Having multiple late model cars in the household, often via leases (meaning expensive comprehensive insurance is also required). Buying a $15 lunch and three $5 coffees per day is probably an extra $20/workday ($4800/yr) more than a viable alternative. Two extra nights of eating out rather than cooking food at home might add another $100/week. Paying someone $100/wk to come clean your house is more than half of that “impossible” $10K/yr (and $100/wk is cheap for a cleaner in many cities).

No one’s saying it’s completely free from trade-offs , but a lot of people have leaks in their bucket that they mindlessly assume are “required” when, in fact, they’re small luxuries and should be considered that way. It doesn’t mean you can’t do them, but rather just means you should consciously determine if they’re actually worth the tradeoff to you.