It's justifiable to take a pay cut (to me) when:

- The pay cut is offset by something of similar or greater value. That may mean more work/life balance, a shorter commute, fully remote work, you name it. What is valuable to you may be worthless to someone else so it's an entirely subjective thing.

- It's a pivot into something that will have an eventual payoff. For instance, someone may be a general manager at a grocery store making $100,000, but make a career pivot into an entry-level software development position making $85,000.

- The higher paying job is taking a toll on my physical or mental health. Most jobs are going to carry some sort of stress, but if that stress is hurting me physically or mentally, the pay isn't worth it.

- The pay cut wouldn't impact my standard of living. I'd be totally fine taking a small pay cut if it didn't cut into my standard of living. The dollar amount depends on your income, of course. Taking a $5,000 cut making $200k is a lot different than taking that kind of cut making $25,000.