5 Cheap Choices That Cost Me More Than I Ever Saved
What I learned from losing five dogs too soon
"The cheapest option always comes with a silent fee. You just won’t see it on the receipt."
👉 Subscribe to Pawsitive Growth
Real stories. Daily sparks. Sacred pet wellness.
1. We Bought the Bag, But Ignored the Body
Tara was my first heartbreak.
Shadow was the shadow that followed.
Then Thunder. Kyra. Chase.
Six German Shepherds. Not one made it past ten.
We weren’t lazy. We were just broke.
We used cheap flea meds. Budget kibble. Tap water full of things no dog should drink.
We fed them what we could afford, and we paid in years we’ll never get back.
No one tells you this:
The corner you cut might be the one holding everything together.
Business take:
- Your product might look fine, but the backend is rotting.
- Stop skipping foundational care because it doesn't scream yet.
- Your systems have a body too.
2. Premium Lies Come in Fancy Packaging
With our chihuahuas, Rosa and Carlito, we thought we’d upgraded.
We bought the most expensive bag of kibble we could find. Thought it had to be good if it cost more than steak.
They still started falling apart.
Inflamed gums. Greasy fur. Moods that shifted like weather in the desert.
We paid for “premium,” but we were still feeding like the machine conditioned us to do.
Business take:
- Throwing more money at something doesn’t make it wise.
- A thousand-dollar logo won’t fix a broken offer.
- Quality is not the same as truth.
3. Opal and Lokah Are What Happens When You Don’t Cut Corners
Opal, our deaf Aussie, has never had a toxin on her skin.
No synthetic meds. No plastic bowls. No glyphosate in her food.
And it shows.
Lokah, our black Bengal cat, has never known the taste of artificial anything.
His coat glows. His body sings.
These two are living proof that the field responds to care.
And it remembers.
Business take:
- Build slow. Build sacred.
- When you honor the root system, you don’t have to constantly save the leaves.
- Let your work reflect what’s real, not just what sells.
4. Free Tools Aren’t Always Free
I’ve made the same mistake with business.
Used the free version. Skipped the setup. Told myself I'd upgrade when it "made sense."
It came back as:
- A crashed website
- A confused client
- A customer who never returned
You don’t notice the cost right away.
But free always comes with a fee later.
Business take:
- Start paying for what matters while it’s still cheap
- Time is never free
- And burnout is never worth the discount
5. The Long Way Is the Shortcut in Disguise
Real food is slower.
Trust takes time.
Good systems don’t scream, but they also don’t break.
If I could go back to the beginning with Tara, I wouldn’t wish for more money.
I’d wish for a whisper loud enough to tell me that convenience has a cost.
That caring isn’t about spending big.
It’s about spending right.
Business take:
- The hardest part to build is usually the one that makes you unshakable
- Resist the urge to rush
- Longevity compounds
3 Ways to Spend Less by Spending Right
-
Buy real food, not formulas.
If it’s shelf-stable for a year, ask what part of it is still alive.
-
Fix your systems while they’re still small.
Business, household, mindset. Patchwork fails under pressure.
-
Trust your gut. And theirs.
If your dog’s stool is off, if your energy feels wrong, believe it. That’s wisdom asking to be heard.
Whisper from the Field
The bill always comes.
You just get to choose whether it’s for healing or for regret.
Either way, you’ll pay.
So pay where it grows something.
You’re Still Here? That Means You’re Probably Ready.
👉 Subscribe to Pawsitive Growth
Real stories. Daily sparks. Sacred pet wellness.
I’m the human behind Pure Pawsitivity™, and these aren’t just pet stories.
They’re blueprints for wealth.
Real wealth.
The kind that lasts longer than trends and doesn’t need a sales funnel to work.
Follow if you're ready to stop pretending the cheap way is saving you anything.
We’re not building fast.
We’re building forever.
