are you all rich or just have a lot of debt? - Page 2

[Carolinamidwife]

Yeah, I didn't get that comment either...

Anyway, I'm with you Stacey, I over spend like crazy! We have debt but it's not diaper related and we pay it off every year. Dh is a financial analyst and we do well, I'm very lucky that we can afford for me to stay home, apprentice, and spend freely. Still, I spend way too much, LOL.

[mommajubilee]

Where all all the ladies who have 2 page lists of all the fluff they are expecting?? Where are all the mamas who buy a rainbow of FUZ??

:LOL This is the kind of diaper craze I was referring to! I've read so many posts about people expecting like 7 packages in one week, and i just wonder, *wow* how do they do it?
again, i'm not judging...just jealous. we're expecting baby #2 and i could have gone nuts! i didn't have anything left over from ds (we used a diaper service) except some med FB, so i had to buy all new stuff. if both our cars had not died in the span of two months, i probably would have.

i wanted to clarify too, that we *do* CD. i kinda got the impression from some of the other responses that they thought we used sposies because we couldn't afford cloth. no way! i know it's much cheaper to CD!

[Ok]

It is sort of a strange assumption that b/c one might spend money on diapers that their income is/isn't at a certain level. We don't know what else the mama might be (or not be) spending money on.

I never have to buy clothes for my children b/c my circle of family and friends always passes down clothes. Heck, I'm sitting on 10-12yo sized clothes for a petite 8yo. A BIL gives me money to the Gap every Xmas to buy church/nicer clothes for the kids (its a very generous amount-- and I stretch it by buying off season, etc to get sales!!).

Anyway, I also shop for myself at Goodwill if I need anything. My maternity clothes are all just oversized clothes from GW. (Thankfully my job doesn't demand professional-styled clothes!)

Our cars are always paid in cash, maintained by dh and we drive them til they die their 200K mile deaths (well, if we're lucky enough to get them that far!).

We live on one-income and my children want for nothing. Are we rich? Thats a strange question. By most standards, no. Do we live better than many who make 4x my income (dh is SAHD)? Yeah, we probably do. Why? Because we don't spend much money.

That said, I have fallen in love with diapers. How long will it last? I don't know. I set a limit for myself and I've stuck to it. I'm exploring a variety of diapers/covers so that i can make my own.

My heroes are the women who are making their own amazing products and re-cycling and doing it with little money put into it. But I definitely enjoy hearing about all the amazing diaper stashes of those who enjoy buying. I don't begrudge anyone their stash. I'd be disappointed (even tho its none of my business) if they were spending the money on illegal drugs. But to make beautiful cloth diapers part of their child's wardrobe-- I think its pretty neat. And b/c of their experiences, I'm able to learn so much more.

So, if you're one of those spending the money... I thank you for sharing! And if you're one of the make-your-own...I thank you for sharing too!

[2much2luv]

stacey31, don't feel bad. We have quite a bit of cc debt from our first year of marriage. I guess it would have been the responsible thing to spend this money I recently spent on diapers on paying off that debt. I do feel bad in waves, but at least I spent it well. lol The diapers are my hobby and give me some sanity in my crazy SAHM life. So sue me. :LOL

[mommajubilee]

I just didn't feel like responding to this thread at first because it seemed a bit rude to me.

i'm really sorry if i came across as being rude...it was honestly just supposed to be a fun question, not an attack on anyone's spending choices or their income level. i see people joking all the time about how much they spend on CD and how they really need to stop and seek therapy :LOL , etc. etc. The spirit and intention behind my question was light-hearted, but i truly do apologize if it offended anyone.

[Cassandra M.]

Mommajubilee,
I didn't mean to insinuate that you didn't CD, I was just trying to point out that even the people who spend a lot on cloth diapers are probably still either even or ahead of disposable diaper users because they have something that will re-sell for a nice return.

[mommajubilee]

oh, i agree about being ahead of sposie users!

i'm sad that i made people feel defensive or hurt by their cd choices. i didn't mean for it to be such a weighty conversation. it's why i don't post more often...i don't thing i'm very good at relating my "tone" in a typed format. again, apologies for offending or making anyone feel attacked for doing something as great as CDing!! and supporting wahms.

[2much2luv]

I think we're defensive because we *know* we have a problem.




















:LOL

[Cassandra M.]

LOL i feel the same way too too often.
Don't feel badly! :LOL

i don't thing i'm very good at relating my "tone" in a typed format.

[lillian]

ok, i'll say it. yes, i am rich. but i probably spend less on CD's then most on this board. haha!

[kblue]

I think it's a great question! Cding is one thing that I believe is worth every penny we spend! It's what is best for our babies!

We are comfortable, but not rich by any means! DH has received 2 promotions this past year and works his tail off. He's happy to see that his hard earned money is spent to give our daughters the best in life.

I don't buy anything that I think is overpriced. I love to admire the hyena-level diapers, but know that what we have works great and that's what we stick to (although, some of our dipes are sought after, just not like Fuz :LOL). I do spend quite a bit on diapers, but am probably still saving over sposies. Also, I do a lot of trading and selling and that's where I get my money to spend on new stuff.

[LuvMy2Kidz]

We're just plain old rich :LOL:LOL:LOL
Seriously though...we don't have any debt except our house and car, and dh makes a fair amount of money.....that said, I don't have a huge stash, and never did, I"m too cheap....I had one fuz bomb and fuz fitted, 2 RB's that I had custom made, a ton of FMBG that I traded for, one cushie tushie soaker, and one mosaic moon, (and later traded for 2 more RB's) That's it, that's all I had....and some flannel fitteds my mom made dd 2 years or so ago...I donated those recently :LOL

[Mamabug&co.]

well...

we don't have tons of money either... We exist on one income, and I do occasional secretarial work for my dh in order to support my habit-lol He pays me for however many hours I work, and he even goes out to get me my money orders---I think I love him!! Dh is sweet, but sometimes I have to convince him about WHY I NEED this cover or diaper for our cub. I don't get to get huge orders, just the occasional fix:LOL If I worked a real job, boy would my ds have his bottom in the best!! But, I kinda like the simple diaper approach- pf's and a good cover still does it for me.

[stacey31]

Originally posted by 2much2luv
I think we're defensive because we *know* we have a problem.
:LOL

You said it Mama!!!

[luvmy3boys]

Not rich at all and don't have any diaper related debt here....before we switched to cloth diapers and wipes (almost a year ago) we were spending between $100-$200/month on disposables, so I don't feel bad about spending that same $$ on cloth (especially since I can resale them when we are done).
-Becky

[Sasha_girl]

We're a one-income family, and I rarely have money to throw around. I *do* have a fairly long list of things I'm waiting for in the mail right now because I found some good deals at the Trading Post and Holden happens to be outgrowing all of his size small diapers.

Buying pretty cloth diapers is a hobby of mine and since it benefits my sons there is an extra benefit. DD gets a ton of clothes from older cousins (nice stuff, too), I can outfit DS#1 at a consignment store for very little, and the baby can wear his hand-me-downs (although I'm a sucker for advocacy clothing). These savings I feel comfortable using on cd'ers.

[danaalex]

we are not rich but we are very comfortable. that said, i used to buy stuff every week, until i realized i had too much, was spending too much time here, and obsessing over DIAPERS!!!!! i mean, i had to get a grip, so i did. i made a pact w/ myself not to buy anything for 30 days and i did it. i now only buy what i know i really love and need and no more. i do lots of trading too, but i don't really count that. i do spend money on my girls clothing, hanna, gymboree, baby gap, because i LOVE their clothes. we don't have cc debt, other than our termite treatment and bond LOL. we do have a mortgage, and school and car loans, but my dh gets paid well, so we can afford it.

[michray]

To dispel a myth.. Im not rich! I am VERY far from it We are a 1 income family right now but we don't have any debt except our car and house rent.
However, diapers and wool are the ONLY things I spurge on. I am the original scrooge and I shop where the bargains are, and so does DH.
This is not to say we don't have nice stuff.. Have you been to your local thrift store lately?? I just got 2 pair of Paul Harris jeans with the tags ( $63 jeans) for $4 a pair. My son is wearing brand new gymboree at $1.95 a shirt and $3 for pants.
Now, my diapers are worth a fortune, and the ones I decide not to save for the next baby I will resell when dd outgrows them and will probably buy MORE!
I DO have a problem when it comes to buying diapers, but its really my only splurges around here... and since I live like a hermet in the sticks, DH never says a word when he sees new dipes!

[Lucysmama]

Nah, we aren't rich.... In fact, dh and I don't work, so we have no income at all. We inheirited a large sum of money when a relative died, and made a deliberate decision to live off of that for the next few years so I could be home with the kids and dh could get more schooling. So DH goes to school full time, I stay at home with dd, we rent our house, we own our car, and we live pretty frugally. I do splurge on my daughter's clothes, though we also have some generous relatives who like to spoil the only girl in the family.

I finance my dd's diapers by selling her outgrown clothes on the TP and ebay. Since we buy better brands, they fetch a lot of $, and I can buy a lot of diapers!

[cortsmommy]

I started out on a very very tight budget. We had 12 fuzzi bunz with 14 inserts as our entire diaper stash and cloth diapered full time on that until Cort was about 6 or 7 months old. I would have been happy with that but I tried wool and fell in love. Now we have over 40 diapers and its a stash to be proud of. You don't have to be rich to cloth diaper or to have nice things. As a matter of fact I think its better to cloth diaper if you ARE poor. You save tons of money. People seem too caught up in the cost cause its $14 a diaper or whatever. Well at least its not $2000 on paper thats going to go in our landfills and ruin the earth.