No kids, no school loans to pay for, and dual income goes a long way. Me and my wife have worked our asses off through the years. We both put in overtime, and I do a lot of side work too. A lot of my summer free time is spent working in my barn on other peoples stuff, so we can have more expendable cash. There was a time were I couldn't afford more than a $3000 car, or a beater car and a $2500 bike. I have expensive hobbies, and me and my wife wanted to enjoy life, so we worked towards being able to do that. We live comfortably now, but we still push every day to make more money and do better. I set a goal each year to make more money than the previous. We have accomplished that every year. And every year I raise my 401k contribution and contribution to my savings. The more we make the more we spend, but also the more we put back.