I just heard that gas prices are going up AGAIN! I’m hearing that prices will go up to $5 per gallon in my area. Obviously, I am not happy about this. Here are a few things I have always done to conserve gas:

1. Since I have the option, I drive the appropriate-sized vehicle according to who and what I’m hauling. When we bought our first Dodge Sprinter, diesel prices per gallon were lower than regular gas prices. Fast forward a few years, and that is no longer the case. So, if I am “only” picking up four kids at the bus stop or “only” taking five to the dentist, I’ll take my SUV because it costs less. The same goes for me doing errands. It saves me money to drive my little car to do my daily errands while my kids are in school.

2. I use my gas points that I accumulate at my local grocery store. Yesterday, I saved 40 cents per gallon of gas because I used my points. Yay! I set a reminder on my phone so that I don’t miss the opportunity to redeem them.

3. When using my gas points, I always make sure my tank is on empty to get the best savings. (more…)

Keeping appropriate sized clothing in 8 kids drawers is not only an expensive endeavor, but a huge organization and storage challenge.

Each season, I take an entire day (it’s on my to-do list right now!) and spend it in my basement sorting clothing. I have countless bins of hand-me-downs that are labeled with the size of clothing each bin contains. I also have many smaller bins containing shoes that are also marked with sizes.

The hand-me-downs come from Cara and Mady and from friends’ kids. I have been doing my bin method since I’ve had 8 kids. I can’t tell you how much money I have saved by “shopping” in my basement! (more…)

Spring break is on its way! Wow, just typing the word spring and having it be relevant is exciting to me.

With thoughts of my first ever cruise AND of my first ever celebrity cruise in my head , I thought it would be fun to write a little bit about travel.

My family enjoys traveling very much. I constantly relive my many adventures with my kids. The memories are worth the hassle and the key to enjoyment is in the way you pack and travel with kids.

If you’re planning on traveling over spring break or summer (or better yet, this August aboard The Allure of The Seas with me, Cara and Mady!), here are a few travel tips that save my sanity every trip: (more…)

I pack 40 school lunches each and every week. That’s a lot of lunches, I must admit!

With eight kids, the option to buy 40 school lunches weekly at roughly $5 per lunch from the school cafeteria is not at all feasible for us. That would total $200 per week and $800 per month. Oh my goodness, that’s crazy!

I’ve managed to develop a very orderly and organized system to purchase, make and pack school lunches so that it takes me roughly 20 minutes per day to prepare and pack.

First of all, I require a main course which is any of the following: a sandwich, a green salad, chicken salad, egg salad or tuna salad, hummus and pita or chips and guacamole.

I also require a fruit, a vegetable, a “crunchy” (any type of chips or pretzels), a dairy, a dessert and a drink. I also pack a daily bus snack to eat during the 45-minute bus ride to school and a school snack as required for during the school day.

To save money, I purchase only large size bags of crunchies and repackage them into individual sizes in Ziploc bags. (more…)

As I sit here drinking my morning coffee, I realize just how much I rely on this morning “jolt.” Some days, coffee – the smell, taste and caffeine boost it provides – is the reason I get out of bed!

No matter what, I always have 8 hungry mouths to feed, but I purposefully get up a bit early so I can brew my first cup or pot of coffee and drink a cup before I have to begin feeding the masses! It makes me a happier morning mommy! Because I drink so much coffee (about 4-5 cups per day minimum) I have to replenish my supply often, even though I am the only coffee drinker in my house, obviously! It is an expensive “hobby”!

I recently tweeted at length about my love of coffee, my broken coffee machine, and Keurig. The company’s wonderful customer service department replaced my machine (and according to your tweets back to me, many of your overused machines)! Regardless, coffee is quite an expense, albeit a necessary one, when you’re a mom. As a mom of 8, I need all the energy my caffienated coffee will dole out to me… and more! (more…)

This year, I am lucky to have eight reasons to celebrate the love on Valentines Day. I always do little inexpensive things to make heart day special for them.

This year, I bought a very inexpensive foam craft set at Target and I will make each of my kids a handmade Valentine. It’s a mommy tradition! I typically sit up ALL night to handmake paper Valentines for each of my kids but I thought I’d mix it up a bit this year and make them a foam art “card.”

Each year, I hang their Valentine pouches from Pottery Barn on their dining room chairs  and fill them with inexpensive but thoughtful trinkets that show them my love.

I also make all meals heart themed. In the past, I have made heart shaped pancakes, sandwiches and hamburgers! This year I’m thinking I’ll make heart shaped muffins for breakfast, heart shaped peanut butter crackers for lunch and heart shaped pasta for dinner!

None of these things cost a lot, but all of them add up to mean a lot to my kids! I have always said that Valentines Day is a great day to remind your family and friends how much you love them. So, this year I’ll be busy making all sorts of fun heart shaped stuff for the 8 that I love. And, in case you’re wondering, you won’t find me out on a date this Valentine’s Day. My date is with my 8… They own MY heart!
- K8

I’m heading to the grocery store today so I thought I’d jot down the ways I save to help you save, too. In order to save the most money, I do the following:

1. I research sales and print coupons for specific items on my list from the Internet. I’m on CouponCabin’s grocery page right now!

2. I sort other store coupons that I have on hand and put the ones that I’ll use aside to take with me.

3. Once at the store, I take note of the sales and stock up on sale items. If something is on my list that is NOT on sale, I’ll keep that item on the list for next time. Usually I keep a few backups of each item so it could wait if need be. If an item is on sale AND I have a coupon, I’ll buy extra of those.

4. I plan my menu for the week before I leave for the store. This way, I am not aimlessly buying and the chances that fresh produce will spoil is decreased. (more…)

I don’t know that I’m an expert on all things savings, but I do know that the many methods I use to save DO work. The following is a list of things that I do regularly to save:

1. I buy in serious bulk. 

I buy ‘half a cow’ at a time in different cuts, which equals about 400 pounds of organic meat. This alone reduces my beef prices to a fraction of what I would pay in the grocery store if I bought one cut at a time.

I also do this with chicken. I visit a local organic chicken outlet and buy straight from the factory store. Most times I package it myself into portions that are right for us, using my Food Saver (which I LOVE!)! We use about 3 whole chicken breasts per meal at this point.

I also buy bulk products wherever else I can. Typically the bigger you’re buying, the lower the price per unit.

2. I recycle and reuse. 

Before I throw anything away, I put it aside and try to think of a new use for it. When my kids get too tall for their jeans, I cut them off to use as summer outside play shorts. I reuse Ziploc bags by rinsing them out and reusing them. I could go on and on.

Don’t get me wrong– I LOVE an organized house and I LOVE to throw stuff away, but if I set it aside and think for awhile, chances are I can come up with a new cost-saving use.

3. I use my calculator…a lot! 

Don’t get tricked into buying the 28.4 ounce bottle of lotion because it is on sale at Target. The 36 ounce bottle sitting next to it actually costs 2 cents LESS per ounce – not on sale. That’s why I win whenever I use my calculator (and I LOVE that hidden bargain)! (more…)

Everyone knows Shoka, right? If not, he’s our two year old German Shepherd. We got him and his sister, Nala, in December of 2008 when they were only 8 weeks old.

They were both named prior to us meeting them and we had decided to choose two puppies… Because we seemed to have all multiples in our house, it just seemed normal!

Shoka got his name from a very big security guard we met during our family trip to Hawaii in 2008. Nala was always on my list to name a pet because I loved Nala in the movie The Lion King.

I had never had or been responsible for my ‘own’ dog  before and was more scared to bring them home than I was to bring any of my kids home from the hospital! It honestly scared me to think I’d have to choose food, bedding and supplies for a dog– let alone two! I had no idea what I was in for! Who knew dogs had tartar issues or that choking on a certain toy was a concern?! (more…)