re: What do you consider middle class?

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then we get there and your wants just get more expensive

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correct

also: nobody goes from 50k/yr to 100k/yr in like a month

your salary gradually increases over time, and your overhead goes up with it.

I legit make double what I mad 6 years ago and feel like I have less, "walkin' around cash" than ever

but a mortgage, car note, more insurance, etc will do that to ya

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Yeah but no one wants to hear that. It’s all about living this luxurious life. No one is entitled to dick.

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same people who ask what you are doing this weekend and when you tell them they reply...."must be nice" or they say that on Facebook when commenting on your vacation photos.

If my wife would let me I would respond and tell them what is really nice. But she would kill me.

Used to irk me when people on the H&F board would make comments about my garage gym, but I have learned people envy everything no matter how great they have it.

This country is amazing and this thread is proof of that. It really puts thing in perspective if you think about it, I mean people on here are saying 300-400k is middle class and you can't raise a family on 100k. I mean it's laughable that capitalism has provided use with such a high standard of living that this is now the perception.

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 not that there's anything wrong with that, but I think people have a poor perspective on the wants and needs in life and what can be attainable on a certain income.

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Just drive around town and look at the number of people eating out at restaurants every single day and look at what cars they are driving. Look at the phones they are carrying, the clothes they're wearing, etc.

It's not difficult to see why the average American struggles to save money. It's because they are clueless and reckless with their money, counting on the numerous failing government scams (social security, Medicare, etc) to one day save them.

And they won't.

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All savings for 35-39 y/o households: $6 - $59,250

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Damn.

I thought I was behind the curve only having $200k at 39...and that's not counting the wife's savings, who has more than me socked away.

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there's absolutely no way to quantify this. 'middle class' is a state of mind

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Nah.

People want middle class to be a state of mind so they can say they're middle class. As I said earlier in the thread, it's romanticized.

Nope....the OT says 100-400k is middle class

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The wife and i with 0 kids have a household of about 200 and we still feel the hurt at times.

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my man if you are a DINK with 200k/year income and the money is tight, you need to trim down some overhead or focus on paying off debt or something

two people on 200k/year should be cake imho

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And they won't.

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Depends. SS will exist, it will just be means tested. So if you're responsible and save, no SS for you. But if you're irresponsible and live the high life while ignoring savings, you can thank the rest of us for your SS income.

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People want middle class to be a state of mind so they can say they're middle class. As I said earlier in the thread, it's romanticized.

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I really don't get it either. Why would you not wanna be upper class? Be proud of your accomplishments. I guess it's because people spend every dime and live pay check to pay check and don't want to look at their own choices

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Damn.

I thought I was behind the curve only having $200k at 39...and that's not counting the wife's savings, who has more than me socked away.

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Makes sense though, doesn't it?

We just spend 15+ pages arguing about the income of the middle class. Let's take that 35 year old making $79,000 (75th percentile) as an example. Let's say he lives in Louisiana, married, but no kids. Wife doesn't work. That's net income after federal, state, and FICA taxes of $59,935.

Social security alone for he and his wife would be $56,412/month in today's dollars if he works until he's 70. That's essentially matching his net income today without saving a single dollar.

The point is, replacing take home money in retirement isn't that difficult if you're truly middle class. The numbers don't add up unless you want to retire before 70 and/or are trying to replace higher take home incomes.