PSA: $250K family of 4 in the DMV area is not middle class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I struggle a lot with these concepts. We put away a lot of money in 401Ks - the full amount.

We put away a lot in 529s - enough to have them accounts be 200K at high school graduation. Which is not as much as some, but more than others.

But mostly, we made the choice top put them in private high schools, luckily Catholic so not as expensive. But kid #1 cost us 100K. Kid 2 will be 140K. Full pay in cash.

If we didn't have that, I'd 100% feel upper middle class. But because all our extra mnoey goes to savings/schooling, our daily lives do not feel upper middle class. That's the dictinction.

Oh good lord. Private school, saving that much for college, and fully funding 401ks is absolutely upper middle class. Some of you are ridiculously out of touch and you don't even know it. If "feeling" more UMC is important to you, knock back your savings a bit one year and go on a luxury vacation or somthing.

Agreed!

[Anonymous]

I think some upper middle class people feel only middle class because they are saving a butt ton of money for retirement and college. But don’t realize that the vast majority of people can’t and don’t do that.

Then they compare themselves to actual middle class folks around them that have a Honda Odyssey with a check engine light, average 401k balance, no 6 month emergency fund and are still paying off last years vacation.

A previous poster put it aptly. If you’re able to max out retirement and save for your kids college, you’re likely upper middle class. Using some napkin math, maxing out two 401k’s is like the after tax equivalent of saving an entire $72,000 a year income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think some upper middle class people feel only middle class because they are saving a butt ton of money for retirement and college. But don’t realize that the vast majority of people can’t and don’t do that.

Then they compare themselves to actual middle class folks around them that have a Honda Odyssey with a check engine light, average 401k balance, no 6 month emergency fund and are still paying off last years vacation.

A previous poster put it aptly. If you’re able to max out retirement and save for your kids college, you’re likely upper middle class. Using some napkin math, maxing out two 401k’s is like the after tax equivalent of saving an entire $72,000 a year income.

And this is what's wrong with the present. My FIL retired with a 6 figure pension and 3 paid in full, nice properties, after working for the same company for 25 years. His parents were poor. This upward mobility is close to impossible now.