A week ago I had seven dollars in the bank. Granted, that was after moving the household to Europe again and I do have accounts receivable, but financially I'm at the point where when I'm not actually underwater I feel successful.
Having "a little less than a million" as a pad would reduce my stress considerably.
My wife and I went out for a celebratory dinner recently when our net worth finally turned positive after years of grad school.
The question is: did the dinner put you back into the red? If not, maybe it was warranted. :-)