Numerous articles discuss how expensive it is to raise children. Yet I have not seen any articles about the numerous ways children help you to save your money. In my short-time as a parent, here are some that I’ve discovered:
- Your two-year old gets sick, you cancel your evening plans. Savings: babysitter, dinner. The longer the sickness, the bigger the savings!
- You’d like to go out, but your spouse already has plans. Someone has to stay home. That someone is you. Cost of an evening reading newspaper or watching TV: $0
- Kids love to play games, from roley-poley to catch. Now you do too. Total cost: $0
- Playing on the swings.
- Playing in the leaves.
- Doing something with your child that involves exercise. Your cost $0. Your short-term benefit: you’re off the couch. Long-term benefits (to your health): potentially tremendous (not to mention related health-care cost savings)
- Teaching your child the alphabet, nursery rhymes, counting to 10, how to say Matsuzaka, etc. Cost: $0.
There are plenty of expenses related to children of course , including the big one: saving for college education. But, like everything else, there’s plenty more balance than first meets the eyes. If you want to live Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck, it’s critical that you find yours.
Comment below on any other ways your children have helped save you money.
“personal finance” 
“financial education”
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I don’t have children; but I’m the oldest of several (home-schooled) siblings. My mom said to tell you that kids save money for her because, as they mature, they do a lot of household chores, and take care of her (and Dad).
….. she pays them small amounts of money for doing certain tasks — For example, she may sometimes say to a 12-year-old, “I’ll give you 50 cents to do the dishes” (meaning, HUGE stacks of dishes!) — But even so, the benefits overall outweigh a few quarters here and there. Also, they don’t get a weekly allowance unless they’ve done their chores; and the amount of the allowance is based on how much they’ve achieved in work and in school (homeschool). Bad behavior results in less of an allowance.
Not sure exactly how much the kids get paid for doing dishes, but I know it would cost a lot more to pay a maid! I think my sister does laundry just because she needs towels and clothes for herself, and “might as well throw in” some of her siblings’ clothes too, to make a full load — In other words, I don’t think she gets paid for it (not sure).
In the future, when my parents are old and need care, they won’t be going in a nursing home.
So actually, if immature kids are spoiled rotten and refuse to help around the house, they _don’t_ save money in the manner I just indicated.