Here's the budget breakdown of a couple that make $500K and still feel average

“Miscellaneous (something always comes up) - $10,000)”

Well, they pay over $200k in taxes. Add 3 vacations, a BMW and a Land Cruiser and you have eaten up a big chunk of it.

ETA: $18k in charitable donations seems high.

I'm just jealous of their $2500/yr home insurance on a $1.5 million dollar house and $2k in auto premiums

Both of ours are higher on a 300k home and a Honda and 7 yr old Ford.

Food for four= $23,000

Is my math wrong? To me that breaks down to almost $62 a meal per person (3 meals a day 4 people, 31 days in a month). That seems excessive unless a professional chef is making everyone every meal.

What state is that in. Downsize the house and they’re in a really good spot. Retirement is going to be difficult for them. We put more towards retirement each year and make less than them. $1.5m house is probably close to maxing out their dti requirement for purchasing I’m guessing.

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The "average" person doesn't go on 3 vacations a year

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No doubt. They gotta pump those numbers up. We usually take 4-5 a year.

How do you not max out your 401K making 500K a year (or let's assume 250K each)

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Is my math wrong? To me that breaks down to almost $62 a meal per person (3 meals a day 4 people, 31 days in a month). That seems excessive unless a professional chef is making everyone every meal.

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That's their annual expense, not their monthly

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I started to post the same but I’m assuming they’re rolling in FICA, and depending on the state, maybe it’s possible?

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The social security portion of FICA was capped at 160,200 in 2023

So on a % of income basis their FICA taxes were lower than people that make less than 160K a year