But for most people, its not.

Especially if youre living in one of the highest cost-of-living cities in America without the income to match.

Thats where Cody and Georgi Boorman found themselves in January 2014, living paycheck to paycheck in Seattle.

Georgi and Cody Boorman play with their daughter Eloise in their backyard.

Now that they eliminated their debt, Georgi is able to take care of her daughter Eloise, 2, and work from home rather than pay high monthly rent in Seattle. Paul T. Erickson for The Penny Hoarder

Rent prices were a whopping 29.3% higher, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Probably not as good as youd like.

It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.

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But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?

They also owed $27,000 on a car loan, putting their total debt at $83,000.

But then they decided they wanted kids.

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They knew they couldnt afford any in their current state.

So they started looking at unique opportunities that their city provided them to lower their expenses.

Groceries are another expense that typically cost more in big cities.

But Cody noticed that because there are so many options in each neighborhood, the stores are constantly competing.

So they shopped for deals and used Costco to keep their grocery bill at $75 per week.

After five months, they paid the Civic down to value.

They realized the cost to drive their car was astronomical for the number of miles they traveled.

Thats another benefit of living in a city: Everything is close together.

By the time they eliminated their car payment, they were on a roll.

But they decided they didnt just want to be car-payment free.

They wanted to be completely debt-free.

It almost started to become a game, Cody said.

Like, How quickly can we actually do this now that we have everything out in front of us?

And then, a week later, Georgi lost her job.

It was a hit.

But it made them all the more motivated to finish paying off their student loans.

So they made and followed a budget every month.

Cody found their rental by searching Craigslist for the term ASAP.

The Boormans paid $1,250 per month for their apartment, which was only a mile from their jobs.

And they didnt stop there.

This new financial picture gave them room to dream bigger than they ever could have even one year prior.

The couple knew that when they started a family they wanted to be near family.

The move didnt significantly lower their cost of living or help them pay off the debt faster.

In August 2015, six months after moving into their new house, Cody and Georgi became debt-free.

And in October 2016, their first daughter Eloise was born.

Bigger Picture

Since Cody and Georgi paid off their debt, they havent slowed down.

Theyve continued to get raises and pursue freelance work, and their income is now up to $90,000.

One that values free time over more stuff.

Jen Smith is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.

She and her husband paid off $78,000 of debt in less than two years on two less-than-average salaries.

She gives money saving and debt payoff tips on Instagram at @modernfrugality.

(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)

You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…