http://familyof8.savingadvice.com 1 hard working dad... 1 stay at home mama... 6 kids... Loving Life! info@savingadvice.com Family of 8 en-us http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/11/06/birthday-stoller-pictures_44854/ <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v170/onroad4christ/birth5.jpg"><img hspace="5" src="http://blogs.savingadvice.com/image.php?blog=familyof8&url=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv170%2Fonroad4christ%2Fbirth5.jpg&&" alt="" align="" border="2" /></a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v170/onroad4christ/birth3.jpg"><img hspace="5" src="http://blogs.savingadvice.com/image.php?blog=familyof8&url=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv170%2Fonroad4christ%2Fbirth3.jpg&&" alt="" align="" border="2" /></a><br /> <br /> I wanted to post some pictures of the stroller that DH made for our youngest daughter for her birthday this week. It came out so nice!<br /> <br /> Today I am trying a new butternut squash soup recipe. It smells wonderful and I always feel so much better when I COOK a meal- rather... Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:44:42 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/11/05/grocery-day-11508_44816/ I use the envelope system and I usually only carry $125.00 in it when I go for groceries each week. However this week I had some excess left over from our refinancing a few weeks ago (random checks from this and that showing up) so I decided to stockpile just a little more this week.... Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:16:27 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/11/04/birthdays-are-a-little-different-now_44767/ Roll back 14 years to when my first daughter was the birthday girl and you would see her surrounded by heaping piles of the latest and greatest PLASTIC toys. I was a single mother and I thought that the way to success was to show the world that I could indeed provide for my daughter... Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:24:19 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/10/31/payday_44644/ The bills are paid for this week. Yesterday we had to shuffle a little bit of money from savings into a "fix the toilets" this weekend fund. I totally forgot to include that in our written budget. Ooops. We still were able to throw some extra money towards our Suburban payment thanks... Fri, 31 Oct 2008 07:47:09 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/10/30/spent-on-paper-before-the-check103108_44616/ 150 6 Month Emergency Fund<br /> <br /> 61 1000 Baby Emergency Fund<br /> <br /> 125 Food/Household<br /> <br /> 50 Slush fund<br /> <br /> 10 Hubby Food<br /> <br /> 9 Kids Art Classes<br /> <br /> 12 Truck payment (current debt snowball)<br /> <br /> 50 American Express CC<br /> <br /> 50 Bank of America CC<br /> <br /> 75 Water<br /> <br /> 80 Home Phone & Internet<br /> <br /> 100 Electric<br /> <br /> 150... Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:14:29 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/10/29/groceries-household-102908_44595/ Our weekly grocery/household items budget is $125.00 This is what we picked up today for this.<br /> <br /> 4 pounds butternut squash<br /> 1 pound tomatoes<br /> cornmeal<br /> molasses<br /> bread crumbs<br /> chopped walnuts<br /> ground cloves<br /> 1 box instant vanilla pudding<br /> 1 bottle of bbq sauce<br /> 4 cans of large black... Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:17:34 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/10/29/getting-back-in-the-gameagain_44594/ We fell off the envelope wagon over the last few months. In August we welcomed our 6th child to our family- which meant a lot of precooked meals and processed foods blew the budget. THEN we had to refinance before December 1st to avoid our nice ARM adjusting, so it was massive home... Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:12:23 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/07/13/garage-sale-leftovers_41093/ What is better than finding a great price on an item at a garage sale? Finding it for FREE! After sitting in the sun all day on Saturdays, most people in our city will place a FREE sign in front of all their garage sale leftovers that didn't sell. We have found some really great stuff... Sun, 13 Jul 2008 08:56:44 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/07/11/71108-budgetsavings_41060/ 10% Give<br /> 6% Retirement<br /> 5% ING 6 Month Emergency Savings<br /> 3% Vehicle Savings<br /> 3% ING Appliance Savings<br /> 3% ING Vacation Savings<br /> <br /> 1/4 Mortgage Payment Saved for August<br /> 50 Put in Slush Fund for non monthly expenses<br /> <br /> 75 Food/Household<br /> 50 Home Improvement<br /> 100 HSBC CC<br /> 80... Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:27:43 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/07/04/borrow-not-buy_40844/ Once or twice during the summer our older kids enjoy a float trip down the local river. Instead of purchasing expensive life jackets to only be used a few times a year, we use our cities free life jacket rental system. Each of our local fire departments loans out life jackets in all... Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:38:58 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/07/03/budget-savings-70308_40812/ 10% Give<br /> <br /> 6% Retirement<br /> 5% 6 Month Emergency Fund<br /> 3% New Vehicle Savings Fund<br /> 3% Tool Fund for Hubby<br /> 3% Slush Fund (for non monthly expenses)<br /> <br /> 279 Monthly Medical/Dental Insurance<br /> <br /> 1/4 Mortgage for August Saved<br /> 20 Blow Money for DH<br /> 20 Blow Money for Me<br /> 20 Kids Allowance<br /> 10... Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:30:37 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/07/03/fireworks-for-free_40811/ Our city has an annual fireworks show. They charge $10.00 per vehicle to park near where they shoot them off. Rather than pay that money AND get stuck in the worst traffic jam our state sees all year, we opt to walk to a hill near our house and watch from there. No, they aren't as... Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:18:49 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/07/02/library-dvds_40786/ Each week I put the new release DVD's on hold online at our local library. We usually have a steady stream of DVD's to pick up each week and it costs us nothing. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:14:06 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/07/02/july-2008-foodhousehold-070208_40782/ I am going to keep track of our spending this month on all purchases made in the food category as well as regular household items. My goal is to spend $500 or less for the month of July. This might be a bit of a bigger challenge for me this month, more than most, because we have a... Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:22:19 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/07/01/ing-subaccounts_40721/ Today our family is being frugal by...<br /> <br /> Loading up our van and driving to the local lake to cool off. It is $2.00 per car load to spend the entire day there. Over the last few months before summer arrived, I stocked up on 100% juices from Big Lots to fill our cooler with on days... Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:30:08 PST (Family of 8) http://familyof8.savingadvice.com/2008/06/30/monday-monday_40683/ Today our family has been frugal by...<br /> <br /> Using the crockpot for tonight's dinner, rather than heating up the oven, which will in turn heat up the house on an already HOT summer day. We are having pot roast, carrots, and potatoes. Yum <img src="http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif" alt="Smile" /><br /> <br /> <br /> Monday is our get back on track day of the... Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:49:15 PST (Family of 8)