Reply to If you make <36,000 or >81,000, You Aren't Middle Class. Or "Upper" Middle Class.

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Reply to "If you make <36,000 or >81,000, You Aren't Middle Class. Or "Upper" Middle Class. "

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[quote=Anonymous]This seems about right.

[quote=Anonymous]Class is more than just income.  There is assets, and there is safety net.

As an example, early in my career, while still in grad school (maybe before my career), I had 8K annual income.  I lived in a dump.  But, I was clearly better off than many of my fellow students.  Why?  I had a safety net.  I would not go hungry.

I like to think of it as comfort:

Poor:  do not know what they will eat tomorrow or where they will sleep next month.  No Car/really old car.

LMC:  are one paycheck away from disaster.  Meaning, loosing the house/appt.  They do not shop at the end of the pay periods.  No savings; vacations are rare.  One problem (medical, car, etc) away from disaster.  Maybe no insurance.  They can buy the essentials, but not the wants.  They drive a really old car.

MC:  Living paycheck to paycheck.  They spend each paycheck,  but, with a safetynet.  Insured.  All the bills are up to date;  Limited savings, but could get by in other ways (credit?).  Probably 6 mo away from disaster.  Vacations are limited, maybe a week at the beach.  Or they save up for a trip to disney.  They can buy a decent car (Honda, Toyota), and may, but may decide to use the money elsewhere.

UMC:  Don't really worry about pay day.  They always have money left over.  They buy what they need, and can afford higher quality on consumables (e.g., food).  Going to Disney is no big deal.  Well funded retirement.  They do not worry about the cost of medical care (good insurance). They can buy almost any car for sale.  Typically drive near luxury to luxury cars (Merd, BWM, Lexus, Infinity, Tesla), but may drive lower cars if they do not see the value.

UC:  They do not have to work.  Can live off the money they have.  They buy what they want.  They may not have insurance because they do not need it, but probably do to protect themselves.

Under my definition, I am between MC and UMC.  I note paydays, but they don't really matter that much.  We get everything we need and much of what we want;  I do not worry about the health bills; but I am not as liquid as I would like to be.  We drive Subarus.

We live in a older house in an inner suburb with great schools.  The house is worth nothing; the lot, 700K.

HHI: 200K (I make 180; DW makes 20).  
Retirement Savings:  1 mil
Non-liquid assets: 500K
Liquid assets: ~30K

Age: Mid 50's.

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