In case you haven’t noticed, I’m always on the go. Whether I’m grocery shopping or taking my kids to or from the bus stop, it seems like I’m always in my car (or bus!). I do everything on my iPhone – it helps me with all things from updating my list of needed household items to answering work emails and even tweeting!

You can imagine my screech of delight when I found out that CouponCabin has a new mobile app. It combines two of my top favorite things – saving money and my iPhone!

Some of my favorite features are:

Coupon Codes: This section is filled with coupons for my favorite online stores. Imagine how great it would be if you were dashing through Target trying to figure out the best prices on things. You could easily take out your iPhone, launch the CouponCabin app and compare prices online and in store to find the best deal. I have actually done this many times before. I have placed my order online while standing in a store (lol) – I saved money AND got free shipping! (more…)

If your summer routine is anything like at the Gosselin house, it goes a bit like this:

School is out and the kids scatter, they swim in the pool and have endless ideas to keep themselves occupied and happy. That lasts until about June 30 and then the cries of “I’m bored” and “There’s nothing to do” starts. I’ve come up with a secret list ahead of time of inexpensive fun things to do at home over the summer to get ahead of the “boredom!”

1. Swim in the pool if you have one. I have gotten creative and made up a diving scavenger hunt game. Each random item has a different point value assigned. I’ve picked up all kinds of items to dive for at the dollar store for just $5 total! (more…)

Many of you may remember the year we filmed and aired Mother’s Day on our show, “Jon and Kate Plus 8.” The kids were too little to actually make me breakfast in bed, as is our Gosselin tradition, but oh, how things have changed!

Fast forward to 2012… my two almost 12-year-olds and six almost 8-year-olds have all been plotting and thinking for weeks already about what to make me for breakfast. Mady has even asked me for a list of foods I will eat, knowing how routine and “boring” my food choices can be to them! So, I’ve given them my Mother’s Day breakfast choices with foods that are easy and safe to make and serve:

• My favorite bran cereals including All Bran, Cascadian Farms Raisin Bran or Multigrain Squares or different Kashi varieties. I typically mix a few of those cereals together, add skim milk and sometimes slice a banana on top.
• I also suggested an egg white omelet with feta cheese and veggies as an option.
• And don’t forget the coffee! I’m set because Mady and Cara know how to make the perfect cup of coffee using my Keurig machine. On Mother’s Day morning, my feet won’t even have to hit the floor before having my first cup of coffee. That’s my kind of pampering!

The bottom line is, my kids are excited to join together and pull off our Mother’s Day tradition of breakfast in bed. And after church, I may even get to take a nap! Woo hoo! A relaxing day for Mommy… and no one had to spend a dime! Here are some other gift ideas that are cheap and easy for kids to make. (more…)

One of my most rewarding and entertaining parenting experiences so far has been teaching my kids about making smart financial decisions.

As a kid, I would watch my dad spread his bills all over the dining room table. He methodically paid each one and instead of just watching, sometimes I even got to help by playing “mailman” and affixing the return address labels and stamps, then stacking them neatly. He often discussed how important it was to always pay your bills first to help keep your credit score perfect.

He also gave us a $5 per month allowance. No, I’m not that old, our allowance was low even for that day and age. (Sorry, Dad, it’s true!) He created a punch card using an index card for each of my brother and sisters and I. On the first of the month, we would get our cards punched and get paid. We did a lot (!!!) of chores and work around our house and property including feeding and caring for our small farm and helping to cut and stack A LOT of fire wood. We also had assigned rows of our two very large gardens that we had to keep weed-free! Our allowance was given in honor of our work contribution around the house.

These lessons made a big impression on me. I followed through in my adult life and feel that this is the key to financial freedom and success. I teach these important lessons on to my children but I have added and changed a few things. (more…)

I think by now you know that I’m pretty cost-effective around the house and that I’m really into saving money. When I hear the term “going green,” I interpret it as “a way to save yourself money while also saving the environment.”

The first thing that comes to mind is that we recycle. All recycleable items are specifically placed into recycle bins in our kitchen which later fill (and I DO mean fill) our large recycling trash can in the garage. Our bins are all labeled for easy identification with “Trash” and “Recycle.” My kids are well-versed on which items are trash and which items are recyclable.

Second, I use dishwasher and dish soaps that are friendly to the environment. I haven’t yet switched to eco-friendly laundry detergent but that is still something I aspire to do. (more…)

For my blog this week, I asked my Twitter followers to share their best saving tips. The answers I got were very interesting. Some seemed pretty obvious, but good to be reminded, others were ingenious and still others were just plain humorous! Take a look at the ones I thought were most useful!

@joanne1law said she doesn’t buy what she doesn’t need!

This is a great reminder to all of you impulse spenders out there.

@tnladycat said she stocks up on items that are on sale. Especially if those items end up being FREE using a coupon!

Just reading that made me excited. I LOVE when that happens!

@MrsWeinland reminds us to go shopping with a list to avoid buying unneeded items.

I totally agree – I have a running list at all times on the notes section of my phone with lists for Target, Whole Foods, Giant (my local grocery store), AC Moore, Lowes and the list goes on…

@Madreof1 takes it a bit further and says that she reviews all fliers, writes lists for each store and attaches coupons for each store.

I have always done this as well. I also look online for printable coupons that I can use at each store on my list. I am always amazed at how much money I can save if I just pause and print before leaving my house! (more…)

I’ve been blogging for CouponCabin for almost six months so I thought I’d highlight some of the money-saving tricks I’ve learned so far. Here are some of the greatest things I’ve discovered:

1. Email alerts. Did you know that you can sign up for email alerts for your favorite stores? I signed up for email alerts for Target so I get an email whenever a new coupon is added! That way, I never miss out on savings. Just go to any store’s page and enter your email in the purple box to sign up. With so much going on in our house, it’s easy to miss stuff unless it comes right to my inbox!

2. Deals are often better online. I never leave the house without checking CouponCabin.com first! Last week, I took my two oldest girls shopping. They printed out coupons from CouponCabin.com for Old Navy while they waited for me to get ready!

We each used a printable coupon for $15 off our purchases, and another coupon for $5 off. We saved a total of $50 during that trip! Even my 11-year-olds were thrilled because that meant Mom bought them more and spent less. Yay! (more…)

Anyone wondering about our “EGGSTRA” special upcoming Easter and my tips on saving money on all Easter related things?  Let me fill you in…

Speaking of filling, filling eight Easter baskets is never an easy task, but it can be done, and it can be done on a budget, too.

The kids love their baskets, and I always make them special, but I try to keep the spending low and the savings high!

This year, I decided to be extra creative in order to save. I dug out various gift cards, merchandise credit cards and coupons to use on stuff to fill our baskets and eggs. I ended up with a total of $300 in purchases and I actually only spent $98. I gave myself a pat on the back. For eight kids that is amazing! (more…)

Surprise, surprise! Tony Dovolani was recently interviewed by Anderson Cooper following his short run — first week elimination — on this season’s Dancing With The Stars, and with it came a lengthy discussion about… Me!

Since I was mentioned, I have a few things I’d like to say on the subject. First, I think it is a shame that Tony has been left only with a negative impression of our time together, especially after we spent SO many hours, days, nights and weeks working hard together doing our best in the competition.

Let’s face it – he didn’t have a lot to work with as far as my dancing abilities were concerned. I’ve admitted and laughed about this many times over the last two years! Where I’ve been given credit for trying, the world saw my efforts and the majority agree that he had a tough job making a dancer out of a girl who had never taken one single dance step in her life. (more…)

This turning a year older thing is starting to get, well, old! Certainly no pun intended; I don’t joke about MY age!

My kids often remind me how old I’m getting with comments like, “You were born in 1975, Mom?!! Wow, that was a loooong time ago! It was last century!” In fact, just this morning, Joel said, “Your cake said 37? Hannah thought it said 73!” and Mady has repeatedly announced, “You’re 37 with no wrinkles,” as if reminding me of my new age AND that wrinkles are around the corner is a NICE thing to say! I told her to get her eyes checked because I, in fact, have plenty of wrinkles! Ugh! Kids say the darnedest things, don’t they?

Well, fortunately for all of us “old-timers,” turning a year older isn’t the only thing that comes with birthdays…how about the gifts? (more…)