Groceries aren’t the only foods going up
I happen to have a separate line item for dog food in my tracking spreadsheet. I originally put it there because I wanted to be able to figure up how much we spend on our pets during an average year, but it’s come in handy for another reason too: it’s become more and more apparent with each passing month that dog food prices are increasing right along with people-food prices. (At least in the case of the food we buy.)
A year ago this month, we paid $19.44 for a bag of dog food. This month we paid $25.40 for the same size bag. (Both prices include tax.) That’s nearly a $6 increase, or a little over 30% more. I guess it makes sense, but ow, especially since our dog goes through a bag about every 5 weeks or so. It’s the kind of thing I probably wouldn’t have noticed either, if I hadn’t had that separate line item.
It just goes to show that pet owners need to be prepared for the expenses associated with their pets. It’s definitely not the purchase price of the pet (in most cases) that’s the most expensive thing.
July 18th, 2008 at 6:16 am
Thanks for pointing that out! I haven’t noticed an increase, but I just switched to a new food (Solid Gold) and have only been buying it for a couple months. I did just buy dog food, dog bones, dog jerky, some Busy Bones and it came out to $48!!! Yikes! Thank goodness he is an only child LOL
July 18th, 2008 at 7:26 am
Earlier this year, I asked the owner of our specialty dogstuff store how things were going with price increases. She said some of the brands had already increased a few dollars, and some were trying to hold off. Our brand has held steady, but it is probably only a matter of time.
Although when we voluntarily inflated our dog food prices, switching from Iams to Wellness, I think we saved a lot more $$$ on vet bills.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Yes I too had been thinking of adding a line especially for pet foods. After reading your post I think I will add it and see how much our pet food has increased.
Thanks for your post.