I became super strict and I didn ' t enjoy my money . For most of us , money means time spent , working to earn it . The more work , the more money and vice versa . Luckily I ' m self employed , so I decide how much I work . And if I live frugally I need less money less work more leisure time . And I enjoy the latter wayyyy more than work ! I am super strict too , and enjoy my free time , because I work to live . I don ' t live to work . Edit pressed enter too quickly gI somehow agree with drhugs ' suggestion to assign chores for money but I ' d put it the other way around Assign money to chores . Extra chores , because normal daily household chores should be free of charge . But extras however one defines those . but let the kids decide whether to do them More money or fancy stuff you can buy with it , but less time to play .