3000/m on 500/y is extremely inexpensive. They will not find cheaper for 4 people without driving up transportation costs and killing leisure time. They probably have an affordable car, as compacts tend not to be "luxury" cars with many bells and whistles to maintain. Tuition, well, you pay for what's important to you, and obviously they would rather dump this into the kids than saving. Hardly worth criticizing as excess. Groceries and eating out are not going to get cheaper. They are already less than $10 per day per person. Again, one couldn't call that excessive.