Thursday, October 04, 2007

Spending to save, or rationalizing something I didn't need?

Janel has me thinking about frugal items worth their weight in gold. I've sung the praises of our secondhand MacLaren stroller--so easy to handle, light, and compact.

Today my mom and I stumbled upon a double MacLaren at Salvation Army.

Did I need it? No. Our single works just fine. (And no new babies on the way, yet.)
Is it a great buy? Not totally cheap at $35, but a good value for a $250 stroller.
Could I find another solution? What's in my hand? As much as I hate to admit it, a backpack/stroller or stroller/sling combo is adequate for most situations.
Is it worth buying to resell? Probably. I pushed it around the store while I thought.

My partner-in-crime mentioned that a double stroller would come in handy for zoo trips with Elise's cousin. On a one-child trip, I could put our family cooler in one seat.

So here's the rationalization: Hey! Our home is within walking distance of the grocery and library, but I rarely go on foot. Hauling the goods home is so hard with kids. If I bought the double stroller, I could easily fit the goods in the extra seat. Sold!

I'll calculate how many grocery trips on foot will pay off my stroller investment. In the meantime, I'll pray for another little one to fill that seat!

17 comments:

Rhonda said...

I think you will love having a double stroller! My children are all 20-somethings and I strolled them around a lot. Todays stroller designs are so much better than they were in the 80's. I can only imagine how much nicer it will be for you with this Cadillac-type stroller.
I am very happy for you! wishing you many happy walks with your children.

Jen said...

I didn't have a car for the longest time. Every few days, I would lug out that double stroller and take it with me shopping. All of my little children are close in age, so someone always had a seat. My younger ones were spaced out a bit more, (age wise) but then it was great-I had a place to put the grocery bags! It also tired out the children! An added bonus? Walking helped me loose all that extra pregnancy weight!
I personally think that if the stroller is in good condition, it is a justifiable purchase! Double strollers are expensive at wholesale!

Kate said...

Woah! If I were there, while you were pushing it around trying to decide, I would have shoved you into a clothing rack and taken the stroller and ran! :) Of course, I wouldn't have, but boy, you got yourself a deal!

When I was pregnant back in May, I went looking for an infant/toddler double stroller. The best one I could find was at a yard sale for $75.00. It came with the carseat and base and it converts to toddler/toddler stroller. I thought that was a good deal. Hopefully, I'll get pregnant again soon so I can actually get some use out of it.

Elizabeth said...

That is a GREAT DEAL! I have a similar stroller, an Inglesina Twin Swift that was a present from my dad when my second child was born. It is seriously one of my most PRIZED POSSESSIONS. I'm using caps here because it has made my life so much easier. It's great for walks, it can hold a ton of stuff, etc. I cannot imagine my life the past 1.5 years without it honestly!

Oh, and mine was frugal because a) I didn't buy it and b) after 1.5 years of use it's in nearly perfect shape other than the shade went wonky but I never used that much anyway. And we plan to have additional children, so I'm sure we'll get many years of use out of it.

Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

I never thought I'd be a Mom with a double stroller. when we finally accepted the fact that buying one would be good idea, I coulnd't find a second-hand one, but I was never unhappy with the one we bought new. It was so useful for the 1st-2nd kid combo, then the 2nd-3rd kid combo, & then finally the combination of the 3rd kid & all the junk we seemed to have to haul on every outing!! Looks like you scored big with the Salv. Army purchase.(o:

I'm a new visitor to your blog...lots of neat information here.

Brenda

Janel said...

Sweet! I'm glad to see you found such a great deal.

frugalmom said...

That is a fantastic deal. I know someone who found a Maclaren Techno at a thrift store for $6. I wonder why I never find those deals! Congrats on the great find, and if tomorrow you have buyer's regret, I'll take it off your hands for more than you paid plus the shipping.

Indie Pereira said...

I started looking for a double stroller after my oldest climbed into the storage basket of our single stroller after lots of walking at the zoo. The cheapest used double stroller that I could find was a super old clunky Graco for $65 so I think that you got a great deal. My parents ended up buying us a nice new lightweight one as their baby gift.

Anonymous said...

That was an excellent find. I'm always hoping I'll stumble across a double Maclaren myself, but never have yet. I did find my double jogging stroller at Goodwill though and was pleased with that.

Hyperactive Lu said...

Wonderful find! And oh so cheap, compared to what I've been finding around town! :)

Rachel said...

You seriously have the best thrift stores I've ever heard of! I guess we live in too small of a college town to score deals like that!

Jenn @ Frugal Upstate said...

I found that this summer I almost never walked into town. Since I walked a lot the last 2 years I couldn't figure out why. Then I realized that since Buddy isn't in the stroller any more, I didn't have a way to easily carry the library books etc (with my neck I can't wear a backpack). So I agree with your logic.

Anonymous said...

I would have snatched that up in a hot minute! GREAT buy and GREAT price! No rationalization needed!

Amy @ Amy's FMQ Adventures said...

meredith,
i too would have killed for that kind of a deal. my graco double umbrella-type stroller cost $65 at a consignment store, after many months of looking. now i use it nearly everyday and love it!

amy

Anonymous said...

I think it was a steal. Good job.

Chrissy

Anonymous said...

I think that was a wise purchase, indeed!

Jennifer @ Fruit of My Hands said...

I agree, its a great deal. We have a double stroller, but not a side-by side. We use it on vacations to haul all our luggage to our room-saves tons of money on a bellman, and we don't have to make a zillion trips to our car.