And Baby Makes 7-But Still Prepping

I’m a mom to 6 boys (ranging from 14 down to 20 months) and a baby girl on the way.  I am married to an awesome husband that takes great responsibility in taking care of us.  Together we work towards preparing physically and spiritually for today and the future.  God has blessed us with a big family which we are eternally grateful for, but of course with a big family comes big responsibility.  We feel it is important to be self reliant and able to take care of our children.

 

One way that has helped us to become self reliant and to be prepared is by couponing, deal hunting, and stocking up while the deals are good.

 

I have had the great blessing of being a mom that doesn’t have to work outside of the home so that I can focus raising my children.  However, to help offset the fact that we don’t have extra income coming from me working outside the home, I have found that by couponing and living in a budget we are able to save more money (and even make money) instead of having to put the kids in day care.  You might be surprised how much money can be saved by things as simple as eating at home, preparing food from scratch, not having to pay for day care.  There are often times I even make money couponing.

 

I have been couponing for over 15 years now which has blessed us in so many ways.  A testimony of this just happened again recently.  When I became pregnant with number 7, it was a bit of a surprise.  I tend to become very sick while I am pregnant and even simple tasks become very hard to do.  Because baby 7 was a surprise, we didn’t have much time to prepare for the time when I would be sick.  Needless to say, for about 5 months I was unable to go shopping or hardly look at a coupon let alone use one.  You would think that after 5 months that we would be starving and in trouble, but because of the fact that I stock up while the deals are good we were completely fine.  I had two kids in diapers.  However, I had a supply of diapers that I accumulated over time on good deals and I never had to buy a package of diapers in that entire time (and even had more to spare).  You can imagine with 8 people in the house we go through toilet paper like it is water, yet I never had to worry about buying toilet paper because I had storage of it. We have spent time and money buying food and food storage on good deals, so we had a stock of food to feed our big family.  Plus, we have taught our boys how to cook, so most days my older boys (and husband) would make dinner since I was too sick.

 

I stock up on shoes and clothes when they are cheap.  Even when I have a child come to me and tell me just as we are walking out the door that his shoes are way too tight and have been for months, I don’t have to stress out.  I don’t have to go run to the store and pay a lot of money and worry about getting shoes right at that moment for them.  I just have them go into the storage of shoes and get the next size.

 

I know what you might be thinking….”well I don’t have that kind of storage space”.  We don’t really either.  Our dream would be one day to buy a lot of land, build a house from ground up learning all the skills as we go and enjoy space, but for now we don’t have that.  We live in a 1200 sq foot home with 8 people (and 9 on the way).  Five of my boys sleep in one little room.  We make do.  We store things in every nook and cranny we can find.  We have also worked on many other storage spaces that you might not think about.  We make do and feel grateful for the extra storage we are able to have.

 

By couponing and budgeting (and with God’s help), we have been able to prepare financially, physically, and spiritually for the future.  By couponing, deal hunting, and budgeting, we have been able to get a supply of food storage to provide for our big family.  We have been able to put 72 hour kits (bug out bags) together relatively inexpensively in case a big disaster happens and we have to take our big family elsewhere.  We have been able to purchase and prepare for a great disaster should it happen one day.

 

However, prepping doesn’t always mean that you have to prepare for the world’s financial collapse, a nuclear bomb going off, or a huge natural disaster; it can simply be prepping for a rainy day which tends to come to all of us at one time or the other. Preparing for today’s needs and wants and for the future has given us great peace of mind.   Of course there is always something more we can do, but that too has been a great learning experience.  The more learning we do, the more we are at peace.  If we never use the skills that we learn or the emergency preparedness items for disasters or emergencies then great!  I would love that! But should we have to use those skills, learning experiences, and emergency preparedness items, we are better off.

 

Start small!   Save a little here. Save a little there. Prepare a little here.  Prepare a little there.   You don’t have to go in debt or be completely stressed out.  The more you do, the better off you are and you are better than you were before.  If you are prepared, you shall not fear!

K.G.  UT.

How to VOTE for the best Preppers Outreach Contest Entries:
If you think this entry merits one of your 5 allotted votes, then post a comment below. Do NOT post a comment if you do not want it to count towards one of your 5 allotted votes. If you want to award an entry more than one vote, you’ll need to leave a comment for each vote you want to cast.

Tags: 

© 2019 Of COURSE this post is Copyright Protected by Preparedness Pro. All Rights Reserved. NO portion of this article may be reposted, printed, copied, disbursed, etc. without first receiving written permission by the author. This content may be printed for personal use only. (Then again, laws are only as good as the people who keep them.) Preparedness Pro will pursue all violations of these rights just as vigorously as she does any of her other freedoms, liberties, and protections.


Comments

What terrific preparation! In 15 years, I will be able to say the same thing :)

How wise to be prepared for whatever may happen. I'm impressed that you're willing to sacrifice for more important things. No excuses! So many have excuses like a small home, a tight budget, or severe sickness during pregnancy but, obviously, you don't give in to that silliness. Congratulations on another precious baby! Thanks for your good example. Good luck!

Your story is great! I wish I had started years ago, but it's never too late!!

Great story and I wish more people would learn this early. I know I wasted a lot of money when I was raising my four children. I'd certainly do it differently now.

Great post!

Wonderful life experiences backed up by faith and diligence. Thank you!

Great post. I too was blessed with a large family (6 children). I am 53 now and still have 2 school age children at home and one that returned home because of the bad economy. I have been using coupons for 30 years off and on but just in the past 2 years have I really put my all into it. I have stored so much free stuff that we are set for long term on a lot of items. Thank you for sharing your story. It was very inspirational.

How do you rotate items so they don't get old?

This is an encouraging post! Many people think they need to start out with everything and you have shown how to do it and using coupons! Awesome! I too have a large family (9 at home), so it takes a bit of an effort. Don't lose heart, keep up the good job! :) #49

So great to hear the encouraging words. Laurel, it is a bit of a struggle to rotate, but I have a binder that I keep what we have and where it is and the expiration date. We have had a few things that have come close to expiring but fortunately with a big family it doesn't take long to eat that stuff. It's great to hear from others with big families trying to make it work too. Thanks Laura, for the encouragement. Wow 9 at home! You are busy! Families are great blessings!

I'm voting for you because I love when people don't use excuses but just do the right things for the right reasons. You're impressive! Enjoy those precious children!

Great post! Your amazing.

I am voting for you because . . . . . with all your own responsibilities, you take time to do the research and share with the world what you practice and what works for you on a daily basis. Good for you! You are a blessing to us all . . . . .

I am inspired. Thank you!

What great management! Using coupons and stocking up on sale items are still great ideas. You have been blessed with a loving family and they have a terrific Mom!

I think what you are doing for your family is amazing! I'm also a stay at home mom and feel so blessed to be able to raise our kiddos. You are an amazing woman, mother and wife!!!

I am so empressed with your article. No longer have kids at home but still learning and can share info with others. Proud of you for your positive attitude with your Family.

I am voting for u because you are an amazing wife and mother and you never complain! You are such a beautiful daughter of or heavenly father and you and amazing boys! You lil sweet girl is going to be so well taken care of! :)

You are amazing and I wish I could do better

Great advice, as always, Kirsten!

Fantastic article! I know our family has been GREATLY blessed by preparing ahead! I hate to run out of anything! Rotation is key, isn't it? But, as you said, you're feeding enough people it's not too hard to keep it moving :)
You do a fantastic job with your family, your household, you're a wonderful role model. Our family has been greatly blessed by yours.

I agree with Louisa....you are AMAZING, Kirsten!! =)

Your an inspiration! Thanks for all you do!

Well done Kirsten! You are a great example of how to do it the correct way.

Disclaimer

Please note that the name you use in the "Name" field above will be the name displayed on your comment.