I think you are being more than a little harsh. The "too much house" that they bought had a payment that was a relatively conservative 22% of their income at th

I think you are being more than a little harsh. The "too much house" that they bought had a payment that was a relatively conservative 22% of their income at the time of the purchase. He did buy a motorcycle, and has sold it and sounds like he has learned from it. I don't get any indication that anyone is "bitching" that the wife must now work, I think what they both saying is "we worked really hard to get to a certain point in life, and getting there allowed us to consider new options. Those options are now gone and that is hard." If 31% of your income dissapears tomorrow, and someone interviews you about it a few months from now, could you be this equanimous? I know that I would struggle.