Ever hear the term the more you make the more you spend? Everyone is trying to keep up with the Jones's........little do you know the Jones's are financed out the ass. I hope Mr. Jones doesn't lose his job. Do you NEED a plasma tv, a nice boat, two large car payments(yours and wife) and all the other toys that we all want? There are plenty of households that "survive" on 100k per year. I live outside Boston and I can tell you it's not cheap. My wife works as well as I. We make just over 100k together and we live very happily and comfortable. And yes, we have a daughter thats 2, so I know about the kid expenses too. To say 100k sucks is ignorant. It's not what you make, but what you do with your money. If your lazy and not willing to hustle to make things happen for yourself both on a financial and personal level then I guess you need to make 250k to live the life of luxury that so many younger people feel they are entitled to. There are many people out there that make much less and are some of the happiest people I know. Look at our teachers, they make squat, but they still have a good quality of life and they teach because they want to. Kind of like why we fly. Didnt want to go off on a tangent here but I get irritated by people that think life sucks until you make 250K. Life is like a train ride and we are all waiting to get off the train at the " Big salary, now I can be happy stop". Thing is there is no stop , so enjoy the train ride and make the best of where your descisions take you. And dont get me wrong, we all want the finer things in life, and if money is the one and only thing that makes you happy then you should think long and hard about a different industry . Again, sorry this was long winded.