The biggest difference in spending between the working class and the upper middle class is their spending on education, investments, and retirements. This is why when he points out the cost of living that lifestyle I don't think he's way off as some do, HVM usually are going to want to spend money on their kids education so that their kid can potentially outperform them. That usually means either paying a premium for a house with elite public schools or spending $25-50k per year on private schools.
This article discusses the education spending habits of the elite in NYC
Wealthy New Yorkers are dropping $375 an hour on prep courses to get their kids into $50,000 'Baby Ivy' kindergartens in an effort to eventually get them into top colleges
"Manhattan K-12 schools Horace Mann, Collegiate, and Trinity all have yearly tuition that exceeds $50,000. That's more than the yearly tuitions at Cornell, Harvard, and Princeton, which cost less than $50,000 without room and board, reported Woolley and Kazakina.
Parents have to apply, prep, test, and interview with the Baby Ivies as part of a competitive admissions process. While many schools keep their lips mum on acceptance details,
Trinity has revealed a 10% acceptance rate — about the same as Cornell's, Woolley and Kazakina wrote.
"With the Baby Ivies, parents are asked to describe their kids and family," Woolley and Kazakina wrote. "A month on a private yacht in Greece, for instance, might be held up as evidence that a tyke is worldly."
Parents also hire school consultants, which range from $12,000 to $25,000 at Manhattan Private School Advisors or start at $375 per hour at Smart City Kids, to help increase acceptance odds."