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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There have been a number of threads insisting that people earning $300,000, $400,000, and more are not rich (and the converse statement that people with $200k HHI are not even middle class). Perhaps the problem lies with the definition of "rich." Some people say one is rich when he can live off passive income, and others say that rich would encompass those who manage to own a home in a major city (the city, not the surrounding area), send their kids to private school, international travel,  and still have money left over to find retirement and college accounts.

Would it solve the problem by calling people "affluent" and "extremely affluent"? If so, I would say the following works for an [/b]INDIVIDUAL income [b]in the DC metro area:

Under $30k = Poor
$30k to $50k = Lower-Middle 
$50 to $80 = Straight Middle
$80 to $120 = Upper Middle
$120 to $200 = Affluent
$200+ = Very Affluent

Double these figures if talking about HHI.

[/quote]

Pretty sure everyone is jumping all over OP while ignoring that she specified those ranges for INDIVIDUAL income, while you all are likening these numbers to what a family of 4 needs and then saying it isn't enough.

As a single person, I tend to agree with these ranges - as I'm in the government now in what feels like an affluent range and was in biglaw for 10 yrs in a very affluent range. It's a matter of ones own feelings but to me -- the markets or affluence are -- maxing out the 401k to 18k consistently year after year; having taxable investments outside of 401k/IRA/HSA that you put money into consistently every month/quarter and having the cash on hand that if the market dips a few %, you can pick up a few shares of Berkshire or Amazon or whatever ETFs/funds; and the ability to travel esp. last minute or short trips whenever you feel like it. That doesn't mean that you'll stay in a Four Seasons or Ritz, but it means being able to buy plane tickets and rooms at a Marriott or Hilton without feeling like you shouldn't go bc it'll throw off your budget for the month. For me the difference between gov't and biglaw has been -- the number of shares of anything I buy for my taxable investments esp. in market dip situations -- still buy but it won't be 100 shares here or there, it may only be 30 or 50.[/quote]

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