PSA alert.
That hand me down car seat… be careful. Carseats have expiration dates… the plastic breaks down over time, I think it’s like 8 years… so if your family uses it for 2 kids over 5 years – then passes it on and they use it for 5 years… those last few years it’s not as safe.
On the expensive stroller thing. I have friends in Philly who spent big $$ on their stroller… but they live in center city and don’t drive anywhere… shopping, library, etc is all done on foot and on bus… so a good stroller is required. I would imagine this is true for several east coast cities as well as SF proper.
(disclaimer – we had the pricey Peg Perego stroller – well worth the price because it was tall enough that my husband didn’t need to hunch. Unfortunately, an airline destroyed one of the handles – but we just duct taped it. LOL)
My kids wear a combo of hand me downs and discount/on sale clothes from target. No gymboree or Hannah Anderson. Sports are through the rec center which makes it cheaper. Swim lessons were also through the park rec center. We do spend for piano lessons. Talked my employer into sponsoring the lego/robotics team… so that saved $$s.
We make our kids earn $ for their gadgets. (DS upgrades, computer games, etc.) They are paid for chores. And they’ve just started getting “clients” in the neighborhood to mow lawns. They’ve started learning they can fund that “must have” purchase quicker if they go out and earn the cash.
