The yeah buts also prevent many people from traveling out of the country for a vacation. It’s sad how people put limits on themselves needlessly. There’s one point I want to make regarding your calculations, though. I’m guessing your take home pay figure assumes health insurance has already been deducted. For those who don’t have employee health insurance and have to pay for their own, that can add a lot to the overall cost of living, especially if they have medical issues like diabetes and expensive prescriptions.