Anonymous wrote:1. We're in the top 1% for our metropolitan area (over $485K). Technically we're rich on paper but I consider us UMC.

2. We're comfortable. Tuition is major $ suck but even with 3 tuition payments we can buy/do what we want within reason without much thought. We still budget each month.

3. No idea the $ amount but at a point where money is nevr a consideration. Several million a year? Don't know just spitballing.

LOL. This is, by definition, “rich.”

Even if those tuition payments are “only” @$30k a year each, you can still afford to spend approximately $100k a year after tax without cutting back on your lifestyle. You’re rich.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We have a lower-middle class income, but millions in assets that we are not spending apart from funneling a portion into college costs.

So in my case, yes, I do consider myself middle class, because my total yearly expenditure never goes beyond what the middle class is spending.

lol.. your self imposed expenses does not make you middle class.

You are umc.

You know, I disagree. A middle class person also has expenses that might push them into a "poor" bracket, and they are self-imposed but truly necessary. Like higher rent in a safer area, more nutritious foods, car payments instead of the bus to save time, etc.

You know, it’s obviously a schtick. They know what they’re doing. It’s why politicians wear blue oxford button-down shirts and roll the sleeves, sometimes even with JEANS.

Anonymous wrote:
We have a lower-middle class income, but millions in assets that we are not spending apart from funneling a portion into college costs.

So in my case, yes, I do consider myself middle class, because my total yearly expenditure never goes beyond what the middle class is spending.

lol.. your self imposed expenses does not make you middle class.

You are umc.

Million doesn't even take care of mortgage, children's education, healthcare and retirement. You are one accident, one lawsuit, one layoff, one health scare away from bankruptcy.

$175k in a hcol is not that high, especially if you are trying to save for college and retirement.

Anonymous wrote:This is stupid. If the definition of millionaire is having over 1M net worth then the majority of people in that category are most likely absolutely middle class. It’s called retirement savings (and possibly college savings as well).

+1
Did everyone miss that the OP specifically says 175K?
They could be spending every cent that comes in. It's a dumb definition.

I think it really comes down to salary vs assets, and an easy-ish way to tell is through the type of tax return that is filed.

For the vast majority of people, if your money comes through a W2 job, you are UMC at best. Once you start getting into investments, equity, K1s, etc., then you start reaching the rich category.

This is stupid. If the definition of millionaire is having over 1M net worth then the majority of people in that category are most likely absolutely middle class. It’s called retirement savings (and possibly college savings as well).

We make over $485k. But we grew up poor. It’s hard to adjust our thinking. I just told my kid and her friends that they couldn’t have pizza from Safeway because ALDIs is so much cheaper. It’s hard to get out of the mindset that you have no money.

Anonymous wrote:These questions are so fact-specific. We earn a lot of money but my spouse insists on providing for extended family members, so we never feel rich, even though most of you would balk at that because our income is so high.

+1 except my spouse is a worrywart over-saver so it doesn't feel like we have much money although hopefully it will one day.

Probably a lot of people in their mid- to late-50s with money in retirement accounts that they can’t access (absent penalties) and relatively modest incomes.

Remember, if you started saving young, you could be a factory work and get to that point by 60 or so. Very few of those people would think of themselves as “rich.”

Our HHI is 120-130k (single earner) in the DMV but our net worth is 2.5m. I feel like we're on the lower edge of UMC because we've chosen to be a single earning family and our net worth is high for MC, even though our income is at the median for the area. In terms of expenses however through a combination of luck, tastes and frugality, we spend more like a MC family: we lucked out on timing a house purchase/refinancing so our total costs are under 2k for a SFH that is worth about 850k, we drive 10+ year old middle class kind of cars, for vacations we take road trips to visit family or hike and camp, our hobbies are low-cost creative ones, our kids went to public K-12 and our eldest goes to an in-state public school for college as likely will our younger kid. We haven't had any illnesses or disabilities that required expensive treatments and therapies, and neither of our kids were interested in expensive hobbies/activities. Our parents don't need our financial assistance. We have been relatively lucky with investments. So our assets have built up more than our income would predict.

I have $1M in my TSP, I make $200k single mom, 2 kids in college.

I would say I’m UMC not rich.

Live in the exurbs.

So I’m technically part of that 31%.

I am usually the one to point out how wealthy are insane and can't make ends meet on 500K. However, all that your post proves to me, is that the cost of living is insane right now.