DERRY, N.H. — Emmakate Paris was a one-woman tornado the other day, whipping through the racks at the thrift shop here, hunting for clothes for her children and one special item for herself: a green suit. For Halloween, she wants to dress up as Tippi Hedren in the Hitchcock movie “The Birds.”

Halloween is a small indulgence in a life that Ms. Paris, 41, said was consumed by worries — “about the kids, insurance, vacation, school, taxes, the price of gas, everything.”

She voted for Barack Obama in 2008 but is now torn. Mr. Obama has not lived up to his promise, she said. “My husband and I both have to work full time, and we’re just getting by.”

But she is not thrilled with Mitt Romney either. She said he would set women back because he did not understand their needs.