Preparing for the stay-at-home mom (or dad) budget: Seven things

My brother started a family two years after I did, which was sensible: I'm the oldest sibling. Then my sister-in-law and I got pregnant within a week of each other last fall, but it wasn't until early spring we learned that we were both going to have three children come summer; she was pregnant with twins! My brother and I are both the primary breadwinners in our family, too -- let's just say my sister-in-law and I don't often go out for pedicures. Yesterday we gathered with all the babies and the talk turned to money.

With years of balancing children one one income, and six adorable, expensive kids between us, what advice would we give to someone planning for several years of at-home parenting? When a local mama-to-be asked the question "how should I budget for life as a stay-at-home mom?", I discovered nuggets from our community and from our own experiences. Here are seven things I'd remember if I could go back to the first-time-pregnant me and do-over:

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