Bloggerman2, see my post above – I agree wholeheartedly that it’s tough for even $100K earners, that’s exactly my point. I’m in the working world, have bills, etc.
I still think that, today, you’re basically shortchanging yourself by not getting an education or not encouraging your kids to get one. College, etc doesn’t HAVE to be expensive, plus it’s an investment. Many studies have demonstrated that, on average, higher education translates to higher earnings. See this- http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa072602a.htm – as an example. Even if $100K don’t quite cut the mustard, I’d still rather $100K/year + moderate student loans over my working life than $40-50K/year without.
AND – the fact that even over $100K doesn’t work is, in my mind, a sad, sad commentary on how far our financial life has devolved, at least in this part of the country.