Atlanta's Frugal Mom

What SHOULD you do if your dog is missing?  We recently went through this terrible experience, and I don’t wish it on anyone.  While we were extremely lucky with our outcome, it could have easily not rather unfortunate.  SO, I’d like to share what I’ve learned from my experience, to perhaps save y’all the trouble and heartache, if you ever find yourself in my shoes. Prevention – Things to Do Beforehand Get the chip.  If it’s within your budget and your pet is young, get the chip implanted. It’s the easiest and fastest way to have your beloved pet return home to you.  Our dog is almost 15 years old, and the chip wasn’t available when my husband got him.  (Yes, he got the dog before he got me…) Keep updated tags on him.  Our dog is prone to losing his tag, so it’s a good idea to keep an extra one handy, if yours is the same way.  Check frequently to ensure tags are still in place, and that the information hasn’t rubbed off. Take ...

This is a sponsored post, based on my experience with Thomas Eye Group. In exchange for this post, I received a form of compensation; however, all opinions are mine.  Please note, this is MY personal experience with LASIK.  I am not a doctor, nor any sort of expert of LASIK procedures or anything concerning one’s eye health.  I am sharing my experience to help educate others about the options available to them.  Your experience(s) may vary from mine. About five years ago, I finally got around to making an appointment with a LASIK chain, to get a consultation and to find out more about having the procedure.  By the time the appointment came around, I was pretty certain I would have to put it off.  Later that evening, after my consultation, my suspicions were confirmed: I was pregnant. Fast forward five years, two kids, two (or three?) pairs of glasses, and dozens of pairs of contacts later: I was more than ready to ditch the glasses, and revisit LASIK surgery. Shopping Around As w...

LASIK giveaway, beach, and lemons posing as vans.  Yep, this is what I’ve been up to the last few weeks! We spent the last week at the beach – on vacation.  It was a much-needed getaway for all of us.  First, we visited hubs’ parents for a few days.  It was golf carts and dips in the pool galore!  Luckily, Florida’s weather faired better -um- dryer than Georgia’s did!     Then, we all hopped in the car, and headed to the beach for a few days. This was each of my children’s second time at the beach.  But really first time for my son, who just slept in the tent on the beach last year.  (Oh, the life of an infant.)  They each had an absolute BLAST!  From my son toddling after seagulls (“birdie WAIT!”), to my daughter’s ever-growing seashell collection, to just digging my toes in the sand (even for just a fleeting moment, before bouncing off to chase an active and curious toddler), to just -getting away.  We were LONG overdue, and m...

Being extremely active on social media, I’ve seen tons of updates about how Christmas is just around the corner.  As much as I don’t want to start planning right now (procastinator!) it’s important so that I’m not breaking the bank in December.  So many families don’t plan for the holidays early enough, and end up putting a lot of their holiday gifts on credit cards.  Proper planning and smart shopping starting now can help you save in the long run, and avoid massive credit card bills when the new year rolls around.  Check out these 10 tips for making your Christmas as financially un-stressful as possible! 10 tips for planning Christmas on a budget 10.  Start making a list of what your kids want – As you hear them ask for specific things, or notice something that they could use, add it to a list.  You can easily make a list on your smartphone with an app like Evernote , and access it from anywhere .  This will really come in handy once you start act...