(MONEY Magazine) – Like so many couples who are juggling two careers while trying to raise a family, Marc Walker, 38, and his wife Melanie, 35, of Ithaca, N.Y. always feel as if their spare time is disappearing into a black hole. In their hectic lives are two constellations: Marc's full time job as a sales representative at the Research Institute of America and Melanie's four-day-a-week job teaching art at an elementary school. That's not to mention the requisite chaos of day care, school and extracurricular activities for their sons, Joshua, 7, and Benjamin, 4. Figuring out who will pick up the kids, shop for groceries, cook dinner and do the myriad other household chores is a daunting experiment in space and time. But solving the Walkers' financial affairs is an even more vexing problem. Although their combined annual income totals $63,300, Marc says, ''No matter what we do, we can't seem to get ahead.'' Despite their economic advantages -- double the earning and saving powers of single-income households -- many dual-career families share the Walkers' feeling that they are living from paycheck to paycheck. The most common reason: unbridled spending habits that prevent such couples from saving for long-term goals. Some outlays, such as child care, are unavoidable. But bolstered by the sight of two steady income streams, two-career families often log up far less critical expenses, such as a bloated mortgage for an unnecessarily large house or an addiction to time-saving products. The result: such families get used to a standard of living that, absent a growing nest egg of assets, they will be unable to maintain when the time comes to fund their children's college education and their own retirement. But by taking advantage of unique opportunities to cut costs -- and by putting a brake on impulse spending -- you can begin setting aside money for long-term goals. Start by taking the following critical steps: -- Minimize your costs for reliable child care. Finding high-quality, affordable child care is perhaps the most crucial concern of working parents. An estimated one out of three children whose mothers work full-time are cared for by a relative; most of the rest stay with a nonrelative or attend a day- care center or preschool. The annual bill for such services ranges from $1,500 to $10,000 a year, with the majority of parents paying roughly $3,000. To shrink the bill, take full advantage of any tax breaks to which you are & entitled as a working parent. In addition to the exemption you can claim for dependents on your tax return ($2,000 per child in 1989), you may also be eligible for a tax credit for your day-care bills. The credit -- a dollar-for- dollar reduction of your tax bill -- can save you as much as $480 if you have one child and $960 if you have two or more, assuming your combined income exceeds $28,000. To qualify, your day-care costs must be paid to a nondependent who provides care in the home or to an outside facility caring for more than six children. Only expenses incurred for children under age 13 whom you claim as dependents on a joint return are allowed. You may be entitled to an even bigger tax break if you or your spouse works for a company that offers a dependent-care flexible spending account (FSA). These accounts allow employees to use pretax dollars to pay for day-care costs, typically up to a limit of $5,000 a year. One minor catch: you must decide before the beginning of each year how much money to put into the account, and what you don't spend, you lose. Starting this year, every dollar that you spend from your FSA reduces by $1 the day-care expenses that qualify for a tax credit. If your FSA-paid expenses equal or exceed $2,400 for one child, or $4,800 for two or more children -- the maximum allowed for the credit -- you lose the credit altogether. So while technically you can use both your FSA and the credit to reduce child- care expenses, most working parents in fact must choose between them. You will generally be better off paying for day care through the FSA. For example, if your adjusted gross income is $50,000, you could save up to $1,400 on taxes with an FSA, but only as much as $960 by taking the credit. -- Dovetail your company benefits to make sure your family is adequately but affordably insured. Typically buttressed by two benefit plans providing comprehensive health, life and disability coverage, most dual-career families are amply protected from the financial repercussions of death or prolonged illness -- a critical concern for any household with children. But as a growing number of companies insist that their employees pick up part of the tab for their benefits, the cost of this insurance is increasingly burdensome. There is, however, a plus side to this trend in benefits: you now get more choice about how comprehensive you want your coverage to be. With two plans to select from, dual-career couples thus have an opportunity to minimize ! insurance costs. You can pick out the best, most affordable parts of each plan, say, life and disability from one package and health and dental from the other, to create an optimal blend -- rather like choosing two from Column A and two from Column B in a Chinese restaurant. If your spouse's plan provides adequate and inexpensive insurance for the whole family, for example, opt for the least comprehensive protection in your own. A few employers allow you to refuse medical coverage entirely, which can save $500 to $1,000 a year. -- Cut some of the frills out of your budget to make room for your real priorities. Encouraged by the cash flow from two paychecks, you may inadvertently have settled into a free-spending mode where the line between required and superfluous expenses is blurry, at best. If so, you may find yourself struggling to balance the books at the end of the month -- and rarely adding to your savings. Says David Homrich, director of financial planning at Acorn Financial Services in Atlanta: ''If you don't prioritize your needs and objectives, you'll always be trying to play financial catch-up.'' To free cash for key goals, consider scaling back your reliance on convenience products -- on which strapped-for-time working parents often depend -- or on top-of-the-line equipment for expensive hobbies. Can you make do with fewer takeout dinners and restaurant meals? Can you forgo the latest graphite tennis racquet more suited to Steffi Graf's forehand than your own? Once you have sensibly minimized your expenses, you can begin saving money for longer-term concerns, such as your children's college education. Although the amounts needed for college are daunting, the earlier you start, the less you'll have to sock away each month. If you begin saving $150 a month upon the birth of your child and invest the money in an equity fund that returns 7% a year, for example, you will have enough to pay the entire cost of your baby's B.A. at a public college by the time he or she turns 18. But wait until the child is 12 and you will almost have to double your monthly savings to afford the same school. When earmarking savings for specific purposes, be sure to address the goal that dual-career couples with children most often neglect: their own retirement. ''If you're not careful, you could end up spending all your money on the kids. When you turn 50 and the kids get out of college, you will say, 'Great. Now we can start taking care of ourselves.' But it could be too little, too late,'' warns Homrich. The consequence: postponing retirement for years until you amass the assets needed to live comfortably. Even setting aside small amounts can make a big difference in a retirement fund, given the number of years your investment earnings have to compound. So don't scoff at putting away as little as $50 a month. Invest that money in a growth-stock mutual fund that averages an 8% annual return in a tax-deferred retirement account, such as your 401(k) plan or an Individual Retirement Account, and in 20 years, you will have added nearly $30,000 to your nest egg.