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Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Making (not-so) Major Decisions

Okay, so the decision I made is not THAT major, but in the scheme of things it is. I was also really impressed with myself for not just “going” for it since I had the money. The decision I am talking about is whether or not to purchase a tandem stroller.

We have a toddler and will soon have an infant. I have been looking at tandem strollers on the internet and I had found one that cost about $225. I liked it, but I had held off because that is a big chunk of change for a stroller. Well, today I was surfing and I came across another one that was even better! It had not only the sit and stand option, but also had a second seat that was removable.. Not only does this make it have more options, but it probably raises the probability that I could sell it later on at a garage sale, etc. This one was only $150. And, I now have the money to buy it.

My final decision was to WAIT. But, I came up with some really good reasoning, and I will share it here in hopes that it may help someone else, whether you are looking for a stroller, a computer, a car…. whatever.

I asked myself these questions…

Do I have an alternative that I could use instead? Or Do I already have something very similar?
Yes, I have a stroller that will probably hold any new infant carrier that I will buy. Plus, we have an umbrella stroller. This does not solve the problem of holding two children at once, but it does mean that if I had to go out the baby would have a stroller and my toddler could walk.

How soon do you need it?
This is another question that has kept me from buying a new highchair as well. With the stroller, I probably will not really need it until months after the baby is born. Same thing with a new highchair, that is even further down the line. Why is the timeframe important? Well, our budget is still going to be quite tight. If I can save this money for a few more months I am earning interest instead of seeing my money sitting in the garage. Plus, I may find I don’t really need the item after all.

How much will you really use it?
The final decision on whether to get the stroller or not came when I thought about exactly that. I need to take the baby and my older child on an outing before I decide. I will take the baby in the stroller we already have and let my toddler walk. If it doesn’t work out, then I will go ahead and buy the tandem stroller, but if it isn’t a big deal, I have saved myself $150!!

1 comment:

Shelby T said...

Great tips. I forget how important it is to really think before making purchases. Will you have a lot of clothing to use for the baby? That always helps. Thanks for the tips, and thanks for posting so much lately. I love reading your blog!