I really appreciate everyone's help. To clarify for a couple of the points :
1.) I have an Xterra, and I drive quite a bit (CT to VT, MA, NH) so $500+ per month on gas is pretty common for me. My wife drives to MA a lot too, so her car gets around a tank a week, so maybe she is around oh $200 a month in gas. I also have motorcycles and dirtbikes (that gas is more $$) so it is pretty easy to cash out 1k in gas alone per month.
2.) Yes I am buying groceries for a family, so that is something like $100 a week or so.
3.) we go out to eat, and that can be expensive, so at $50 a pop say, if we go out like four-six times, that is $250.
4.) So you add it all up, a couple car repairs or a new dishwasher, and whammo, $2k per month.

That being said : I am not interested in upgraded travel. First class is nice but I don't care. I would rather be able to travel for free, so if I can bank enough points somehow to take the family to Disney one year, or on a cruise, or go to the Great Wall of China, or Bali, or Australia, or a Safari, or the Pyramids, or Antarctica, whatever ! I don't care if I go in a cargo crate to end up in the Galapagos.

So I guess I should aim for what most of you are saying : high rate of return on the cards. It sounds like I need to pick some rewards I can attain easily (like the 3k in three months) and get those. Then I guess cancel them ? What happens to your points when you cancel ?

Also if you have so many cards, how do you get the points to go to one trip ? Can you cash in like Sapphire, Blue, etc etc all towards one trip ?

Those are the confusing parts for me - the whole how to cancel and keep the points and somehow tie them into another reward account, or whatever - when it comes time to actually redeem your trip, and you have points all over the place ?