Post by wanderingback on Sept 13, 2019 9:09:11 GMT -5
This post is going to turn in to everyone getting upper in the poll but stating they feel middle class. Everyone feels middle class!
I remember in a sociology class back in college we had to write a narrative about our family and how we grew up. We had to discuss what class we thought we were. The professor said that mostly everyone described them and their families as being middle class but based on the descriptions of how people grew up there were a lot of upper class students in the group.
Post by bugandbibs on Sept 13, 2019 9:10:08 GMT -5
My metro area doesn’t have an upper middle option. It only goes from middle to upper. Based on the amount extra that we would have to earn, I say we are middle.
I like that it accounts of household size. Having a “larger” family does effect things.
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Once I add in the other factors: “Among all American adults with your education, age, race or ethnicity, and marital status, 6% are LOWER income, 54% are MIDDLE income and 40% are UPPER income.”
This doesn’t surprise me as MSP is one of the worst places in the country for socioeconomic segregation along racial lines.
When you add in the other factors, it's comparing you to others in the US, not just your city/state. I got the same results as you--6% lower, 54% middle, and 40% upper.
I am not surprised because I have done these quizzes before. I remind myself almost daily how lucky we are even if we don’t feel upper. We both have good jobs and more security than most.
Post by verycontrary247 on Sept 13, 2019 9:42:47 GMT -5
By myself I'd be middle, but adding E's salary puts us in upper class- which feels weird because we've got a ton of debt to pay off and feel perpetually broke.
Post by litskispeciality on Sept 13, 2019 9:46:24 GMT -5
Upper, but we're DINKS who both make a grown up salary. We live in a HCOL state/area so I'm surprised they say this since our modest mortgage is almost 20% of our pre-tax take home, although I think that's the rule of how much you should spend? Anyway I love a good poll.
Post by lilafowler on Sept 13, 2019 9:54:41 GMT -5
Based on your household income and the number of people in your household, YOU are in the MIDDLE income tier, along with 50% of adults in BOSTON-CAMBRIDGE-NEWTON.
This post is going to turn in to everyone getting upper in the poll but stating they feel middle class. Everyone feels middle class!
Never change, GBCN. Lol.
Truth. It does feel gross to say I'm in the upper class, even though we are and I also grew up with privilege. H is especially irritating on this front. He and his sister are the second generation of his family to attend an Ivy League school, grew up with a beach front "cottage" and going to Europe. His parents (both lawyers) collect museum-quality coins and jewelry and have a freaking dog that went to Westminster, FFS. He's the cartoon definition of upper class. And I don't even have to ask to know he'd say that he grew up middle class. His definition of wealth/upper class is independently wealthy 1 percenters. Many of his friends are among that group so I guess I KIND of get it but it makes me worried that DS will grow up with the same skewed idea.
Post by Aloe Vera on Sept 13, 2019 10:08:29 GMT -5
Upper along with 26% of adults in my area. Among all American adults with your education, age, race or ethnicity, and marital status, 6% are LOWER income, 54% are MIDDLE income and 40% are UPPER income.
This was a surprise but I would say we do live very comfortably. We live below our means so we're able to splurge when needed and this makes me feel upper middle class. My grandma was horrified when I told her daycare was $1,300 a month for 1 kid and we could manage. That's when I realized I was very privileged.
Post by W.T.Faulkner on Sept 13, 2019 10:15:39 GMT -5
Is it already that time again?
We're middle right along with 51% of the people in our area. Using yearly income as a measure is deceiving, though.
Edit: I don't mean "BUT WE HAVE EXPENSES SO WE ARE REALLY WORKING CLASS!!!!!1" I mean we, through no merit of our own, have access to family wealth and a safety net that is absolutely not middle class. lol
Edit 2: I changed the number of people in my household from 3 to 2 and now it says "upper." My son has ruined everything, apparently.
The calculator doesn't have 'lower middle' or 'upper middle' as a descriptor in my state, I played around with it to see what the cutoff between middle class and upper class is. We are close enough I think to the cutoff that I chose upper middle for this poll.
Oh - mine doesn't have LM or UM either. We are like $100 over the middle cutoff. That explains it. If all of the categories were included, we would be upper middle.
Post by mommyatty on Sept 13, 2019 10:20:39 GMT -5
Upper. Since I grew up not financially secure, that doesn’t surprise me at all. My H grew up in Northern California in a house with an ocean view, so he always argues with me that we are middle. Dude, even with you staying home, we are 2 percenters. You are WELCOME.
Having an expensive mortgage or daycare bill doesn’t negate a person being upper-class based on income.
You can afford these giant bills because you are upper-class.
I remember reading on here once a mom was debating whether she should switch daycares and save 700 dollars a month. The fact that seven hundred dollars a month wasn’t make or break for most here was really telling.
Not feeling like you have boat loads of cash, doesn’t mean you aren’t upper class.
People tend to spend/live according to their income.
It Is going to be hard to make socioeconomic progress in America, if the most liberal among us can’t state, “I am upper class” without a bunch of hand wringing.
You can’t change reality if you don’t acknowledge it.
"Why would you ruin perfectly good peanuts by adding candy corn? That's like saying hey, I have these awesome nachos, guess I better add some dryer lint." - Nonny
Post by redheadbaker on Sept 13, 2019 10:50:35 GMT -5
"Based on your household income and the number of people in your household, you are in the MIDDLE income tier, along with 51% of adults in the Philadelphia Metro Area."
Middle if you take daycare expenses out of the gross income. Upper-middle if you use the full number.
And so it begins!
Right? When the kid is out of daycare, is the salary going to be reduced by that amount? I like to eat in expensive restaurants - should I take that off the top?!?
Right? When the kid is out of daycare, is the salary going to be reduced by that amount? I like to eat in expensive restaurants - should I take that off the top?!?
Exactly. My H pays a decent amount in Child Support due to his income and I think about having that money back in our budget when the kids age-out, but it doesn't make us less "upper class" income because we pay that, instead, we are able to afford to pay that because we make an upper class income.
Post by amandakisser on Sept 13, 2019 11:07:11 GMT -5
I don't understand not using your full income - we all have expenses. Your income class is based on INCOME, not debt.
I'm solidly middle class, which makes me feel better, honestly, because if I was upper class I'd feel like I did something TERRIBLY wrong in the financial planning department LOL. Reading this, I don't feel so bad because half the people in my state are making more than me.
My base pay puts me in middle class (there’s not LM or UM listed here). If I add in my stipends, I’m upper.
I want to say that I’m surprised, but my job has made me aware of how fortunate I actually am. The fact that my income could qualify me as upper makes me feel sick. I feel like I’m not doing something right with my finances.
Post by litskispeciality on Sept 13, 2019 11:21:30 GMT -5
My only thing with the mortgage is to scale HCOL. I had a conversation at work that in my area you really have to make at least $80 to $100K to not live paycheck to paycheck, which for those of us in my industry means two incomes. I was saying a DINK couple we know won't be able to afford one of the spouses to stop working while going for her PhD. at that rate. If rent or mortgage are $900+ a month then someone making $80K really isn't upper class, they're just making enough to pay for housing AND food.
I completely understand that mine said upper, and I can afford the mortgage I have (which again isn't that big according to my scale) because of the income we have pre-taxes and expenses. I get that I have to make as much as I do to cover my expenses.
This post is going to turn in to everyone getting upper in the poll but stating they feel middle class. Everyone feels middle class!
I remember in a sociology class back in college we had to write a narrative about our family and how we grew up. We had to discuss what class we thought we were. The professor said that mostly everyone described them and their families as being middle class but based on the descriptions of how people grew up there were a lot of upper class students in the group.
I’ll say it! Upper and I feel it! Lol
Sing it.
Many of the institutions that people consider “elite” were closed to people like my ancestors (or severely limited by quotas) just a few generations ago. Now I have an Ivy League degree and a six-figure salary. I’m proud of that.
We can’t begin to address privilege unless we see ours for what it is.