NBR Clicky Poll: Very rude question to ask you...

StrawberryAlarmClock

I know this is TOTALLY taboo to ask people, but I feel like so many bumpies are buying $600 strollers and $100 diaper bags. I'm wondering if I'm the brokest joke on this board or if there's some company out there for my misery??

ETA: I'm in NO way saying that I have a problem with people buying higher end products. In fact, I'm jealous

[Poll]

jkylie

I love that you had the guts to ask.

:-) 

NJBride4-8-05

Not to make this poll worse, but it also depends on where you live.  DH may make a decent amount but we live in a high cost of living area so our money doesnt go every far at all.  I have learned to buy smart.

sleepingbeauty825

We make decent money, but only spent 140 on our travel system. Yeah, I did spend 70 on the diaper bag, but that's because I'm an idiot.

StrawberryAlarmClock

NJBride4-8-05:

Not to make this poll worse, but it also depends on where you live.  DH may make a decent amount but we live in a high cost of living area so our money doesnt go every far at all.  I have learned to buy smart.

Very good point. Cost of living is a huge factor!

eyunger1

I'm not voting, but we chose products for our child that were by no means extravagantly priced.  I think you don't necessarily get better quality for the crazy prices things cost.  We found plenty of things that were reasonably priced, had great ratings and safety data, and had colors we enjoy.

jkylie

NJBride4-8-05:

Not to make this poll worse, but it also depends on where you live.  DH may make a decent amount but we live in a high cost of living area so our money doesnt go every far at all.  I have learned to buy smart.

this.

StrawberryAlarmClock

sleepingbeauty825:

We make decent money, but only spent 140 on our travel system. Yeah, I did spend 70 on the diaper bag, but that's because I'm an idiot.

An idiot with a very cute diaper bag I'd assume!! We all have to splurge on something sometimes to feel human!!!

aegrimm

sleepingbeauty825:

We make decent money, but only spent 140 on our travel system. Yeah, I did spend 70 on the diaper bag, but that's because I'm an idiot.

At least you're comfortable with your idiocy. 

We were shocked to learn we made $70K last year. I have NO idea where the money went. We need to spend smarter...

rinny25

Our travel system was 200 (that was the cyber sale price on cyber monday) it was originally 275 I think. My diaper bag was 35, DH's diaper bag was 15, it was on clearance. He only got one because we were shopping with gift cards and I told him to get it or else he was going to be stuck if I ran out and the bag was in my car or something.

myonetruelove

I think there are a lot more things that factor into this. We had been saving to buy things for LO that we knew we wanted. We also have been saving, because we knew that we would both be taking pay deductions due to being on leave when the baby comes. A co-worker who I assume makes more than (due to title alone) me is more scared of the pay decrease then I am, but we had a planned pg and she had a suprise one.

We are not buying a $600 stroller or anything, but his nursery was pretty darn expensive. We also had lots of help from family buying things that we needed. This helped us to use the money we saved to buy other things we wanted.

Mrs.Paws

Also love that you had the guts to ask.  And given the percentage over 100K, I'd even be interested in more detail over that amount.

Where you live really impacts buying power. 

On the expensive baby items, I feel like lots of people have one (or two or three) items they wanted to splurge on.  We bought a crib that was what people would consider pretty expensive.  But, on most everything else I felt like we went pretty middle of the road.  Okay, I bought a diaper bag for $90, but I had a gift card!!

DreamsBride411

I think it's all relative - if you don't have a lot, ya gotta spend super-smart. But, if you've got a good chunk in the bank, save consistently, and have extra money to spend on the Mercedes of strollers and diaper bags, why not? I'm definitely a lover of expensive things, but a believer of spending within means.

kellialayne

My answer will be different after baby comes.  We will be going down to one income and I'm really scared!  We are really going to have to pinch our pennies!!

Paradisemoon

We make decent money and I'm still a Craig's List junkie. I bought all my maternity clothes this time around for $50.  One lady was selling 3 garbage bags full of clothes for $30 and 80% of them still had tags on them. We have a garden and chickens that cuts down A LOT on our food bill. So you're not the only frugal person out there!

shadowboxerkd

May be my area, but I think there probably are more girls in a higher range...If it's combined income, 100k isn't all THAT much is it? That's saying that both of you are making about 50k/yr, or one more likely is making less and another makes a somewhat decent but not exorbitant salary. 100 doesn't seem like a far off number. For example, I make about 47k, which is somewhat decent, but not really a lot. To make 100, my DH would only have to make slightly more than me.

StrawberryAlarmClock

MrsJulieT:

I also think people are more likely to post "hey I just bought this awesome brand stroller/diaper bag/etc" than people who are just buying your ordinary every day stroller and diaper bag. So it makes it seem like more people are buying extravagant things.

Good point. No one is going to AW their average bouncy seat. LOL  You guys also make a good point about tapping into savings for these purchases.  DH and I just got married and are remodeling a foreclosed house (that the previous owners let go to h***), so our savings is down to $16.34. LOL...thus, all of our baby purchases come straight out of the paycheck.  Ugh.

daisyterp

Just because someone has an expensive stroller and/or diaper bag, doesn't mean they have necessarily blown a lot of money on their baby. 

We have a bugaboo frog that was bought for us (and had my ILs not bought it we would have bought it.)  I didn't buy any other stroller, but did accept a hand-me-down jogging stroller.  Our changing table, crib, glider, PnP and moses basket were all hand-me-downs. I bought a new crib mattress.  We got a dresser for the nursery for $50 on CL, and now DD is sleeping in a toddler bed that was $35 on CL.  All of our crib bedding was bought on clearance sale w/ 20% off coupons @ BRU and it's all gender neutral so if baby #2 is a boy it's fine.

I cloth diaper & EBF, so I totally by-pass the baby aisle in the supermarket, so while I might have an expensive stroller & diaper bag (Kate Spade, bought it @ the outlet w/ a coupon) when it comes to the big picture I think I am pretty frugal. 

mitchelltheojua

shadowboxerkd:

May be my area, but I think there probably are more girls in a higher range...If it's combined income, 100k isn't all THAT much is it? That's saying that both of you are making about 50k/yr, or one more likely is making less and another makes a somewhat decent but not exorbitant salary. 100 doesn't seem like a far off number. For example, I make about 47k, which is somewhat decent, but not really a lot. To make 100, my DH would only have to make slightly more than me.

This definitely ... combined, 100 isn't too far off I don't think for many. But I could be wrong ... I agree with others ... we definitely knew what we wanted and had been saving for months in order to purchase those specific items. Yes we purchased the UPPAbaby vista ourselves but we purchased it on sale because we opted for the 2009 edition ($499 instead of 679 - 699). Again, we saved for it ... I did purchase a petunia pickle bottom boxy backpack but again, I knew I wanted it and set the money aside for it. This is what I usually do ... when I see some expensive purse or something that I want, I save for months in order to get it ... I cut down on eating out, etc. 

We also had help from grandparents ...my parents purchased all of the baby's furniture (dresser, crib, mattress, glider, chest of drawers) ... the furniture we ended up with was pretty expensive but I liked it and my parents were more than happy to splurge on their first grandchild. So, again, help there ... as for other stuff, we received lots of gift cards and checks from friends and family and the other stuff, we purchased on our own but again, we have been setting aside money for those items.

I'll also add that we're cloth diapering (start up is expensive but in the long run, less expensive than disposables) and I actually love shopping for second hand clothing for our baby. Also, I pretty much refuse to purchase any clothing that isn't on clearance ... I figure, "she'll wear it for a few weeks ... why spend some crazy amount of money?"

panarama99

AW: I got a second-hand travel system at a consignment sale and my mom is making my diaper bag.  You're right - that just doesn't have the same ring to it as if it was all brand new, top-of-the-line. 

My DH and I don't make a ton of money, but we're very frugal with what we have.  We've gotten some help from friends and family on certain items, and have been very careful about our other baby purchases. 

Happy10th!

I spent almost $500 on a diaper bag; we have a $400 stroller, but we got the dresser from IKEA, and I bought some of my maternity clothes at a garage sale.  I like eating at fancy restaurants, but Taco Bell is one of my fave places too. 

I think everyone has to evaluate what is important to them!  And if you are not going into debt enjoying nice things, I don't see a problem.  Some people have $1M in the bank, and some people buy depreciating assets...like diaper bags.  :P

I thought about my diaper bag purchase for a couple months before doing it; I justified it knowing that it's going to be my purse for a long time.

 

homebird

kellialayne:

My answer will be different after baby comes.  We will be going down to one income and I'm really scared!  We are really going to have to pinch our pennies!!

Same here.

homebird

shadowboxerkd:

May be my area, but I think there probably are more girls in a higher range...If it's combined income, 100k isn't all THAT much is it? That's saying that both of you are making about 50k/yr, or one more likely is making less and another makes a somewhat decent but not exorbitant salary. 100 doesn't seem like a far off number. For example, I make about 47k, which is somewhat decent, but not really a lot. To make 100, my DH would only have to make slightly more than me.

I wish I could say 100K isn't "that much". 

murfygirl

homebird:

shadowboxerkd:

May be my area, but I think there probably are more girls in a higher range...If it's combined income, 100k isn't all THAT much is it? That's saying that both of you are making about 50k/yr, or one more likely is making less and another makes a somewhat decent but not exorbitant salary. 100 doesn't seem like a far off number. For example, I make about 47k, which is somewhat decent, but not really a lot. To make 100, my DH would only have to make slightly more than me.

I wish I could say 100K isn't "that much". 

It all depends on where you live in Southern CA making 100k is not that much at all!

Cgelske

me and dh are one of the 20k and under, i'm glad he's due in the middle of the month so we can get all the bills paid before he's here. i can't imagine how hectic it might be trying to get all the bills paid and having to worry about buying all the new stuff that i'll probably realize i need and don't have after he's here. yeah.

xcjen06

I'm on the lower end of this poll, but I feel like I have done a really good job budgeting my money. I am also single so my income is the only income, but I've managed to actually save up more now than when I was with exH becuase he was not good at budgeting.

And it is true about people more likely to post if they got something real nice. I just got my travel system this week but it is not a real fancy one, so even though I am excited to have it I didn't come on here and post about it.

JenGK

So many things go into how much you spend on these things.  DH and I live in a very high COL area, where a combined 100k won't get you that far.  I did spend $500 on a stroller, but I also spent $2.94 on a crib (DH was working part-time at PB at the time, so we took advantage of an employee discount, gift cards he had won while there, and cashed in AMEX points).

britishbride05

NJBride4-8-05:

Not to make this poll worse, but it also depends on where you live.  DH may make a decent amount but we live in a high cost of living area so our money doesnt go every far at all.  I have learned to buy smart.

ditto.  it's easier to live in other parts of the country on what dh makes than it does to live here in miami on his salary.  anywhere else and we'd be extremely comfortable.  here, we're counting pennies.

tlmommy2b:)

DH and I make a good combined salary. I am typically very thrifty...shopping on clearance, coupons for big items, etc. Our parents have been extremely generous. But I will say I splurged on an expensive diaper bag

pandagirl15

tlmalstrom:

DH and I make a good combined salary. I am typically very thrifty...shopping on clearance, coupons for big items, etc. Our parents have been extremely generous. But I will say I splurged on an expensive diaper bag

This is how we are too.  Our family & shower guests were also very generous for LO.  DH & I both have pretty good jobs but we are very careful with money so we can buy something nice/extravagant once in a while.  I didn't splurge on anything outrageous for this baby, but I definitely was able to get all that I wanted, safe products, quality products, etc. at the mid-price range I was hoping for.

cabinwife

We fall very much in the middle, but honestly, we could be bringing home seven figures and I STILL wouldn't spend $600 on a stroller that will only get used for a couple of years.  I guess we're just cheap like that .

lesalia217

I am not a big shopper or a big spender, although we have the ability to spend more.   We are big savers and we invest most of our money into our house/mortgage.

Heididdles

I didn't answer because I truly have no idea although I know it's not much these days. DH was working 2 jobs until November when he lost one, so now he's down to one job and I don't work because of health reasons. We live rent-free in a rental house my parents own, don't subscribe to cable or TV, and are generally thrifty, BUT we like nice things. It's just that we are smart about getting them and then are thrifty with everything else. We are also blessed with awesome families who gift nice things. We got the Bumbleride Indie Stroller for $385 but that's just because I have an aunt who is giving us $300 for my shower. The diaper bag I want is $100 but we'll see if that ends up in my hands. Our baby bedding is from Pottery Barn Kids, but my mom bought it. And besides that-- we hit a motherload of Craigslist baby freebies so I got to take a bunch of things off my registries, and our crib is a hand-me-down. All that to say- our income isn't high at all, but we have nice baby things because we are blessed. And any other nice things we have are gifts or things we have gotten on sale after not eating out for a couple months.

shadowboxerkd

The most expensive thing we got was the Bob stroller. We could have gotten all new fancy stuff, but we value a good deal . DH is pretty frugal and sees no point in getting all new stuff if you don't need to. We're reusing SS's Ikea crib and dresser, not going crazy on decor.  I got a bunch of baby clothes and maternity wear through the TotSwap-some great second hand stuff for super cheap, some not even used and a consignment shop down the street (where we got our baby's bedding). Most of the baby's clothing we got either second hand or as gifts. It's still been a lot of freaking money when we add it all up, but I think we've managed to avoid some major expenses so far!