Anonymous wrote:People on this thread are either clueless or liars. 99% of you are in the top 5% in the USA the top 1% in the world.

If you feel you are not, honestly, get yourself some therapy.

Anonymous wrote:We live in a Chicago suburb. Not the highest cost of living, not the lowest. Once we started making about 125K, we stopped feeling like middle class. For my area, I'd say middle class for a family of 4 is 80K-125K.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So for us, it was less about an actual dollar amount and more about not worrying about money.

If my kids need something for school or sports, I'll pay to have it overnighted. However, I won't spend more than $50 on sunglasses because I break or lose them.

I spend money on what I value and save on what I don't value.

My husband makes about $375,000 - $425,000 and I make $30,000-$2000,000 depending on how my investments do that year. All of my money goes into retirement and college savings so I never really feel like I'm earning anything. I never see it. I don't even have an ATM card or checkbook for my accounts because we don't touch them. I have family money that I haven't touched except for a down payment on our house but it's there as a cushion and helped us relax in lean years. My husband didn't come from money but has about $8million in a bank account from selling a company he owned.

I have a healthy bank account but I don't feel rich. I feel like there are always people around here with much, much more.

Family money
Investments
8m from sale of company
HHI of 400-600k

You don’t have “lean” years. You are rich. Good lord, y’all are the dumbest people I’ve ever encountered.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The idea of socioeconomic class around here creates confusion as realistically the average HHI is significantly higher than elsewhere in the nation or even abroad. We are among the richest people in the world, here in the DC area. And yet when you look at your life, living in a small townhouse in a regular suburb driving a practical car like Subaru and sending your kids to public school, you feel like you’re just another regular American. The money doesn’t go far. A young couple bringing in 250k feel less than when really that’s top income globally.

At what point do you feel, well, not middle class?

400k

My husband and I make $435 and I feel very middle class (we are in our mid 30s). I’d say closer to $600K.

You might just be dumb.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Class does not equal income. Class is about behavior and tastes. Most upper class will be highly educated, usually in private school. They will value health, exercise, travel, and nutritious food. They choose quality over quantity. They are normally physically fit and social chameleons.

Many many middle class (and lower class) people value education health, exercise, travel, and nutrition food, and quality over quantity. You may say they are just emulating the wealthy, but these are very common values. Money is what gives you the ability to pursue these values in specific ways. You can value world travel all you want, but can you afford making it happen, or are you doing more local travel?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The idea of socioeconomic class around here creates confusion as realistically the average HHI is significantly higher than elsewhere in the nation or even abroad. We are among the richest people in the world, here in the DC area. And yet when you look at your life, living in a small townhouse in a regular suburb driving a practical car like Subaru and sending your kids to public school, you feel like you’re just another regular American. The money doesn’t go far. A young couple bringing in 250k feel less than when really that’s top income globally.

At what point do you feel, well, not middle class?

400k

My husband and I make $435 and I feel very middle class (we are in our mid 30s). I’d say closer to $600K.

Anonymous wrote:
Class does not equal income. Class is about behavior and tastes. Most upper class will be highly educated, usually in private school. They will value health, exercise, travel, and nutritious food. They choose quality over quantity. They are normally physically fit and social chameleons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The idea of socioeconomic class around here creates confusion as realistically the average HHI is significantly higher than elsewhere in the nation or even abroad. We are among the richest people in the world, here in the DC area. And yet when you look at your life, living in a small townhouse in a regular suburb driving a practical car like Subaru and sending your kids to public school, you feel like you’re just another regular American. The money doesn’t go far. A young couple bringing in 250k feel less than when really that’s top income globally.

At what point do you feel, well, not middle class?

400k

My husband and I make $435 and I feel very middle class (we are in our mid 30s). I’d say closer to $600K.

You must be referring to feeling ‘upper’ middle class. There’s no way at that hhi you would only feel middle class unless you have 10 kids or six figure debt or something.

How do you know the schools were high priced? College and medical school are not free.

We’re both doctors who went to medical school relatively late and prior to medical school worked in poorly paid positions, so basically saved nothing. We started making a combined income around $300K a few years ago. We have focused a lot on paying down debt and only have about $35K left. We just bought a $1.3M house in a HCOL area (outside NYC) last year and took out a 401K loan of $45K to afford it and we’ve been paying that loan back this year, which has been tough. We also have 2 kids in preschool and a nanny, because our hours are long and unpredictable and we don’t have any family help. We have one fully paid off car (2018 Subaru) and are putting off buying another car for as long as possible. We haven’t taken a vacation since 2019. I realize that paying off our debt (minus the mortgage) is temporary. Maybe my perspective is skewed by the fact that I came from a very middle class background (HHI under 70K, both parents routinely worked more than one job) or that I live in a very HCOL area where everyone around me seems to make way more.

You have a spending issue. You choose to go to high priced schools and then bought an insanely expensive house. You could have done cheaper housing, you could have done day care and a baby sitter. Your choices don't make you middle class.

If you think $1.3M is a crazy amount to spend on a house, you are really out of touch. There comes a point where you can't actually find something decent for less. A small 3 bedroom home outside NYC is at least $1.3m and it doesn't make sense to have a crazy commute and never see your spouse or kids. I don't think OP was saying she regretted medical school but it is expensive and the loans have to be paid off. No vacations and driving a Subaru does not sound like a "spending issue" to me. You just sound bitter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:125. You all are scary wealthy and not middle class.

I definitely felt middle class when we made $110k.

Expenses:

Taxes: $12k
Insurance: $5k
Retirement: $12k
Rent: $12k
Utilities (including cell phones): $5k
Student loans: $5k
Childcare for 2 kids: $25k
Cars: $6k
Vacation: $2k
Charity: $2k
Food: $8k
Gas: $8k

Total: $104,000

That meant that we had about $500/month for the four of us for everything else we needed to buy from band-aids and baby bottles to car and home repairs to furniture and clothes. I'm not saying that we were dirt poor or anything. We were saving for retirement. Our kids were in a good daycare, and we had everything we needed. We had lived in Appalachia prior to that and had friends who were truly poor.

But we were definitely still middle class.

That's a lot of money on cars for your income.

This budget does not make sense. Why give that much to charity? Cars and gas is excessive too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that socioeconomic status isn’t just about money. There is a huge socio part to it. So, I will always feel middle class because that is how I grew up and it is a part of me despite having a high income. Why does it matter how someone feels? We should talk about facts and how we allocate responsibilities like taxes based on facts. Income of X is high earning. I think it should be taxed at a higher rate than income of Y. None of this feeling stuff. It is too squishy and doesn’t move the conversation along. Just makes people crazy.

Yes! Americans convolute class and income. These are not the same thing as almost any European will tell you. I feel middle class because I am as my tastes and attitude will demonstrate. I am definitely upper income and high wealth. I'm still middle class!

How would you separate middle class from the income ranges discussed? Can somebody ever feel middle class, upper middle class, upper class, etc… or are those labels defined more by attitude and actions rather than money to spend?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:125. You all are scary wealthy and not middle class.

I definitely felt middle class when we made $110k.

Expenses:
Taxes: $12k
Insurance: $5k
Retirement: $12k
Rent: $12k
Utilities (including cell phones): $5k
Student loans: $5k
Childcare for 2 kids: $25k
Cars: $6k
Vacation: $2k
Charity: $2k
Food: $8k
Gas: $8k
Total: $104,000

That meant that we had about $500/month for the four of us for everything else we needed to buy from band-aids and baby bottles to car and home repairs to furniture and clothes. I'm not saying that we were dirt poor or anything. We were saving for retirement. Our kids were in a good daycare, and we had everything we needed. We had lived in Appalachia prior to that and had friends who were truly poor.

But we were definitely still middle class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that socioeconomic status isn’t just about money. There is a huge socio part to it. So, I will always feel middle class because that is how I grew up and it is a part of me despite having a high income. Why does it matter how someone feels? We should talk about facts and how we allocate responsibilities like taxes based on facts. Income of X is high earning. I think it should be taxed at a higher rate than income of Y. None of this feeling stuff. It is too squishy and doesn’t move the conversation along. Just makes people crazy.

Yes! Americans convolute class and income. These are not the same thing as almost any European will tell you. I feel middle class because I am as my tastes and attitude will demonstrate. I am definitely upper income and high wealth. I'm still middle class!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is that socioeconomic status isn’t just about money. There is a huge socio part to it. So, I will always feel middle class because that is how I grew up and it is a part of me despite having a high income. Why does it matter how someone feels? We should talk about facts and how we allocate responsibilities like taxes based on facts. Income of X is high earning. I think it should be taxed at a higher rate than income of Y. None of this feeling stuff. It is too squishy and doesn’t move the conversation along. Just makes people crazy.

Yes! Americans convolute class and income. These are not the same thing as almost any European will tell you. I feel middle class because I am as my tastes and attitude will demonstrate. I am definitely upper income and high wealth. I'm still middle class!