I use cheats is certain situations. I use money cheats to take away money if I feel like my sims have too much. I also use cheats like moveobjects when placing decoration objects. I also drag hunger up in the very specific circumstance of a vampire sim eating plasma cobbler because for some reason that action doesn't satiate and I think it should. Sometimes if a townie is bothering me, I'll reset them.
I try not to stress about cheats too much because sometimes using them can fix a problem (like the plasma cobbler one). Besides those instances though, I try not to use them too much because as many have said, it can make the game boring. I guess it's all about finding the right balance.