Bargain Hunting 101

After encouragement from friends regarding the great bargains I come across, and how much enjoyment I receive in sharing those deals with friends, I have decided to make this blog about the amazing things the Lord does in our family including my ability to save our family money! I first need to let you know upfront that most of my bargains come from other blogs, so many of the deals will be links to their sites. If you have any specific questions about any of the deals or you find any great bargains yourself, I would love it if you send them to me so I can include them and give credit! So this blog will be posts of what the Holt family is up to as well as great deals that I want everyone to take advantage of!

CVS Drugstore has been an enormous blessing in our pocketbooks and it has even become a fun hobby for me now! It took me several weeks to truly understand how to "play the game" but my savings in 2008 made it all worth it! Eric loves to tell people my final savings of 2008..... I "bought" $1762 worth of merchandise and I paid just $61. That's a savings of 97%!!! I can't hardly believe it when I look at all the household goods that I've been able to purchase and the incredible savings that God has provided! So, I'll slowly try to help you understand how I've saved this much money and I hope that bargain hunting becomes as fun for you too! Moneysavingmon gives a great intro into how to start out using cvs. You can check out her link here and another link here. Also, I still have lots to learn about blogging, so please bear with me as I learn to link and make this site easier for you!

Here are some of my favorite blogs that I check daily for great deals:
www.moneysavingmom.com
www.moneysavingmethods.blogspot.com
www.commonsensewithmoney.com
www.lifeasmom.com
www.thecentsiblesawyer.blogspot.com
www.kingdomfirstmom.com
www.gooddealgal.blogspot.com

There are also a few retail sites that offer great deals on a daily basis:
www.shnoop.com
www.babysteals.com


Lastly, these websites are forums where members go and post great deals that they fine. I have found this to be a wonderful source of upcoming deals and tips. You can even do a search if you're looking for something specific, for example deals on contact lenses.
baby bargains
Terri's board

Have fun saving money!

New Year's Eve

Now that our best friends all have young kids, the late night parties and sleepless new year's celebrations seem to become more and more a thing of the past. So this year, we decided to host new year's in our new home and rather than sit around waiting for midnight to come and the kids to fall asleep (I mean, did I say kids, I meant us!) we choose to ring in the new year with the east coast at 9pm. I think all the cars were packed and children asleep before 10pm that night and I couldn't think of a more relaxing way to usher in a new year!

Our prayer and hope is that 2009 is a year that once again, we can look forward to knowing that God holds each of us so tightly in his hand that nothing will come our way that he has not prepared us to handle. May you all come to know the amazing gift that a personal relationship with Christ brings! Here's to a wonderful 2009!

Amazing Girlfriends!


Kylie & AJ = Buddies for Life!


All the kids in one picture, almost looking at the camera!


Kylie and Brody


Crazy Ballerina


Such great dads!

Christmas Part 3 - The finale with my dad & stepmom

My dad & stepmom, Brenda, drove in from Colorado to see us after Christmas. It was great to spend time with them and they truly look forward to catching up with Kylie at every visit. We had a great evening with my brother & his wife celebrating with great food, games & disappointment over the Broncos loss. Thanks for driving out to visit us and we look forward to the next time!

Christmas Lights at the Railroad Park

I've always been a big participant in traditions, so as Kylie grows older I want to do some consistent things that she learns to look forward to each year. This is definitely one tradition that I am glad we started this year! We went to the Railroad park at night where they have the entire back end of the track decorated with a tremendous Christmas display of lights and characters and entertainment. It was a long wait for that short 4 minute train ride, but in my opinion worth every minute! These pictures are our excuse for dressing in our warmest attire for December nights, I think it got down to 50 degrees that night & that's snow cold for us Phoenicians!



Not quite as wonderful as seeing Elmo at Sea World, but it will do!


Kylie & her cousin, Lauryn!


I'm so lucky to have the greatest family in the world!!!

Christmas Part 2

The following weekend, we spent another day celebrating with Eric's immediate and extended family! Again, what a blessing it was to relax and enjoy everyone's company rather than run around all day! Eric's brother, Darren, & his wife, Cynthia, barely made it in from Seattle on Christmas morning so all the family could be together to celebrate.

The Holt family, all together!


Look at those handsome Holt boys!


Kylie couldn't believe her new dollhouse!


Could you just eat this girl up?!?


Kylie showing off her new sunglasses and Ming Ming, from The Wonderpets!

Christmas Morning

We are so blessed to have almost all our family live within an hour's drive of each other here in Phoenix! However, it has become quite the challenge to find time to comfortably visit every family on major holidays and not feel like we're running a marathon. And we've still only got one kid, I can't imagine what it will be like when our family grows! Thankfully, everyone has been extremely flexible and this year worked out wonderfully and we were able to spend relaxing time celebrating the holidays with all our families! Here is how we spent Christmas morning with our family, at my mom's house and then at my Grandparent's house. And Christmas will never again be the same now that we get to watch it through the eyes of a parent!

My mom & Stepdad and our families!


The Aftermath of Presents at our house!


Of all her gifts from us, she most liked the $0.69 eraser toppers from Walgreens! Why don't we remember that kids are so easy to please!


Her new Hotwheels from Grandma & Grandpa!




We were so thankful to have my brother, Ryan, and his wife, Natalie, with us!