Veterans Get Free Meals, Discounts at Local Restaurants And Businesses

In honor of Veteran's Day, here is a list of local businesses that want to say thank you to our military men and women today with discounts and free meals.

Many businesses are saying "thanks" to our military both past and present today. There is a wide variety of discounts and freebies for these heros. If you qualify to receive these, please remember to bring proof of service in order to get most of the deals. The restaurants in North Fulton that are offering deals to our service people today include the following businesses. Smashburger is giving away free fries to service people all weekend long. For more information, see their Facebook page. Village Tavern is offering veterans 40 percent off of their dining bill today. Chili's is offering all military veterans both past and present a free meal today. They can choose from a selection of 6 choices. TGI Friday's is offering anyone with …

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You Can Decorate For Fall On A Tight Budget

Decorating for fall can be free or very cheap by being creative and using what nature has already given you.

Halloween is almost here and if you are still not ready, get busy! Local stores still have a huge selection of costumes and home decor. Better yet, they still have coupons available as well. See this Patch article for great coupons on costumes and fall clothing. If you have put off decorating your home this year for Halloween but do not want to do it now since its only a week away, then decorate for fall and leave it all up until your pull out those winter holiday decorations. This can be done very inexpensively. All of those leaves in your yard right now can make excellent decorations inside the house. Have the kids go out a collect the best ones and you can string them up and use them as garland across your fireplace, sprinkle them …

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Frugal Family: Local Events Offer Low-Cost Family Fun This Weekend

3 Family events for your family to enjoy this weekend.

After a week of scattered thundershowers, the weather prediction for this first official weekend of fall is supposed to be cool, sunny and dry. It’s the perfect weather to get out and enjoy the variety of free to low-cost activities that are going in the Roswell area. Rivers Alive If your family enjoys performing community service together, you should sign up for the 21st annual Rivers Alive event, happening Saturday at the Riverside Park on Riverside Road from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Hosted by Keep Roswell Beautiful, this annual event is one of several happening across Georgia, bringing volunteers together to clear trash and debris local rivers and waterways. If your family enjoys spending time at the Riverside Park, this is one way you can …

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Recessionival

Frugal Family: Cutting the Costs of Pet Care

Ways to cut costs and keep your pet healthy and happy.

Pets hold a special place in most families but when finances are tight, pets are normally the first to be affected. According to the staff at WellPet Humane Clinic, a non-profit charitable pet clinic in Chamblee, thousands of pets are put to sleep in metro Atlanta each year because the owners can’t afford to maintain them. If caring for your pet is putting a strain on your finances, consider the following ways you can cut your pet care costs. Frugal Food Options It’s tempting to save money by feeding your pet the cheapest food on the shelves; unfortunately, just like with people, eating overprocessed foods filled with preservatives generally leads to an overweight and unhealthy pet, which will cost you more in the long run. Instead of …

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Shauntelle Hamlett

8:56 pm on Sunday, September 18, 2011

Paula, I suggest you call WellPet and explain your situation to them--they offer sliding scale services specifically for situations like yours and I'm sure they would be happy to help you.   more ›

Recessionival

Frugal Family: Creating a New Family Tradition with Weekly Game Night

Because the family that laughs together builds strong, love-filled memories.

In the summer, there always seems to be enough time to fit in fun time with the family. For most of us, that ends when the school year starts up. In my household, with three kids attending three different schools, just getting them up and out to the school bus on time requires immense choreography. Evenings tend to rush by with dinner, homework and preparation for the next day. Add in just one or two after school activities for each of the kids and the week blows by quickly. That kind of hustle and bustle can make it hard to find time to reconnect as a family. Eating dinner together every evening, or at least, several evening a week, is one way to regularly have that time.  Another way - and one I advocate for - is to have a school year …

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Recessionival

Frugal Family: Frugal Fun for the Weekend

Fun activities for the last weekend of summer vacation.

Spending a lot of money on entertainment the weekend before the kids go back to school is out of the question for my house. But we still want to have one last summer weekend of fun. Fortunately, there are several budget friendly options for family fun this weekend. Pirates of the Caribbean 3D When the latest Pirate movie came out a few months ago, we wanted to see the 3D version but at IMAX prices, there was no way. That’s why I was excited to see that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 3D is showing at the Picture Show discount Theater in Marietta. Tickets are only $3.75 per person and there are three showings on Saturday:  3:20 p.m., 6:40 p.m. and 9:40 p.m. If Pirates is too mature for your children, they might enjoy Kung Fu …

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Recessionival

Frugal Family: Day Tripping to Athens

There's more to Athens than "bulldawgs."

Athens is famous - or infamous, if you're a Tech fan - for being the home of the University of Georgia bulldogs. But there’s a lot more to the quirky city than football rivalries. Historic downtown Athens is chock full of boutiques and restaurants and the surrounding area provides a diverse choice of outdoor and cultural activities. For a frugal and fun family outing, I suggest you leave early Saturday morning and follow this itinerary: Brunch at Mama’s Boy They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that’s why you should start your trip early so you can have brunch at Mama’s Boy restaurant on Oak Street in Athens. This restaurant, owned by a UGA grad, is a favorite of locals and visitors alike, which means getting there …

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Recessionival

Frugal Family: Deals for Creating the Chillest Dorm Room

Take advantage of back-to-school sales at big box retailers as well as craigslist to get the best prices on accessories to give your child's dorm room that home-away-from-home feeling.

After spending thousands of dollars on tuition, room and board, ponying up a lot of extra money to decorate your child’s dorm room is probably not high on your list of priorities. Creating a comfortable and attractive dorm room, however, doesn’t have to cost a mint if you take advantage of big box retailer sales and “new-to-you” deals from craigslist.  Take a Load Off In the old days, you were lucky to have space for your twin beds and a couple of desks, but nowadays college dorm rooms often have a “living” space just the right size for a small sofa or loveseat. While living with a roadside cast-off can be character building, a small investment of $100 or less will buy a slick modern futon that will double as a bed when friends need to …

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Recessionival

Frugal Family: Parents’ Night Out, An Investment in Your Marriage

Utilize local "Parents Night Out" programs to reconnect with your spouse while your children have a good time too.

If you have young children, there are three words you really need to become familiar with:  Parents’ Night Out. Parents’ Night Out is this wonderful concept where a business—typically one that specializes in some type of fun children’s activity—is open later than usual on an evening so that parents can drop their kids off with responsible caregivers and have the opportunity to reconnect with each other. “Reconnect,” in case you’re wondering, is a fancy way of saying you get to spend more than five minutes speaking to each other without a kid yelling “mom” or “dad” at the top of their lungs. And if you can’t remember what that’s like, it’s obviously way past time for you to do it! I’ll warn you, “Parents’ Night Out” isn’t necessarily …

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Recessionival

Frugal Family: Frugal 4th of July Family Field Day Activities

A family field day keeps everyone entertained while they wait for food and fireworks on the 4th of July.

Everyone knows the big event on 4th of July is the fireworks and we’re lucky to have a wide range of sites to enjoy them: Roswell High School, Lenox Mall, Centennial Park and Stone Mountain to name just a few. But what do you do to keep everyone entertained until the main event?  Hold your own 4th of July family field day, that’s what! Perfect for either the park or your backyard, the following activities will entertain the whole family and create wonderful 4th of July memories.  And you won’t have to kill your budget because all the materials are items you either already own or can pick up at your local dollar store. Sponge Water Bomb Battle What do you get when you mix household cleaning sponges and fishing line? An eco-friendly …

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