Daddy Mojo’s money saving tip: Parenting pet care co-op

I like to save money.  You probably do too.  Pets can really round out a family.  The lessons that cats and dogs can teach our children add up to help shape them into young adults who don’t run and hide at the sight of a pet.    I met an adult one time who was genuinely scared of cats, shaking, crying, the whole nine yards, THAT woman needed a pet growing up.

The rub with pets is that their expenses can add up quickly, especially during vacations and holidays.  Doggie daycares are great places, but $25 a day, per pet, adds up to an enormous expense that has to be factored into your vacation budget.

We stumbled into a great idea that has saved our family hundreds of dollars.  In our neighborhood we reached out to other pet owners and told them that we’d take care of their pets, if they did the same.  Obviously, you need to know and trust those people, but if it’s a good fit it can really be mutually beneficial.

For our family it was easy as we had watched a neighbor’s cat when they went out of town.  When they returned they gave us some gift certificates and a little cash, which was genuinely appreciated.  This time though, we’re watching their cat because they sat for our dogs and cats when we went on vacation.

When we got back from vacation our dogs were glad to see us and nothing bad happened during our absence.  True, they did sleep on the sofa, but nothing was destroyed and our newfound neighborhood pet sitting co-op saved us $300!

It’s win/win.   The pets stay at home, you get to know your neighbors a little better and save buckets of cash.