• How often are you planning to use the stroller? Once or more per week, once a month, when the opportunity comes up? This could decide the quality of the stroller you want, besides just the features. You know the saying, you get what you pay for! The more you use it, the higher quality stroller you would want. (always check reviews!) If you’re not planning on using it much at all, maybe going with a used one is a better option!
• Are you planning on having a second child and when? This can decide whether to invest your money in a new or used, top of the line or a less expensive version. If you’re planning on the second one pretty soon, then buying the top of the line single jogging stroller may not be the best option financially. With the second child, you would probably want to upgrade to the double stroller.
• What activities are you planning on doing with the stroller? Are you mostly a walker or runner, what type of surfaces are you planning on covering with it? Again, this decides the durability you would want to expect from the stroller. Many people use their jogging stroller to walk on the paved path in their neighborhood or at the mall. Well, then you don’t need a top of the line, highest quality stroller. If you’re planning on running on the beach or over uneven surfaces, like the wooded paths, grass, rocks…, then you would want something sturdier, with quality wheels that won’t twist or pop and would deliver according to your expectations.

Like I was saying in my previous post, before purchasing I would strongly recommend to physically check out the item at the store, if available. You will get to try it out, see how it works and get a good idea of what it would be like to own it.

If this option is not available or even if it is, second best thing is to look at the product’s reviews. This will give you a good estimate of stroller’s durability and expected problems that might come down the road. Amazon.com and Babies’r'us are couple of popular sites to check out. I usually go with a product that has at least 15 reviews. This way I know that the product is not brand new, it’s been tried by others, and I get to find out how well it works from real people. Even if a product has a good rating, still browse through some poor reviews. If you see that a certain complaint repeats itself, you know what to expect, and whether that particular feature is important enough to you to make a “move on” or “no big deal” decision.

So with this in mind, here is my take on it. I actually bought a used running stroller with my first for the cost reasons, I wasn’t sure how often I would actually use it, and I also knew that we were planning on a second one in a near future. It’s made by Expedition and has a fixed front wheel rather than the swivel type. It was already pretty beat up, the back wheels were a little twisted, making it wobbly. I also was not excited about the fixed front wheel. Fixed wheel will only go straight. If you have any sort of a turn or a curve in your path, you have to lift the front of the stroller to elevate the front wheel, while making the turn, so the stroller can stay on the path. Not very convenient! Because of such poor maneuverability, I can’t take it for shopping or a casual walk in smaller spaces. One of the benefits of the locked wheel is it does go well over rough or uneven surfaces, like grass or sand.

Now that we’re expecting a second one, I am looking into a double stroller with a swivel wheel that can also be locked in place. I actually purchased one from Baby Jogger, but was disappointed and returned it. I wrote a blog post about it if you’re interested.  My next choice is either Schwinn Free Wheeler 2 Double Swivel Wheel Jogging Stroller or InStep Safari Swivel Double Jogging Stroller. Both stroller are similarly priced and both have some issues. Now I’m trying to negotiate with myself which flows I’m okay to put up with, and which I would rather walk away from. By reading some average reviews, 3 out of 5 stars, I found that Schwinn stroller has seats that are too deep and too reclined. In the InStep Stroller, the seats are apparently too close together and the older kid ends up occasionally wacking the younger one. Apparently there is also not enough support between the seats, making kids slide toward the middle.

With this in mind, I still can’t justify spending nearly $600 on a BOB stroller that appears to have a perfect 5 out of 5 rating.

If you do choose to get a jugging stroller as an every day stroller, I would recommend following:

• Going with a swivel wheel stroller that locks in the place for jogging or rough terrain.
• Look into a stroller that is car seat compatible.
• If above is not an option, make sure you can use this stroller for a newborn without the car seat.

This is it for now. In my next post I’m planning on talking about the rest of the baby gear and its usability. So stay tuned!

Related Articles:

Preparing for a New Baby Minimalista Way, Stroller and Car Seat Selection

Preparing for a New Baby Minimalista Way, Furnishing Nursery

How I Decorated My Nursery Cheaply

In my opinion, an every day stroller is not a thing to buy at the garage sale. Since it has a few nuts and bolts, moving parts, folding mechanism, you want these things to be sturdy, last a while and work well. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be using your stroller a lot. I use it to go on the walks in the neighborhood, shopping, play dates, adventure parks, etc.

Before purchasing I would strongly recommend to physically check out the item at the store, if available. You will get to try it out, see how it works and get a good idea of what it would be like to own it.

If this option or is not available or even if it is, second best thing is to look at the product’s reviews. This will give you an overview of its durability and expected problems down the road. Amazon.com and Babies’r'us are couple of popular sites to check out. I usually go with a product that has at least 15 reviews. This way I know that the product is not brand new, it’s been tried by others, and I get to find out how well it works from real people. Even if a product has a good rating, still browse through some poor reviews. If you see a certain complaint repeats itself, you know what to expect, and whether that particular feature is important enough to you to make a “move on” or “no big deal” decision.

If you’re planning on more than one child, going with neutral colors is one of the way to economize.

We chose to go with Graco Passage Travel System that included the car seat and the stroller together. This type of set up can be used from the time they’re newborn and up to about 5 years of age or 50 pounds in weight. Even though this stroller is on the less expensive side, under $200, it’s surprisingly sturdy. My kid is over 2 years old now, but the stroller barely has a scratch on it. I am not exactly the most smooth operator either, I do tend to bump it into things at times and it seems to take the “abuse” fairly well. Here are some other features that I like:

• The folding mechanism, I can do with one hand.
• The fabric is spill proof. Spills can be wiped off easily without having to throw the whole thing into the wash. I actually haven’t washed anything yet (besides the car seat cover) and it looks just like new!
• It has a generous size canopy, perfect for Florida’s glaring sun.
• It’s fairly easy to maneuver.
• Big storage basket underneath. It easily fits a diaper bag, my purse and the jackets for me, husband and baby.
• The price is under $200.
• 4.5 out 5 stars rating on Amazon.com, which is not bad compared to other strollers.

Here are couple of cons for me:

• I wish the stroller were a little lighter (it’s about 27 pounds). Even though I don’t ever think about it when I’m actually using it, I do feel it when I have to get it in and out of the car.
• The car seat is heavy as well. Not sure how much it weighs, but I do feel it when I get it in and out of the car.

Overall though, it’s a good stroller for the money.

In the travel system, car seat usually comes with the base for the car and also fits comfortably on top of the stroller. Another advantage of the travel system is the portability of the car seat. You can take it with you anywhere without disturbing your baby, if he happens to be napping at the time. And babies nap a lot! This way you don’t have to worry about how you’re planning on carrying your baby around without the car seat. For example, if you’re going shopping, you can place the car seat over the front part of most shopping carts, leaving you hands-free from carrying your baby.

One of the disadvantages of buying travel system is that you can only use the car seat for up for to about 12-14 months of age or 20 pounds. Then you have to invest in a new car seat. Usually they will accommodate a child starting from the newborn to up to 40-50 pounds. They are also bulky and non-portable. Even though I call myself a minimalista, I decided to invest in a more expensive (for me) Evenflo Symphony 65 with Surelatch All In One Car Seat.

Here are some of the positives of this car seat that I care about:

• It reclines into four different positions. If we happen to travel during her nap time, I recline the seat into the least steep angle position ahead of time. This way her head doesn’t drop on her chest and she doesn’t look like she’s getting a big pain in the neck, LOL!
• This seat comes with additional head support and protection on the sides. So in case of an accident, the head doesn’t jerk too much to either side.
• The straps are very easy to adjust from up front. I use this feature all the time, because of what she’s wearing or when I get her in and out of the car.
• The head support adjusts easily, without having to unbuckle the seat. I don’t use this feature much, but it’s still convenient.
• It comes with an optional cup holder for the child.
• The seat seems to be extremely comfortable, lots of padding!
• It’s rating is 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com.

Honestly, I haven’t found any negatives about this car sit yet. And I had for over a year now.

You can get a child’s car seat as inexpensively as $40 and the most expensive ones that I’ve seen are almost $300. As a tip, if you’re planning on purchasing from Babies-R-Us, you can usually find a coupon for $20 off travel system ether online or in their flier.

Some of you might want to purchase a stroller, which is a combination between an every day stroller and a jogging stroller. In my next post I’m planning to talk about jogging strollers, so stay tuned!

Baby news can put anyone over the edge considering the upcoming medical bills, acquiring all the baby gear, nursery furnishings, clothing. All this is besides the upcoming every day expenses, like diapers, formula, health insurance, etc.

I am a minimalista and in less than three weeks we are expecting our second child, this time it’s a boy! We already have a 2-year old girl, and by going through her stuff the other day, I realized that we hardly need anything for our new baby boy! I would like to share with you how I managed to spend very little on both of my kids and still have all the necessities.

In this post I will be talking about setting up nursery. You can spend a ton or spend a little, it’s up to you. All I’m going to do is provide the information that could help you make the choices that are right for you!

1. Relieve yourself from extra work. If you’re planning on more than one kid, I would recommend designing the nursery in colors that would be appropriate for either gender. In my case, I knew ahead of time that we were planning on having two, so I chose to paint the nursery light green. I’m glad I did. Our two kids happen to be of opposite gender. To avoid extra work, we moved our “big” girl into her new room, leaving the nursery exactly the way it is. No more painting or moving the furniture (in the nursery that is). We still had to paint and decorate the room for our 2-year old though.

2. Furniture choices. If it’s your first, you’re probably thinking of the type and pieces of furniture you would like to purchase. First, ask yourself, what will you need and for how long? Some of the key pieces for the nursery include crib, dresser, changing table and a rocking chair. So now, lets look at it practically.

Do you have a piece of furniture already that you could possibly use for your new nursery, like a dresser, crib or a rocker? If yes, then you can build upon what you already have. This is what we did. We already had a dresser that my husband used since he was a boy. It’s old, but still in decent shape and adds character to the room. So I decided to purchase a crib that matched the dresser as closely as possible. You don’t have to necessarily get pieces that match, depending on your vision.

Now, evaluate the furniture that you may need piece by piece. What is the length of time it’s going to be used for? How practical is it to have for now and for later? Can you live with the same furniture for a while or do you need to update your furnishings every few years?

For example, if you were going to purchase a dresser, can you see it as a permanent piece that can be used for a long time? In my opinion, definitely. Your child can use it until they move out! Then it could probably be used in a guest bedroom. Is it worth spending the money on? I think it is.

What about the crib? There are tons of styles and types. There are light and portable ones, that can be wheeled from room to room on the regular basis. There are also more bulky ones that are not portable, but they can be converted from a crib to a toddler bed, to a day bed, and finally to a full size bed. What style is more appropriate for your lifestyle? If you choose to go with a small portable crib, consider that in couple of years your child won’t need it anymore. You will have to replace it with an actual bed. In this case, I would go with a less expensive brand or even a used one. For a used crib or other furniture check out garage sales, local newspaper ads, including their online ads, Craigslist.com,  The Flyer, etc.

If you choose to go with a convertible crib, then maybe spending a little more is worth your while. This is what we did. I decided not to go with the cheapest crib and got what I liked. Since it’s convertible, this bed should be good for one of our kids until they are fully grown and then some.

Lets talk about the changing table. You will probably use it for a year or less as an actual changing table. Then you can convert it into a storage shelf or get rid of it completely. In my opinion, it’s not a very practical piece to acquire, so I would not go out of my way for it. Here is a conversation between my friends that I experienced earlier this week. One (Olga) is expecting a baby in a few months. Another (Ira) has a one and a half-year old and planning on the second in a year or so.

Olga: “Do you think I should get a changing table?”

Ira: “I’ll let you borrow mine, make some extra room in my attic.”

Olga: “I can buy it from you if you like.”

Ira: “No, I’ll need it back, but I’ll be glad to lend it to you!”

Looks like it’s win-win for both parties. Olga will get her changing table and Ira will have extra room in her attic for the time being. Lesson learned: borrow from friends things that you’ll only use for a few months.

I actually chose not to get a changing table. I decided to get it as part of the playpen. If you check out the link, a removable changing pad attaches to one side of the playpen and can be used for a few months as well, just like the changing table. If you’re worried about storage, it also comes with a removable pocket on the side to place diapers and wipes into. It’s easy to remove once your child grows out of it. You get to save some bucks on the furniture and you don’t have to worry about what to do with it once your child grows out of it!

What about a rocking chair? Again, you will probably use it for only a few months, as far as your baby is concerned. Then you got to ask yourself, can I fit it into my home decor as a permanent furniture piece, once my baby grows up? If so, get the one you like and keep it for a while. If not, then it’s probably easier to borrow or buy a used one that you can easily get rid of later.

In my case, we already had a hand-me-down mini recliner that is a rocker as well. The fabric on it was a bit old-fashioned, so I updated it with the fabric of my choice.

So this is my input on the furnishings and for more decorating tips, visit my earlier post, How I Decorated My Nursery Cheaply. Stay tuned for my next post about choosing a stroller and a car seat.

National average for electricity in 2009 was 10.4 cents per one kilowatt-hour and 1.29 cents per one Therm of gas. Since one kilowatt-hour is equal to 3.412 therms, the electricity cost is 3.05 cents per Therm. So looks like the electricity was almost 2 ½ times more expensive than the natural gas.

According to Energy Information Administration (EIA), a US household uses on average 70 thousand cubic feet (CCF) of natural gas per year. This accounts to roughly 72,400 Therms per year. Doing the math using the average cost of gas for 2009, it accounts to $934 per year. The same amount of energy would cost $2,207 in electric power. Thus giving the yearly savings of $1,273 using natural gas versus electricity.

EIA is breaking down the numbers for natural gas usage into four US regions, Northeast, Midwest, South and West.  The highest natural gas usage was reported by the Midwest, 92 thousand CCF per household. The cost difference between the natural gas and electricity in this case is $1,664 per year per household in Midwest. The least usage of natural gas was reported on the West, 53 thousand CCF per household. The cost difference between natural gas and electricity in this case is $967 per year.

Unfortunately my neighborhood doesn’t have a gas line, but I think it might be worth the investment if one were to stick around their home for a few years.

In April 2007 I found myself pregnant.  I called my insurance first to find out if they covered pregnancy.  The answer was ‘no’.  Then after calling numerous insurance companies I found that pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition and none of them could cover me, since I was already pregnant.

I started to get worried.  We have a baby on the way and we will have to pay for the doctor, labs, hospital ourselves!  How much will it be?  Where are we going to get the money?  What if there are complications?

My husband is self-employed and I wasn’t working at the time. We had individual insurance plan through a major insurance carrier.  The only way they would cover pregnancy is if I had maternity coverage before I got pregnant or if we had group insurance through the business.

I didn’t even know that we could get a group insurance plan. In our state of Florida, a business is qualified for the group insurance as long as it has a minimum of two employees who need insurance.  My husband would have to add me to his payroll in order for us to be qualified for a group insurance plan. Would it be the cheapest way to go? Find out here.

One of the big mistakes we made is, we signed up for Maternity Card.  They promised that they will help us reduce our maternity bills by negotiating with the providers.  After paying them $700, we realized that it was a scam and they currently have a class action lawsuit against them filed by the state of Texas.  They did give us our money back eventually, but it took a lot of my nerves and back and forth negotiations.

Doctor’s Bills

In the meantime I started calling OBGYN doctors in the area to find out their pricing.  Apparently they have different rates for the insured and the uninsured customers.   If you don’t have maternity insurance, tell them upfront that you will do ‘cash-pay’.  They will quote you a price for their maternity package.  It usually includes all of the doctor’s visits and delivery.  Here you will learn more about all of the important financial questions to ask a doctor before signing up with them.

Lab Bills

The doctor will require you to do some lab work during your pregnancy.  Some tests are required and many are optional. Obviously, in order to avoid extra costs, just refuse the optional tests. Usually the doctor won’t tell you which tests are optional or required, so it’s up to you to find that out before they do the test.

Find out how you can do some required tests for free or at a very low cost here.

Hospital Bills

When I was about five months pregnant I went to the hospital for registration.  During registration, tell them that you don’t have maternity insurance and you will do ‘self-pay’.  They will quote you a price that will include delivery and hospital stay.  Sometimes hospital will give you a discount as long as you prepay by the n-th month of your pregnancy.

Keep in mind that this package does not include any other services like the specialists, anesthesiologist or pediatrician.  If you are planning on getting pain reducing drugs during labor, you will require anesthesiologist.  It Anesthesiologist’s services are quite pricey, but it doesn’t mean that you have to be in pain while in labor so you can avoid paying anesthesiologist. Trust me, when you’re in labor pain, you won’t care! But you can significantly reduce your specialists’ bills by using techniques I describe here.

One more tip, make sure you are in true labor before you rush to the hospital.  If you show up thinking you are in labor and the hospital doesn’t admit you, you still have to pay.  We had it happened to us and it cost us $500. Learn here how you can avoid this expense.

And finally, do you want to know right now how much your pregnancy is going to cost you and the options available to you? Do you want to gain instant access to the information that’s going to resolve the financial uncertainties you have and give you a piece of mind right now? Learn about it here!

In any case, I wish you happy and healthy pregnancy, as well as quick and easy labor!!

One of the motivators for making this adjustment was the increase in energy bill over the prior couple of months. Usually our electric bill is under tolerable amount of $200, but in July and August of this year, it hit as high as $230. That’s when I decided to go ahead and turn off the old freezer in our hot garage. I am assuming that the freezer was on constantly, since I heard its buzzing sound every time I would pass by it, whether it was day or night. The freezer is quite old, the insulation is worn out, the poor thing had to work nonstop in order to compensate for 100 degree + temperature in our garage. And we had to pay for it!

Another thing I did, as I mentioned earlier, is I started rinsing my dishes and pots with cold water rather than warm, before putting them into the dishwasher. Same goes with washing my hands. Luckily, the “cold” water in Florida is still about 80F warm, so it was a very easy adjustment for me.

Because water has high heat capacity, meaning it takes a lot of energy to heat up, water heater is one of the largest energy consumers out of all of the household appliances. If you can reduce usage of your hot water, you can see the difference in your electric bill. If you live in colder areas, you might be able to see even greater difference in your electric bill. The downside of it is that, you’ll probably have to deal with rinsing your dishes in a 50 or 60-degree water, which may not be as easy to handle.

So when the new bill came, I was pleased. It was around $178! My husband didn’t believe me that turning off the garage freezer would make much difference, so it was nice to confirm by opinion, “See, I told you so!”

Why am I doing it?

Well, obviously by turning off the freezer I will be able to eliminate a hefty source of energy consumption.  This will result in lower energy consumption, lower energy bill and less emissions from the power plant!

How much energy will I save?

Let’s see, my little freezer draws 5 amps of current and a voltage of 115 volts.  It is quite old, so assuming that it runs 50% of the time during cooler months here in Florida, I should be able to save

115V * 5A / 1000 * 30 days * 24 hrs * 50% = 207 kilowatt-hours per month of energy.

How much money will I save?

207 kilowatt-hours * $0.103 per kw-hour =  $21.32 per month

Not bad for unnecessary appliance!

What about summer months?  I’ll assume the freezer in on 75% of the time, since the temperature inside stuffy garage during Florida summer can easily reach 100+ degrees Fahrenheit. In this case I will save

310 kilowatt-hours of energy and $32 per month

Even better!  So bye bye freezer!

It’s very easy to make.  All you need is one serving of cooked cream of wheat, quarter table spoon of butter and couple of ounces of cooked chicken pureed using food processor. I usually bake my chicken, but it can be boiled or broiled.  As long as it’s not too spicy or too salty.  In order for chicken to come out creamy I add an ounce or two of water to the food processor.

Once everything is cooked and chicken pureed, add all the ingredients together and you got yourself a meal or two for your baby or toddler!

Homemade baby food is cheaper than the store bought and it is more eco-friendly since there is no additional container involved!

Basically, is it worth doing?

This question is individual for every household.  Some households spend a lot of energy on lighting and some don’t.

Here is an example based on my home.  I estimated my monthly energy savings if I were to replace my incandescent bulbs with the CFL bulbs.  I’m not counting the existing fluorescent lights we use in the kitchen, since I’m not planning to replace them.

Here is what I did:

1. I checked out what wattage bulbs we use in our light fixtures throughout the house.
2. I estimated how many hours per week each light fixture is ON.
3. I used this conversion chart taken from www.energystar.gov to find what substitute CFL light bulbs I need.
   
4. I calculated how much money I would save on my monthly energy bill by replacing incandescent lights with the CFL lights.  Here are my findings:

You can create the same chart either by hand or by using my spreadsheet to estimate your savings.

Once you find out your energy savings, you can check out how much it would cost to replace the incandescent lights.  Walmart.com and lowes.com have large selections of CFL light bulbs.  I estimated that I would have to spend about $70 to replace all of my bulbs to CFLs.  I’m sure as the time passes they will get less expensive.

One thing to keep in mind is that CFL lights last longer than the incandescent lights.  It’s a definite saving!  I love this table I found, it summarizes all the important attributes of LED, incandescent and CFL lights.