Check out how to become a budget traveler. Here’s my post on Consumer Reports’ Shop Smart magazine. I blog there every Monday:
http://www.shopsmartmag.org/2011/05/budget-saving-tips-from-a-world-traveler.html.
Archive for May, 2011
Traveling with your baby?
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
How safe are your baby’s toys?
Monday, May 9th, 2011Back in 2007, over 20,000,000 toys were recalled in this country–just in that year alone. The good news? In 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act was enacted, which raised the bar on toy safety. 
Since then, in accordance with this law, toys in the U.S. must now be tested by an accredited third-party certified organization such as NSF International in Ann Arbor, Michigan. But what does third-party testing involve? I asked Dave Parzen, NSF’s business unit manager for Consumer Product Safety for some insight, which can be helpful to keep in mind as you’re toy shopping. Here’s the inside on the toy-testing process:
“Before a toy can be sold in the U.S., manufacturers will send their toys and the packaging to us. We’ll review the packaging and the age rating a manufacturer puts on a toy, and we’ll test toys to the applicable standard to make sure they’re safe to be sold,” Parzen says.
Toys are tested for lead and phthalates (a compound in plastic) to make sure they’re at or below permissible levels. NSF also puts toys through the paces by dropping, twisting, and pulling them, and throwing them down the stairs, just like a child might. They also test toys for sound, to make sure toys won’t damage ears, and for hazardous magnets, electrical hazards, and dangerous projectiles. The process takes five to seven business days. About 10 percent of all toys that NSF tests don’t pass inspection. Of the toys that make it, you’ll never know other than they’re on store shelves. You won’t see any certification mark. Accreditation by NSF or any other third-party certifier is blind to the consumer.
Bottomline: Toys sold in the U.S. since 2007 are safer because they’re third-party tested. Still, that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. When you’re toy shopping, be sure to match a toy’s age grading with your child’s age. And later, when your child is playing with a toy, keep an eye on him or her. “Toys can be misused in ways that we can’t predict,” Parzen says, which can make any “safe” toy dangerous.
Pay Less for Pumping
Friday, May 6th, 2011
The Medela Pump in Style, for example, which retails for around $340 on Amazon, is now tax deductible.
As you probably know, these days, “breast is best,” and it seems that the government thinks so, too. If you’re in the market for a breast pump—or know someone who is—be sure to take advantage of the fact that “Expenses paid for breast pumps and supplies that assist lactation qualify as deductible medical expenses,” according to the new IRS ruling. As reported in Consumer Reports Best Baby Products, a double electric breast pump, which is a must if you’ll be pumping and going back to work part-time or full-time after your baby is born–can cost as much as $350. Yikes! Fortunately, though, now you can add the cost of your breast pump and other lactation supplies (such as bottles and tubing) to your other deductible medical expenses if you itemize on your tax return. (Medical expenses are deductible when they exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income.) Or, because of the new tax treatment, you can use pretax dollars from your flexible spending account to pay for breast pumps and nursing supplies. So be sure to take advantage of this new tax benefit if you can.
Should you buy a Bugaboo Donkey?
Thursday, May 5th, 2011At a starting price of $1,199, the Bugaboo Donkey, Bugaboo’s newest convertible stroller, is a major investment. Just think–that’s akin to two or three years’ worth of disposable diapers! But this luxury stroller might make sense for you, especially if you’ll be having twins. 
Here’s why:
The Bugaboo Donkey converts to a side-by-side convertible stroller, which is its greatest feature. It accepts two infant car seats, which is rare in the side-by-side stroller world. You can then convert it to a traditional stroller as your kids grow. By 6 months old or so, your babies can ride sans infant car seat if and when they can sit up. Many parents buy more than one stroller–a lightweight one for travel and a more solid unit for everyday. But with the Bugaboo Donkey, you could get away with buying only one stroller and using it until the stroller stage is over (that could be up to age 5 or 6; Kindergarten-age kids will still need a stroller at times if say, you’re spending the day at Disney World. They can’t be expected to walk for five or six hours at a shot.) The Bugaboo Donkey’s longevity is a definite plus and can take some of the edge off the asking price.
General things to know about side-by-side strollers:
They’re great for kids of the same weight. If you’ve got kids of different ages (and thus weights), side-by-side strollers can list to the side of the child who is heavier. That’s a steering issue that can get tiresome after a while.
They can be a tight squeeze through standard doorways, or might not fit at all. The Bugaboo Donkey is 29 inches wide, so it’s narrow for a side-by-side stroller. But it’s still wider than a traditional or a tandem double stroller, which is as wide as a single, traditional stroller.
Two key questions to ask yourself before buying a Bugaboo Donkey:
1. Am I having twins? If yes, you’re a definite candidate for the Bugaboo Donkey if it’s in the budget and/or you’ve got generous friends and relatives.
2. Where will I be doing most of my strolling? If you live in New York City, for example, and you’ll be going in and out of stores or an older apartment building with a narrow elevator door, a tandem model, in which the seats are one directly behind the other, is probably be a better bet. If you live in the suburbs and you’ll be doing most of your strolling at the mall or on the sidewalks or streets around your neighborhood, you’ll probably do just fine with a side-by-side stroller like the Bugaboo Donkey.
I like the fact that the Bugaboo Donkey has lots of storage space since strollers do function as shopping carts.
Silly but useful tip: Learn how to unfold the Bugaboo Donkey or any stroller for that matter, before taking it to the mall and teach Grandma and Grandpa how to do it, too. I have one friend who gave a Bugaboo stroller to her mother to use with the kids at the mall for the day. Grandma couldn’t figure out how to unfold the stroller at day’s end. Out of frustration, she was tempted to abandon it in the parking garage. Luckily, she managed to get the whole stroller into the car without folding it up and off she went.
