Sometimes living within your means can be a challenge.
Social media went nuts this week when the media reported stories of people who said they were struggling to get by on $100,000 a year.
You can understand why — put like that, a six-figure income seems like a lot of money. Surely these people should be able to cope?
But the reality can be quite different and delving into it a little illustrates how an individual's circumstances can vastly affect their quality of life.
If you own your house freehold, the kids have left home and you're working and earning $100,000 you probably won't have a worry in the world.
But if you have a mortgage and kids to look after, $100,000 might not go as far as you expect. If you had a $500,000 mortgage at a rate of 6 per cent, paying it off over 25 years, you'd spend about half your take-home pay each month just on your home loan.
Then, if that was the sole income for a family, you'd have your food bill — about $800 to a $1000 on average, according to statistics, your power, school costs, rates, insurance ...
