This one hit me where I live. Being a grad student and a freelancer, we have limited means. We're lucky to have generous support from others, but we still have to carefully consider our spending habits. This is a struggle for me, because for years I had a very lucrative corporate job that allowed us to live very well.

We still live well, but when it comes to spending money on me (us) or the kids, I (we) always choose the kids. And our big girl knows the core truth: "We have just as much money as we need, no more, no less, right, Mom?"

Right.

Your posts are so thoughtful and reasoned. Thank you!