raising children

With all the happy celebrations and emotions surrounding the impending arrival of a new baby, it can be easy to forget the practical aspects — especially that expanding the family translates to more expenses! Before the little one arrives, parents-to-be often find themselves stocking up on diapers and gear that can tip the financial scales at hundreds to thousands of dollars. But if you're expecting a bundle of joy, don't let pricey baby gear rain on your parade. We're sharing 10 tips to keep costs to a minimum so that you can focus on the most important fact: you're having a beautiful baby!

Note: whenever you buy or borrow used items, do your research ahead of time to ensure that there are no outstanding product recalls and that the items are up to date by today's safety standards.

Register wisely. Left to their own devices, many of your guests will gift you with adorable outfits and stuffed animals for the baby-to-be. If there are items you really, truly need (a car seat, bottles, even diapers), make sure they appear on your registry rather than clothes and toys. Chances are, you'll still end up with a wardrobe's worth of newborn clothes, but you'll be off to a great start with baby necessities, as well!

Put your hand out for hand-me-downs. If you have friends who have kids, know that they are itching to give you baby gear. Within 24 hours after our pregnancy announcement, our friends and family had offered collectively three cribs, half a dozen car seats, and bags upon bags of newborn and toddler clothes. If you're at all concerned about the costs of these items, graciously accept them. You will be able to pay it forward later when other friends have babies of their own!

Rent. If you plan to be a breastfeeding family, a breast pump is a wise investment, not only to let Mom get some sleep from time to time, but also to help increase milk production if Junior is a high-achieving eater. But buying one can run upward of $400! Look to hospitals, clinics, and parenting networks in your area for daily, weekly, and monthly pump rentals, which can help offset the upfront cost of buying one new.

Scour Craigslist. Parents looking to offload their precious gear often turn to online classifieds like Craigslist to recoup some of the cost, so there are great deals to be had. A scan of the listings in my area showed a barely used Petunia Picklebottom diaper bag for $75 (normally $175) and a $900 Bugaboo stroller for $425. As with any online classified purchase, use caution when making the transaction, and meet the seller in a public location.

For six more money-saving ideas, just keep reading.

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

In the past, LearnVest spoke to parents who chose not to use diapers with their children and dove into the stay-at-home parent debate. This time, one mother shares why she has decided to homeschool her children.

In 2002, we had our third child, 10 years after our second was born. Our eldest two boys were in a private school, but we began to consider the best way to educate our newest addition. Although we loved the school our boys attended, each year cost us about $10,000. We questioned how feasible it would be to put additional kids through there, too.

We had three more children in the following years for a total of six, and with each new baby came further confirmation that putting our four youngest through private school was out of the question financially. Our two eldest were approaching college age, which put even more pressure on us.

The decision was simple. We elected to educate our four youngest at home.

Why Public School Wasn’t an Option

We always knew that we wouldn’t send our children to public school. Parents who opt out of public school do so for many reasons: safety, quality of education, religious conviction, and many others. My husband and I both went to public school, but that was a long time ago, and I don’t know what schools are like today. For us, religion was the main reason. We believe that God gave parents the responsibility to raise, train, and educate their own children. Many parts of the Bible talk about training your children — to us, that includes education.

For more, read after the jump.

We're thrilled to present this smartKiplinger story here on Savvy!

I'm expecting my third child, and as I sat in the doctor's office this morning, I thumbed through pregnancy and parenting magazines. I got a good laugh (as an experienced mom and personal finance writer) at the nursery necessities, diaper bag must-haves and ultimate registry guide I found on the pages of those magazines.

A $20 diaper purse to hold diapers within a diaper bag. A $48 sleep sack for baby. A $99 changing pad. A $450 toy storage unit for the baby's room. A $1,500 crib. There was even a six-page spread in one of the magazines with tips on organizing every room in the house (including closet and mudroom) to prepare for baby's arrival and what you need to buy to do so.

As crazy as the prices (and some of the products) may seem, it can be so tempting for first-time parents to purchase all the cute baby things they see in magazines or stores. But the last thing new moms and dads should do is rack up debt buying stuff their baby really doesn't need. Instead, parents should focus on buying things they really need, such as life insurance, and funding a college-savings plan for their child. See also: What New Parents Really Need and Smart Ways to Save for College.

So what items are a waste of money? It is a matter of opinion (and, trust me, people have strong opinions about this — as I discovered the last time I wrote about this topic). But here's a list I came up with based on my experience and the advice of many other parents I know.

1. A designer nursery. By this, I mean a room full of high-priced furnishings and décor. Your baby will not care whether his monogram is on everything, if the crib came from Target or Pottery Barn, or if the lamp, curtains and area rug coordinate. And visitors won't even notice the nursery theme when they see the main attraction of the room: your adorable baby.

Read on for more things new parents don't need.

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

A new baby brings all sorts of surprises . . . one of them will probably be how many unplanned expenses pop up in the days and weeks after your new son or daughter is born. An even bigger surprise? The amount of money you’re going to spend on yourself after the delivery, not necessarily on your new little bundle of joy.

The best way to prepare for this financial challenge is to make ample room in your budget to cover at least some of the items below. Consider this a rundown of what to expect to spend when you’re expecting.

Anything But Hospital Food

Hospital food isn’t the best, and you’ll quickly realize that you don’t have to eat it. From then on, you might expect a takeout bag every time a visitor leaves the hospital. But those morning egg sandwiches and evening trays of sushi that you can finally eat again do add up. Two or three nights in the hospital can set you back $50 to $75.

Getting Out of the House

Being on maternity leave feels kind of like being on vacation (except for the lack of sleep and crying baby). You will have a lot of free time, and after a week or two of adjusting, you’ll need to get out of the house and find things to do.  You might want to meet friends for lunch and see some grown-ups. You also might want to go for an early evening drink or even dinner with your spouse since the baby sleeps in public right now, and it won’t always be like this. Try budgeting $25 to $50 a week in pocket money for small outings.

Read on for more baby expenses.

Although spending $10 million in a year on children (albeit six of them) may sound staggering, Forbes blogger Caroline Howard says the number actually sounds "reasonable" given Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's income. The Hollywood couple earned $40 million last year, which means they spent 25 percent of their salary on their kids. This compares to the ratio of what most Americans are spending on raising their children. Howard says:

In 2009 figures from the USDA, on average, two-parent, two-child households in the lowest income group (less than $56.6K) spent 25% of their before-tax income on kids; those in the middle-income group (up to $98K) spent 16%; and those in the highest group (above $98K), 12%.

Jolie and Pitt are not, relatively speaking, spending an outsize amount on their children. They supposedly pay out the same as what 65% of Americans would. (See, they are Just Like Us!) And 2x what the highest income bracket in the U.S. drops–on 3x as many kids.

What I found interesting was the breakdown of the costs. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's biggest expense was the $5 million spent on private jets last year, followed by the $1 million on private tutors for the children, and the $900,000 spent on nannies. I'm guessing since the parents are constantly traveling, private jets make the flights more bearable for the children. Do you think it's extravagant for the celebrity couple to spend this much on their kids?

Is the word "mother" a technically or socially defined word to you? Is a woman only a mother when she has physically given birth? Or does the title also apply to those who adopt, have legal custody, or even just a hand in raising a youngster? Is the word "mom" something a woman is biologically entitled to or one that is awarded when it comes from the mouth of a child? Is a woman a mother the moment she finds out she's pregnant? And does she remain one if she miscarries or her offspring predeceases her? Tell us what you believe makes a mother.