The five most common pitfalls of money management in child care programs are described along with proposed remedies. These pitfalls involve: (1) failure to account for shortfalls in income due to declining enrollments; (2) failure to put cost-cutting efforts into perspective and to choose the most feasible areas for cost savings; (3) failure to perform cash-benefit analyses of proposed fundraising projects; (4) failure to use other than checkbook balance money management methods for keeping tabs on the program's financial status; and (5) reliance on controls such as double signing of checks for financial security. Helpful resources to avoid money management pitfalls are cited and a Financial Management Assessment Guide is provided in the appendix. (Author/SS)