Is not eating out or taking vacations too much sacrifice?

Yes. Really.

Your family is not model to be aspirational of. Yours is a warning to others.

To be clear, my family did not make those tradeoffs. I'm not the original commenter. But why do you think such a thing is a warning?

Ok my mistake.

> But why do you think such a thing is a warning?

Because it's a bad way to spend your life.

It is when combined with "commuted 4 hours daily."

I agree. I wouldn't have traded 20 hours a week of time spent with my dad for a better neighborhood.