Good luck buying a home on the Wasatch Front nowadays on a single income earning only $40,000 a year and still be considered finically sound. Oh, don�t forget about saving money for retirement.

$40,000 is enough? Unbelievable. I have raised eight children, live in a 75-year-old plain-Jane, fixer-upper house, drive 12-year old cars, and my income this year finally rolled over $40,000 (barely) for the first time. We've had to borrow against our assets to get by, and now we're seriously in debt for someone about to turn 60. We don't own a boat, motorhome, or four-wheeler like other families. We've burned wood for years because our broken furnace is too expensive to replace. We buy staples because processed food is too expensive. Our lifestyle is extremely providential, and yet $40,500 can't cover normal monthly expenses in rural Idaho. We can't afford the deductible on our state-employee health insurance, so we don't go to the doctor unless something is extremely serious. Where have I gone wrong? Or is the speaker wrong? Sorry, $40,000 is NOT enough.

It all depends on lifestyle. A single person living in rural America can get by on $40,000 quite easily enough. But, a couple, with more than two children - I don't think so. Besides, note that the 'money expert' relies on a million or more to actually generate the income he thinks we can get by on. Sure, anyone capable of 'doing the math' can show fabulous growth when one makes a consistent 10% contribution of any income for 40 years or so. But, who can do that? Life is full of obstacles and unforeseen calamaties.

Reality bites into all of the best money theories.

Jerry: Maybe you shouldn't have 8 kids if you don't have the financial resources. That's where you went wrong. 40,000 is for normal-sized families. I say this as the second of thirteen children, who grew up in a tiny house, thanks to my dad's 30,000 per year income. I on the other hand, wanting to have a decent-sized family, went to grad school and will easily make over 200,000 per year the rest of my life. Don't whine about misfortune when you obviously failed to prepare for the consequences of your decisions.