The carseat you can afford?

What does that mean? Does it mean having the money to spare or taking the money from somewhere else?

I don’t have a job right now and my baby will need a new seat. Should I buy the $40 seat or the $150 seat?.

I’m not really asking that to you all. I’ve just heard that saying for years and I’ve been wondering what it means to people.

So what does affording a carseat mean to you?

Meaning money that I won't have to pull from our grocery fund, or not have to be late on bills, etc....

If I had only $40.00 after everything is bought and paid for that are normal monthly expensies and the kids were not without (food, clothing - the basics) then I buy the $40.00 seat. If the seat was not needed "right now" I may save for a couple of months for it - depends on the situation.

I wouldn't take food off the table to buy the nicer one. I wouldn't not pay rent or utilities. Would I skip eating out for a month? Yeah. Would I not buy new clothes for 3? Yes. Switch to a cheaper brand of diapers? Maybe, if it didn't cause a lot more laundry or give my kid a rash. You get the point.

Afford means different things to different people.

If I didn't have a job, I'd get the $40 seat (providing it fit) even if I actually had $150 in my checking account.

I take it as what fits in your budget. Sometimes, I'll end up with an unexpected need (like a new enrollment, when I had a home daycare.) I haven't budgeted for it, so yep, I have a Scenera I use. I was able to squeak it in when the budget was $0. On the other hand, I knew dcb was likely to hit 40lbs before 3, and I wanted a Radian for him... I was able to afford it, if I skipped some things on the personal end. I decided it was worth it to me, and I made it happen.

If you have six months, then I would decide what you want/need and set aside a bit at a time. A Scenera, for example, fits a newbie, can ERF to some degree (I have one who outgrew it at 20mos, and one who still fits at 4y3m,) and will last for several years overall. If you want a RN, then you'll need to sit aside 4-5x as much every month. If you can't do that, then the Scenera is a fine seat.

I'm struggling now with whether I can "afford" a Monterey. I have several boosters my boys (8.5 and almost 9) can use, but they're either NBB or the backs won't support them when they sleep. (The 8.5yo falls out of the Pronto.) So do I "need" the seat? Maybe, I think so. I can afford it, but only if I pull the cash out of my fledgling emergency fund.

If I had to put it on credit, or other things were going to have to sacrifice in order to get it, I would get the least expensive seat possible to fit my needs at the moment. That's all I can afford. I have BTDT and it's part of how I ended up with kids in Sceneras, Cosco HBBs and NBBs by the time they were 3. If I had it to do again, I'd find a way to do better, but I did the best I could at the time.

babygirlsmom1005 said:

Meaning money that I won't have to pull from our grocery fund, or not have to be late on bills, etc....

If I had only $40.00 after everything is bought and paid for that are normal monthly expensies and the kids were not without (food, clothing - the basics) then I buy the $40.00 seat. If the seat was not needed "right now" I may save for a couple of months for it - depends on the situation.

Click to expand...

Well said. Without a job and if I had no other income coming in. I would go with the $40.00 seat. Wouldn't want to, but would do if I had too.

It just depends whre a person is finacially at that point, when I first had Julianna the car seat I could afford was nothing honestly.

When we first bought our house we got a car too, Afford meant a scenera and a cosco high back harness seat.

I had to make a budget for 3 radians when I was expecting Nolan, that meant saving up for the girls radians, and then when my parents and his parents asked what we needed for the baby, as a gift we had them split a radian 65 for him. after finding the lowest price possible.

I think there is nothing wrong with the 40 dollar car seat as long as it is used correctly

chickabiddy said:

Afford means different things to different people.

If I didn't have a job, I'd get the $40 seat (providing it fit) even if I actually had $150 in my checking account.

Click to expand...

This. Keep in mind that all seats pass the required testing, from the $40 one to the $300 one. Later, if the money and the opportunity are there, you can upgrade and buy the more expensive seat if you like.

I wouldn't have a problem with buying a $40 seat. I am actually considering a $39 Scenera to replace a $139 Britax dd's outgrowing.

Thanks everyone. I've heard that so much and it has always made me wonder what it means. Like I said it's not that I'm asking that for me. I'm just seeing what people think when they say afford.

To me it means not taking from something else that is needed.

wild-one said:

Thanks everyone. I've heard that so much and it has always made me wonder what it means. Like I said it's not that I'm asking that for me. I'm just seeing what people think when they say afford.

To me it means not taking from something else that is needed.

Click to expand...

I bolded the key word I wouldn't take from my rent, or car payment to buy a seat. I would take from the food budget if that included eating out. Eating is NEEDED, but if I can cut money by packing a sandwich instead of going to Subway everyday, that I'd do.