Before I gave up on Los Angeles and its obscene cost of living, money was really tight. More than half of my take home pay went to rent (buying a house was out of the question) and I had an hour and a half commute every day, fueled by gas that cost nearly $4 a gallon. Almost every penny of what would have been disposable income went to day care. I'm the single mother of a 3-year-old son and a daughter who will turn 6 in a couple of weeks.

I tried to shield my children from all that. They were far too young to be burdened with my financial woes. But every once in a while I had to fess up, like when I pulled my daughter out of gymnastics classes because we just couldn't afford them anymore.

A few months before we moved to Bakersfield I forgot to give my daughter her school lunch and snack money. I had it. It was just an oversight on a hectic morning. My kindergartener got  lunch anyway because, I later learned, she was so frightened by what she perceived to be our dire poverty that she had begun hoarding money. She wouldn't buy her snack for days at a time, just in case she needed cash for an unexpected disaster.

I was horrified to learn this, of course. I sat my little girl down and explained to her that while, yes, luxuries like gymnastics and vacations might have to stop for a while, we were not so bad off that we had to worry about starving to death on the streets, so please, please, go ahead and buy your snack.

Are you a parent? Have you found yourself spending less in the economic downturn? If so, what kinds of cuts are you making and how are you explaining the belt tightening to your children?

The Bakersfield Californian is preparing an article on this topic. Please e-mail cedelhart@bakersfield.com if you're willing to share your story.

--Courtenay Edelhart