The American Dream I think is Money and Happiness. The money part is 'simple' meaning simply have enough of it but the happiness part is completely up in the air. What is it to be 'Happy'? Is there a set ubiquitous idea when thinking of happiness? I don't think so.
Money-wise all I need is some residual income and then I can work on not only being happy but making the wife & kids happy as well, which is no easy task. When you think about how much cash you need to be comfortable it's not a lot especially if you're outside of a major city. Let's say you have a family of four I think $40k to $50k would be good anywhere outside of spots like San Fran & New York.
