Foolish Money Savers
Baby, Oh Baby!

1. Forget about designer brands. The average young child grows into a new size every three or four months. Is it really Foolish to spend $45 on a dress that she won't be able to wear in 90 days? There will come a time (all too soon) that your son and daughter will care very much about the name that is on their butts and feet. But when they're babies, they don't know the difference. Splurge on one or two outfits for very special events or pictures with Santa, but for the most part keep low-key with the duds.

2. "Previously owned" are not dirty words. My friend Lindsay has a theory about plastic toys. She is convinced that 10,000 years from now archaeologists won't know about our computers or our books or skyscrapers. They will deduce that we were all three feet tall and lived in small brightly colored houses with the name "Tyco" emblazoned on the side. In other words, many toys are pretty much indestructible. Especially for little kids who don't care where their toys come from (just that they have them). Check out consignment stores and garage sales for toys and clothes.

3. Get free stuff. Lots of companies that cater to children go out of their way to try and get you to become a life-long customer. Be on the lookout for free samples of everything from baby food to shampoo to diapers. Go to "Baby Fairs," sign up to be on mailing lists aimed at new parents, and look for coupons on the web sites of your favorite manufacturers.

4. Buy early and often (and in bulk!) -- Wesley and Cheryl say that during the first few months of their son Michael's life they went through between 90 and 100 diapers a week! Since they had already had three other kids, they knew to stock up early. From the day that she found out she was pregnant, Cheryl watched for sales on diapers whenever she shopped. While the average cost of a diaper is about $0.17, they were able to find them as low as $0.11 per diaper just by looking for sales and then storing them in a corner of the nursery. Also, think about joining a warehouse club like the Price Club or Sam's Club where you'll be able to buy things like Huggies and wetnaps in bulk for less.

5. Become kid knowledgeable. My friend Dr. Ben (a pediatrician whose name I'm withholding for obvious reasons) is always amazed at how ignorant new parents are about their babies. He estimates that half of all doctor visits for kids under the age of two aren't really needed. Their parents freak out over the smallest thing and they don't have the traditional network of grandparents or older aunts and uncles nearby to console them and teach them that not everything is a crisis. Get books on what you can expect in the first few years of your child's life. Talk to older parents in your neighborhood about how their kids acted when they were little. Don't ignore real signs of illness, but as Ben says, "Kids were made to last" and aren't as fragile as some parents fear.

6. Make friends with other parents. You learned to network for your career, now do it for your kid. You'll have a sympathetic ear, an emergency baby sitter and someone to exchange toys and clothes with as your kids grow up.

7. Find a dependable, inexpensive photo lab. First, take a look at Kodak's web site for tips on taking great baby pictures. Once you're convinced you could making a living as a paparazzo, find an inexpensive way to get those gazillion pictures developed. Yahoo! - Photo Labs has a list of a hundred or so places that offer special deals for readers of their web sites. Don't forget to have them put in a digital format, too, so that you can e-mail them to all your friends and family.

8. Start saving now for college. It's never too early to start. Read all about the business of starting to save early for college and the power of a compounding.

9. Forget about life insurance on Junior. Unless your munchkin is a prodigy able to support the entire family with her virtuoso violin career, there is absolutely no reason to buy life insurance for him. It's a waste of money. Instead, use it to up your insurance for life and disability. Check out our new Foolish Insurance area for more tips on your growing family's needs.

10. Ask about flex plans at your office. Many companies offer flexible spending plans that give employees the opportunity to put aside pre-tax dollars for child care expenses -- up to $5,000 a year in some cases. Here's how it works: Your company takes an amount of money you determine from your salary before you pay income tax on it. During the year you submit your child-care bills to the plan for reimbursement. Just be sure you estimate your expenses accurately. Any money left in the flexible spending account at the end of the year will be forfeited.

--Trudy Hoyden
(TMF Hoyden)