> A single meal at an "affordable" restaurant is often $30 after tip.

I've never considered nor seen anybody counting eating out as groceries. Is that normal?

It is a great way to inflate budgets if you want to demonstrate that it is impossible to live in the bay without making seven figures.

We see this pretty consistently in media where crocodile tears are shed over a family making 500k and barely able to keep it together but you look at the budget and they are saving 80k in retirement and spending 20k on travel or whatever.

No.