$44k for a family of four? You'd need something to go wrong once and it would put the dent in even the most disciplined saver, not that you'd be in a good position to begin with.
Depends on the cost of living where you live. Around here, it would be possible for a family of four to live on that and even put some small savings away, assuming they had no existing debt. They'd be living more frugally than many would care to, but not superfrugally. The crunch time would come when it was time for college for the kids, but even there, assuming the kids do the first couple of years at a community college, it should be possible to do that without saddling the kids or the parents with excessive levels of student loans.
