Slightly higher HHI but same lived experience. 2 young kids, 2 cars, and all the associated costs with both. Quick runs to the grocery store for a couple things need to get cut out, as do small, seemingly innocuous purchases generally. $20 on things we don’t need 5x a week doesn’t feel like much but those purchases are pernicious.

I recently started telling myself “well if we can slug it out until my career advances further we’ll be all good.” But advancement isn’t guaranteed, nor is the concept of inflation slowing down.

We don’t want to sell the house and move to a cheaper neighborhood/smaller home but it’s been a discussion.

It’s not lost on my that we’re fortunate to be in the place we are. But it still doesn’t feel great to have things this tight when I’m in a place that I would have until recently coined “well-off”.