Sure, it can be fun to track down the least-expensive diapers in a 60-mile radius or collect so many coupons that you'll never pay full price for a jar of Skippy again. While everyday expenses like those can definitely add up, the best way to save the most cash in the least time is to focus on the big budget drainers. By that we don't just mean large shiny objects with huge price tags dangling from them but also the many hidden opportunities you may be overlooking because of your hectic life as a parent.

Here are some simple money-saving moves that can pay real dividends. A few require nothing more than learning to say no.

1

Make a beeline to your benefits office. "It's amazing to me how many parents don't understand their benefits packages at work or fail to take advantage of everything they're entitled to," says Eric Tyson, author of Personal Finance for Dummies, and the father of three boys.

For example, Tyson says, be sure to open flexible-spending accounts if your employer (or your spouse's) offers them. These plans let you have money withheld from your paycheck to cover health and dependent-care expenses throughout the year. You don't have to pay tax on that income, and you can use the account to reimburse yourself for a long list of things you may already be spending money on. If you're in the 25 percent tax bracket, say, putting $1,000 in a health account will save you $250.

You can use a dependent-care account to cover child care, preschool, and even summer day camp, for example. The health accounts can be tapped for costs your insurance doesn't already reimburse you for, such as co-pays at the doctor's office and pharmacy. A fairly recent change in the law extended this coverage to many of the over-the-counter medications that kids practically live on. Your benefits department should be able to give you the full list.

As long as you're there, also ask about your tax withholding—the money that's taken out of your paycheck for federal and state taxes. If you haven't filled out a new W-4 form since you had kids, now could be a good time to do it. Each additional withholding allowance you claim will mean more money in your check. You won't save anything directly here, but since you'll have additional cash coming in, you'll be less likely to need to use your credit cards and run up interest charges, which these days can easily top 12 percent. Speaking of which:

2

Keep a tight grip on your credit cards. Useful as they are, credit cards also make it way too easy to buy things we don't need and spend too much on the things we do. A better alternative, credit counselors say: Leave your credit cards at home when you go shopping and instead pay cash or use a debit card. With a debit card, the cash comes instantly out of your bank account, making it more difficult to spend money you don't have. However, some debit cards will let you overdraw your account, resulting in penalties that can average more than $30. So plan to keep an eye on your balance.

3

Dine out with cash too. Using a credit card at your family's favorite restaurants (or in this case, even a debit card) can encourage you not only to overspend but to overeat. People who put their meals on plastic, it turns out, typically spend 30 percent more than those who pay cash, according to one study by Visa USA.

4

Skip the extended warranties. It's hard to buy anything from a baby monitor to a dishwasher these days without a clerk trying to sell you an extended warranty or service contract to go along with it. These can add significantly to the price of an item ($49.99 on a $99.99 DVD player, for example), but they're almost always unnecessary. Consumer Reports has found that very few products ever need a repair during the time the extended warranty covers, and if they do, the repair will probably cost less than the warranty anyhow. Better to make sure that you and your spouse have enough life insurance on yourselves than to waste your money insuring appliances.

5

Don't let yourself be "upsold." Ordering toys, kids' clothes, or maybe even an item for yourself by phone? Don't be surprised if the salesperson also tries to talk you into you something additional—an increasingly common marketing technique that's often called "upselling." It's easy in that rushed conversation, with a baby howling in the background or a toddler tugging at your sleeve, to say yes to an extra product or service you don't need. So before you call, make a list and then stick to it.

6

Rethink your automatic expenses. Having money taken automatically from your bank account or charged to your credit card each month for services like DVD rentals, a fitness club membership, or season tickets to the local symphony or basketball team can be a genuine timesaver. But it can also be a money-waster if you don't actually use whatever you're paying for. Go down the list and ask yourself if you still have time to use those services now that you're a parent. If not, call and cancel. You can always sign up again once life calms down in 18 or 20 years.

7

Put the brakes on impulse buying. Any parent who has ever gone to a department store or supermarket with a toddler in tow knows how quickly strange objects can find their way into the shopping cart. Unless your kids are the kind who will happily take no for an answer and instantly return everything to the proper shelves, you may do better to leave them at home.

One way to curb impulse buying at the supermarket is to order your groceries online and have them delivered. Peapod is one such service, currently available in the Chicago area, Wisconsin, and along the East Coast. Its delivery fee is $6.95 and up. Local supermarkets in your area may offer similar services.

8

Cash in at tax time. Parents who qualify can help themselves to an assortment of tax breaks for raising those young citizens. The breaks include the dependency exemption ($3,500 per child for 2008) as well as several different tax credits. Your tax preparer or accountant, if you use one, can explain these for you. If you do your own taxes with the aid of one of the popular software programs, it should walk you through the steps too. You can also get more information on these tax breaks and how to claim them at the IRS Web site.

9

Plug any other money leaks. Almost everybody hates the word budget, so instead let's use the favored term of Alice G. Bullwinkle, a certified financial planner in Denver: "spending plan." By creating a spending plan, she says, you'll gain far greater control over your expenses. As a first step, track the money you spend over the course of a week or a month and also factor in a portion of any bills that come along less often, such as annual insurance premiums. Pay particular attention to discretionary expenses—the ones you can actually do something about. You can't, for example, do much to change your mortgage payment or rent, unless you want to move, but you have a lot of control over costs like travel, entertainment, and eating out. Once you have a handle on your expenses, you can decide whether that's how you want to continue spending your money in the future or if you'd rather cut some costs and boost others. "I always tell people that this isn't a straightjacket but simply a plan for spending your money in the ways you want to spend it," Bullwinkle says. "In fact, you may discover that you've been denying yourself certain things unnecessarily."

10

Don't scare the kids, but don't completely shield them either. Saving money as a family can also teach your kids some valuable life lessons. Telling children that money doesn't grow on trees is one thing, but showing them where it does come from and where it disappears to after that can be far more effective.

"You don't want to make your children feel horrible for wanting a 75-cent candy bar," says author and father Tyson. "But you can begin to teach them that it's important to try to live within your means."

Financial planner Bullwinkle, who is also a grandmother, believes the key lesson to teach kids is that money involves choices. The choice may be between the store brand of peanut butter and the more-expensive kind that's advertised on TV. Or it may be between buying a new car this year or waiting a while and taking a special vacation instead. "We may think that the people down the street have more money than we do, but the fact is that everybody has to make choices, no matter how much they have," she says. "If you help your children understand some of these choices, you'll be creating smart little consumers."