I don't buy anything I don't need. I pay cash for everything and have no debt. But with a $2000 a month child support bill, full medical, $2300 rent, ~$500 in other bills, etc, I do not have much left at all after all my basic expenses.
People think $150k is a lot on paper - but when you add everything up, it is not actually a lot.
I'm sorry but I'm really not convinced. Even given all of that, if you are making >$150K then you are still pulling in probably >$3k / month in discretionary spending which alone is the same as the total pre-tax median household income in the US.
Half of America is literally paying for all of childcare, medical, rent, other bills and basic expenses with less than you consider necessary to cover your basic expenses and it isn't like there is mass starvation in the US. It simply doesn't add up to you being in hardship when you are in the top 5% of earners.
Assuming a 40% tax rate (overestimating) and the expenses listed here, that leaves 2700/mo spare, still a good bit, but:
That 2k/mo child support payment is what's insanely high(that's rent for an entire family!). Most families don't have to deal with it, and, further, get by with significantly less money spent on their children, assuming they run the numbers and figure out an appropriate budget.
People think $150k is a lot on paper - but when you add everything up, it is not actually a lot.