Family finance The essential guide for parents

Because most books on personal finance give only a passing nod to families by including general information on budgeting, saving for college, and estate planning, Douglas and Lewin have targeted their advice specifically to parents with young children. Douglas has written more than a dozen books on various aspects of parenting, and Lewin is the author of the Financial Fitness Program series of personal finance guides. They augment their own expertise with tips gleaned from a panel of 75 parents, who provided firsthand accounts of the challenges they faced as new or growing families. Douglas and Lewin cover the costs of raising children, debt, credit, homeownership, educational expenses, wills, estate planning, taxes, insurance, and retirement. They include such practical considerations as deciding how big a car one needs, how to shop for secondhand goods, and how to decorate a nursery inexpensively. They discuss, as well, the question of whether both parents should work or whether one should stay at home, and they offer guidance on teaching children about managing money. --David Rouse