[wiredfool]

FWIW, about 5 months ago, my family started sweating the small things. It's changed our burn rate by ~25%, from disturbingly over income to comfortably under income.

Looking back now, our happiness level is pretty much at the same point. We can't really tell what we we're missing, although I know there are things.

[ChuckMcM]

I wish I could vote this up more. So many folks I've talked to who have been 'losing ground' even though their family income was comfortably over $150K (in the bay area) and then done a walk through the 'little things' only to discover $30 - $40K of expenses in there.

Most often it seems that this came about where they reached a point where their income meant they didn't really need to 'save up' for things, which lead to a 'don't care' attitude which lead to spending money on things and experiences that were not expensive but not valuable.

[bcgraham]

Keep your eyes on the pennies. The dollars will take care of themselves.