The linked CNN article[1] breaks it down as essentially $52k on childcare and expensive child activities, 23k on food including some undoubtedly expensive "date nights" and the rest on the sort of insurance and maintenance costs you incur when everything you have is very expensive. The Bloomberg author's probably aiming to make it seem even more frivolous by having "other" as a massive line item, not that I'm convinced sure many people facing real rather than self-imposed spending constraints would consider $9k per annum on "no fancy bags, shoes or threads" clothing an example of the sort of thriftiness the article subjects seem to think they're demonstrating, or $23k to be a food budget for two adults and two kids that couldn't possibly be trimmed a little...

[1]https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/06/budget-breakdown-of-a-couple...

Apparently "miscellaneous" is only $10k/year, "other expenses" is separate from that. The single biggest line item outside of taxes!

There is a further breakdown in the linked article: https://www.financialsamurai.com/scraping-by-on-500000-a-yea...

It includes things like food, student loan payments and "children's lessons".

It’s crazy how accurate the “$100 gas $800 rent $400 food $2000 $impulse_expense please someone help me budget my family is dying” meme is.

At the risk of repeating what gets said every time this topic comes up, basic financial education should be taught in schools.

Yeah. What's crazy is the article didn't talk about it. Biggest red flag right there.

Eating all organic, fresh-from-farm food, eating at luxury restaurants, attending internationally acclaimed shows in the best seating, and maybe even investing in a little bit of modern art? Oh, and purchasing all the best in skincare, makup, spas, saunas, cryotherapy, light therapy, etc? Personal trainers, coaches, cleaners, cooks? I could imagine a combination of all of those could be 8,500$ a month.

(EDIT: And I bet it's still feel inadequately uncultured compared to an even wealthier peer who owns several paintings, vintage wines, attends every big show in the best seating + hires a personal stylist!)

Do you have kids? Maybe not 8500 but there is always something from summer camp to orthodontics etc... Life with kids is worth it 200 percent but expensive.

Probably child care / private schooling for the two children. Don't see it itemized in the table.

That's probably utilities, cell phone, tv, after school/nanny/sports/etc for kids activities, Starbucks, food, etc. Not that it isn't a lot but I don't see any other line items for all the stuff and it can add up depending on how you live.

The Bloomberg article did a pretty poor job summarizing the expenses - the linked article actually has a better breakdown: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/06/budget-breakdown-of-a-couple...?

$42k for childcare and $23k for food are two of the biggest items listed as "other".

Private school for two kids could be that much in NYC.

They have mortgage payments: it's trivial for a house to just up and eat $10k of your money, for one example. That's the big differentiator: at this level of income, they can afford to just pay random expenses that many folks would have to just jam onto eternal credit card debt.

EDIT: nvm, I misread the parent, and other sibling comments illuminate the actual breakdown of this line item.

That would be the monthly credit card bill :-). It autopays the gym, the uber rides, the gifts, etc etc etc.