The debt isn't enough to be worried about, unless some big medical bill comes up. And even then, my job provides really good health insurance/critical illness insurance, so I'm not even very worried about that either, in general... Did I give you the impression that I wasn't paying it off or something? I'm already at the point in my student loans where more than 50% of my student loan payments go to my principal. I only had like 12K to begin with, and a portion were subsidized. We have enough money saved to be fine if someone got laid off. Plus, the money we'd save in Child care would completely offset a few of our bills. We essentially live in a manner where we could survive off of one person's income. We just wouldn't be able to travel and entertain like we do now...
Add to that... I have a VERY stable career. Like the type of stable where the average years of service is like 8-10 years, and that's only because they're consistently hiring new people because regardless of the economy, my industry is necessary. I'd have to not be able to do my job well to get fired, and that's not the case. My wife is a registered nurse, so she'll always be able to find a job. At the worst, she may just have to work a terrible shift.
I'm of the belief that as long as I'm not overextending myself and I have money to save, I will enjoy my life. I'll take a few less trips if I have to, but I'll always take trips. I'll go out to eat less, but I'll still go out to eat every once in a while. I won't go shopping as much if that's what's necessary, but a new outfit every once in a while won't hurt. As long as I can still pay all my bills, pay down my debt, and save.
