Hahah, you know - I think you might have just explained that magic $75k number. In thinking about your post some of the most obvious examples of this would be t

Hahah, you know - I think you might have just explained that magic $75k number. In thinking about your post some of the most obvious examples of this would be things like your car breaking down, or needing to take a week off work, and other such things. $75k (a decade ago) is that point where you can cover these costs, whether in NYC or Bodunk, with a pretty minimal amount of discomfort. Get down into that $50k range and you're doing pretty okay (especially in Bodunk), but that's still at an income point where something like a car failure is going to be really pretty stressful.