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Cooking at home is one parent's secret weapon for saving money.
After all, raising kids is expensive: The average American family pays over $11,000 just in the first year of a child's life, and nearly $250,000 by the time they're 18.
Business Insider asked parents with children of all ages to weigh in on the financial side of having kids, and they shared their best advice for keeping their household bills in line while supporting a family.
Below, we've anonymously included 12 of these parents' best money-saving hacks (Note: Responses have been edited for length and clarity.):