ITCHING for a New Carseat - HELP

Jonah Baby

New member
I think most can figure such a desire out.
I've just got overwhelming urges to buy a new seat.

I do not NEED a new seat by any means.
Baby has a brand new SR32 with two bases waiting, thanks to my parents.

Baby also has a (not brand new, but one year old came to me with tags on it from a trusted source) KF30. I do not have a base for it, she kept the base from the second seat she got.

We have the MyRide. Typically J's seat for DH's truck or it is the "spare" that gets moved around whenever a seat is in need instead of taking the one from my car. J can still RF in this one AND baby will be able to use it from birth if necessary at some point.

We have the RNXTSL. J's primary seat for his primary ride (my car.) Obviously, RF and he just might make it to 4 in it that way.

We also have two Britax Wizard's. One is in my Stepmother's car and one is in my Mother's car. He doesn't go with them nearly as often, so RF is not as high of a priority with them and I don't expect they will have baby much either. One Wizard expires this coming August, the other has until November I think of 2011. The latter has one twisted LATCH strap that I haven't worked out yet, but its in awesome condition (comes from Maedze, thanks!)

I've also got a baseless Discovery 5, DOM in spring of '08 and a Safety1st Starter, haven't checked DOM yet, but pretty new.
These are not for use with children in a vehicle, just...play?
Then there's two crap seats in my driveway, half-destroyed of course - a Roundabout and a Touriva. They will surely head to BRU soon.

No, I don't need a seat. I have way more than I even NEED to have. The ones I have fit my needs and my kiddos needs pretty well.
But I WANT one.
Can anyone think of a reason I am overlooking to purchase a new seat? What type of seat MIGHT I need in the future that I could buy now to satisfy my urge without it eating too much of its life before use?
I can bring my crap seats to BRU and use tax returns to fund a new "toy". BRU also ALWAYS has a pretty nifty selection of seats on the clearance shelf. I don't NEED that Marathon...

UGH, HELP.
 
ADS

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
I know I'm no fun, but from everything you've posted about your finances, an expensive new toy, even at 25% off, may not be the best use of tax refund money.
 

Jonah Baby

New member
DH and I agreed that about 75% of the refunds are going towards insurance and the rest is MINE ALL MINE.
I put the 75% of my States already for insurance. Federal I will do the same when it comes in.
So, yes, we thought it through first. (I conveniently failed to mention carseats, lol, but we agreed that the first priority is insurance and I'm keeping that solidly in mind. It is our biggest expense, especially when I won't be able to work for several weeks soon and DH is job hunting.) My car will be receiving a few hundred in maintenance to keep it happy and I'm looking around at the best deals for diapering the new one while we have the money.

But even so, this is why I'm asking for HELP. As you can see, we don't NEED a seat right now, we're really more than good. Unless there is some justification someone can think of "oh, he's gonna need this coming soon and we may not have the money later", I need to find a way to resist.
Help me...please? How does one stop?
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
I think one stops spending unnecessarily by realizing that it is indeed unnecessary. Your children have safe seats and enough seats for at least the next year and probably a bit longer. Buying more seats is a hobby. Think of how you would feel if your partner spent hundreds of dollars on a hobby when money was so tight you needed to depend on tax refunds to pay your regular bills. I wouldn't like it if mine did that, and I expect you wouldn't like it if yours did.
 

Laurette

New member
IF ANYTHING, I'd get a Nautilus or Frontier or Regent for one of those secondary vehicles that have Wizards in them. But I would probably buy diapers for the new baby first. Are you using cloth?
 

Jonah Baby

New member
Yep, we're using cloth. J is set for the rest of his diapering life, but I've got only like 8 newborn/small things and nothing for sizes in between that and toddler. Not knowing when J will potty train, I can't rely on him passing down pre-folds right away. So this is an investment we will be making.

And yea, if anything I'm thinking like a Nautilus or Frontier for J.
Perhaps buying a base for the KF would be wise and that won't cost much.
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
What about making a hobby of stalking Target? When I ran out of new seats that I needed to buy, and new seats that I needed to look for deals on for anyone else, I took to stalking Targets. There have been reports of deals on Nautiluses (girly, but still cheaper to get and swap out covers,) and other super deals. Maybe you could make the pursuit the hobby, and not the actual owning?

Otherwise I'd maybe try to sell those infant seats you don't need (unless there's a reason you can't,) and use whatever $ you can get from those to be your car seat fund.

It's not my place to say, but since I think you're looking for enabling/disabling -- I do agree with chickabuddy... if you don't need, truly need, new seats, then based on what you've shared about your family and your finances, it seems like it would make the most sense for you to put your finances elsewhere. The "mine, all mine" money could maybe even go in savings (even if savings = envelope where DH can't find it and therefore won't spend it,) earmarked in your mind for the next car seat you need, but rather than having it depreciate as an unusued seat, you'll have it as liquid cash in case of emergency between now and when you NEED that seat.

Just a few suggestions from a girl who, too, has "needed" new seats even when I don't NEED new seats. Sometimes my "need" wins (80SL) if I can justify it enough, but most of the time, I make due with what we have.

You fight so hard for your family, I'd just hate to see you sabotage yourself to feed a hobby.
 

NannyMom

Well-known member
Being in a tight financial situation, and ITCHING for a new seat myself, I feel your pain. What's up with the other infant seats? Can they be sold? I'd say if anything, just buy a KF base. Then explore diapers for the baby, that should be fun :) If there's a seat you'll need in a year, I'd personally wait. It'll just loose life.

My J outgrew the harness on his GN, and I put him in a Vivo. I just washed and cleaned up his GN from my car, and I'm trying to convince myself that's my new seat. Sofi'll be using it when she goes FF. But...it's making me want a new pretty girly cover :eek:
 

aclayton74

Active member
I have a solution for you. You should get J a "spare seat" so this way you can leave the MR in DH's truck for J permanently. Aiden has a BLVD in my car, TF in DH''s and my "spare" is my MA that I use for when I have other kids with me or I go with a friend. It really does come in handy. If I go with my friend and I drive to their house I actually put the MA in my car (seat belted in of course) so I don't have to uninstall the BLVD, install it in another car, take it out and reinstall it in my car. Also if Aiden falls asleep in the MA I just take it out with him sleeping and install it in my car. Which is a PITA but it is better than waking him and switching car seats.

I know I am an enabler :whistle: This way you have a valid excuse to buy a new seat!!
 

aclayton74

Active member
Oh and trade in the 2 seats in your driveway at BRU.

Use one coupon for a second KF Base and the other for a spare seat for J.
 

Jonah Baby

New member
We will definitely be trading BRU the two driveway crap seats - they've been there half-destroyed for a while!
I think I've decided to buy a KF base with one trade-in coupon.
That isn't a whole lot, like $50ish.

Last night as we pulled in to the driveway, I glanced over at my sad truck.
He's a beautiful, sage green Custom '72 F100, completely original with a 4 speed on the tree. I saw an ad in the newspaper for this truck shortly after my Sentra was totaled. Just for fun we went and looked at it...and within a month we bought him for $400 from the original owner.
The truck has pretty much sat. Sure, I drove it around the corner a few times, moved it around the driveway a lot, stored our summer toys in the cap, started it just to hear it purr...
Several months after owning it, the battery quit completely. For fairness, the battery was date stamped 1980 something.
So...my truck can't even be started now. I certainly didn't worry about putting aside the money for a battery when it wasn't even registered or needed to be on the road.
DH's friend is a machinist. We plan to get the engine machined this spring (for free, thanks to his friend!)

Fixing up and loving this truck is probably a better time-consuming hobby for me than carseats. Definitely more rewarding. Sure, a lot of the work was put on way-side for health reasons when we found out I was pregnant, but that won't be forever! I HATE knowing that this truck, which would be completely road-worthy with a new battery and the money to register, has declined in condition since I've owned it. I hate that, hate it hate it!

I think I will put the ~$200 or so I was gonna spend on a new "carseat toy" towards my truck. This is also a project DH and I can do together.

Thanks for listening.
 

BookMama

Senior Community Member
How much will insurance cost you for that old truck? If I'm remembering correctly, if you get that truck running you'll have three vehicles you're paying insurance one. I bet that buying one new car seat will be less expensive than insurance for that old truck.

(Just thinking in budgetary terms - I've certainly been in a spot where I couldn't afford to finance all of my interests. :eek:)
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
how about waiting and holding out for the new frontier 85?? then I say buy a bunch of them.... play, take pics, post them here, and do a review!
 

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