We adopted a new puppy and survived hurricane Matthew all in one week!

A Few Frugal Things-

– Our new puppy is a Chiweenie and we adopted him from the Orlando Pet Alliance (formerly the SPCA) and I can’t recommend it enough. He was a breed we wanted and a fraction of the price people we know paid for their Chiweenie. Plus we absolutely believe in Adopt Don’t Shop!

– The puppy came with all of his shots, he is fixed, he is microchipped, and has one free vet visit. Not only is this saving us money but also a lot of time and energy!

– We survived the hurricane without any real damage! Our tree lost a lot of branches but they just filled the backyard, nothing else. Yay! Could have been so much worse! We didn’t even lose power.

– We already had a pet harness and leash that we bought for our friendly cat who didn’t like them. They were almost the perfect size for Gimli but I sewed a couple of extra lines on the harness on my sewing machine to make the harness fit perfectly and we can take it out if he gets bigger. We also already had extra pet food and water dishes.

– My brother gave us his dog’s old crate that they no longer use for the new puppy but so far we haven’t needed it yet either.

– I made Gimli a dog bed using my sewing machine, $2 for 2 car cleaning cloths made of the softest material, and a body pillow I had set aside to use as stuffing.

– They gave us a bag of expensive puppy food at the shelter but Gimli doesn’t actually seem to like it very much which makes it a lot easier to switch to another puppy food. I’ll mix it into the food he does like so it doesn’t go to waste.

– I bought a bunch of dog toys at Dollar Tree and also some of our hurricane supplies which saved us a lot of money.

– No eating out for us between a new puppy and a hurricane.

Not So Frugal Things-

– We stocked up on a lot of things for the hurricane that we didn’t end up needing but personally I consider that a win because 1) We were incredibly lucky and could have just as easily needed everything we bought and more and 2) All of it will still get used. My thoughts are with those who were so much more strongly affected than us.

– We did have to buy paper towels to clean up after the new puppy who isn’t yet housebroken but he is doing great! Hopefully that will be a one time purchase.

Frugal Goals-

– It has been really nice to have a great new position that includes a steady paycheck. It has helped me to adapt to my new job to not have to be so worried about our budget but maybe I should worry more so I can save even more money now.