I get several questions from people that have a very busy family; they have read my column but wonder how they can save time with a family that doesn’t meet the average norm. 
My first idea of a “busy family” would be a soccer mom and hard working husband with three kids that play sports, do cheerleading, are in the band or any other extra curricular activity.  We’ve all seen them on TV, but what do you do when you find yourself in this situation?  The most important thing in keeping a busy family on track is making sure that you have a plan.  Without a plan, your whole day/week/month can fall apart.  I’m sure we’ve all been there; Bobby has a soccer game and Sally has a piano recital both on the same day, at the same time.  So what do you do?  I hate to say it, but in order to be successful, you must learn to run your family like a business.  Making appointments and scheduling things are your best bet for beating this “CEO Family Slump.” 
One of my favorite FREE websites is Cozi.com.  I’ve talked about it before, but I cannot stress this website enough!  I use it daily and even have an application on my phone to help keep track of appointments and remind me of upcoming events.  I personally prefer to keep up with my things electronically because there is a very small margin for mistakes and double scheduling; however, if you’re more of a “paper family” then feel free to grab yourself a detailed planner and get to writing!
Think of it this way; if you were the CEO of a company and you were constantly booking appointments, meetings, and other things, you would have to keep track of them.  You need to do this with your family as well.  Let’s say that Bobby has basketball practice on Monday at 5pm, but Sally has piano lessons the same day at 6pm.  Well, it is possible to get from one to the other without someone being late or missing the event all together, but let’s assume that you are the CEO of your family.  Once you have their schedule written down you would notice that it will be nearly impossible to do both at the same time.  Therefore, you must learn to improvise. 
Make friends with the other moms/dads on your son or daughters team/band/group and ask them if they would care to carpool.  Or, if you’re lucky enough to have a significant other that can help out, then designate one child for each parent.  Yes, I understand that most people don’t have it that easy, which is why I’m going to throw in another scenario:  Three kids, one basketball game, one piano lesson, and one karate lesson.  Now what?  Again, use the carpool technique (It works wonders, I promise!) and try to use your spouse to take one of the kids while you take the other (family members work great in place of a spouse, so use them as well.)  However, we all have to admit that we can get a little overboard at some point, which is why you must limit your kids to what they can and can’t participate in.  We would all like to be super heroes, but we can’t do everything!
My challenge to you this week is to sign up for a free account with Cozi.com and see how much of a difference it makes.  I can guarantee, if you are any bit technologically advanced, that it will benefit you.  I would love your input, advice, suggestions, questions or comments so feel free to find “Saving Dollars & Making Sense” on Facebook to let me know what you think!