Nothing wrong with extravagance, IF it's for what you value and enjoy. MMM doesn't say never spend any money on things that are expensive or extravagant. That isn't the message...
Sure... but wasn't you're argument that you weren't living an extravagant lifestyle?
Going out to a nice dinner or show once a month isn't what I'd call an "extravagant" lifestyle; and I'm not personally doing that exact spending, it was merely an example. Other examples of things that could quickly eat up $400, $600, $1000 etc could be:
1. Going out for a 'dinner and a movie" once or twice a week, not exactly extravagant as a single person (like the article is directed towards).
2. Catching a concert once a month (between tickets, parking, eating/drinking while out etc, all adds up).
3. Going to a professional sports game a couple times a month.
etc etc etc
That's not "driving a Lamborghini to the airport to catch a private jet for the trip to Milan for dinner" extravagant, nor is it "have box seat season tickets to the NFL team of your choice" extravagance, or "buying a new designer outfit each week to attend the latest fund-raising social event" extravagance, etc.
Sitting in stadium seats at an NFL game once a month will run most people hundreds alone (for that once day's spending, leaving only 27-30 more days of spending for their enjoyment to account for) if that's their enjoyment of choice (I think a buddy of mine paid ~$800 for the "rights" to buy tickets for his seat, then still has to pay around $40-100/ticket or so plus parking plus food and drinks while he's there with his family, running ~$2-300/game for 3 of them to go).
The point is, a "thing you enjoy and value" can be costly, even if you're not doing it regularly (once a month trips to a professional game, once a month trips to a broadway show, etc etc). Going out for one "nice night on the town" per month isn't what I'd call extravagant. If you get just as much enjoyment watching the local softball league play as you do going to a MLB game, then you can get just as much enjoyment for a much better value. If the experience of the stadium and watching your favorite team play is what brings the core of the enjoyment to your entertainment, then it's going to be a lot more costly. That doesn't mean you're living a "baller" lifestyle.
HOUSING Projected Cost All utilities $485 Phone $65 Mortgage $1,060 Maintenance or repairs $200 Other (lawn Care/termites/etc) $80
Subtotals $1,890 TRANSPORTATION Projected Cost Car Payment $0 Bus/taxi fare $0 Insurance (car + bike) $133 Licensing/ad valorum $12 Fuel $100 Maintenance $33 Saving for next vehicle $250
Subtotals $536 INSURANCE Projected Cost Home $20 Health $33 Umbrella $12 Dental $0
Subtotals $32 FOOD Projected Cost Groceries $612 Dining out $200 Other $0
Subtotals $812 PETS Projected Cost Food $10 Medical $10 Grooming $0 Toys $10 Other $10
Subtotals $40 PERSONAL CARE Projected Cost Medical/dental $0 Hair/nails $10 Clothing $25 Dry cleaning $0 Health club $0 Organization dues or fees $0 Other- household/etc supplies $35
Subtotals $70
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That's a typical budget for "the basics" in a relatively LCOL suburb. That totals to $3,414 (with employer or ACA heavily subsidized medical insurance). Notice that it doesn't include ANY entertainment, vacations, etc spending. I personally value traveling to beautiful places where I can have great scuba diving, sailing, and enjoy white sandy beaches while experiencing a different culture. A trip to do that "comfortably" runs ~$2-3k for a week doing it the "normal" way (i.e. not trying to go extreme frugal travel hacking coupon clipping etc but also not flying first class or staying in the most expensive 5-star resorts, but also not staying in no-name roach-motels... i.e. like the people being discussed in the article would do it). Two vacations a year with some souvenirs tossed in and you're at $400-600/month to cover vacation costs for those two weeks off each year, bringing it up to $3,814-4,014/month. With the exceptions of those vacations, that budget still hasn't spend a single dollar going out and doing stuff for the rest of the year....
So yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say that $4k/month isn't "extravagant" or "baller" by any means. It's take a couple weeks of vacation each year and/or do some not too-expensive stuff each month for enjoyment when you aren't being "ERE frugal-like".
For the record, I spend more than $4k/month (the numbers above are old and don't necessarily reflect my current budget). No average American would call my lifestyle "baller" imo. I'm very frugal in many ways, but far from "extreme" in trying to cut expenses. The reason is simple, I can afford to do all that and more and still save upwards of 50% of my gross pay and I really enjoy what I spend my money on. You don't have to.