Stolen from ML, who stole it from MM.

[KateAggie]

Are you middle class?

money.cnn.com/interactive/economy/are-you-middle-class/?question1=on&question2=on

we haven't done this in awhile.  Not that it's ever really fun, but, oh well.

We are not middle class, at least not in our last three places we've lived...

[pixy0stix]

We're solidly middle class.

[josieposy]

Apparently not.

[Velar Fricative]

No, but our butler and private jet really don't leave us with much left over, so we feel the squeeze.

Also, ESF was my hero in the MM thread.

[taratru]

Apparently we are not. I feel like we are, but I suppose our massive debt is working against us.

[darthnbjenni]

Well, as an 11th year teacher supporting a family of 6 while my husband is back in school, we're middle class for SC. That doesn't say much, because our middle class starts at $37k and I'm barely over that. I feel more like working poor most days, though. I mean, my children qualify for free lunch at school.

[blink]

Nope, lower. Though COL is low so it feels middle class, even though we are most likely solidly lower-middle.

[meshaliuknits]

Ooh, UPPER middle!

*runs out to buy more shoes*

Sent from my EVO

[kapoentje]

How does someone *feel* middle class?

(honest question)

[MrsAxilla]

Sept 15, 2014 20:54:08 GMT -5 kapoentje said:

How does someone *feel* middle class?

(honest question)

Lol!  Go read the MM thread and you'll see.  

[wawa]

We solidly middle class in our fancy hcol county.

We'd be above middle class on just my salary in the county where I grew up.

Mh is from here. This explains a lot about our conversations about long term financial goals...

[eclaires]

We are decidedly not middle class for where we live now.

I would have thought we would be closer to it, though.

ETA: though we live in a certain portion of our county that is more HCOL than the rest. Some areas of our county are very inexpensive and some are pretty $$$$. Interesting - I put in our old county from before we moved here and the COL is comparable to where we are now in our county (home prices for the same type of house are pretty similar in our specific area) and the lower number is $10k more than the higher number for our current county.

[iammalcolmx]

I am middle class regardless of those questions.

[redwino]

Based simply on that link, no. In real life, we're solidly middle class. Not MM middle class, legit middle class.

[wawa]

Sept 15, 2014 21:04:47 GMT -5 redwino said:

Based simply on that link, no. In real life, we're solidly middle class. Not MM middle class, legit middle class.

I dont read mm often enough...what does this mean?

[kapoentje]

Sept 15, 2014 20:56:53 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

Sept 15, 2014 20:54:08 GMT -5 kapoentje said:

How does someone *feel* middle class?

(honest question)

Lol!  Go read the MM thread and you'll see.  

Only one page in and I've learned that "the upper class is virtually nonexistent."

I'm taking a breather.

[eclaires]

Sept 15, 2014 21:02:34 GMT -5 iammalcolmx said:

I am middle class regardless of those questions.

There are Gucci purses at my Costco... Does that make me not middle class? Lolllll

[cats]

This might be a dumb question, but are the totals on that site for the household income or individual income?

[KateAggie]

Sept 15, 2014 21:07:10 GMT -5 kapoentje said:

Sept 15, 2014 20:56:53 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

Lol!  Go read the MM thread and you'll see.  

Only one page in and I've learned that "the upper class is virtually nonexistent."

I'm taking a breather.

Based on my reading, I'm solidly middle class because of debt.  Only making bad financial decisions doesn't change what class bracket you're in.  It just makes you feel poorer, because for awhile, you were living richer.  

But whatever!  I'M NOW MIDDLE CLASS, BITCHES!

[jln]

We are at the very top where we live now. We'd be significantly above if we still lived in Portland.

[Velar Fricative]

Sept 15, 2014 20:54:08 GMT -5 kapoentje said:

How does someone *feel* middle class?

(honest question)

I don't know. Is it like when my diamond shoes feel too tight? If so, I am definitely middle class.

[Velar Fricative]

Sept 15, 2014 21:09:50 GMT -5 cats said:

This might be a dumb question, but are the totals on that site for the household income or individual income?

Household.

My serious answer is that we are well above the figures for my county but everyone else here is part of the mafia and/or in some shady business so it's not like my county's official numbers mean anything.

[redwino]

Sept 15, 2014 21:06:18 GMT -5 wawa said:

Sept 15, 2014 21:04:47 GMT -5 redwino said:

Based simply on that link, no. In real life, we're solidly middle class. Not MM middle class, legit middle class.

I dont read mm often enough...what does this mean?

Lol. MM's incomes skew very high and their lifestyles include a lot of financial luxuries. I'm not saying they're all rich, but their definiition of middle class tends to have way more money and financial freedom than I think is typical of a lot of the country.

[cats]

Sept 15, 2014 21:14:44 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Sept 15, 2014 21:09:50 GMT -5 cats said:

This might be a dumb question, but are the totals on that site for the household income or individual income?

Household.

My serious answer is that we are well above the figures for my county but everyone else here is part of the mafia and/or in some shady business so it's not like my county's official numbers mean anything.

Woe.  We are double the range on there and while we are not hurting, we aren't anywhere near swimming either.  I would assume we are middle class for our location and that site is a little off the rocker for our area. 

[emilyj]

On my income alone, I earn more than the middle class range for my county. So here, we're definitely above the middle class. However, if I put our income in where I grew up in CT, we're solidly in the middle class.

So what does this poll tell us, besides what the middle class is considered changes depending on where you live?

[StrawberryBlondie]

No. But we have student loans and daycare bringing us down.

[Velar Fricative]

Sept 15, 2014 21:19:32 GMT -5 cats said:

Sept 15, 2014 21:14:44 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Household.

My serious answer is that we are well above the figures for my county but everyone else here is part of the mafia and/or in some shady business so it's not like my county's official numbers mean anything.

Woe.  We are double the range on there and while we are not hurting, we aren't anywhere near swimming either.  I would assume we are middle class for our location and that site is a little off the rocker for our area. 

I think this is what trips people up. These ranges are for the middle 20% of household incomes. That's still a lot of households over and under this range. And lots of households in the upper 40% feel the pinch; upper classes =/= no money worries. We have to just ignore the expenses part and look solely at the income numbers. Hard, but there has to be some objectivity here even though I curse my SL debt on a daily basis. But that doesn't negate the fact that we make more money than most people in our county. We are too caught up on how we "feel."

[stephm0188]

Huh. I said we were, but apparently not.

[cats]

Sept 15, 2014 21:23:58 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Sept 15, 2014 21:19:32 GMT -5 cats said:

Woe.  We are double the range on there and while we are not hurting, we aren't anywhere near swimming either.  I would assume we are middle class for our location and that site is a little off the rocker for our area. 

I think this is what trips people up. These ranges are for the middle 20% of household incomes. That's still a lot of households over and under this range. And lots of households in the upper 40% feel the pinch; upper classes =/= no money worries. We have to just ignore the expenses part and look solely at the income numbers. Hard, but there has to be some objectivity here even though I curse my SL debt on a daily basis. But that doesn't negate the fact that we make more money than most people in our county. We are too caught up on how we "feel."

That makes a lot of sense.  The "feel" vs reality can be trippy. 

[open24hours]

We are just above middle class for our area. IMO, I think the whole controversy about people not feeling like they are middle class even though they are comes from the fact that the middle class does not have as much buying power as it used to have. The definition of what being in the middle class means has changed and people don't realize it. For example, when I grew up, being in the middle class meant that people could buy a modest house and have the white picket fence, 2.5 kids America ideal. Now, there is no way someone is going to afford the median home price in my area on a middle class income. It's not happening. There are things that used to be part of the middle class lifestyle that are now only obtainable by the wealthy.