We just topped 100k combined income this year. One kid now, late 30s and early 40s. We're in the central region in a small suburban town. We bought our house for 130k back in 2015 when it was just us and the cats. It's only ~680sqft, 2br 1ba. You'd think this would keep climate control costs down, but we still see outrageous bills from Evilsource. Solar is on the agenda now that it's clear we aren't going to be able to move any time soon with the market the way it is. The house had been for sale for over a year when we bought it because of a few factors - namely, that the former occupant had died in the home, I think. Also because at that time nobody wanted a small starter home. We could probably sell for a large profit at this point, but of course very little stock to choose from for our next home right now so we are starting to invest in growing where we are planted. Many items were left behind for us when we purchased that had belonged to the previous owner, like a lawn tractor, snowblower, TVs mounted in the living room and bedrooms, some furniture, a lot of tools and home improvement items, etc.. Because of these kinds of things we spent much less to get up to speed as homeowners. Our mortgage was $780 to start in 2015. We were both making significantly less at the time, under 80k a year combined. We got taken for a ride by both our original bank and the one who bought them out, both of which did not know how to appropriately factor taxes into escrow. Our rate ended up jumping significantly a couple years in a row to make up the deficit, first to $980, and now to about $1300. I had to go back to work part time after leaving the workforce due to a high risk pregnancy and difficult birth with 6 weeks of NICU care, and then ended up changing back to full time shortly after to afford the increase and make the childcare costs worth it. We also both have car payments, but my husband luckily paid off his student loans about a year after we bought our house, but before we got married and had a kid. I was fortunately able to complete my degree without loans. We live comfortably enough most of the time, but not entirely without struggles, especially when it's car and sewer tax time. We also seem to always finally build up a savings cushion and then something breaks. Such is homeownership, I guess. I get frustrated at our small space and lack of storage pretty frequently, especially now with a 5 year old and a dog added to our crew, but I'm also incredibly grateful to have what we have in a decent area that is safe and has a good school system. We are selective with our services (no cable or home phone, for example) and we shop mostly discounts but splurge on what's necessary to be happy and healthy (i.e. water cooler service since the town water is dreadful). We also strategically plan who carries health benefits vs. tax withholding burden based on current salary rates and trajectory, and this has mostly worked out for us. We've both moved within our careers and come up in pay quite a bit in the last 7 years, with the hope of continuing that trend to be able to continue to afford the cost of living. Not having to pay for full time childcare once our son was old enough for school helped significantly, also. All in all, it's not always easy, but it's doable. Live within your means, plan appropriately and be aware that those plans will always somehow get derailed and you have to just roll with it.