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3rd Trimester
is there anybody on this board on a budget?!
i have been looking at all the carseat/double stroller/diaper bag posts recently in this forum and others. and i just looked in the nurseries and baby gear forum.
i am shocked at how many people are getting several hundred dollar diaper bags and $600 strollers. not ragging on it, just wondering who else is in the budget category? when i asked for some double stroller recs recently, all the responses were for strollers well over 400. i can't afford that!! so where do us budget girls go for recs?!
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Re: is there anybody on this board on a budget?!
We are on a HUGE budget. I have school loans and we are paying off some guy who sued us, so the next few years will be tight.
Instead of a double stroller right now, we are getting and Ergo carrier. That way we can easily carry Brooke or Molly, or one can be in the stroller. Brooke likes to walk a lot and I would hate to buy a double stroller and not use it! If it seems necessary down the road we may save for a cheaper side by side one.
I am proud to say I did our entire nursery top to bottom for just over $1,000. I decided to put us on a budget, because I didn't see the point in spending lots of money. I'll be posting pics as soon as my glider comes in.
Anyways, it does shock me how much some people spend when I read the boards, but IRL, everyone I know is more frugal than that. (Even if they can afford expensive things)
I'm with you.
We got a double stroller from BRU when they did their trade-in event. We got the Sit 'n Stand Double (it has two full seats and can take the car seat in either position, and the back seat can be removed fully to turn it into the sit 'n' stand). It was <$200 even before the discount, and price was definitely a factor.
me!
I got my double stroller at Albee Baby on sale for $169, free shipping. It is graco and fits my car seat, huge, but I think they all are
I got a great JJ Cole diaper bag on eBay too
I've also made a lot of the decorations in the nursery and made a lot of the bedding too, it's really not as hard as it looks!
This is baby #4, so yes, we are on a budget (although I did splurge on a nice diaper bag).
We have most of what we need, but I try to buy one major thing a month so that it's not all at once. We bought our car seat in January when Babies R Us were doing their Trade-in sale and saved a lot.
When we had baby #2, my mom bought us a double stroller. It's a Graco brand - not sure of the price, but I'm sure it's less than $400. Do you have a BRU near you? If you get coupons, that helps a lot. I think I get a 20% off coupon for a single item at least once a month.
can you use that coupon for cribs or strollers? JW! and yes, we have one near-ish (45 minutes). we have been trying to buy one big thing at a time as well and are reusing a lot from DS.
craigslist!!!
for me, I'd rather take "hammidowns" of clothes or watch ebay and craigslist for some gear, but splurge on things like strollers. I'm skipping the changing table and getting a better diaper bag instead.
Also, I'm doing cloth diapers which is an up-front cost but not an ongoing cost (minus water bill and detergent).
I'm planning to breastfeed too. so I'll save money on bottles and formula (and water costs) in the long-run. Instead I'll get a good nursing pillow, tanks and bras.
*raises hand*
Yeah, I'm amazed by some of the posts of what people are buying too. My husband and I are committed to living with no debt, so even though a lot of people in our country would say that we do have the money to spend on things, if it's not in the bank, we don't spend it. So I'm right there with you... doing some bargain shopping
We can afford some of that stuff, but don't want to. We are keeping ourselves on a strict budget to focus more on saving for LO's education, buying a larger house, retirement, etc.
I usually don't pay too much attention to those kinds of posts on here because they don't fit into the goals that DH and I have for ourselves financially. We are by no means cheap, but we are trying to think long term. To us, that $600 stroller or $2000 worth of maternity pics aren't going to mean too much to LO when he is filling out college applications.
I find it easiest to just do the research myself and talk to friends and family IRL before making more expensive purchases.
oh, i'm also selling a lot of my stuff that I know I don't have time for once I'm a mom. (like art supplies)... plus household decorations that aren't baby-friendly. I'm using that money to get other things for her I couldn't otherwise afford.
I also check what used products are going for when choosing. knowing I can re-sell when I'm done with it.
and my grandmother is giving me $500 towards the stroller. She did that for my sister and cousin for their cribs, but I choose a cheap crib ($225) and to get a better stroller (UPPAbaby) that can be used as a co-sleeper since we will use that more in the first 6 months (at night) then all day.
also - people in urban areas relying on public transit will need to spend more on a stroller. My friends that did it cheap at first ended up wearing theirs out - some went through 3 or 4 by age 3 - when you add up multiple strollers, they could have gotten a better one up front... but we also don't have gas/car insurance/car payments by using public transit... I think it's all about personal budget. What many of you pay for gas, insurance and car payment in a month could buy me an UPPABaby, KWIM?
I am on a bugdet too, luckily we got a lot of our stuff at our shower so we haven't needed to put out much of our own money for things. But if I were going to reccomend a site to find things for cheap it would be craigslist, and if you are looking to buy new on a budget check target and BRU, with coupons you can save a ton!! TRUST ME, i know
LOL, I won't be spending hundreds of dollars on a diaper bag in this lifetime
I am a huge sale shopper. retailmenot.com rocks! I search their site for coupons all the time before buying anything. plus I have an gmail acct I use to filter spam into... and sign up for store lists for coupons without overwhelming my main acct.
I would recomeend a Sit & Stand LX (with an option for a 2nd seat while you LO is still young) and/or a In Step Double Jogger.
I have a Sit & Stand (not w/ 2 seats) I bought from a friend for $40, I did buy the double jogger about 2 years ago though. Both are under $200.
I have only bought two $4 coming home outfits and new high chair covers for our LO.
I have put myself on a budget for certain things...$170 stroller...$180 car seat...$150 pack 'n play and so on...but...the nursery furniture is important to me. I decided to buy what I wanted pretty much regardless of the cost. I wanted something that is convertible and will last for many years. So, yes - I spent $3200 alone on my Munire nursery furniture, but I won't have to buy any furniture for my LO's room for many many years to come. I'm just putting out the money now rather than later....
I also spent $800 on a remote-controlled recliner/rocker for the nursery with the expectation that I will use it there for a short time and then move it downstairs in my house at some point. I made sure to choose a fabric that matches my furniture so it can easily be transitioned....
So, while I am spending a good bit of money, I don't think I am being frivilous in any way....
I am definitely on a budget I will admit that I am fortunate to have a lot of family graciously purchasing things for us because our LO is the first grandchild on both sides. We did our nursery for under 1,000.00. I am also getting a great deal of things second hand from other people who had babies before me. The two items I have that are expensive, my stroller and diaper bag, were gifts from others. My parents bought my stroller and we have committed to using it for any future children and a friend of mine that it is very high maintenance bought my diaper bag because that's what she liked the one I registered for was significantly less.
I bought our double stroller on craigslist for $90. I didn't know how much we would end up using it, so I didn't want to buy a brand new one.
Also, I was going to buy a $100 diaper bag, which was excessive to me, so I ended up getting the jeep diaper bag for $20 at Walmart.
We're on a budget too! We don't have any spending debt, so we try to space our big baby purchases. My mom found us a used rocking chair, we're refinishing a dresser we found at a yard sale, and I think we'll use an IKEA bookshelving unit for a changing table (still haven't got that), so we could splurge on the things that we wanted.
We did buy a $400 stroller because we wanted a jogging/all-terrain one that was light enough for me to carry up and down the two flights of steps in front of our house and with super low handle bars (for 4'10 me).
And we spent $400 on a crib...also for 4'10 me. We figure we'll be able to use it for kid #2 (or 3) and then it converts to a twin bed (our kids will be sleeping in twin beds as we don't foresee us owning a huge house ever).
So we've spent about $1k on baby stuff (including paint for the rooms, etc) - which is a lot, but over the course of a few months, it's okay (and not much compared to how much we'll spend on day care).
We are CDing, using backpacks/messenger bags for diaper bags, and will buy things second hand if we need more clothes, etc for our little guy. We still will have to spend some more $$ for the mattress and diapers, but that's set for next month!
If you got the money go for it, but I know that's not the case for us. We're not scrapping for money, but we try very hard to live below our means. We're not aiming at the low end baby gear but we're trying to be practical because I would be so bummed if we bought the bells and whistles stuff and the kid absolutely hates it. My mom was very no frills and knew if she bought the $100 toy, we'd just play with the box. I think I've gotten that from her.
Luckily my parents bought the crib and mattress (first grandbaby), the changing table is an antique dresser from the ILs, and I have a hot tip on a glider and ottoman on craigslist for $75. We just need a rug, curtains, and the fixins and we should be okay.
Absolutely! I'm a SAHM so we only have the 1 income. Plus we have been on a budget to try and pay down a little debt anyway.
We are lucky because we will be able to reuse all of DD#1's clothes because they'll be the same season. When I got pregnant the first time around I chose the FP Rainforest gear so we have the bouncer, swing, activity mat and jumperoo that were all gender neutral if we had a boy. I also chose a Graco travel system the first time around that was gender neutral.
There was really very little that we needed to buy this time around. I will be getting a double stroller but I walk for exercise every day and will be getting a Graco double (it retails on Albeebaby for under $200 with free shipping). It fits our needs and budget. I only spent $50 on a giant tote that will definitely be used as a weekend bag, beach bag, library bag, etc. after it's done being a diaper bag. We did have to buy DD#1 a twin mattress/boxspring in order to re-use the crib and will be buying her a dresser once we move in order to re-use the dresser/changing table combo.
We dont have an actual budget written up-we should im just too lazt to sit down and figure all that out. But I know about what we can afford to spend every week on baby stuff. My diaper bag was $30 and 10 of it was from a gift card. Our travel system was a gift but it would have been $250 if we had purchased it for ourselves. Dont get me wrong there are some things that I would spend a lot on, our crib was $500 that was our big splerge but we had to save up for a few weeks to be able to do that. And our LO has gotten A LOT of hand me down clothes from family which I think is awsome! Our basinette was also a hand me down from a relative and his baby bath, and my breast pump-I just got new tubing and accessories.
I really dont think that in 20 years LO will look back and ask why mom and dad were such cheap-os when he was born. That just isnt what is important to us.
We are on an extremely tight budget! Our diaper bag was on clearance at Target for $22, our travel system is on sale for $178, the bedding is from Shopko for $78, my parents bought us the crib as a gift...
Its been crazy trying to not break the bank for my baby girl who I am certain deserves the best of the best, unfortunately we just can't afford everything I want to get for her.
Sometimes I do feel like a rarety on this board because I'm not doing a fancy nursery, my shower was a luau with 15 people (REALLY fun though!! Thanks to my great BFF and hostess!) and I've been purchasing everything on sale at places like Target, Shopko, BRU, and Walmart.
I think everyone is "on a budget" the question is simply how LARGE is your budget.
This is our second baby. We have been team green for both. What that means is that I got a lot of essentials the first time as gifts AND they were purchased in gender neutral colors...so they are all usable again! Plus I love consignment/secondhand stores and craigslist, I buy a good deal of what we have second hand and will continue to do so.
That said, I want a nice double stroller, I have looked at a lot of the $1000 options and decided on a Joovy Ergo Caboose (which I can get with all the bells and whistles for $400). I also would really like a very nice durable diaper bag (as we are going to have two in diapers for at least a few months, DS will be 23.5 months when baby #2 arrives), so I'm looking at a leather diaper bag made by an Australian company (Il Tutto). I won't lie, they are a lot of money (again about $400) but I spend so much time being "Mommy" (like all of my time) that I really want something to carry that is large enough, user friendly enough and doesn't SCREAM "mommy", and quite honestly, I haven't convinced myself that a new $20 Target diaper bag every 6 months for the next two years wouldn't make more sense, because I am way cheaper than my taste might indicate!
It is possible that it would look like I have "no budget" or that I spend frivolously, but that is SO not the case...those are quite literally the only two things we need for this second baby (and they are actually both for ME not the baby), so we have decided to buy the best to avoid replacement and mommy frustration (okay, DH has decided to buy the best...I'm still deciding on the bag, but the stroller is a go).