Many, if not the majority of middle income families in the U.S. live on this amount or less. They even pay social security taxes and income taxes on this income. Retirees whose primary income is from social security pay neither income taxes nor FICA. Medical expenses that are not affordable are often written off by hospitals. Not saying this is a generous income, but if you aren't supporting children, and own your home it is quite livable and comfortable.
totally rational. I pay anywhere between 10-20% in income taxes. Plus another 20-30k/annually on child-related costs. If you position yourself to own your car's and home I think it's doable.
I would need to cut out my $10,000 in annual vacations and $10,000 in annual fun money but the 2 of us could do it. I bet I could live on half that if I had no debt and 600k, still room to wiggle.
Hopefully at 50 I have 2-3x that much, which means my retirement should be 2-3x better right?