I get it. :) When you look at their income on paper it looks like plenty, but they need to take into account your expenses too, not just your income. After all, what with a mortgage, two car payments, their own student loan payments, utilities, groceries for six, clothes, shoes, (we still have relatively young kids and they outgrow their clothes and shoes in a matter of months), not to mention gas prices...not much of that money is left over. Why else would they ask me to help out now and again? And I don't grudge that of course, still, it just seems so riduculous that according to government standards, we're a well-off family, when really if they were to lose one or two paychecks, it would be disastrous.