raw from the grocery store.

Health was the cost of Bruce's prescription, and the miscellaneous costs was three new stainless steel bowls.

I am quite happy, as this is my least expensive month since March of this year.  Last month was nearly twice this amount.  I am contemplating a year end post, with total expenses for the year.

August 2015 Expenses

This post is a couple days late.

Canine-related expenditures for the month of August.

Food-$220.81
Health-$205.34
Treats-$34.84
Grooming-$10.70

Total-$462.69

This month's total was a bit higher than normal, due to health-related expenses.  Both Neeko and Faolan had wellness visits this month, and there is the always present cost of Bruce's prescription.

Food expenses included an order from a raw food supplier, some I and Love and You dehydrated raw, and chicken leg quarters from the grocery store.

Treat expenses were some cookies from a local boutique/bakery, and a three pack of bully sticks.

Grooming was the cost of a DIY dog wash for Neeko.

Exclude the additional costs from two vet visits, and this was a nice, typical month.

July 2015 Expenses

It's the first day of a new month, so I just calculated my dog-related expenses for the previous month.  I do this for a few reasons-I follow others who do it, to hold myself accountable, and to track my expenses.  This is a fair estimate of what it costs to care for three large dogs in the midwest.

July 2015 Expenses

Food-$324.86
Grooming-$10.70
Health-$16.42

Total-$356.98

This month was a bit more expensive than the last few.  My main expense this month was food.  I placed two relatively large orders with My Pet Carnivore, purchased my usual chicken leg quarters from the grocery store, and a bag of  Grandma Lucy's Bison freeze-dried food.  The only health expense was Bruce's prescription, and grooming expenses included a DIY dogwash for Neeko and a new undercoat rake.

June 2015 Expenses

I'm one day late with this post.  I do these posts to hold myself accountable for dog related expenses, and to provide a fair estimate of what it costs to care for large dogs in the Midwest.

June 2015 Expenses

Food-$245.12
Health-$102.62
Grooming-$12.00

Total-$359.74

A fairly average month.  No complaints here.  Food expenses included some THK that was on sale at Pet Supplies Plus, chicken from the grocery store, beef kidney from an Asian market, and an order from a raw food supplier. Health expenses were Bruce's prescription, and some Nexgard for Neeko and Bruce.  Grooming was a DIY bath at a supplies store for the princess.

May 2015 Expenses

It's the end of the month., and I have calculated my expenses for the previous month. Some months the numbers are low, others are a bit much.  Previous posts about expenses can give one an idea about how much it costs to care for three large dogs in the Midwest.

I do these posts for a few reasons.  I have seen a few other bloggers do them, and it is a good way for me to keep track and be accountable for dog related expenses.  Also, it is a fairly accurate example of the costs associated with caring for three large dogs.  Some argue that raw is expensive, but in my opinion and experience, it is no more expensive than feeding a good quality kibble.

May 2015 Expenses

Food-$238.46
Health-$19.00

Total-$257.46

Another good month, financially.  I didn't purchase any gear, treats, or toys this month.  Food expenses included an order from My Pet Carnivore, some locally raised, all natural meat from This Old Farm, and some beef roast, pork loin, and chicken leg quarters from the grocery story.  As always, health expenses went to the purchase of Bruce's prescription.

June will be a bit more expensive.  Neeko is due at the vet, and I spent nearly $200 just today on dog food.  We shall see.

April 2015 Expenses

It's the end of the month., and I have calculated my expenses for the previous month. Some months the numbers are low, others are a bit much.  Previous posts about expenses can give one an idea about how much it costs to care for three large dogs in the Midwest.

I do these posts for a few reasons.  I have seen a few other bloggers do them, and it is a good way for me to keep track and be accountable for dog related expenses.  Also, it is a fairly accurate example of the costs associated with caring for three large dogs.  Some argue that raw is expensive, but in my opinion and experience, it is no more expensive than feeding a good quality kibble.

April 2015 Expenses

Food-$253.00
Health-$99.40
Gear-$27.81
Treats-$21.86

Total-$384.07

The total seems a bit high, but considering what all was purchased, it is not too bad.  

Food expenses included beef hearts from local butcher/processor, chicken leg quarters from the grocery store, I and Love and You dehydrated raw, The Honest Kitchen Zeal dehydrated raw, Primal Turkey and Sardine frozen raw, and Bravo Beef frozen raw.

Health expenses included Bruce's ever-present prescription, and the cost of Faolan's heartworm test and two doses of Trifexis for him.

The money spent on gear went towards an Easy Walk Harness.  We previously tried one, and I decided to give it another go.  It is now working beautifully with Faolan.

I stopped in an adorable dog boutique and bakery, and picked up some treats for the dogs.  They were darling.  I finally cancelled that one subscription box that I have been threatening to...

Who else tracks and budgets their pet expenses?