Ashley,
I am not an engineer, but I've done a lot of reading on this very subject.
In our climate (I'm in NH), you would benefit from creating a large mass within your building envelope that is insulated from the exterior. You could do this by digging your basement hole deeper than normal, adding a layer of insulation not only around your footings and walls, but below what will be your slab as well. then back fill fill your basement to normal basement elevation, and pour your slab. this will give you a large thermal mass that is isolated form the heat sucking ground below us. This is one variation of a "climate battery".
Hope this helps
Jason
