Baby

Careful Giving Up Your Career To Be A Stay-At-Home Parent 

Inexpensive Baby Shower Gift Ideas 

7 Financial Steps to Becoming a Stay-at-Home Parent 

How to get help collecting child support 

Find government programs to help during pregnancy and early childhood 

Diaper Composting: Is This Service Right for Your Family? 

13 Ways to Afford the High Cost of Childcare 

5 Benefits for First Time Parents

If you'd like to become a stay-at-home parent, here's a plan to make it happen within six months. 

8 Ways to Reduce the Costs of Childcare

6 Ways Work-at-Home Parents Can Find Temporary Childcare

How to Leverage Coupons to Get Great Baby Product Deals

A 6 Month Stay-at-Home Mom Plan

11 Simple Ways to Get Free Diapers 

Can You Afford a Baby? 5 Expenses Associated With Being a Parent

7 Best Baby Registry Sites and How to Build Your List

Why Cloth Diapering Doesn't Have to Be Hard 

51 ways to save up for baby .....when getting pregnant

Free baby stuff

32 Ways to Save Money When You Have a Baby

Cheap baby nursery furniture - sets- cribs

Book about baby bargains

Top baby costs and how to save

More ideas on how to save on baby costs

Websites for buying and selling used baby items

Homemade baby food

Disposable diapers

QUOTES:

Becoming a Stay-At-Home Parent:  We want to start a family soon, and when we do, I want to stay home with the baby. Some of our friends have tried but ran into financial troubles. We think we've found a way to avoid that. We started banking ALL of my take-home pay and living off of my husband's salary. It's been tough, but it's a good test run for being a one-income family. We know that a baby will add expenses, but we also figure that we can find some savings with one of us at home. As a bonus, we're building up a good emergency fund with my take-home pay!
Julianne

Our Babysitting Club: We save a lot on babysitting by belonging to a babysitting co-op. We have a group of families, and we exchange points instead of paying. It is a relatively easy system. We have a bookkeeper and a chairperson, who are "paid" in points each month that they hold their position. It really helps to know that I can just call on these people to watch my children and pay them points, which I can earn back by sitting with someone else's kids at another time. Judi from Dollar Stretcher Tip

Tax help for new parents

Parents have special tax situations and benefits. Tax breaks for parenting expenses can result in a lower tax bill and a higher refund. Here are some key things new parents need to know.

Before filing, new parents should:

• Get the child a Social Security or Individual Tax Identification number
  To claim parental tax breaks, the taxpayer must have their child’s or dependent's Social Security number, Adoption Tax Identification Number or Individual Tax Identification Number. Confirming a child's birth is the only way the IRS can verify that the parent is eligible for the credits and deductions they claim on their tax return.

• Check withholding
  A new family member might make taxpayers eligible for new credits and deductions, which can greatly change their tax liability. They can use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator to check their withholding. Taxpayers should provide their employer with an updated Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate, if they want to change how much tax is withheld from their paycheck.

When preparing to file, check tax credits and deductions:

• Child Tax Credit
  Taxpayers who claim at least one child as their dependent on their tax return may be eligible for the Child Tax Credit. For help figuring out if a child qualifies for this credit, taxpayers can check Does My Child/Dependent Qualify for the Child Tax Credit or the Credit for Other Dependents?

• Child and Dependent Care Credit
  If taxpayers paid someone to take care of their children or another member of their household while they work, they may qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit regardless of their income. Taxpayers who pay for daycare expenses may be eligible to claim up to 35% of those expenses with certain limits.

• Adoption Tax Credit
  This credit lets families who are in the adoption process during the tax-year claim eligible adoption expenses for each eligible child. Taxpayers can apply the Adoption Tax Credit to international, domestic, private and public foster care adoptions.

• Earned Income Tax Credit
  The Earned Income Tax Credit helps low- to moderate-income families get a tax break. If they qualify, taxpayers can use the credit to reduce the taxes they owe – and maybe increase their tax refund. People who earned $63,398 or less in 2023 may be eligible for this valuable tax credit. For tax year 2023, the EITC is as much as $7,430 for a family with three or more children or $600 for taxpayers who don’t have a qualifying child.

• Credit for Other Dependents
  Taxpayers with dependents who don't qualify for the Child Tax Credit may be able to claim the Credit for Other Dependents. Taxpayers can use the Does My Child/Dependent Qualify for the Child Tax Credit or the Credit for Other Dependents? tool on IRS.gov to help determine if they are eligible to claim the credit. They can claim this credit in addition to the Child and Dependent Care Credit and the Earned Income Credit.