[quote=Rhett]I get what you’re saying, and if I knew then what I knew now, I’d buy a lot more hand-me-downs, but the stroller is a bad example. We used a stroller every day, at least a half hour if not an hour a day, for almost the first three years of our daughter’s life. We started out with a Graco set (with a matching infant car seat), but quickly saw the value in a Peg Perego. We also got a good umbrella stroller (a MacLaren), because we needed something that was easily foldable yet durable. Total cost of both at the time – maybe around $350? Worth twice that much in my opinion.

This may sound like a picky point, but it’s not. At some point, you get a lot of value out of certain items, and it isn’t worth skimping. I’d cite an infinite amount of toys and games that never got used more than once or twice (or in some cases, never were used at all) as much bigger wastes than a stroller.

Let me guess – you pretty much drive everywhere so the stroller is not used that much?[/quote]

No, I use a stroller frequently. I just think that you are not the person that I was talking about. You know as well as I do that you can get good value for many items that cost much less than the brand name merchandise that is the norm in many uppity cities around the country. You can even get those brand name BOB’s and others on craigs list and other online auctions for much cheaper that are barely used. My main point is that I don’t think that parents are as thrifty as they should be. It’s everyones choice as to how much it costs to raise children. I just believe we can do it for less and get the same result.