Dry cleaning is pretty cheap -- back in 1988 I paid for dry cleaning when being paid less than $6/hour because I was expected to dress professionally. Professional clothing generally was dry clean only back then.

Luckily, that's seldom the case now.

I know daycare is expensive -- a family member making $50K pays $1,200/month for one child, and she'd have to pay that regardless of her salary.

Gyms don't belong in this list, in my opinion, and there are gyms at all price points.

Now, the cost of clothes and cars can vary a lot. But let me ask you this:

Do you REALLY want a life in which you feel pressured to waste money to maintain a certain appearance? If a decent professional wardrobe and an ordinary car do not suffice -- if you have to blow money to fit in -- well, that sounds shallow and miserable. That's part of why we have so much income inequality, in fact: We justify overpaying some people for reasons like this. Maybe you could be a change-maker. What would happen if you openly flouted convention and explained why? You can still present yourself well on a budget, and you'd have more money left for other things.

Warren Buffett still lives in the (nice but not extravagant) house he bought 60 years ago. It doesn't seem to have hurt his career.