It has worked well. We never come anywhere close to borrowing the max 28/36. We like to go out and have our fun on weekends, not sit with empty pockets watching reality TV at home.
The concept of a standard ratio for all categories is absurd. Someone making $50K probably cannot afford to spend 36% on debt service because their other essential living expenses are likely to be much higher a percentage of income compared to someone making 250K for example.
