Counterfeit Ergobaby Carriers

Tweet It seems I have stumbled upon a hornet's nest in the seedy underbelly of the babywearing community. There is a BIG problem with counterfeit ErgoBaby Carriers being imported from China and sold as the real thing through eBay and swap groups. It's a big enough issue that ErgoBaby has a post dedicated on how to avoid purchasing counterfeit ErgoBaby carriers.

Popular co-op groups that make bulk purchases of popular items from cloth diapers to amber necklaces to save a few bucks have begun purchasing counterfeit ErgoBaby carriers, too.  Cuddly Butt! Cloth diapering & co-ops on Facebook is one such group (I was recently booted & blocked from the group, so I can't link it directly right now).

The co-op leader makes it very clear these are not authentic.

People evidently don't like being called out for peddling counterfeit products in the US!  WHO KNEW?!?!?

Anyways, since this illegal operation came to light, I have learned that not only has the group & co-op leader been reported to Facebook several times, but many people have also reported this to the appropriate entities in the federal government.

Some of you may find this to be extreme; I don't.  Here's why:

1 - These counterfeit ErgoBaby carriers, or "Fergos," as Cuddly Butt! likes to call them, are not just replicas. They are produced to look exactly like legitimate ErgoBaby carriers, right down to the ErgoBaby tag on the front of the carrier.

2 - These counterfeit ErgoBaby carriers are not safety tested for use with infants & children, which is a requirement in the United States. Personally, I am concerned with lead levels coming from untested items in China. It happens frequently with inexpensive children's toys & jewelry.

3 - These counterfeit ErgoBaby carriers are ILLEGAL to sell in the US! The counterfeiters don't pay taxes, aren't held accountable for humane working conditions, & are not held to safety standards for the products they are making. Customs has the authority to seize the imported counterfeit items.

4 - These counterfeit ErgoBaby carriers are purchased for cheap and then re-sold as authentic ErgoBaby carriers to unsuspecting parents who have no idea they are purchasing fakes and have no recourse should something happen to them or their child while using the carrier. Again, this is ILLEGAL!

I'm not the only person upset by this, either. Larger babywearing groups are doing their best to stop the influx of counterfeit carriers within their local communities. Babywearing International of Chicagoland has a great post about the problem with counterfeit baby carriers.

If people were buying knock-offs that weren't trying to actually pass as authentic ErgoBaby carriers, I probably would have walked away. If you want to take that kind of chance with your child to save a few bucks, that's your call. However, the fact that these carriers are repeatedly passed off & resold as authentic carriers to unsuspecting parents & caregivers pisses me off, quite frankly.

The co-op uses official ErgoBaby carrier names & images for ordering

Thankfully, a few people have seen the light since this story starting spreading in the babywearing community and have since pulled their orders. Hopefully, more parents will make the ethical, legal, & safe choice in the future.  If you are financially strapped, there are resources to buy authentic & safe carriers, both new & used. There are even groups like The Feel Good Child Carrier Movement that offer carriers to parents for the cost of shipping and help connect people to pass on really good "pay it forward" deals. Affordable and downright cheap options exist that are safe and legal.

Babywearing International of the Triangle offers some tips on spotting a quality baby carrier. Check out my babywearing basics post for information about different types of carriers and carrier rental programs.

However, there will always be people who don't care.

Yep, bringing counterfeit items into the US is H-I-LARIOUS!

Please help spread awareness of these counterfeit carriers so that other parents & caregivers can be aware of the issues by sharing on twitter, facebook, and in your local babywearing & parenting groups.

Keep wearing your babies...just do it safely.

Livin' Like No One Else: Endgame

Tweet Want to start at the beginning of our Journey to Debt Freedom?

After leaving California, newly in debt AGAIN!  We knew we had to make a final change.  We camped our way across the nation to our temporary home in Rotten Groton, CT, where we lived for 6 months.  Then we made the move to our current duty station in Hampton Roads, VA.

We found a reasonable place to rent in New London, CT in a decent part of town, within walking distance to The Broken Yolk (awesome breakfast spot) and Ocean Beach Park (lame beach that costs too much with terrible sand and cold water).  I was not able to find a job for such a short period of time, so I focused on available jobs down in Virginia.

Dave Ramsey always warns about Murphy's Law when you are in debt and that happened to us big time.  We had been going along fine, even after we purchased my Highlander...and then it happened.

Holly got sick. She went into renal failure, in a rare reaction to a medication* she was taking.  Our vet recognized the signs, and worked quickly to get Holly into Ocean State Veterinary Specialists in Rhode Island so that she could get immediate, around the clock care, which would be the only way she had a chance to pull through and, thankfully, she did

Needless to say, five days at a specialist in another state is not an inexpensive venture.  On top of that, Holly now required IV fluids throughout the day, which I was taught to administer.  Although the animal hospital and a local pharmacy worked with us greatly to get Holly's supplies at cost, this was still a huge part of our monthly expenses.

This care for Holly had to continue as we made way for our move to Virginia.  We decided to buy a house this time since we'd be in the region for at least three years and the housing market was finally in the buyer's favor.  I continued, unsuccessfully, to look for a job.

We finally came to the realization that we absolutely had to get on a written budget if we were going to have to live on one income, care for our four-legged responsibilities, pay off my car, and pay off our new mortgage.  This meant moving back to the "envelope system" and using cash to pay for most of our day to day items, at least until we got our spending back under control.

*The makers of the medication reimbursed us for her medical costs directly related to the renal failure.  Due to a confidentiality agreement, I can not disclose the specific medication.

Almost 2 full years later (and with a 4 month old Klaw) on a written budget that helped us pay double on the car payment, it came time for Chris to receive his annual "bonus" from the Navy. We had planned to put the bulk of it down on the car debt.  When the amount was deposited, I realized we could pay off the remaining care note in its entirety, with enough leftover in our account to cover our budgeted expenses.  Chris was away but available by phone, so I called him immediately to make sure my math wasn't wrong.

In one fell swoop, we were able to pay off our final debt (not including the mortgage) and become debt-free for the second time in our marriage.  However, we made a commitment to each other to not put ourselves in debt again.  This has required patience.  A LOT of patience, a lot of waiting, and a lot of saving in order to buy things we would like to have (like a dining room table that we finally purchased this year).

This road was not easy for us and it was incredibly long (far longer than it would have been had we been more focused). We made plenty of stupid choices along the way, especially prior to getting married.  Our story is not to brag, even though we are very proud of this journey, but to show another example of how an "average" family can become debt-free.

Just make sure you like the taste of rice & beans. ;-) 

How to Use a Neti Pot #VlogTalk

Tweet I promised friends on Twitter & Facebook that I would vlog myself using a neti pot if enough people expressed interest in it.  I never defined "enough" because, honestly, I was gonna do it anyways.

I apologize for the wind noise, but, really, it's the visual you want, right?

I generally use 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of non-iodized salt in warm water. Many people prefer a mix of non-iodized salt and baking soda because it adjust the ph of the solution and may be more comfortable.  Some people use water at room temperature, but I find that room temp water is not comfortable at all.

My own little testimony is that I have "dainty" nasal passages. I did not make that up, a former ENT specialist told me that.  It's the only "dainty" thing about me, so don't judge.  She also told me that I would continue to be plagued by sinus infections if I didn't have surgery or find something else that helped...like a neti pot.

Thankfully, the neti pot has worked. I still get sinus infections but it only gets bad enough to warrant antibiotics maybe once a year. I'm able to push through with a neti pot & pseudoephedrine combo and feel better in a matter of days instead of weeks.

I Gave Up 'Poo for a Week!

Tweet No, I'm not constipated.  I gave up commercial shampoo for a week, commonly referred to as "no 'poo."  Clever, eh?

{click image for attribution}

I have never found a shampoo that really works well for me & my hair. I even used "Thicker, Richer, Fuller" for a while but it was pointless.  My hair is very thick, very straight, & very heavy.  When the natural oils start to flow down (which is about 5 minutes after I wash it), it becomes a thick, heavy, boring, lifeless mess.

Over the past couple of years, I started hearing about a lot of people doing the whole "No 'Poo" thing and, well, I scoffed at them.  I mean, sometimes I'll go several days without washing my hair but it's not on purpose.  It's just gross, right?

Wrong.  In fact, my snap judgment couldn't have been MORE wrong!  I'm so glad I challenged myself to give up shampoo & conditioner for a week to see what all the crunchtastic hype was about.

9/4 wash & condition (Suave Naturals for volume)
9/5 baking soda
9/6 baking soda
9/7 jogging - baking soda
9/8 jogging - baking soda
9/9 a little oily - baking soda
9/10 baking soda
9/11 wash & condition (Suave Naturals for volume)
9/12 baking soda

My hair was fuller & less oily with the baking soda rinses. It felt limp when I washed/conditioned it but was super shiny. My hair was, again, awesome when I used baking soda the next night.

I won't be switching 100% to baking soda right now, but I will be cutting back on shampoo/conditioner. I have been very pleased with the results and I continue to space out my shampooing with baking soda rinses.

I definitely recommend giving the baking soda rinses a try if you have hair similar to mine.

Have you tried "no 'poo"? What were your results? Any other "no 'poo" tips for other hair types?

Resource:  http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Go-No-Poo/
*note that many "No 'Poo" instructions use vinegar. I don't. I can't. 
It reminds me of that time I had head lice and I want to vomit.

The Dish on Diapers, Part Deux

Tweet Since my last post on cloth diapers, our routine has changed a bit after some trial & error.  We have also had a few trips to give us some perspective on using cloth diapers while traveling.  Please feel free to share The Dish on Diapers, where I go into greater detail about the ins & outs of cloth diapering, & this cloth diaper post to anyone who might enjoy it or find it useful.

I was recently featured as Diaper Junction's first Mom in Focus on their Cloth Diaper Blog! Check it out!

The Dish on Diapers

Tweet I've been working on this post for a while.  Cloth diapering is one of my newest loves.  Maybe you are interested in checking out cloth diapering options.  Maybe you think I'm absolutely insane for switching to cloth. I don't know...I just hope this post can help you learn more about cloth diapering and maybe, just maybe, encourage you to make the switch (or at least quit saying, "ick" "gross" "yuck" "it's too hard" every time someone mentions cloth diapers).

Livin' Like No One Else!!! The California Years

Tweet New reader?  Catch up with our Journey to Debt Freedom....

Before moving to the Monterey Peninsula, Chris and I made one very important decision:  We would live off of his income and my income would solely be used for the debt snowball. Being a military family & the fact that I am not a nurse or a teacher, we can never be 100% positive that I will have a job when we move to a new location.  I always try to find a job beforehand and, thankfully, it panned out beautifully for Monterey.

Livin' Like No One Else!!! Baby Steps

Tweet Finally, I think it's safe to get back to the subject of Financial Freedom.

So, fast forward a little bit - we sold Chris's beloved SportTrac, he started driving the Granny Grand Am, and we moved to the great state of Washington.  Chris was attached to his first boat...SSBN 730 Henry M. Jackson (blue crew).  I got a job as a nanny for two families.  We found a nice little pet-friendly apartment (Callie & Mocha are with us).  During my commute to &/or from my nannying job, I started listening to Dave Ramsey again (I hadn't listened since I lived in Charleston).  I also started trying to get Chris to listen to it...but he was/is/always shall be bored out of his mind with talk radio.

The more I listened to Dave, the more insistent I was that we really needed to become debt free.  Chris did not agree with getting "gazelle intense" and putting debt freedom before everything else.  He had already given up his beloved truck...so this became the source of more than a few arguments.  Luckily, it wasn't long before Chris had to go to sea for the first time.  I used that opportunity to start paying off debt on my own without anyone arguing with me.  I didn't care if I ate PB&J sandwiches every day!

Eventually, Chris noticed that he was one of the few husbands who came home to more money than he left with.  I'll just say that it wasn't (isn't?) all that uncommon for many wives to spend a lot of money when the husbands are away.  I was able to start the debt snowball during one of his deployments.  Imagine his surprise when he came home to find some debts paid off and significant headway made on others.  This was what it took to get Chris on board...at least somewhat.  He is a hard sell, sometimes.

Now, we weren't following the Dave Ramsey plan 100%, myself included.  I was just sold hook, line & sinker on the debt snowball method.  It made sense to me and it definitely worked.  Getting out of debt requires a change in behavior more than it requires a calculator.  We committed to the debt snowball and didn't increase our lifestyle as he moved up in the Navy & received various pay raises.  This allowed us to get a good handle on paying our debt off.

I had promised Chris he could get another truck once we reached some financial stability and we both felt like we had made it there when we paid off the American Express card (we had previously closed the account because our rate jumped & they refuse to lower it).  *Remember - I said we were not following the plan 100%* Chris traded in the Granny Grand Am and we bought a brand new Ford F-150 FX4 SuperCrew.  We negotiated well and the payments did not significantly change our financial status at all.  I do believe I said, "I will never buy another new car," after this purchase.  (foreshadowing)

So, to summarize, our 3 years in Washington helped us both get mostly on board for getting out of debt.  We didn't significantly change our lifestyle, we just didn't increase it as our income increased.  We didn't get on a budget, we didn't sacrifice anything, but we did, for the first time, have a common financial goal as a couple.  Money was no longer a source of arguments in our house.

Our next move would take us to the beautiful and ridiculously expensive Monterey Peninsula...and the next phase of our debt free journey.

Continued...

Livin' Like No One Else!!! Debt from my POV

Tweet

Okay. So this is the first post I've done so I'll start by letting all you curious readers a little about myself. Born a few years ago to two caring parents, the first of three; not three caring parents, but siblings. Spent the first 18 years of my life in Monroe, GA, about 20 minutes from Athens, GA, home of the horrific Georgia Bulldogs (and yes "dogs" is spelled d-o-g-s, not d-a-w-g-s) and about an hour from Atlanta. Grew up as an outside kid who never really watched TV but always looked for the nearest tree to climb, trail to explore, or pinecomb to throw at someone. I grew up playing baseball and was sure I was destined to be a major leaguer with the Chicago Cubs, a dream I have not given up on, by the way. Played sports all of those 18 years and had some scholarship offer to play baseball at some smaller schools. That's when pride stepped in and said "you are too good to play at anything less than a Division I school." I forgot to mention that I was planning on going to the Naval Academy out of high school, to play baseball. Short story is I didnt get in. Oh well. Back to pride. Grew up a Georgia Tech fan, not because I had influence from family members, who were all UGA fans, but because I knew that I wanted to be called "Boss" from UGA graduates. So I decided to go to GT, where I spent 3.5 years bouncing around from major to major (Architecture->Aerospace Engineering (2 weeks)

->Management ->Biology (thought maybe I'd be a doctor) ->Earth & Atmospheric Sciences). Let me say a little about the latter major. The movie "Twister" came out in 1996 and I thought/think it was/is an awesome movie. Weather was awesome, especially severe weather. GT didn't have a Meteorology program and EAS was the closest they had. However, after a year in that curriculum I was unimpressed and uninspired. I decided to transfer. So in the Spring Semester of 1998 I enrolled in the University of Oklahoma Meteorology program, one of the best in the country, I might add. Spent 2.5 years there (yep, total time adds up to 6 years) and graduated May of 2000 with a B.S. in Meteorology, minor in Hydrology. Okay, since I'm getting tired of typing, I'll shorten this. Moved back to GA, got a job teaching 7th grade math in Griffin, GA, hated it, and quit 7 months later, afterwhich I was accepted to the the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Program (NUPOC). Went to Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, FL in April of 2001, got commissioned as a United States Navy Ensign, and moved to Charleston, SC in August of 2001. Dana and I met through a mutual friend, thanks Arynn, and as Dana has so eloquently put it in the blog title, got engaged and then married. The rest Ill save for those who have any questions.

So, let's talk about debt since this is the reason I'm posting. As you can imagine 6 years of college is not cheap. Let's just say it was a little more than Dana's one year of grad school. In any event, it was all paid for by Mr. Stafford, as in Stafford Loans. Teaching wasnt exactly bringing in the dough, so when the Navy said they would give me $12k, I was sold. I never really had had a high paying job so when I got this bonus and was receiving Ensign pay, I thought I was rich. Got the car I wanted (Explorer previously mentioned in Dana's post) and spent money as I wanted, although I had never really been a freewheeling spender.  I never really thought much about debt until the time arose where I was posed with the idea of having one car and getting rid of the only car I had really wanted/enjoyed or drive 2 cars, one of which you never want your friends to see you drive.  Thankfully I had a loving, smart wife who made me realize that we have a future to think about.  We needed two cars and not one sweet SportTrac.  In the long run, it was the right decision.  I drove 14 hours to trade in the SportTrac for a car I had never even seen.  Even though I had to live with the Champagne Beige Pontiac Grand Am for a little while, it allowed us to use the money I was making more effectively.  The point. Sometimes it is more important to drive a grandma car for a while to make life better later.  Fast forwarding, I have had the fortunate opportunity to serve my country but at the same time live a humble life and pay off everything that Dana and I share (with the exception of our house).  There are times when I asked myself, and Dana, "why cant I just enjoy life right now with the money that we have?", cause lets face it; it is tempting to just spend when you get the first pocketful of dough.  I didnt want to be an old man when I could finally enjoy life, right?  Well, the wisdom that Dana has has let me see the light.  We have sacrificed little and gained a lot.  We have put money into IRA's and into savings (not without a fight from me, of course) and still able to live a good life.  I'll end this diatribe with this.  I was hard-nosed and fought Dana every step of the way but let me tell you this.  It feels awesome to be out of debt and wouldnt change anything about it.

On a different note, isnt my kid cute?

Continued...

Livin' Like No One Else!!!!! In the beginning...

Tweet It's finally happened...8 years in the making...plenty of ups & downs & falling off the debt wagon along the way...

WE'RE DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! except for the house, which is A-OK in the world of Dave Ramsey and our family!

I am so excited and so relieved that this has finally happened and I'd like to share our journey.  Hopefully, it can be an inspiration to others who are saddled with debt, big or small.  I can be a bit long-winded, so I'm going to split this up into installments.

***********************************

When Chris & I met, he was a brand new JO in the Navy and I was working 50+ hours a week just to gross a whopping $14.500/year.  Both of us had school loans & a car loan apiece and Chris had some credit card debt leftover from his college days.  I won't go into detail about Chris's portion (he can feel free to talk about his on his own), but we split the total debt of just under $100,000 pretty evenly.

My school loans totaled a little over $30,000 and my car loan at that time was about $13,000.  Because I made next to nothing in income, my loans were in deferment building up interest all along the way.  Some of you know that I went to a small, private college for my undergraduate degree - well, I left Wesleyan without any debt.  My school loans were for graduate school where I took out the living allowance.  I mean, they offered it so I might as well take it, you know?  2 semesters later, I had a B+ in my sole completed course to show for it.  $30,000+ for ONE class.  Can you say, "stupid tax with zeros behind it?"

We moved to upstate New York for Chris to complete some Nuke training with the Navy a month after we got married.  I got a job at a local daycare.   Needless to say, it didn't take long for us to realize we were barely scraping by.  I pretty much have a pathological fear of being broke and I could see us heading there rapidly.  The very first step to debt freedom came out of basic necessity.  We could barely afford our car payments.  We had to make a decision:  keep Chris's nice, new Explorer SportTrac and sell my car OR sell his Explorer and buy a less expensive, more gas-efficient car.  Chris's favorite (hahahahaha) car entered our lives at this point - his champagne beige Pontiac Grand-Am.  The granny-mobile (no offense to grannies, but Chris was mortified to have to drive this vehicle) became a VERY motivating factor for Chris to get out of debt.

At this point, thanks to the vehicle changes, we were making enough to live on and we were living cheaply, but we were not yet making the necessary decisions & sacrifices to actually get us out of debt.  We had merely stabilized our situation, so at least things were no longer getting worse.

Continued...