Let the kids be kids

Keeping financial stress away from the kids does not mean buying them whatever they decide they need to keep them from thinking they're poor. It means that even if you are treading water financially, you can decide to pay the bills, stock the cupboards and then not focus on how you might have trouble doing that again next week. Do something else instead. Add a little order in the house. Plan some fun on the calendar. Have conversations of value with your kids. Instead of getting worried that they think they're poor, let them know that they are lucky to be in a family careful with their spending and one in which they know they will be fed. Not every child in the world has such a guarantee.