<prompt> Human: Current status:Married. No children.39 years old. Wife is 46.80,000 combined gross income.600 in savings.1500 in checking.125,000 in combined 401Ks. We plan on working at least through age 65, but probably until 70, so were only about 13 of the way through our careers.86,000 mortgage at 4.25. Four years into it.Gas bill: 150.Electric bill: 150.Cable and internet bill: 150.Phone bill: 150.Insurance bill: 100.Two car payments: 380 and 200.Two credit cards with 1,500 on each. We dont use these very often. We keep them around this amount because we can afford to pay more than the minimum payment when the balances are in this range.When I was young, I got into some financial situations, like most young people, and swore to never be in that situation again. I straightened up, and was strict with myself, and exercised discipline, and I have been able to ward off financial issues for the past decade. I havent bounced a check for 15 years.Over the years, I tried different things with my finances. If it didnt work, I cut it off as quickly as possible. If it worked, I kept with it, but never invested too much into one thing. But, in the end, it was several years ago I came to the conclusion that simple was the best possible financial framework.We have a short-term status: thats the checking account.We have a mid-term status: thats the savings account.And, our long-term status is the mortgage and 401Ks.I feel fortunate to have the mortgage that we do. The mortgage we refinanced four years ago from 6.75 down to 4.25, which also reset it. We only refinanced the balance, and for the past four years, I was paying 14 of the mortgage a week. If you do the math, that cuts off about 14 of the mortgage in the end. I just checked my amortization sheet, and Im about six months, and 3000, ahead on the mortgage. I recently cut the payment schedule back to the conventional one-payment a month. Here is why:A couple years ago, the wife and I were each putting 50 a week into the savings account. Our expenses werent growing very much, but we were getting nice pay raises each year. It wasnt long before we had something like 15,000 in the savings account, and 5000 in the checking account. On top of that, we hardly thought about money. It just kept coming in, a portion got socked away into our savings, our 401Ks were growing, the mortgage was getting paid off quicker than it should, and we didnt bother about thinking twice when we wanted to buy something. I helps that we have simple tastes, and arent extravagant people to begin with.Two years ago, Ill be honest, that amount of money just hanging out in our accounts was making me nervous, but I didnt want to stash it away in a place that wasnt readily accessible. Since the day we moved into the house, there were definite improvements that we had in mind, so we decided that it was time to get those improvements done. It was a way of investing in our lifestyle and living conditions.The renovations went horribly wrong. The budget almost tripled. We were forced to empty our savings account and checking account. I pulled some crafty and creative financial maneuverings, and we weathered the storm.At the same time, my career suffered a serious setback that cost us 20,000 a year in income. I made some adjustments that gave us some relief in our budget. One of them was pairing back on the mortgage payments.So, here we are. The mess is almost done. We just have a couple things left to do to the house. These are things that need to be done, not want to be done. The total, I am thinking, is going to be less than 10,000, and then that is it. We are done with improvements on the house. They are only a headache, and end up costing you way more than you originally intend.We are surviving, but I keep watching our checking account going on its rollercoaster ride. We get paid, and then all the utilities and car payment come out, and we get down to dangerous levels. And, our expenses seem to keep creeping up.So, yeah, I miss the times we were having two years ago, before this whole mess started. My wife is a real trooper. She is in this with me, and we keep each other abreast of financial things all the time. She supported me, and really saved my life, when things were on the line. But, I just cant help but feel like a failure. The devastating career mistake that I made, that I dont regret, ended up erasing 15 years of advances. I feel as if Im really back to scratch. We are slowing rebuilding, but literally one dollar at a time. And, at our age, I feel that we should be a lot further along than we really are.I am truly lamenting our situation. It makes me sick to think of all that was lost in time and money. This situation will end up determining the rest of my financial life.So, my main questions are, how different is my situation from other peoples?I understand that this damage to us is permanent and long lasting, but have others suffered the same setbacks and still come back?Am I okay? Am I actually behind, or am I ahead, and just dont realize it? Or, if I just stick the course, will things eventually end up okay? This is the main thing that I need to know.In the end, I am considering doing a withdraw from our 401Ks of about 20,000 to finish the house work, and to get some thousands back into our savings account. I have been doing some research, and even contacted the holder of my 401K to get the details. We would have to suffer the normal tax penalties of 20 for federal taxes and 10 for the state of Ohio taxes. So, that 20,000 will actually cost us closer to 25,000. But, what I would gain in exchange is peace of mind, which is about the same value of 30,000.Please give me your honest opinions. Thanks in advance.  <response>: Ill be completely honest with you. I think you guys are doing just fine. Depending on how much equity you have into your house and your cars I think your net worth is probably around 160k-180k. While you could obviously be a lot further ahead than you are, you guys seem to be living rather frugally and have a respectable combined income for your listed expenses. As long as you keep a high savings rate and always contribute more towards retirement accounts, I think youll be alright. First and foremost you need to rebuild your emergency fund in your savings account. 2100 between your savingschecking is way too low for being a homeowner. 