[watmough]

Here's a recipe for living on one 'median' income:

  * Pay your cars off. 
  * Get down to < $300 / month on food. 
  * Stop eating out except on special occasions.
  * Turn the thermostat up / down in summer / winter. 
  * Cap mortgage or rent at $1000 / month.
  * Live close to work
  * Stop buying lots of crap you don't need.
  * Build some savings

The key thing is, if you can manage on one income, a LOT of expenditure just melts away. Day care, gas for commuting to two jobs, much easier to eat at home, etc. etc.

[happenstance]

Those things would be easy if it's just you. However, imposing those policies on the wife is another matter. It just devolves into fighting over money all the time.