How much money do you spend on pet food? Quite a lot I'm sure but there's a way you can cut down on how much you spend feeding your pet. You can make a home-made diet for your pets if you can cheaply obtain what you'll be using. In some places the food can be cheaper while in others the cost would only be slightly lower than buying pet food, something which wouldn't justify spending too much time making food for your pets yourself. But point is that one should trying to calculate the costs. If there's a chance that you'll save more, then go for it.
I wish I could save more on pet food. My doggie is such a spoiled brat, that she chooses not to eat her food sometimes. It doesn't matter what I buy, she will love it one day then the next day she hates it. Then I have to search stores for different kinds of dog food for her to eat. Then the next day she loves it again.
Making your own home made pet food is much safer and probably cheaper too. If you google a bit there have been some cases where pet food is the cause of pets becoming ill, and I have experienced that 1st hand with my cat, so for me I'm quite content on just feeding my cat table food.
I think if you live in the country, it's probably a lot easier to save on pet food, especially if you have a farm yourself or live near one. I lived in the country for many years, and dogs and cats always benefitted from road kill or wild pigs that my neighbours would shoot if they came too close to their houses. Also a lot of the people around me kept poultry and other fowl that provided eggs and meat for their pets.
I would love to be able to save money on pet food like you suggested. However, both of my cats are on a special diet due to health issues. The bags of cat food cost nearly $60 to buy, but they last a whole month for the both of them. It's technically a prescription food, so I can't really get it elsewhere except at the vet. :/
The Puppies around here have a mixed diet, I would say 50/50 purchased food vs homemade food. We've done well with this diet, they are healthy so it is recommended to save.
I wish I could save money on pet food but I don't know how. One of the few things when it comes to pets that I'm at a total loss for is what to feed them. I first fed both of them Purina but it seemed to cause Lily problems. Then I switched to Iams because my friend says it's ok but I see someone on here said it is bad and it still seems like she gets sick too often (I don't know if that's due to the food). Last time I went to the vet they said Purina is fine.
How effective a home made diet is depends on the type of pets. Cats for example need some specific enzymes and nutrients and if you fed them a home made diet you will have to buy those supplements or your cat will die of malnutrition. Plus cats are carnivores so you would have to buy and prep lots of meat and give them a varied meat diet. It's likely an all meat diet with supplements is way healthier than commercially made cat food but it would be more expensive, not less. I get my cats decent food, not the cheapest but not the most expensive. Mostly I look for brands that have more meat and less corn and grains when it comes to dry food, and I also feed them wet food. I think I spend about $40 dollars to feed my 5 cats a month. With just 2 cats I spent about $20.