Joanna Fortune: How can I explain different family budgets to my kids?

Depending on how old they are, keep explanations short and practical so they can relate to what you are saying. When children are very young, your explanations should be simple.

As they get older (into the tween years), you can introduce concepts like budgets. Picture: iStock

My sister and her husband run their own business and are well off. We have always been close, and our two families go on holiday each year. While we pay for ourselves and manage our own budgets, my children, who are younger, find it difficult to understand why their cousins get to have meals out every night, wear top-label clothes, and have plenty of spending money. How can I explain the difference between the families without undermining the relationship with their cousins?

I suggest you reframe your approach away from comparing your two families and towards how everyone in your family gets what they need.