This is a common or global problem and the thing we should do is we do know on how to budget our funds and do set priorities first and find the best ways that we can earn more extra money.
The advice had always been working but most of the people are not going to set priorities when they are in the situation. Fathers specially are not going to disappoint the family members, when their child ask for IphoneX, they immediately buy it for them when its not in their plan. That's what fathers do.
What might work is perhaps encouraging families to do a backyard gardening, planing vegestables and also backyard farming, goats for their milk and so on.