# How do you finance your carseat purchases?



## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

This is meant as a genuine question. Please don't send flames my way as I'm coming in peace. I've been reading posts ad naseum regarding carseats and there's one thing I'm not understanding. How can you guys afford these seats? I read posts like...we have 3 Marathons in this car and 2 Nautilus' and a Boulevard in the other car. I totally respect the fact that you're trying to keep your children as safe as possible. But, I read post after post about these high-end carseats and to be quite honest no family I know of IRL can afford this. So from a practical standpoint how were/did most of you come up with the funds to pay for these?

i.e....."soxthecatrules you could sell the Peg Perego highchair (bought at deep discount, could sell for nice profit) sitting in your dining room to help fund the DS' carseat purchase".


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## tracymom1 (May 7, 2008)

We bought ours on Craigslist. Check out resale shops in your area or online - just make sure the one you get doesn't have any recalls on it and it is not more than a couple of years old. Maybe put up a notice at your place of worship/grocery store/local community center that you are interested in some affordable, gently used baby gear. Its out there if you know where to look!!


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## spedteacher30 (Nov 20, 2005)

well, we bought ours slowly, over time.

We started with an infant seat that was handed down from my brother's family. We purchased an extra base.

When that seat was outgrown, we had a roundabout in one car and nothing in the other (i was home on maternity leave then). that roundabout was a gift at the baby shower from my parents.

then, when I was starting back to work/school, we purchased our next seat--a boulevard.

When the roundabout was outgrown, we used either part of my tax return or a mileage reimbursement check from work (can't remember) to purchase the Regent.

We need a new seat now to replace the Boulevard, but I am hoping to hold off until I get my tax return.

But, that being said, there are seats out there that are more affordable, and good, safe options. But, by spending a bit more money up front, you should be able to get away with fewer seats in the long run, thus either coming out even in the end or, hopefully, saving a little money.

By going with our Regent, we should only need to purchase a low back booster when our son has outgrown the regent, rather than having purchased a cheaper seat and potentially needing two or three more to get him to age 8.


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

Do you get a tax refund? Just an idea since it's that time of year. We've
found a way to fit car seats into the budget when they were needed, including 2 Britax seats years ago. With four kids, we have bought over 12 car seats (I bought new infant car seats each time) and either saved up, or knew ahead of time they were going to be needed and came up with a plan. I'd sell other stuff (including diapers) if necessary. Like, I know I am going to need a new car seat when our Marathon expires the end of this year, so I will plan for it or buy it early when we have extra funds.

ETA: oh, and you don't need high-end, expensive car seats. There are decent priced, just as safe versions available.


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## ians_mommy (Apr 5, 2008)

I paid cash (i.e. debit card) for both of my Boulevard's...purchased from Amazon.
I am real and live in a real life, so I am not understanding the tone of your post.

ETA: If we do not simply have the extra cash for a large purchase, I plan ahead and put money aside out of the monthly budget until it is funded


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## Herausgeber (Apr 29, 2006)

Our Graco infant seat was a generous shower gift. We now have a Roundabout ($150) and a Boulevard ($225). The Roundabout was cheaper, but in the long run, the less-frugal purchase. DD has outgrown it, in terms of height, at all of 26 months.

Car seats haven't been an especially problematic part of our post-child budget. I could buy 5 Roundabouts per month for what I pay in child care. And it's not like the seats were a surprise expense. We budgeted for them. We'll reuse them all for at least 1 other child.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

I've only purchased one carseat at a time, and always made these purchases in cash/debit card (or, if it was one of those months when I was relying on child support that wasn't paid, it went on a credit card, but I didn't spend any more than I *should have* gotten in CS that month.)

When pregnant, I saved up money for various baby items (plus I got a few gifts.) When toddlers/older kids outgrew carseats, I saved up the money for a new seat, starting when the child started to outgrow the old one. I've never had one of those super-expensive carseat brands; when DS was outgrowing his infant seat, I went out of my way to locate the least expensive convertible seat with a 5 pt harness (at that point, the overhead shields were still popular) and ended up purchasing one in a skanky big-box store that I didn't normally shop in.

When he outgrew that convertible seat (nearly age 5), I purchased the Graco Turbo Booster, which I plan to keep him in until he fits into the vehicle seatbelts. I did spend extra to NOT put him into a backless booster (which frugal friends had suggested to me) but, at the same time, I didn't think it was worth an extra $200 to keep a 5yo in a harness. Had he outgrown the convertible at age 3, I might have financed a Britax (ie: put it on a credit card and taken 6 months to pay it off.)

I was flabberghasted when I traveled with a friend, and she put her 2yo in a HBB and her 4yo in a backless booster. Yeah, both kids fit the height and weight requirements of the seats, but I'd thought they'd BOTH have been harnessed at those ages!


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## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

I think the issue (at least w/us) comes with planning ahead....I've learned more about carseats in the last month than the rest of my life combined. A year and a half ago we thought our ComfortSport was a good carseat. Now we're in a situation where we need to buy a seat for DS and really don't have the time to set back the money little by little. And, to be quite honest, I've never been "around" people who care so much about carseats. In our neck of the woods people just go to WallyWorld or wherever and pick the most reasonable seat off the shelf w/o much thought to extended RF or how long the seat will last. Most around here don't seem to care all that much as long as their children are strapped into a seat. I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule as I don't want to put all parents in the same category.

Planning seems to be the key.


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## amis2girls (Mar 2, 2005)

tax refund here


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## MichelleAnnette (Aug 20, 2006)

We only have 1 family car and then a commuter car that dh drives to work so we don't have a carseat in the second car. We have a Blvd, which was a gift from the grandparents, but we would have easily bought it if we had needed to and we're not exactly rich. We'll be buying another seat in about 6 months. It's cheap compared to what we pay for homebirth! I'm a SAHM so we have no need to have carseats in 2 different cars.


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## Friday13th (Jun 13, 2006)

I planned ahead and got them on sale. I got my True Fit for $100 and my Marathon for $200 over the course of a year. It's a big, important thing to me, to have carseats that I can install easily and are easy to use correctly, every time (I have an Uptown that I found my husband wasn't using correctly, it was worth it to me to upgrade to a seat I knew he would use correctly) I would save or use a credit card to get a carseat I LOVED and would last until booster age.

And carseats are pretty much the only thing I would never buy used. I would rather a $50 Scenera than a carseat who's history I did not know firsthand.

I also think Michelle has a good point, I'd pay out of pocket for a homebirth even if it meant selling things or saving for years. Carseats are of equal importance to me.


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## amandaleigh37 (Jul 13, 2006)

We only have one child (another on the way) and no need for seats in multiple cars - so even though we are low-income, it was important enough to me to find a way to get a good seat (and by that I don't mean a super-expensive one, we got a TrueFit). I watched for a sale and got the one I wanted, using some money we got for Christmas.


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## LiLStar (Jul 7, 2006)

I watch for sales and coupons when I can. For dd's marathon I had a 20% off coupon for BRU that we used. For the new baby I just watched sales and did lots of froogle searches for the seat I wanted and managed to find it on sale with a 20% off coupon to go with it. That..was a very nice find







From a totally obscure site that I'd never heard of in my life (sells medical supplies, so not the kind of place most would go looking for baby items) but froogle is *awesome*


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## ryansma (Sep 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LiLStar* 
I *watch for sales and coupons when I can. For dd's marathon I had a 20% off coupon for BRU that we used*. For the new baby I just watched sales and did lots of froogle searches for the seat I wanted and managed to find it on sale with a 20% off coupon to go with it. That..was a very nice find







From a totally obscure site that I'd never heard of in my life (sells medical supplies, so not the kind of place most would go looking for baby items) but froogle is *awesome*









We don't have to have another seat right now but there is a Buy Buy Baby opening in our area and they sent a 20% off coupon so I am researching which to get (we have a snugride and Boulevard right now) and will only purchase it with coupon in hand


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## Indigomama (Dec 26, 2001)

Right now I'm expecting any day now.

I did get an used car seat from a trusted friend that is infant so I don't have to buy. One of the items on my baby list was the britax marathon with the notation... clearly this is expensive but very important to me to have a good quality car seat... if you did give me any gift cards, etc... at babies r us/toys rus.. this is what I'd buy.

I ended up getting 125... and I'll spend the remaining after the next 15%, etc comes around on car seats from the store. I wish I had done that the first child around... I overspent the marathon easily between all the car seats I bought because frankly I found they didn't last or didn't fit the entire weight range specified very well. Also.. I commute and I choose to have child care closer than farther than work so it's inevitable that sometimes we're eating/drinking in the car. The marathon is completely and easily washable. All fabric comes off and you can hose down the rest. Unfortunately, I just got rid of my first marathon to my sister in law/brother before i found out i was unexpectantly pregnant. It easily could have lasted another child.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

I watch for sales like crazy.

We don't have extra seats (didn't even have a seat for dd in the other car until she was 4yrs old)

We don't buy many other big ticket "baby items" (no crib, no bassinet, no crib sheets, no nursery stuff, high chair $40 from IKEA, swing was a gift, etc)

Save ahead.

Plan ahead (tax refund etc)

Plan long-lasting seats.

-Angela


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## Pumpkin_Pie (Oct 10, 2006)

I have a Marathon that was gifted to me from a trusted friend, and prior to that, I had a Snugride that I bought with help from shower money. I will eventually have to buy one more seat for DS (he has an insanely long torso), but I am hopeful that I will have enough saved by then.


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## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

Thanks to all who have replied. Its always interesting to see how people save. I've been thinking tonight that we could take money from our garage sale planned for early May along w/selling our beloved Prima Pappa highchair. DS MIGHT be okay in his ComfortSport until then and DD will definitely be okay in her Snugride until then. DS is just slightly below or right at the height limit in his CS. I'll watch for sales in the mean time. I spied some Britax seats $100 off earlier today.


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## mommy2maya (Jun 7, 2003)

I wouldn't feel like you need a britax. The nautilus is much cheaper and lasts a good long time! Then your baby can ride in the comfortsport.

We have gotten our seats mostly on year end clearance sales, which makes the price of two marathons easier to swallow.

Also, we only have seats for my car, just switch them if needed


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## MacKinnon (Jun 15, 2004)

We bought ours on great sales, coupled with extra savings knowing that we needed new ones and the sales were coming (Britax has historically done semi-annual sales). I didn't start with Britax seats either but when I realized I could have bought one for the chepaer seats that kept needing replacing, I bit the bullet! And then we handed DD's down to DS, and bought her a new one, and then a second for DS, it's been gradual over the last 5 years and well planned for


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## KatWrangler (Mar 21, 2005)

We bought them one at a time paying cash. The baby is still in the Infant seat (peg perego) but she is fast outgrowing it. We have been putting off gettng my son the nautilus (he will be 5 this week but is very little still....only 34 pounds) but because of shortage of cash.

Right now the two oldest are in Evenflo Triumph DLX. They have been great seats. Not expensive, but not cheap either. I think I paid $130 for them each.


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## MonAmiBella (Sep 30, 2007)

I am blessed with a friend that owns a baby store so I was able to get our Marathons at cost ($140ish) and when we were done with them and wanted to try a different seat we saved and sold. I've also found some great return deals at Target - I got my older DD a Britax Parkway for $40.

Seriously though, I'm cheap and pay cash so I'm always looking for the best possible deal. DDs Nautilus was the first seat we've paid full price for in a very very long time but we sold our Radian to get it and it more than covered the price.


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## StephandOwen (Jun 22, 2004)

I paid cash for all ds's seats, never used credit cards for one (actually, it's like that with EVERYTHING in my life... if I don't have the money, I don't spend it). His infant seat was a hand-me-down from my mom (I have a little sister who was 14 months old when my ds was born and the carseat was new for my sister). He quickly outgrew that (by like 3-4 months old) and I bought him a Graco ComfortSport for about $100. I wanted a Britax for him but couldn't save up enough money (he was born way bigger than I planned and grew way quicker than I imagined he would!). I moved that one between my car (during the week) and my dad's van (on the weekends since we mostly traveled with him on weekends). It was a pain in the butt! A few months after that I had enough saved for a Britax Marathon. I bought one (paying cash) and put that in my car and the ComfortSport in my dad's van. When ds outgrew the ComfortSport (at about 3 years old) I had saved up enough for a Britax Regent. I put that in my car and the Marathon in my dad's van.

When ds was 3 1/2 we moved to Kentucky. Now the Regent is in my car and the Marathon is in dp's car. Last summer dp's mom was insisting we needed a carseat for her car ("in case of emergency"). She wanted one for quick trips around town or whatever. She was looking at booster seats and was insisting they were fine and we should get one for her car. I refused. DS is nowhere near mature enough to ride in a booster (or big enough, but that's another story.... he's not even 40lbs fully dressed). I ended up finding the Graco Nautilus on sale plus I had my sister with me (who worked at that chain of store so could get a discount) so I ended up getting one since it was a good deal. It now sits in dp's parents garage







BUT I no longer have to hear multiple times a week about how they are going to buy a booster for him. LOL! When ds outgrows the Marathon (probably 1 1/2 to 2 more years) we'll put the Nautilus in dp's car.

I was a single mom until ds was 3 1/2. I had NO help buying carseats (other than the infant seat I borrowed for about 3 months), not even from ds's bio-dad. I saved every single penny my hands came across to pay for them. I went without a lot (I never bought new clothes/shoes/whatever for me and never ate out) so I could save for them. Thankfully we've never had to "test" them, and I pray we never do, but they are worth every penny I spent on them. And I'd do without again in a heartbeat if it meant buying something to potentially save my child's life.


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## Ks Mama (Aug 22, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *soxthecatrules* 
I totally respect the fact that you're trying to keep your children as safe as possible. But, I read post after post about these high-end carseats and to be quite honest no family I know of IRL can afford this. So from a practical standpoint how were/did most of you come up with the funds to pay for these?

We work & spend money on things we need.







I don't know what kind of answer you're expecting. It's really not more complicated than that.

It's almost like the tone of your post is questioning the legitimacy of folks who would spend their money on high end car seats?


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## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

Questioning legitimacy? If you want to put it that way then that's fine I can handle that. I truly was wondering how people could afford all these seats. It was an honest question. From the tone of the posts it sounds like most people planned for MONTHS, if not years, for these purchases which gives you the opportunity to squirrel away $5 here, $10 there. We also work and spend money on things we need but finances are tight around here (as they are in a lot of homes). Squeaking out the money at a drop of the hat for a $250-$300 carseat isn't happening around here and doesn't appear to be what most on this board have done. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you want to look at it) I've learned more about carseats in the last month or so than I ever had. Didn't know that there was so much to think about. I was one of those I referred to earlier about going to WallyWorld and picking a seat off the shelf and calling it good. My thought process was LO is in a carseat and that will protect him. Now I know there's more to think about. Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a situation were we will need to buy a new seat and don't have a long time to save. That makes us different than a lot of the posters on this board.


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## TheGirls (Jan 8, 2007)

Sure families "in real life' could afford a decent seat. How many families buy an infant bucket with travel system for like $300, then a convertible for another $100, then a toddler seat for another $150 or so, then a booster for maybe $50....

We used a bucket that was a gift. Now we use a TrueFit that I bought for $160. It will likely last her until she is 6 or so if we don't have more kids. So, 6 years of use for $160. That's less than $30/YEAR. My windshield wipers cost more. Most people spend more than that on getting the car washed. I consider it a cost of car ownership.

Also I make it a general policy to research things that are expensive or that I plan to use for several years. So it did helpe that I was already looking into seats when DD outgrew her bucket. It's precisely BECAUSE it is a major purchase that I did my homework, not because we're so rich we can just throw around money at whatever seat is most expensive.


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## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

Ks Mama....I thought of something else. My original post was partly made out of frustration...the type of frustration you have when as a parent you want to provide what is best for your children but maybe unable to do so (while being embarrassed about not doing it right to begin with). In my case the situation is magnified b/c not only am I contemplating carseat purchases but also other lifestyle changes primarily as a result of participating on this message board along with additional research. All of this costs $$$. I must remember than you can't go from mainstream to crunchy or even partially crunchy overnight that its a gradual change over the course of months and years. This is one of the bad parts of my personality!!! I want to do everything at once and you can't.

Sooo....the carseat will obviously trump some of the other changes. I will plug away slowly.

TheGirls..."Sure families "in real life' could afford a decent seat. How many families buy an infant bucket with travel system for like $300, then a convertible for another $100, then a toddler seat for another $150 or so, then a booster for maybe $50...."

You are correct. I think this is a mistake MANY make. Although I do believe that many families skip over the toddler seat and go straight to the booster. They do bucket, convertible, booster. Not many people pay attention to the weight/height requirements on seats. I would have been one of them if I had not read lots of posts on this and other boards. My DS would have been left in his ComfortSport long after he should have been removed. And, very few and I mean very few people consider ERF. When I bring it up in conversation now (we will ERF DD) people look at me like I've gone off the deep end.


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## *~Danielle~* (Mar 27, 2005)

With savings.

We have 2 marathons but we didn't purchase them at the same time. We got them about 1 year apart and I got them for free shipping and at Albeebaby.com for $200 each.

If you break it down, over the year by saving about $3.85 per week, you could buy one.

It's all about what we want more and telling ourselves "no" to some wants and prioritizing funds for savings for when big purchases come up. Hugs.


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## Katzchen (Aug 13, 2007)

Well, we are a "real family" and have two Marathons, a True Fit and an Evenflo Triumph Advance, all bought with cash on a tight budget.

We got the Marathons last summer when they were on clearance for $120 at Target. We got the True Fit for $99 for being part of the consumer buzz group for First Year and got the EFTA on deep discount at Target as well.

We had the money because we squirrel away 1% of DH salary a month (so $30ish dollars) into a "slush fund" for large and unexpected expenses (that aren't really emergencies) e.g. car seats or clothes we will need in the future on great clearance or buying therapy equipment that one of DS1's therapist insist that we "need." Having the slush fund allows us to buy things when they are cheep rather than paying full price down the line and keeps little unexpected expenses from affecting the budget.


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## Tizzy (Mar 16, 2007)

We prioritize. It's important that our kids are safe in the car and not so important that I get that pea coat I've been lusting for or that we go out for dinner or that the kids are signed up for swimming lessons when I can teach them myself.
For both our seats (and we have the disadvantage of being in Canada where car seats are extremely over priced) I watched for sales, used online coupons etc.
For the Nautilus, I lucked out by finding it for $30 off, I also returned an expensive snow suit that DS2 got for Christmas but definitely did not need and I used an online coupon. Brought it from $249 down to $150 including shipping.
Considering how much time DS1 is going to spend in this seat over how many years, it makes it quite inexpensive.


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## Ceinwen (Jul 1, 2004)

Begged, borrowed and stealed.









When we bought dd2's Radian I took money out of savings, put some on my credit card and borrowed a bit from my parents. Dd1 is in an Olli Clek and I used my stbx's work bonus for that one.

Poor guy!









You've got my empathy though. Dd1 was in a useless Eddie Bauer seat because that's all we could afford a while back. Plus in Canada, six years ago - the options were a lot more limited.


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## Herausgeber (Apr 29, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
I watch for sales like crazy.

We don't have extra seats (didn't even have a seat for dd in the other car until she was 4yrs old)

We don't buy many other big ticket "baby items" (no crib, no bassinet, no crib sheets, no nursery stuff, high chair $40 from IKEA, swing was a gift, etc)

Save ahead.

Plan ahead (tax refund etc)

Plan long-lasting seats.

-Angela

Yep, same here. Really, the car seats were the only baby gear we bought. Other than a stroller when DD was about 6 months old. In a way, this question is as perplexing to me as comments about how I can afford to cloth diaper ...


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Also, if an -all-of-a-sudden- carseat need came up (like you realizing a seat is outgrown) I would have no problem putting it on a credit card.

-Angela


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## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

I can definitely see how my question was perplexing and making you scratch your head!! Once again, its a matter if you do things correctly in the first place (which we did not) and not have to back track then you could be money ahead and/or plan for big ticket items.

Speaking of cloth diapers....that was another mistake I made...not using them. Now we're at a point where I'm not 100% sure if its worth the investment at this point. DD is 7 months old now. Don't know much about the subject. Need to start reading some of the CD posts!


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## Shelsi (Apr 4, 2005)

We have 3 britaxes and 2 sceneras. 2 of the britaxes were gifts, the other one we got during an awesome sale. The sceneras are cheap and were only $45/each. And now, we're at a point in our lives, where $3-400 here or there isn't going to break the bank for which we are very grateful.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

We saved and planned ahead for the most part. Plus shopped sales. With ds1 we started out with a bucket and an old Evenflo Triumph that were gifts. When he outgrew the triumph rearfacing before a year (I could tell he would a few months before), we bought a Marathon in the Britax Fall sale. At the time the Britax seats were the only HWH seats. When I got pregnant with #2 we knew we'd need another convertible at some point, so we saved and bought ds1 a radian and passed down the Marathon. When ds1 was close to outgrowing the triumph in Dh's car (we used it ffing as a backups seat for a while) we could tell it was coming, so I looked for sales and ended up snagging a nutilus for $114 on sale and with a coupon. And when ds2 outgrew the triumph rfing in dh's car (his seat in there) we knew it was coming and ended up going with a hbb (graco turbobooster for $40 at Costco) for ds1 in that car, moved the marathon, gave ds2 the radian now rfing in my car and moved ds1's nautilus in my car. With #3 on the way, we had about 8 months notice so we saved for a new true fit that we will use from birth.

So, saving, sales, and lots of car seat rotation between kids. We never bought more than one at a time, and never spent more than about $210 for any car seat (and that was the Marathon).


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *soxthecatrules* 

Speaking of cloth diapers....that was another mistake I made...not using them. Now we're at a point where I'm not 100% sure if its worth the investment at this point. DD is 7 months old now. Don't know much about the subject. Need to start reading some of the CD posts!

great point to start. can probably use the same size from here on out for most babies (unless yours is really tiny...)

-Angela


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## JennaW (Oct 11, 2007)

While I use a Britax for DD and I think there are many advantages to getting one of the more "expensive" seats (mainly in the long run they are a better deal, better quality, you an use them longer, ect.) that doesn't mean that the seats your friends are buying at Wally World (not sure what this is, guessing it is like a Big Lots?) aren't "good" seats. If they are new seats, that are not expired and are used correctly- well then, they are serving their purpose.

I think the problem often times isn't the seat itself (although it can be) but more peoples attitudes. They don't use them correctly and I think cheaper seats lend themselves to this more easily.

As for buying one of more expensive seats, catching them on sale is a great way. I have found at most times if you google "Britax Sale" you can find a Britax for a pretty good price. It might not be the cover you want but that is really irrelevant. I also agree it is good to remind yourself that in the long run you save money.

The other good news is that some good seats have come on the market that don't cost an arm and a leg. Like the True Fit which I believe I have heard fits newborns well. So say you are pregnant, you save up for a True Fit and get it on sale. By the time your child grows out of that they can go in a Nautalis which will last them until they are ready to be out of a seat.

I also agree with Angela that I would absolutely put a car seat on a credit card if I really needed it right away. My childs safety would be worth the interest, even if it were high.


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## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

I'm glad somebody's brought this up. Some of us genuinely struggle to keep food on the table and shoes on our kids' feet. Not NICE shoes, mind you, just shoes. My DD1 has one pair. That's it. ONE pair of shoes that fit. I have about a hundred dollars a year to spend on clothing for each of them, and they grow fast.

So yes, it can be extremely difficult for us to imagine dropping a few hundred dollars on high-end carseats. I've been lucky in that we've had help from family and friends, but even so I could never have afforded anything like what some of you folks use. And I'm fairly well-off compared to many, many people. I entirely respect that you make it a priority, and that you'd rather see the money go on safety than anywhere else. But that's assuming the money exists, and for some folks it really honestly doesn't, and it's hard, because sometimes I get to feeling like some kind of horrible neglectful parent because my kids are maybe in an Evenflo instead of a Britax.

I just think it's a conversation worth having, considering why ALL available carseats aren't made as safe as possible, so that ALL kids have an equal chance at living to grow up.


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## JennaW (Oct 11, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *soxthecatrules* 

Speaking of cloth diapers....that was another mistake I made...not using them. Now we're at a point where I'm not 100% sure if its worth the investment at this point. DD is 7 months old now. Don't know much about the subject. Need to start reading some of the CD posts!

I think if you use prefolds with covers it would still save you money.


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Well, as another poster mentioned... we could buy three Marathons a WEEK for what we pay our nanny. :-/ Also, our mortgage payment (which is 30% of our net monthly income) could buy us 10 Regents. Every month. We're solidly middle-class for where we live, too... we only own one car, don't have cable... so we have money for other things we value.

But, that being said, we haven't really *splurged* much on carseats. Our first one (a Marathon) we registered for, and a friend of the family gave it to us for the shower. (He's a personal injury attorney... how appropriate.) My mother (who married a millionaire several years ago) bought another Marathon for her car, and replaced it out-of-pocket after an accident where the other guy had no insurance and she had no uninsured driver coverage.

When DS2 arrived, we had a SnugRide borrowed from a trusted friend. Then we agonized over the most logical next step: do we buy a Boulevard for the baby, and keep DS1 in the Marathon until he outgrows it... or buy a combo seat for DS1, and hand down the Marathon? We opted for the second choice, and (for the first time) bought a carseat: a Frontier, at FULL RETAIL. Ouch. But, in four years of parenting, we'd spent a total of $280 on carseats... not bad. $70 a year, and this seat can be handed down to DS2 when he's forward-facing.

Next, to put both boys in my mom's car, I spotted a link for a Safeguard on sale right on this very board. Again, though, *she* bought it, not us (and she's definitely got the money). Still, it was a $400 car seat for $250.

Finally, we decided it would make sense to get seats for the nanny's car. We kept the bucket for DS2 for a while, and got a Nautilus for DS1, on sale on Amazon.com for $144. Then we hit an AMAZING deal on a TrueFit on Amazon for $123, and finally returned the bucket to our friend (who's expecting twins right now, so she'll need it and then some!).

So, we've spent $547 on car seats, over time. We spend more than that on groceries in three weeks, and that doesn't even pay one month of DS1's preschool, or one week of the nanny for the boys. It *is* more than I take home after paying for the nanny and school, but our family handles it easily.

But, that's us. However, if our financial situation were different? Well, we wouldn't have a nanny, so we wouldn't have an entire extra set of seats... and probably would have bought a Nautilus on sale instead of a Frontier. And, truly, if we couldn't afford *that*, then as far as I'm concerned, we couldn't afford to drive the kids around. We'd use the bus.


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## Ks Mama (Aug 22, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Llyra* 
I just think it's a conversation worth having, considering why ALL available carseats aren't made as safe as possible, so that ALL kids have an equal chance at living to grow up.

Same reason all cars aren't made equally safe. Or all food isn't equally nutritious. Free market economy. We don't live in a controlled market, and I wouldn't want to have the govt. controlling pricing, or availability or products.


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## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ks Mama* 
Same reason all cars aren't made equally safe. Or all food isn't equally nutritious. Free market economy. We don't live in a controlled market, and I wouldn't want to have the govt. controlling pricing, or availability or products.

Do you think you'd feel differently, if it were you who couldn't afford a safe car, or nutritious food?

I just think that it's important to keep in mind that what seems "necessary" to a lot of you, is WAY WAY out of reach for many, many families. It's easy to get caught up in thoughts like I can't believe anybody would put their kid in such an unsafe seat, and similar thoughts, and forget that they might WANT something safer, might know very well that something safer is available, and be entirely unable to access it.


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *soxthecatrules* 
I can definitely see how my question was perplexing and making you scratch your head!! Once again, its a matter if you do things correctly in the first place (which we did not) and not have to back track then you could be money ahead and/or plan for big ticket items.

Speaking of cloth diapers....that was another mistake I made...not using them. Now we're at a point where I'm not 100% sure if its worth the investment at this point. DD is 7 months old now. Don't know much about the subject. Need to start reading some of the CD posts!

Well, we didn't exactly do it right, either. My DD's 2nd car seat (before she even turned a year old) was an over the head shield evenflo. And she's had 4 other car seats since then, and now at almost 8 yo rides in a backless booster. Like I said before, we have managed somehow to buy more than a dozen seats thru the years, and are still not done. I'm hoping that if we go for a True Fit, it may be close to the last car seat we buy.... We were low income for many years once we started having babies, I can think of at least two of our car seats that my mom bought, for gifts or just to help us out.

As for cloth diapering? It is worth it, for sure. I didn't start until my 2nd baby was 16 months old and have saved a ton of money over the past 5 yrs. Even if we hadn't had #3 and #4 it would have been worth the investment as the resale value is so high. Plus, I bought a lot used and then sold them for the same as I paid, so I often cloth diapered for free. Definitely check out the diapering forum, lots of good ideas and it doesn't have to be an insane start up cost. Heck, when we started we didn't have extra money and I bought one diaper a week and built up my stash slowly.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Llyra* 
I just think it's a conversation worth having, considering why ALL available carseats aren't made as safe as possible, so that ALL kids have an equal chance at living to grow up.

That's a point that drives me crazy, though I'm not sure the solution would be a pleasing one.

IMO the solution is to raise standards. What this would likely do is raise the price tag on the lower end carseats significantly. It would also probably LOWER the price tag on the top end by a little. But what it would mean is that all seats would meet a higher standard, but there would be NO $50 seats available for example.

Yes. It would cause some hardship. But it would just become the cost of having kids and a car.

-Angela


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## queenjane (May 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Llyra* 
Do you think you'd feel differently, if it were you who couldn't afford a safe car, or nutritious food?

I just think that it's important to keep in mind that what seems "necessary" to a lot of you, is WAY WAY out of reach for many, many families. It's easy to get caught up in thoughts like I can't believe anybody would put their kid in such an unsafe seat, and similar thoughts, and forget that they might WANT something safer, might know very well that something safer is available, and be entirely unable to access it.

While alot of posters here have "high end" seats, i see all the time the suggestions of cheaper seats that are also good/safe seats...i see recommendations here for the Scenera which is like $40-60 and also the ETA which is just over $100 or so. I'm not well versed in boosters at this point, but i'm sure there have been recommendations for cheaper alternatives there as well.

we have a britax blvd, that i got for about $250 including shipping (maybe it was $230, cant remember) on sale online. I expect that will last us awhile. I didnt have alot of time to prepare for my baby (he was placed as a foster child, with only an hour's notice or so), got an infant seat at walmart for about $70 (i think i put that on credit), then got the blvd when he was about four months old using my tax refund or maybe the foster stipend.

However, if i had several months to prepare for a new baby, i think i'd put twenty dollars back each month toward saving for a "good" seat, if money was a huge issue. Right now money is pretty tight (single mom on limited income with two kids), and if a new foster child was placed with me, i'd probably just go out and get a Scenera and start saving for another seat.

Of course, if you are truly broke and not having the money truly means NOT having it...then you do what you gotta do....but i think *most* people DO spend several hundred dollars preparing for a new child..they just spend it on other areas, like clothes or gadgets or super premium cloth diapers or a crib or whatever else. But if you take the price of a carseat and divide it over the number of years you'll actually get out of it, its kind of a bargain. Parents might spend $50 on an exercauser that can only be used for a few months, or a bassinet that can only be used for two or three months, etc. (Maybe not parents here, necessarily, but parents in general.)

Katherine


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## filiadeluna (Oct 2, 2007)

My mom bought us a Chicco Keyfit 30 for our baby-to-be as a gift. I'm not sure what we are going to do for the next seat. I guess it depends on how much money we have, but it also has to be safe, of course.


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## phathui5 (Jan 8, 2002)

We got all of the ones we have now (3 Radians, 1 Britax Regent, 1 Britax Marathon) when we were rear-ended in December and GEICO paid for us to replace the car seats.


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## guestmama9920 (Nov 23, 2007)

Well I can win the contest for the most expensive car seat ever, ds's was $1400 a few years back the price came down a tad

http://www.babys-mart.co.uk/itemdetl.ph ... /Euro_HiDX

it was one of the only ones he could do RF at a low weight but was tall

now he has a maxi cosi priori, US version, the UK version doesn't do RF

We also didn't buy any baby equipment, DH works from home, we are very lucky to not have to worry about money but we also don't spend much either, KWIM?

I thing the best you can afford is important, the airline lost our seat for a few days, they gave us a brand new evenflo, it was so cheap and light compared to the one we had, even at 1 DS was falling over in the thing, I didn't even want to go out in the car (hard to do in LA)

Just because something is legal doesn't make it safe in my book, but if that is all you can afford, what can you do?


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## Ks Mama (Aug 22, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Llyra* 
Do you think you'd feel differently, if it were you who couldn't afford a safe car, or nutritious food?

I just think that it's important to keep in mind that what seems "necessary" to a lot of you, is WAY WAY out of reach for many, many families. It's easy to get caught up in thoughts like I can't believe anybody would put their kid in such an unsafe seat, and similar thoughts, and forget that they might WANT something safer, might know very well that something safer is available, and be entirely unable to access it.

Would I feel differently about our markets being government controlled, prices fixed, competition reduced or removed? No. The business we are in is a retail business. With price fixing/supply control we'd be out of business.

Would I wish that better made carseats were more afforadable? Sure. Just like I do wish certain better things were more affordable to me now... I wish we could afford a bigger house so each of my children could have their own bedrooms or that we had a separate space for dining/playroom/livingroom, or a kitchen bigger than a powderoom, haha! I wish we could have a new Honda Odessey or a Volvo, sure! But we choose to live where we do so that we can afford the things we think are MORE important - like an excellent education, britax seats, and a safe car. Certain things we DO consider necessary, and we can afford (the britax seats), and certain things we also consider necessary, and can't afford (the new safe car), so we do the best we can within our reach (the safest used car we can afford). I don't think though that because others can't afford certain things, that it makes those things less necessary for us, nor that it makes the expense less justifyable, which is what I was trying to say in minimal words, in my original response to the OP. And I don't think that because WE can't afford certain things, that those things should be adjusted down so that we can. I understand that everyone can't afford everything, and I can't agree that everything should be equal and the same for everyone.

As to thinking "I can't believe anybody would put their kid in such an unsafe seat or similar thoughts", I didn't state anything like that on this thread. I don't make a habit of looking in other folks' cars, so I don't recall even thinking that.

>>forget that they might WANT something safer, might know very well that something safer is available, and be entirely unable to access it.<<

Thus the availability of some safe, less expensive seats on the market (graco, evenflo), combined with many of the ideas posted on this thread - saving, planning ahead, coupons/sales, buying used, etc. Again, I support the free market economy.


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## chickabiddy (Jan 30, 2004)

Most children can be safely harnessed and follow best practices for $200 total from birth to seatbelt age, in a Cosco Scenera from birth (RF to 35 pounds) until s/he outgrows the harness forward-facing and then a Graco Nautilus as a higher-weight harnessing seat, a belt-positioning booster, and then a backless booster.

ETA that most children should be able to use the Scenera at least to age three, so $1/week for three years = $150 for the Nautilus.


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## emilysmama (Jun 22, 2005)

In the interests of full disclosure, I will state that I am lucky enough to be able to afford a high end car seat.

However, you can get very good affordable car seats at Wally World (that's Walmart, right?). You just have to make sure that you do your research so that your purchase is an informed decision and that you don't spend your hard earned money on a bad car seat.

Also, if it is not used properly, the most expensive car seat in the world won't hold a candle to a correctly used inexpensive car seat.

If I couldn't afford to buy an expensive car seat, that's not really a big deal. If I don't take the time to carefully read the car seat instruction manual, that is a really big deal and can be done at no cost to me. Since the manuals are downloadable from the internet, and you can get all kinds of youtube videos demonstrating how to install carseats, it's easier than ever to use an inexpensive car seat properly.

Even really basic things, like knowing when a child is too big or two small for a given car seat is more important to your child's safety than spending big bucks on a Britax. And that can be done for free.

So even though it doesn't answer your question, I do want to tell you that you are a great mother for learning and thinking about all of these issues.

By the way, as a mother who cloth diapered my daughter, I do think you can do it cheaply with a pretty low up front cost. But if I could only consider one crunchy thing at a time, I think start with the car seat before starting the cloth diapers. Your child will be diapers for a long time, and you can start cloth diapering at any stage. Even if it took a long time to get to the point when you are ready to do a cloth diapers, you can always try cloth trainers for toilet training.


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## jrabbit (May 10, 2008)

i think this is a great topic!

our answer: we don't have all the 'other' stuff, we shop resale, and we asked for car seat $$ from our parents instead of letting them just pick random stuff to give.

when we became pregnant with dd3, we researched car seats to figure out what would fit in our car. it was cheaper by far to buy more expensive car seats than a new bigger car. so, what fits is a sunshine radian & peg perego viaggio & backless booster. we bought the viaggio as a floor model with a discount and the radian was on sale coincidentally.

to save money: we don't have a crib or high chair, i breastfeed, i have a used stroller frame for the car seat, we bought all cloth dipes used, all maternity & nursing used, all clothes actually! i got rid of everything after DD2 except slings & my used macclaren umbrella stroller. the only other baby equip that we bought this time was a used bumbo and bouncer.

we stay at home a lot, cook from scratch, and don't indulge in lots of mainstream buying. we have satelite, internet and 2 cars - plenty of luxuries, but our day-to-day spending is constrained, so buying car seats is a big deal.

like it has been said if you think of the car seat in terms of how long you'll use it, i think that its value is improved: $250 for 3 years is not much money.

--janis


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## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ks Mama* 
As to thinking "I can't believe anybody would put their kid in such an unsafe seat or similar thoughts", I didn't state anything like that on this thread. I don't make a habit of looking in other folks' cars, so I don't recall even thinking that.


Oh, I know you didn't say that. But plenty people around here have, to the point that I avoid this forum even when I have a legitimate question. It makes me feel alienated, because the assumption exists that if you don't buy Britax, you're neglectful.


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## KayleeZoo (Apr 8, 2003)

We're one of those families who have had lots of high-end seats through the years. Car seat safety is the number one priority for us; I'll spend money on a car seat before buying anything else- before purchasing *anything* for a baby on the way, I make sure that we have an infant seat and a convertible. I've done a lot of research, and prefer to buy seats from companies that I trust- ones who handle their recalls responsibly, ones who do testing above and beyond what's expected of them by the govt, etc. We spend more on seats than some people do, but it's important to us- just like buying all organic is important to some folks.

Our 3 kids currently ride in a Britax Frontier, The First Years True Fit, Sunshine Kids Radian, Sunshine Kids Monterey, Britax Parkway, Recaro Como, Graco AirBooster (spare for carpooling), and a Graco Nautilus. I've got a new Baby Trend Flex Loc waiting for the baby due in September and we'll be buying the new True Fit with Anti-Rebound bar for him/her or a Britax Marathon. I often give away our spare seats when I run across someone who needs them- I've recently gifted a Britax Marathon, Britax Wizard, Snug Ride and Parkway. I think car seat karma is real; whenever I've gifted a seat, I find a sweet deal on one the next time I need to buy.

We save, and pay cash, or shuffle the budget if necessary. I've put off buying other things that we needed to pay for seats. My kids have seats in both of our vehicles; so the second set is considered a spare, I guess. But it's what works for our family. I don't like installing/uninstalling seats frequently. And I won't buy from certain companies, so that limits our options (Dorel and Evenflo are out of the question for us, so no Scenera for a back-up or to buy extra rear facing time). I would absolutely put a seat on a credit card and not think twice. I would also ask family for money- something we've never done before- to buy a seat that I felt would best protect my child.

Dh drives an older minivan, and we have never gone on a family vacation (this year will be the first)- partly because we've needed things like car seats at times when it was a choice between buying a $300 car seat and a $40 seat, for more than one child at a time, we chose to buy seats. But we don't buy organic food- so there ya go







We do try to buy other stuff as frugally as possible- I don't remember the last time I bought one piece of children's clothing at full-price.

ETA- because my post wasn't long enough







One really good reason to buy a high-end seat is the customer service you get. Britax has replaced 2 seats for us for free; and 3 covers. I've purchased 11 Britax seats over the past 9 years, and they admitted to me that I'm considered a very good customer and they like to do things to help people who are loyal to Britax when they can. I've read at car-seat.org about problems that people have had with some other companies fixing serious issues with their seats; piece of mind knowing that a company stands behind their product and will make things right goes a long way with me. Paying for a seat once and then having it last a full 6-7 years can be cheaper than buying several cheaper seats. So it can absolutely be a more fiscally responsible decision to spend more up front.


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## jrabbit (May 10, 2008)

I had intended to comment earlier on the notion that certain seats are better than others: that may be true, but it shouldn't be distorted to say that some seats are unsafe. All car seats are tested to a minimum standard of safety, so they are all SAFE. Some will perform better in a side impact crash, some are better suited to certain cars - those are things that can be proven, but they don't inherently imply that if you choose a 'less expensive' car seat you don't care enough about the safety of your children. The way you drive and if you USE a car seat are much more definitive ways of proving that you care.

I know that's been said before in this thread, but it bears repeating, I think. It would sadden me to see this type of a dialog turn into a beat-down of folks for buying a less expensive seat.

--janis


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## cutekid (Aug 5, 2004)

I'll be honest the first car seat was used from Ebay, the second was given to me from my mother, and the third I was able to get from Kyle David ****** Foundation, our Fourth Carseat I was able to get after I got my inheritence.

If I had it all to do over again, I would have bought my DS a Marathon when he out grew his Baby Bucket at 3 months old. I wanted the "BIG SEAT", because I thought it would last a long time, and end up saving money. Turns out I was right, but $250 on seat at the time seemed like Robbery. He would just now be out growing it at 4.5 and I wouldn't have had to asked KDMF for a seat when he out grew his convertible at the age of three (he actually got the radian on his birth day)

Denise


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Llyra* 
Oh, I know you didn't say that. But plenty people around here have, to the point that I avoid this forum even when I have a legitimate question. It makes me feel alienated, because the assumption exists that if you don't buy Britax, you're neglectful.

I have NEVER heard that said or implied on this forum. I think that is pure misinterpretation. Now I have heard it said that putting a 2 or 3 yo in a booster is neglectful, and I agree. But that is WAY different. I often hear non-britax seats recommended, like the scenera, ETA, nautilus, true fit, radian, etc. In fact, I have only ever owned one britax because newer seats like the radian and nautilus fit my need and are just as safe, at a lower cost. An no one has even remotely implied that using these seats is neglectful.

Now are Britax nice seats if you can afford them, sure. But anymore, they arent' even the ones that will last you the longest (they were the only HWH seats a few years back). Now the true fit and radian will last you LONGER than a marathon or boulevard at a lower cost, and IMO are just as safe assuming they are properly installed.


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## KayleeZoo (Apr 8, 2003)

Quote:

Now the true fit and radian will last you LONGER than a marathon or boulevard at a lower cost, and IMO are just as safe assuming they are properly installed.
Yep, and the True Fit has infant pillows that actually fit a smaller baby better than the infant insert in the Britax Boulevard. The True Fit is relatively easy to find on sale/use a coupon for, because The First Years doesn't regulate price the way Britax does.


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

The same way we fund our yearly car insurance payment or any other non-regular expense. We plan for it and set a bit aside each month.


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## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

FWIW from the OP.....we will most likely purchase a Nautilus in a couple of months. I think we can squeak by until then. You can get them for $149 on walmart.com. It doesn't get DS back to RF but I feel good overall about the decision. I've read a lot of reviews and this seat makes good sense for our family.

We will be "financing" this purchase....with proceeds from a garage sale and the savings from going to cloth diapers 75% of the time. I mentioned in a previous post something about CD. I remembered a supply of 12 prefolds I had in my craft supplies downstairs. I never got around to the project. The chore this evening was to find a store in town with pins and plastic covers. Either CD is really becoming popular in our area or people are being forced to b/c of the economy. But, it took 3 major chain stores to find the pins and plastic covers and when I did there was 1 pack of pins and maybe 3-4 packs of the pants.


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## paquerette (Oct 16, 2004)

I'm not a good example of this; the only thing we've bought was the Boulevard and that was tax time, 3 years ago. This year we need to purchase another out of taxes, most likely a Frontier. If I got hit with a surprise growth spurt, I'd either suck it up and a bill wouldn't get paid, or I'd put it on credit (and I'm not someone who charges stuff I can't pay off next month). I figure we're avoiding vast amounts of typical baby/small child expenditures; this is really the only expensive thing that we agree is important and necessary.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *soxthecatrules* 
FWIW from the OP.....we will most likely purchase a Nautilus in a couple of months. I think we can squeak by until then. You can get them for $149 on walmart.com. It doesn't get DS back to RF but I feel good overall about the decision. I've read a lot of reviews and this seat makes good sense for our family.

how old/big/heavy is your child? If they're a ways away from 35lbs I'd do a truefit instead- they're on clearance a lot of places- I've heard for under $100

-Angela


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## PassionateWriter (Feb 27, 2008)

we have 3 Boulevards. i bought one when they were on sale (feb. or oct. cant remember which month) before ds3 was born. i purchased the other 2 from amazon in a pattern that i dont love but they were $225 each.

what i dont have: crib, bassinet, swing, bouncy seats, nursery get up (the boys have a play room where a "nursery" would otherwise be)....im sure there are plenty of other things we dont have or spend $$/ on that justifies the expense of my car seats.

i purchase my sons' clothing at a hanna andersson outlet. when on sale only. or at a consignment store.

we found one of our Stokke high chairs on craiglist (bought one on sale).

i purchase ALL child related products 2nd hand (or borrow..we have a few baby items that belong to my friend) EXCEPT car seats. there is no way to know if a car seat has been in an accident. unless you know someone, i wouldnt take a used car seat.


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## KayleeZoo (Apr 8, 2003)

angela, do you know who has true fits for under $100 right now???


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## KayleeZoo (Apr 8, 2003)

OP, if you do go with the Nauti, check Amazon.com before buying at walmart.com; you can often get the seat for $150 shipped from Amazon and no tax. I know you can get site to store shipping for free at WM, but you'll have to pay tax. Not a huge savings, but it's something.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KayleeZoo* 
angela, do you know who has true fits for under $100 right now???

I've heard people are finding them at Target.

-Angela


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
I've heard people are finding them at Target.

-Angela

I hope they are on clearance at mine! thanks for the heads up.


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## KayleeZoo (Apr 8, 2003)

darnit. none left at clearance prices in albuquerque, i've already checked. well, i did get the como for $100 at woot, so i should be happy with that score


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## confustication (Mar 18, 2006)

Honestly, we squeak by and do the best we can. My son is in a cheap scenera for the moment. We'll replace that with tax refund money as we can, and use that as a back up seat. Sadly he outgrew the snugride before my budget wanted him to, and I don't use plastic.

My daughter will be getting a nautilus- she's 40lbs and 7 years old. She's been in a belt-positioning booster, but tiny as she is, we'll be harnessing her again asap.

Of course, since I'm currently pregnant, we get to use the bucket again next year until tax season again when we add another more expensive seat to the collection.









I think there is a huge schism within society, and some people can't fathom not having that $5 to set aside each week or month. Even when people do tighten the belts and cut out all the extras, it just isn't there. Explaining that you can buy x number of seats a week for what you pay in childcare/food/whatever doesn't help make a connection. When you are paying a nanny a weekly salary equivalent to what some people earn in a month, you are really going to struggle with understanding where people are coming from when they are truly perplexed by how people can afford these seats.

For someone earning less than 10K/ year and trying to raise a family, it's not ever going to be as easy as that.

I live in a very rural area. With a graduate degree, jobs start at about
$8/hour.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KayleeZoo* 
OP, if you do go with the Nauti, check Amazon.com before buying at walmart.com; you can often get the seat for $150 shipped from Amazon and no tax. I know you can get site to store shipping for free at WM, but you'll have to pay tax. Not a huge savings, but it's something.

Unless you live in WA, then you have to pay tax at Amazon.







(because they are based in WA and have a presence in the state).

I found the cheapest deal for the nautilus at shop.com. But that was over a year ago. Ended up getting it for $114 or $117. It was a steal!


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## MacKinnon (Jun 15, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jrabbit* 
All car seats are tested to a minimum standard of safety, so they are all SAFE.











I work with Safe Kids. I hand out $40 seats every day. And I wouldn't do it if I didn't think the kids left safer than they arrived. Are my kids riding in Britax seats? Sometimes. My DH and I have Britax seats in our cars. But my son rides in the same Evenflo seat in his sitters car that I hand out to my low-income families every day at work. And my DD rides in a TurboBooster in her Grandparent's car. We do the best we can.

This bears repeating... ALL car seats are crash tested to the same safety standards. They are ALL safe.


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## KayleeZoo (Apr 8, 2003)

Quote:

This bears repeating... ALL car seats are crash tested to the same safety standards. They are ALL safe.
If only we could know for sure that some seats are not safER than others


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## Cinder (Feb 4, 2003)

Well, we only have one car now, but when we had 2 cars we had 2 marathons in one and 2 roundabouts in another... We don't use credit, at all, ever, and haven't in like 8+ years, so we just buy carseats with money we have in the bank? I don't know, a purchase under $400 (which is more than any of our car seats have ever cost) doesn't really need financing, or I'd never think of it as a big purchase, to me something that needs financing is a new car, or a house...so yea, I agree that I think I just never thought about it. For us, affording a $300 carseat would mean like not going out for sushi for a month and saving that money...so yea.

We have boulevards for our older kids right now, they will soon move to nautiluses (and then perhaps to regents...depends on Kincaid's developmental level when he outgrows the nautilus, and Janelle's weight when she outgrows the nautilus (it's very possible she will still be under 40lbs when she outgrows the height on even a regent...since she is growing taller everyday, but not gaining weight, in the past 6 months she has lost 1lb) on what we will do next). When they move to the nautilus we will move our 18 month old to one of their boulevards. We also have a key fit, but it's still in the box since River won't be here till may.


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## PassionateWriter (Feb 27, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ilovemyavery* 

This bears repeating... ALL car seats are crash tested to the same safety standards. They are ALL safe.

that may be true, but some seats are easier to install than others. easy installation is worth ALOT to me.

and some companies are not companies that i want to be purchasing from, since they obviously cant be trusted to recall products they know to be faulty.


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## KayleeZoo (Apr 8, 2003)

Quote:

and some companies are not companies that i want to be purchasing from, since they obviously cant be trusted to recall products they know to be faulty.
Especially when children have to DIE before these companies will take action, when it's been proven that they knew about the issues beforehand







:


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## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

I figured people maybe referring to Target regarding the TrueFits. Ours still have them at full price. So either they had some on sale and they're gone or I need to keep looking every few days. Our Target had some really good sales about 3 weeks ago so my guess is that they're probably gone. I bought $125 Graco Duoglider stroller for $31 during that sale. Super good score on that one!!

"I think there is a huge schism within society, and some people can't fathom not having that $5 to set aside each week or month. Even when people do tighten the belts and cut out all the extras, it just isn't there. Explaining that you can buy x number of seats a week for what you pay in childcare/food/whatever doesn't help make a connection. When you are paying a nanny a weekly salary equivalent to what some people earn in a month, you are really going to struggle with understanding where people are coming from when they are truly perplexed by how people can afford these seats.

For someone earning less than 10K/ year and trying to raise a family, it's not ever going to be as easy as that.

I live in a very rural area. With a graduate degree, jobs start at about
$8/hour."

Confusciation....nice post. That was in a sense what I was trying to get at in the first place. Wages in our area are not as depressed as what they are in yours. But, most of the families I know IRL pretty much have their paychecks budgeted down to the last dollar and coming up with money for a $300 carseat is out of the question. Even with squirreling away the money here and there. A $100 seat, yes. $300, no. I know of one family with 6 members that has $85 to spend on groceries every two weeks at Aldi's. They ride bicycles a lot of the time but when they do drive the 20+ year old station wagon their youngest child is in a carseat that is WAY too old to be in use. How do you go up to them and say "that seat is really unsafe and you should get a different seat for DS". A Scenera for them is a weeks worth of groceries!!

And for the record....DH and I buy a lot of stuff used. In fact this past weekend we hit a local thrift store for the 1/2 price clothes day. We've done the same thing w/toys. Came away with 5 articles of childrens clothing for $3.50. Most of our childrens clothes are hand me downs or from garage sales. Very very very little new clothing in our household. As far as baby items are concerned....we spent $5 on a exersaucer at a garage sale, one of our 2 cribs was given to us, the other we spent $20, our Peg Perego highchair was purchased on ebay for $65 (in mint condition), Peg Perego Pliko stroller ebay $45, Peg Perego Tender Twin stroller...free from a friend, Fisher Price portable baby swing garage sale $3, the dresser/changing table $20 total ($5 for the dresser, $5 paint, $4 knobs, $6 worth of plywood for the changing table part DH constructed). I could go on and on.

The only thing baby wise that we have not been or could not be frugal on is diapering and formula. Up until today we didn't not cloth diaper but always bought store brand diapers. We have never purchased Pampers or Huggies. As far as formula is concerned we have ALWAYS purchased the huge cans at Sams Club for $19.50. We've never paid more than $1.00 for a can of Enfamil. I use the formula checks to purchase the ready to feed cans. Nothing like getting almost 2 days of feedings for under $1. I could not BF. No, not everyone can BF.


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## Cinder (Feb 4, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PassionateWriter* 

what i dont have: crib, bassinet, swing, bouncy seats, nursery get up (the boys have a play room where a "nursery" would otherwise be)....im sure there are plenty of other things we dont have or spend $$/ on that justifies the expense of my car seats.

ohh, yea, this too...we don't have baby "stuff"...we have a couple strollers that are over 6 years old that we got at our baby shower for our 6 1/2 year old daughter, and we have some slings, most also around 6 years old...and that is really it...not because we can't afford it, but because we had it all at one point (I had a baby shower with over 100 women present, all family, so really, we had it all) and we never used any of it...our kids don't like swings, they like to sleep on our chests, they like to be carried, etc etc etc, so there was no reason to buy new stuff for our other kids (and we sold the other stuff a long time ago)...

So really, carseats and clothes are the only things I've ever had to buy for my kids...well toys, but they don't NEED those... I will admit to a clothing addiction though.







That however is getting better now that my 6 year old has her own opinion, cause boy clothes just aren't as fun...


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Llyra* 
Do you think you'd feel differently, if it were you who couldn't afford a safe car, or nutritious food?
...
It's easy to get caught up in thoughts like I can't believe anybody would put their kid in such an unsafe seat, and similar thoughts, and forget that they might WANT something safer, might know very well that something safer is available, and be entirely unable to access it.

This was in reference to raising standards... but it makes an interesting assumption: that raising standards (such that all seats can provide for RF until preschool age and FF harnessed until developmentally ready to use a seatbelt properly) would put that standard in reach of families who don't feel they can currently afford it.

Many folks have addressed the fallacy of the assumption that anyone here is standing in judgment about the "safety" of using seats that don't cost a ton of money. A brand-new Scenera is safer than a 10-year-old overhead shield seat, hands down, and will keep kids RF "long enough".

But there's another half to that: Sceneras are cheap, and are made by Dorel. Dorel has played the "waiting game" with recalls, even after compelling crash investigation evidence that design flaws in their seats may have increased injuries or caused death. This causes many parents to find them untrustworthy, and they wouldn't use that seat. This is, perhaps, one of the things you'd like to see abolished, in making all seats "safe".

But... that wouldn't lead to a $40 carseat that RFs to 35 lbs. and a reasonable height, AND doesn't have this, er, administrative quirk. It would raise the price. Dorel didn't choose that course of action because it was fun; they chose it because it was CHEAPER.

Britax, on the other end of the spectrum, has excellent internal testing, and routinely (though not exactly frequently) issues recalls without any prompting at all. They simply correct a design flaw, make a press release, and send out repair kits to registered seat owners. That is an expensive practice, and that expense is reflected in the costs of the seats.

If all manufacturers were somehow "required" to meet that standard, all the cheap seats would get a lot more expensive.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *confustication* 
I think there is a huge schism within society, and some people can't fathom not having that $5 to set aside each week or month. Even when people do tighten the belts and cut out all the extras, it just isn't there. Explaining that you can buy x number of seats a week for what you pay in childcare/food/whatever doesn't help make a connection. When you are paying a nanny a weekly salary equivalent to what some people earn in a month, you are really going to struggle with understanding where people are coming from when they are truly perplexed by how people can afford these seats.

There is a schism in our society, you're right. And I was trying to highlight the opposite side of that schism. The OP was asking how anyone can afford these seats, because no families *she* knows have that kind of money. I was making the point that there certainly *are* families for whom a $250 carseat is not a stretch in any way.

There's sometimes a tendency toward indignation and entitlement when it comes to stuff like this. If "no" family could possibly afford such a purchase easily, it's a lot shorter a leap to say "It shouldn't cost this much!" But it's just not true; many families can.

Let me make this plain: if our finances were tighter, we would SELL OUR CAR before we would use a seat that seemed inadequate. And by "inadequate" I don't mean "not Britax;" I mean a seat with an unknown history, an expired seat, a broken seat, a seat my child had outgrown, or a seat that could not safely secure my child in an age-appropriate manner (RF, FF harnessed, high-back booster, etc.). As it is we're a one-car family (which also saves on seats); every single day, my husband or I take the bus to work. We picked our house with transit accessibility in mind, because we did not want to "need" a car.

I see a lot of people talk about how they "need" a car, without acknowledging the choices they have made that cause them to "need" a car. If you live in a rural area, chances are, you "need" a car. But do you "need" to live in a rural area? In a few cases, yes; if all your training and education is geared toward agriculture, that's where you can get a job. If you have certain chemical sensitivities or allergies, it may be the only way to maintain your health. There may also be other reasons why a person really doesn't have an alternative to rural living. But an awful lot of the same people I see claim that they "need" a car choose to live in areas based on personal preferences like schooling options, wanting to have lots of land, etc. If you choose to live in a rural area for certain reasons, then you *choose* to have a car. Just as I choose to live in a fairly dense urban environment, and I choose to deal with the noise or traffic or crime issues that go along with it.

So... the vast majority of people who have to use a carseat have made choices along the line that forced that issue. It's important to acknowledge those choices and take responsibility for them. It's fine to not have the money for a Britax seat; it's not even the first seat I'd recommend anymore (and I never was a fan of their bucket). It's NOT fine to put yourself in a position where you don't have a choice but to secure your child in a car, and then not do it properly, especially when there's organizations like SafeKids and Kyle David ****** Foundation that will help out low-income families with carseats.


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## MadameXCupcake (Dec 14, 2007)

Out of the many things you can buy for your child even the top of the line car seats like the Britax don't seem that expensive. We just got a Britax for 180 that we had been saving for. We had to cut some stuff out but the fact that it will harness longer than some is important and can save us money down the line.
I do know 180[or normal 280] IS a lot of money but compared to all the stuff like cribs, swings, etc that people buy its not a lot of money. I just dont think people think about car seats as much as they do a matching nursery.
Oh And no we dont have a crib or anything, we did just get a twin Serta bed for 100 at Big Lots though for eventual use!! wooooo, awesome deal


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## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

"I see a lot of people talk about how they "need" a car, without acknowledging the choices they have made that cause them to "need" a car. If you live in a rural area, chances are, you "need" a car. But do you "need" to live in a rural area? In a few cases, yes; if all your training and education is geared toward agriculture, that's where you can get a job. If you have certain chemical sensitivities or allergies, it may be the only way to maintain your health. There may also be other reasons why a person really doesn't have an alternative to rural living. But an awful lot of the same people I see claim that they "need" a car choose to live in areas based on personal preferences like schooling options, wanting to have lots of land, etc. If you choose to live in a rural area for certain reasons, then you *choose* to have a car. Just as I choose to live in a fairly dense urban environment, and I choose to deal with the noise or traffic or crime issues that go along with it."

I live in a rural area. I "choose" to live here b/c this is where I grew up. This is where my DH grew up. So we have family support on both sides. To me that in and of itself is priceless.

If you want to talk about expenses....I thought I seen something about you living in LA. Your housing is WAY WAY WAY more expensive than where we live. I know of people in southern CA that pay more for rent on a super tiny apartment than we do for a 3 bedroom 2 bath house with a nice front and backyard. A lot of stuff is way more expensive in CA than in the midwest. So the packing up and moving thing doesn't hold a lot water for me. Sorry.

It also costs money to pack up and move. And, once there, then what? You may or may not have a job. Its just not as simple as moving from the midwest to somewhere on one of the coasts. I know of one family who tried this very thing late last summer and they ended up back home 3 months later. Gave up good job at home, got to CA, was laid off 3 weeks later, no family around for support, ended up back home.


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## chickabiddy (Jan 30, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PassionateWriter* 
that may be true, but some seats are easier to install than others. easy installation is worth ALOT to me.

It's worth it to a lot of people. So is plushness and comfort. And so is supporting a company you like. But sometimes the money just isn't there, and the bottom line is that the inexpensive seats, when used properly, will keep kids safe. I also work with Safe Kids, and I put kids in seats that might not be my own personal first choice, but I know will keep them safe.

And P.S. - I'm a tech and don't (currently) own a Britax, and while this isn't meant as a brag, I could come up with the cash it if I thought it was important enough.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ironica* 
I see a lot of people talk about how they "need" a car, without acknowledging the choices they have made that cause them to "need" a car.

Hmmm, it also should be acknowledged that there are areas where one DOES need a car.

I live in a huge city. In a fairly urban-close-in area (not suburbia by any stretch) and we need a car. Further- we need TWO cars. Yes, need.

Dh's job requires him to drive between clients several times a day. He must have a car- no question.

Public transit here is nearly non-existent. I could not go anywhere during the day except one or two parks (each a mile or more- therefore really unsafe to walk to in the heat of the summer with kids)

As we are homeschooling, that would leave me and the kids stranded at home every day for a long time to come. That is not practical or a feasible option. (it would also make my part time job completely impossible)

Is there somewhere else in town we could live and rely on public transit? Not really. Houston has embarrassingly useless public transit. There is nowhere we could live in this city without being SIGNIFICANTLY handicapped by having just ONE car.

Cars are a necessity in many parts of the US. That is a fact of life.

-Angela


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## PassionateWriter (Feb 27, 2008)

there are only 2 or 3 towns in my state that i know that i could live without owning a car, unless i lived in one of the larger cities. i dont live there and cant live there b/c DP already commutes over an hour to work each day..those towns would put us even further.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chickabiddy* 
It's worth it to a lot of people. So is plushness and comfort. And so is supporting a company you like. But sometimes the money just isn't there, and the bottom line is that the inexpensive seats, when used properly, will keep kids safe. I also work with Safe Kids, and I put kids in seats that might not be my own personal first choice, but I know will keep them safe.

And P.S. - I'm a tech and don't (currently) own a Britax, and while this isn't meant as a brag, I could come up with the cash it if I thought it was important enough.

im only quoting you b/c you quoted me.








i dont disagree with you. i know that we chose to pay for easily installation, plushness, comfort, and supporting a company that does voluntary recalls.

and i have never said car seats from co's other than britax arent safe. i guess the assumption is that they are safe, until recalled...and for me, its important to know how those recalls happen. some co's dont recall until forced...so really, those seats were on the market and UNSAFE but we (consumers) didnt know for a long time...long after the co's knew...and that bothers me.

i dont view this issue as a bragging issue. i had a very hard time getting our first BV. i wont go into personal details but 3 1/2 years ago wasnt the most financially secure time of my life...i had to really push to get a Marathon (that we no longer have).

my posts are never intended to make someone feel badly if they cant get a Britax. but the Q was "how did you fund your car seats". I feel that I have made some choices about kids' products that allow me to stomach the price of the car seats a bit easier i guess.

as far as those who can not afford a decent car seat, i have actually GIVEN a brand new True Fit to our great neice who was apparently riding around in a seat that was probably one of the first model car seats out there. I try to help out as much as I can. However, I have a fear that they may not be using it correctly.







It breaks my heart.


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
Hmmm, it also should be acknowledged that there are areas where one DOES need a car.

I did acknowledge that. Readily. And people may have very good reasons for choosing to live in those places, including having family available, liking their jobs, or having grown up there. Those are all fine reasons for choosing to live in a place.

But, if it's a place where you need a car, you chose to need a car, too. That is *part* of the choice. Just because you can't see yourself making a different choice doesn't mean you didn't make a choice.

With what my husband and I make, we could have bought a bigger house on a bigger lot for less money in many areas of Southern California... but they would have been areas with poor transit service and longer commutes to where we were likely to work. We would have needed two cars. We did not make that choice. That's not judgment on people who do... so long as they realize they're choosing, then, to have two cars; to insure both cars; and to put their kids in safe carseats whenever they drive them anywhere.

As for housing prices in Los Angeles, don't I know it. ;-) But someone mentioned upthread living in an area where with a graduate degree, you can start at $8/hour. My first job out of grad school, I'm making $35/hour (and I'm not even working in my field). So if my house cost 4x as much, I also can afford to pay for it, you know?

I'm not saying "Well, you should pick up and move; it's better here." I'm saying, "I can understand why you want to live where you do; recognize that that choice includes certain things like needing carseats." It's part of the cost of living if you're reliant on a car.


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## jrabbit (May 10, 2008)

sorry - but I had to laugh at the notion that everyone can 'choose' to live with or without a car if it matters ... we live in Houston as well. Sure, we all make choices, and choosing to live with one car or no car is just that: a choice. Ironically, the people who do it are either doing it out of necessity, or they're well-off and doing it out of an educated choice (with a career that allows it). It's not something that is easy to do in most places. And certainly not even in most urban cities anymore.

DH has a good job, but it's on the other side of the city. I suppose one could argue that we should move closer to his job, but his office has moved 3 times in the past year! And, our house has an enormous amount of equity - so I'm not selling in order to live somewhere less appealing. We're fortunate to live within 'walking distance' of a grocery store, but it's not the one we prefer, nor is the co-op or farmers' market nearby. (but I admit I have only walked to the grocery store two times ever) We have a bus stop nearby, but it would take 2-3 times as long to get anywhere by bus - and probably more money! and definitely more stress with 3 kids!









So, we do have 2 cars. But before we decided that 3 kids was ok, we looked at our cars and asked ourselves the hard questions: can we do it with the cars we have, and can we afford the investment? the investment was the cost of birth + the cost of car seats + the future cost of education. When you think about it, the cost of the car seats was insignificant compared to any other cost incurred on behalf of a child. But it's amazing to me that the people (not here) who complain the loudest about car seat prices are the ones with more than 3 kids. I used to work in a children's resale shop, and believe me, I heard it all the time. {I'll also note that we have 2 seats in one car and 3 seats in the other. We chose to only carry the new baby in the newer car, so we didn't buy 2 infant seats. We purposely bought 2 Radians last summer with the intention of using one of them as a convertible.}

I don't want to change this topic too much, but I had to say that.
--janis

Angela: it's not just a hindrance to homeschool - could you imagine trying to get your kids to public school without a car? it might be ok where *I* live since the school is 4 blocks away, but you can't carpool without a car, and I rarely see school busses! I sure don't know how most parents would do it unless they have a car. (but this is just supposition, since we homeschool)


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## soxthecatrules (Oct 20, 2008)

IMHO, I think the main theme from this whole discussion is that we should all really stop and think about how our day to day decisions as parents are affecting our children. FAR TOO FEW parents do this (myself included). I personally have put more thought into my decisions since coming to MDC than I did before. I don't care whether the issue at hand is carseats or no-vaxing or homeschooling or whatever. Are you SURE you can't afford certain things or are you CHOOSING not to afford them. To be sure there are families who truly can not afford high-end carseats or organic foods, etc. But, life is all about choices and when it comes to your children you better be sure you have their best interests at heart and try your best to provide what is best. You may not be able to do everything but at least you can have peace knowing that you tried.

FWIW...I most on this board take this task very seriously.


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## urchin_grey (Sep 26, 2006)

DS receives SSI.







Then of course, there's always tax returns.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

We have 2 Marathons (1 I bought from a tech friend, one bought for $60 during the freak Target sale), 1 Nautilus (paid full price for), an EFTA (paid full price), and a True Fit (was a return at Target, on sale for $125 vs the normal $200 that they are here). We made $9000 last year. Car seats are a necessity and unfortunately DD1 is too tall for all of the "conventional" (i.e. cheap and available at Walmart) seats, so she needs the spendier seats.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ironica* 
I did acknowledge that. Readily. And people may have very good reasons for choosing to live in those places, including having family available, liking their jobs, or having grown up there. Those are all fine reasons for choosing to live in a place.

But, if it's a place where you need a car, you chose to need a car, too. That is *part* of the choice. Just because you can't see yourself making a different choice doesn't mean you didn't make a choice.

Eh- I don't really buy that. Dh and I both grew up here and have ALL our family here. Moving elsewhere- far enough to make it to a place we wouldn't need a car- would FAR outspend a car-cost on travel to see family. Never mind moving costs....

I really think that's a false "choice"

-Angela


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jrabbit* 
Angela: it's not just a hindrance to homeschool - could you imagine trying to get your kids to public school without a car? it might be ok where *I* live since the school is 4 blocks away, but you can't carpool without a car, and I rarely see school busses! I sure don't know how most parents would do it unless they have a car. (but this is just supposition, since we homeschool)

Exactly. If we used our neighborhood school I don't know HOW I would get kids to school (fwiw our district does not bus kids to neighborhood schools, only magnet schools)

Our zoned elementary is across W T.C. Jester from us. *I* don't feel comfortable crossing that street, much less with kids.

-Angela


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## grumpybear (Oct 5, 2006)

I didn't follow the posts in the thread but to answer the OP,

(1) we don't have cable TV
(2) we didn't purchase a crib or stroller
(3) we cloth diaper
(4) we hardly eat out
(5) we hardly buy clothes for our DS because we fortunately got a lot of hand-me-downs (we only bought birthday and Christmas outfits)
(6) DH and I hardly buy anything for ourselves (no major purchases, not a lot of clothes/shoes purchases)

I think the amount of money saved on what I mentioned above makes it possible for us to have a decent tax return which we buy our DS' car seats.
And really, we've only had to purchase 3 seats. One was the SS1 with 2 bases and 2 Radian80s (for each vehicle). I believe that the Radian80 will last
us a few years after which he might need a HBB.

So in all, we've spent under $700 for close to 3 years and counting.

The next baby will be in DS' old SS1 since it hasn't been in an accident and hasn't expired yet by the time he/she comes out.


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## prothyraia (Feb 12, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
Eh- I don't really buy that. Dh and I both grew up here and have ALL our family here. Moving elsewhere- far enough to make it to a place we wouldn't need a car- would FAR outspend a car-cost on travel to see family. Never mind moving costs....

I really think that's a false "choice"











We live in a rural area, with no public transit to speak of. We also live paycheck to paycheck.

We *could* choose to move somewhere where we didn't need a car, but we don't have the money to invest in moving expenses. And even if we did, living expenses in a suburban or urban area would be out of our price range. I'm sure there is some way we could change our lives so that we didn't need a car (move to the city and work three jobs to afford living there and pay back moving expenses that we'd put on a credit card, hah!), but there is no way to do it that makes any sense personally or financially .

Now, we do choose to get the best carseats we can and sacrifice other things in order to do so, but in many parts of the country going without a car is not a reasonable option.


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

All of our car seats have been gifts from some one who prefers to pay dollar because it is "safer."

If we didn't receive them as gifts, I probably would have purchased the same models myself under the same flawed reasoning. It would have been within my budget to do so; I just would have watched the spending that month.

It is actually reading these boards that has shown me the more expensive car seats are not always the best choices.


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *soxthecatrules* 
IMHO, I think the main theme from this whole discussion is that we should all really stop and think about how our day to day decisions as parents are affecting our children. FAR TOO FEW parents do this (myself included). I personally have put more thought into my decisions since coming to MDC than I did before. I don't care whether the issue at hand is carseats or no-vaxing or homeschooling or whatever. Are you SURE you can't afford certain things or are you CHOOSING not to afford them. To be sure there are families who truly can not afford high-end carseats or organic foods, etc. But, life is all about choices and when it comes to your children you better be sure you have their best interests at heart and try your best to provide what is best.

Yep yep! That's exactly it.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
Eh- I don't really buy that. Dh and I both grew up here and have ALL our family here. Moving elsewhere- far enough to make it to a place we wouldn't need a car- would FAR outspend a car-cost on travel to see family. Never mind moving costs....

I really think that's a false "choice"

No, really, it's not. It may be an easy choice to make, because the alternative is extremely unappealing for one reason or another, but that doesn't mean it's not a choice. And for some folks, the stuff they're not thinking about (the increase in their car insurance because their commute is longer, for example... or the cost of carseats... or the extra hour of childcare because they have to cover the commute time... or any number of things) makes the choice a lot closer than it seemed at first glance.

I don't doubt that everyone has really good reasons for rejecting the alternatives. Like many folks on this thread, DH and I have stuck to the place we grew up in. I live two miles from the house I spent my first 18 years in, and my mom still lives there. His parents are a 20-minute drive away. But, while I can't imagine living anywhere else (well, I *can*, because I did spend six months in England, but you know what I mean) I do fully realize that we *could* choose to live elsewhere. Every so often, I think about how much more house we could buy with a much smaller payment in most of the country (or even in other countries... a friend of mine is sailing her family off to Mexico now that she's been laid off). But I don't choose that. I'm aware of the choice I'm making, though.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ironica* 
No, really, it's not. It may be an easy choice to make, because the alternative is extremely unappealing for one reason or another, but that doesn't mean it's not a choice. And for some folks, the stuff they're not thinking about (the increase in their car insurance because their commute is longer, for example... or the cost of carseats... or the extra hour of childcare because they have to cover the commute time... or any number of things) makes the choice a lot closer than it seemed at first glance.

I don't doubt that everyone has really good reasons for rejecting the alternatives. Like many folks on this thread, DH and I have stuck to the place we grew up in. I live two miles from the house I spent my first 18 years in, and my mom still lives there. His parents are a 20-minute drive away. But, while I can't imagine living anywhere else (well, I *can*, because I did spend six months in England, but you know what I mean) I do fully realize that we *could* choose to live elsewhere. Every so often, I think about how much more house we could buy with a much smaller payment in most of the country (or even in other countries... a friend of mine is sailing her family off to Mexico now that she's been laid off). But I don't choose that. I'm aware of the choice I'm making, though.

Sure, and I could *choose* to jump off a bridge. Absolutely. But I don't think I'm actively choosing NOT to jump off a bridge every day- ya know?

And I'm in a position where, I suppose, theoretically, I could "afford" (with substantial debt, etc) to move. There are people (LOTS of people) for whom that is NOT a choice. The money simply isn't there. Neither is the credit. Though I suppose you could say they could *choose* to rob a 7-11 to finance their move







I think it's a wee bit absurd and a lot elitist to say that everyone is making an active choice about such things.

-Angela


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## nalo (Oct 25, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
Hmmm, it also should be acknowledged that there are areas where one DOES need a car.

I live in a huge city. In a fairly urban-close-in area (not suburbia by any stretch) and we need a car. Further- we need TWO cars. Yes, need.

Dh's job requires him to drive between clients several times a day. He must have a car- no question.

Public transit here is nearly non-existent. I could not go anywhere during the day except one or two parks (each a mile or more- therefore really unsafe to walk to in the heat of the summer with kids)

As we are homeschooling, that would leave me and the kids stranded at home every day for a long time to come. That is not practical or a feasible option. (it would also make my part time job completely impossible)

Is there somewhere else in town we could live and rely on public transit? Not really. Houston has embarrassingly useless public transit. There is nowhere we could live in this city without being SIGNIFICANTLY handicapped by having just ONE car.

Cars are a necessity in many parts of the US. That is a fact of life.

-Angela

Yeah, that!!!! We NEED two cars, given where we live. No other options. We could get by for a very short time with one but it would be a great hassle and inconvenience.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

We need two cars here, too. DH's is out of commission for the moment and we are going nuts scrambling to compensate. I work 3 nights a week and go to school 2 nights a week, and he goes to school 4 days a week and works 2 days. Right now we're doing this crazy routine where he drives to school (50 mile drive), comes home from school (50 mile drive), picks me up and drops me off at work (same 50 mile drive), drives back home (another 50 miles), sleeps, picks me up from work (again, 50 miles) and I drive home (50 miles) and sleep. You can see how many miles we put on our car and how much we spend on gas!! And we canNOT afford living in town close to work and school, because rent is at least $450-500 more expensive in town and we are very barely paying bills as it is.


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
Sure, and I could *choose* to jump off a bridge. Absolutely. But I don't think I'm actively choosing NOT to jump off a bridge every day- ya know?

And I'm in a position where, I suppose, theoretically, I could "afford" (with substantial debt, etc) to move. There are people (LOTS of people) for whom that is NOT a choice. The money simply isn't there. Neither is the credit. Though I suppose you could say they could *choose* to rob a 7-11 to finance their move







I think it's a wee bit absurd and a lot elitist to say that everyone is making an active choice about such things.

Few adults currently live in the home they grew up in. At some point, they chose a place to live. That choice included certain factors that they may not have taken into consideration, such as what kind of carseats they'd need for the cars they need to live in that location (at the point that they have children).

If you change jobs, because the new job has a higher pay rate, but then it turns out that there's no health insurance and health insurance out-of-pocket costs MORE than the increase in pay, now you can't afford health insurance. Should you have taken that into account when you switched jobs? Well, yeah. It was part of the decision.

So, unless you've never moved out of your childhood home, you did at some point choose to live where you live. At that point, you chose to need a car. It was part of the decision, whether or not you actively considered it at the time.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ironica* 
Few adults currently live in the home they grew up in. At some point, they chose a place to live. That choice included certain factors that they may not have taken into consideration, such as what kind of carseats they'd need for the cars they need to live in that location (at the point that they have children).

If you change jobs, because the new job has a higher pay rate, but then it turns out that there's no health insurance and health insurance out-of-pocket costs MORE than the increase in pay, now you can't afford health insurance. Should you have taken that into account when you switched jobs? Well, yeah. It was part of the decision.

So, unless you've never moved out of your childhood home, you did at some point choose to live where you live. At that point, you chose to need a car. It was part of the decision, whether or not you actively considered it at the time.

Again, I don't buy it. When we got our first duplex and both moved out of our parents' houses, there was no way we could afford to move as far as it would take to not need a car. Cars are a fact of life here. Heck, neither of us could have gone to college without cars- we were both commuters who lived at home.

I can acknowledge that if you are somewhere near an area where you wouldn't need a car, you can choose to need one. Realistically however, there is nowhere in the whole state of Texas that you don't actually need a car. SO- we would have had to *choose* (with what means and money, I don't know...) to move to another state and major metropolitan area. Well, my degree was in education and my teacher certification was for TX, so I guess I would have needed to choose that before college. There was NO way for me to afford to go out of state for college... so back to square one.

-Angela


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

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## Llyra (Jan 16, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jrabbit* 

So, we do have 2 cars. But before we decided that 3 kids was ok, we looked at our cars and asked ourselves the hard questions: can we do it with the cars we have, and can we afford the investment? the investment was the cost of birth + the cost of car seats + the future cost of education. When you think about it, the cost of the car seats was insignificant compared to any other cost incurred on behalf of a child. But it's amazing to me that the people (not here) who complain the loudest about car seat prices are the ones with more than 3 kids.


Keep in mind, though, that not everyone with 3 kids CHOSE 3 kids. I love my kids to pieces, and wouldn't give them up for the world, but I didn't choose to have 3 of them. I chose to have 2-- the third one jumped the turnstile, so to speak.


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## melijack1 (Nov 18, 2008)

I finaly had to decide that I we are doing the best for our children that WE can do. Colton's infant seat was a hand-me-down from my older sister and he was little so he fit in that for a year. We have since used: A Scenara which has been given to our nephew now, A Cosco Summit still in use, a Cosco high-back booster (given to us by the car seat safety class that our county social services conducted...if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me), and a Graco CarGo Harness Booster. My parents also have an Evenflo Chase high back booster, with harness, and my babysitter uses a ComfortSport or a Cosco high back booster. In EVERY one of his car seats he is harnessed. Every single one of his car seats has been installed by ME after taking a car seat class, and has been checked, or by my babysitter, and checked by me. I do the very best I can to keep my children - Colton and Mona, who is eleven and was in a booster till age 8 and 80 pounds - as safe as I possibly can. I have given up feeling guilty and like less of a mother because I don't have the fanciest baby crap around. Boy did I used to feel that way though. Now my attitude has changed. I keep up on recalls, I drive safely - and yes, I know that I can't control the other drivers on the road, I routinely check the seats and straps, I do my best. I guess what I am trying to say is you don't have to feel like you HAVE to have these high-dollar seats. We have to have several car seats because he rides in several cars, and I don't want to constantly be moving seats around because of the margin for installation error then, so each vehicle gets its own seat. I couldn't afford that many expensive car seats. Or perhaps that's wrong, I might have been able to over the last three years, but to be honest, I've chosen not to. I buy seats that pass the tests and work well for us, and I use them safely.


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## tbone_kneegrabber (Oct 16, 2007)

so i only skimmed this and I'm not going to get into the "do I need a car thing" (I don't drive) We have one carseat. I bought the one rated 2nd best by consumer reports (i kinda love consumer reports, because they don't have advertising, we check it for EVERYTHING).

I wouldn't buy a 2nd car seat even if we had a 2nd car it could go in. I would rather spend the TIME to move it than the MONEY to buy it.







:


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## mommy2maya (Jun 7, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tbone_kneegrabber* 
so i only skimmed this and I'm not going to get into the "do I need a car thing" (I don't drive) We have one carseat. I bought the one rated 2nd best by consumer reports (i kinda love consumer reports, because they don't have advertising, we check it for EVERYTHING).

I wouldn't buy a 2nd car seat even if we had a 2nd car it could go in. I would rather spend the TIME to move it than the MONEY to buy it.







:

That might not work for everyone, especially families with two cars, two woh parents. For example, my sister and her husband both have car seats in their cars, and it would be impossible for them to take the 'time' to switch them- her dh drives dn to daycare in the morning, she picks up in the afternoon. Actually they technically have three- one in our mom's car, because she takes her home several days a week. I guess now that I think of it, my dad has a whole separate set of seats in his van for my kids.


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## KayleeZoo (Apr 8, 2003)

Quote:

That might not work for everyone, especially families with two cars, two woh parents.
Yep. Heck, we have 2 vehicles and while I SAH, sometimes DH takes the kids in his vehicle and we don't have time to move 3 seats before he has to leave. Plus, every time you uninstall a seat, you're creating the potential for error when you reinstall it. Is it guaranteed that you'll make a mistake? Heck no







But it can happen. I'd rather our seats all stay installed, perfectly, and have 2 sets of seats. But that's just the way it works best for us, I guess.


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## claddaghmom (May 30, 2008)

Well I got an Alpha Omega for $90 so I don't know if I count here. But we tried Britax (even the roundabout), Evenflo triumph and eddie bauer. None of them installed well enough to settle my mommy feelings.

I swear a couple hours after she was born I thought to myself "OMGsh she weigh 11lbs I need to save for a carseat" lol

The ILs gave us a GC for Christmas so I used that. If they hadn't, I would have put money aside every paycheck and waited for the spring clearance.


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## jrabbit (May 10, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tbone_kneegrabber* 
I wouldn't buy a 2nd car seat even if we had a 2nd car it could go in. I would rather spend the TIME to move it than the MONEY to buy it.







:

oh, no - I also disagree. it pains me to move the seats because it's almost always done in a rush. and you can have the best seat around, but install it sloppy, and it's no longer safe. to be honest, i don't even trust the seats in Nana's car.

we have 2 cars, and 2 seats for the older girls in each. the baby only has one seat, and i will not move any of the 3 seats out of my car unless it's an emergency. (they are 3-across, small car, arrangement inspected & approved) i'll drive instead of letting my kids ride in another car.

just my opinion.
--janis


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## Ks Mama (Aug 22, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tbone_kneegrabber* 
I wouldn't buy a 2nd car seat even if we had a 2nd car it could go in. I would rather spend the TIME to move it than the MONEY to buy it.







:

Sounds good except when you're actually IN the situation where you have to move/install heavy bulky seats wiht not much time & not much room - it takes me a long time to install our seats to make sure they are REALLY in there right & well. I don't want to do it on the fly.

Not to mention its not always practical when you have one parent driving kids to school, another picking up, etc.

We have 2 cars, and the less optimal seats installed in DH's car, because they RARELY ever travel in that car (we switch cars when he's taking the kids), but its nice to have the back up seats in the event that we need them (like when we got in a major car accident & couldn't drive my car away, but weren't going to drive home without carseats!)


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## claddaghmom (May 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tbone_kneegrabber* 
so i only skimmed this and I'm not going to get into the "do I need a car thing" (I don't drive) We have one carseat. I bought the one rated 2nd best by consumer reports (i kinda love consumer reports, because they don't have advertising, we check it for EVERYTHING).

I wouldn't buy a 2nd car seat even if we had a 2nd car it could go in. I would rather spend the TIME to move it than the MONEY to buy it.







:

Phew sorry no way! I am currently saving to get a 2nd seat for Grandma and a 3rd seat for DH's work car. That sucker isn't moving after I put it in!


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