Category: Frugal Living Tips

Did you know that 67% of American households own at least one pet?

While pet parents rave about how much they love their fur children, taking care of another living creature isn’t always the easiest task. Not only do you need to cover the basics like food, water, and exercise, but you also need to make sure your home is a safe place for them to live.

Are you thinking about adopting a four-legged friend soon? Keep reading to learn 5 steps you should take to ensure your home is pet-friendly.

1. Keep Everything Out of Reach

Dogs may be known as man’s best friend, but even the biggest dog lovers will be the first people to admit how naughty they can be. Both dogs and cats are curious, and they will explore your home whenever they get the chance.

This means that you have to be mindful of keeping food, medications, cleaning supplies, and other dangerous things out of their reach whenever they’re unsupervised.

2. Make Sure Your Houseplants Are Pet Friendly

Houseplants have become one of the most popular features of any sustainable home since they work wonders for our physical and mental health. While plants may be beneficial to us, not all types are safe for pets.

This is why it’s crucial to do your research and figure out which plants you can’t keep around, such as aloe vera or lilies.

3. Push Chairs in and Keep Doors Closed

Cats and dogs will jump up on tables and counters or sneak around the house and get into trouble when you’re not around. In addition to eating something that they shouldn’t, there’s also the risk of them having an accident in a bad spot or tearing up the furniture.

To keep everyone safe and happy, make sure you push in all your chairs against the table so they can’t climb up, and try to remember to shut all your doors to areas they shouldn’t be.

4. Install Screens on Windows

The last thing you’d want is for your dog or cat to jump out of a dangerous window. This happens so often to cats that vets call this condition High-Rise Syndrome.

Installing screens will allow you to have windows opened safely. If you ever have any accidents, make sure you find a kind vet who gives out veterinary sympathy cards.

5. Buy Things That Can Be Cleaned With Ease

If you want to be a smart homeowner, you should pay attention to all the materials you buy. For example, can the pet bed and blanket be tossed in the washing machine regularly?

It’s also wise to switch to hardwood or tiles if you have the chance since those materials are easier to clean.

Pet Ownership Is a Big Responsibility

Pets have so much love to give, which is why they deserve to have the safest homes possible. By following this guide, you can have peace of mind that your house will be pet-friendly.

Do you want to know other ways you can invite more joy into your home? If so, our blog has plenty of excellent lifestyle articles for you to enjoy. Click around our site so you can read more great advice.

As the 21st-century rolls on, more and more people are getting involved in the world of alternative medicine. Though many great medical advancements were made in the late 20th century, people are beginning to feel that traditional medicine might not be the best way for them. 

Have you found yourself desiring to explore less conventional forms of medicine? Do you wish to combine conventional medicine with alternative styles? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might want to try holistic living. This article will walk you through a few benefits of a holistic lifestyle.

1. You’ll Stay Away From Medication

One of the big reasons people dislike conventional medicine is the sterile, heartless, medicine-driven way they treat problems. Medication doesn’t seek to address the root cause of the problem, opting to treat the symptom instead. 

You also have to consider that pharmaceutical companies make money off of the drugs they’re selling. This can cause them to push drugs on people that might not be in their best interest. It’s no wonder why so many Americans don’t trust them anymore. 

2. Problems Will Be Dealt With Personally

One of the biggest advantages of holistic medicine is that it understands that every human body is different. Rather than prescribe everyone with the same symptoms the same medicine, it’s about adapting your lifestyle, diet, and thought patterns to heal.

Holistic medicine seeks to take a personal approach to problems in order to deal with them at the source. 

3. It Can Help You Relieve Stress 

While conventional medicine deals with one specific symptom, holistic medicine seeks to address your whole being. By engaging in holistic healing practices (which often involve changes in a diet, planning your day, and monitoring your habits), you can cure several problems with one all-encompassing solution. 

Holistic medicine doesn’t just cure your problems, it sets you up to cure your future problems. 

4. It’s Affordable

It’s impossible to deny that allopathic medicine treatments can run you a huge doctor’s bill. One of the biggest advantages of holistic medicine is that you likely have the tools to engage in it in your own home. 

Holistic medicine is all about starting with yourself, not what a doctor wants for you. For more information about holistic living, check out this great health and wellness blog. 

5. It Helps Prevent Illness

Unlike allopathic medicine, holistic medicine prepares a clear path through life even when you aren’t suffering from an illness. The holistic approach to healing is about living your life in a way that will keep you healthy and happy. 

Understand the Benefits of Holistic Living

As you can see, holistic living is a wonderful option for anyone a little tired of conventional medicine. It keeps you away from medication, deals with your problems personally, helps you relieve stress, costs less, and helps prevent illness. 

For more articles like this, check out our “family life” section. 

According to data from the CDC, about 20% of children between the ages of 5-11 have an untreated decaying tooth. Although it drops to 13% once they reach adolescence (12-19), treating these issues can still be challenging.

Part of the reason these issues go untreated is due to the inability to find the right dentist. You may have a local general dentist, but there’s no availability for your entire family to get the dental treatments they need.

However, all hope isn’t lost. If you find a family dentist, you’ll be able to take care of all your dental needs under one roof. 

But how do you choose one? Check out our insightful tips to help you with your decision.

1. Dental Insurance

An essential factor to consider when choosing a family dentist is dental insurance. Will your insurance cover the cost of your dental treatments?

If not, expect to pay a significant sum out of pocket. For example, the average cost of a root canal is roughly $700 – $1000.

High costs are often a deal-breaker for families on a tight budget. So, ensure the dental office you choose takes your insurance and has a reasonable payment plan.

2. Experience Level

Ask yourself, would you rather go to a practice with one year of experience or ten years? You’ll need to consider this when choosing a local dentist.

If a dentist has more years of experience in specific dental procedures, you know you’ll be in good hands if you go to their office. To find out more about a dentist’s expertise:

• Visit their website
• Ask to see their credentials

The more information you have about your dental provider, the easier it is when making a decision.

3. Services Offered

Looking for the right family dentist can also be challenging because not all offices provide the same services. General cleaning is important, but a dentist should offer a wide range of services, such as:

• Wisdom tooth extraction
• Root canals
• Gum disease
• Cosmetic dentistry
• Cavity treatment

Consider what your family needs before selecting a dentist. By finding one that covers the necessary procedures, it’ll save you from bouncing around to different practices.

4. Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are essential when choosing a dentist because they can give you insight into business practices. For example, if you Google search “dentist near you” and see positive reviews, you may be inclined to choose that service.

If there are various negative reviews, you may think to stay away from that practice. However, you should be aware that everyone’s experience won’t be the same.

Although there may be negative reviews on a business’s site, it doesn’t mean they are an inadequate service. So ensure to comb through reviews thoroughly to find the best family dentist.

Find a Family Dentist Using These Tips

Finding a family dentist can be challenging. However, if you consider our suggestions above, you’ll be able to find a practice for all of your family’s needs. Those new smiles are right around the corner.

Visit our blog for related content to learn more about the dental industry and other oral health tips.

Many first-time parents think about names during pregnancy, purchase clothing, and research various birth methods, as a hospital is not the only option.

It’s easy to educate oneself about these aspects of parenthood and forget about things like how a newborn baby will receive their food upon arrival to the world. Don’t panic, this is completely normal!

However, it’s important to learn about breastfeeding. And if you already know about it, learning about breast pumps is beneficial to your knowledge. 

Between knowing what kind of pump to buy, how frequently one should be doing it, and exactly how much one should be pumping, it can feel overwhelming when trying to educate yourself about breast pumps. 

That’s why we’re focusing on solely the benefits of pumping breastmilk. Interested in learning more? Check out our breast pump guide below.

1. Comfort

The first benefit of using breast pumps is comfort. Something more experienced parents rarely talk about is how painful breastfeeding can be.

A study revealed that 75 percent of new mothers reported breastfeeding pain for two weeks following the birth of their child. 

Breast pumps are a fantastic way to soothe and relieve this pain – especially because you can pump whenever you need or want to, and you don’t have to rely on your baby’s feeding schedule. 

2. Bond Building

Breastfeeding enhances a child’s bond with their mother for years down the line.

While this is heartwarming information, it can feel isolating for the parent who is not breastfeeding if the baby constantly needs food from or is more fond of the mother. However, there are still ways to provide aside from breastfeeding!

Some of these methods are:

• Skin-to-skin interaction
• Adopting a repetitive care task that doesn’t have anything to do with feeding
• Purchasing a baby-wearing wrap so you can be close during the non-feeding time

A child’s attachment to the non-feeding parent can develop even more quickly when the feeding parent uses breast pumps since they can use the pumps practically whenever and wherever.

3. A Full Inventory

Using breast pumps might mean that you are pumping more milk than your baby needs. If you have the space to do so, storing this extra breastmilk will ensure you have a long supply of food for your child.

Should this be of interest to you, it’s imperative that you are using valves that allow for a better, cleaner output – duckbill valves are a great example of this.

Duckbills provide increased suction and pull through milk without contamination, so you would never have to worry that you are storing bad breastmilk. 

The Benefits of Breast Pumps

Using breast pumps will do nothing but majorly benefit you, your baby, and your family as a whole. 

Building bonds with the non-feeding parent, being comfortable, and having a fully stocked fridge or freezer are just some of the many benefits that come with using breast pumps. Nothing truly seems better than that! 

Did you find this article helpful? Discover more informative content like this on our website today. 

According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), the US released over 68 million tons of pollution in 2020. Sadly, environmental experts believe that if people don’t change their way of being, pollution will double in only a few decades. Fortunately, it’s not expensive to reduce carbon footprint, but it does take time to accomplish.

Are you one of those individuals trying to reduce carbon footprints? If so, you’ll want to read these tips on helping the environment on a budget.

1. Change Your Eating Habit

Livestock that is used for meat or dairy contributes heavily to the world’s global greenhouse gas effect. And since the world’s population continues to grow, farmers are breeding even more livestock to keep up with that growth. So, you can reduce your carbon footprint by eating more fruits, veggies, grains, or beans.

Of course, going green on a budget doesn’t mean you can’t eat any meat, but try to purchase meat from ecological farmers.

2. Avoid the Throw-Away Fashion Trend

Nowadays, most fashion trends last months, so people are constantly getting rid of “old fashioned” clothes and buying the latest trend. So, if you want to go green, keep your clothes, even if they are not the latest in fashion trends.

But, of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t buy new clothes. Rather you should just buy what you need at the moment.

3. Harness the Power of the Sun

Contrary to popular belief, solar installation is easy and affordable. Nowadays, you can receive lots of governmental help when you switch to solar energy. On top of that, you’ll save hundreds of dollars on your energy bill, which is good news since you’re going green on a budget!

4. Reuse Items

Every year, countries produce millions of tons of plastic, which creates a high concentration of pollution. Additionally, plastic wreaks havoc on the ocean since it destroys coral reefs and kills marine life. So, a good way to reduce your carbon footprint is by getting containers made of glass.

Additionally, plastic containers have a short lifespan which means you’ll need to purchase new ones often. In sharp contrast, glass containers can last a lifetime.

5. Adapt the Way You Travel

Cars are the number one pollutants in a city, and since every city has thousands of them, it makes pollution even worse. So, one way you can reduce the carbon footprint in your city is by dumping your car and using public transportation.

And if you’re the athletic type, you can try to use your bike as you travel through the city.

Together We Can Reduce Carbon Footprints

Hopefully, with this post, you know how to go green and do so on a budget. But, of course, to really reduce carbon footprints, everyone will need to contribute. Nevertheless, you can start contributing today by following the tips mentioned before.

How do you reduce your carbon footprint? Let us know in the comment area! And if you want to learn more ways to save money, be sure to check out our other topics!