What Class are You?

[Rupert]

Good question Psilos.  Economic class can be very subjective.

For those dependent on parents, I would factor in that support and judge their economic class based on lifestyle, at least up to a certain age.

There's also the matter of potential class vs. actual.  When I was first working, I rented a small apartment, but I was always on an upper middle class track. 

Well, then, uh, still billionaire.

Now I have a lower middle class/"upper lower class" income and no expenses (until I move elsewhere--soonish). When I was a student I got rent from my parents, my truck from my gramma, and I paid for everything else with my po' ass income. I have the future earning potential of middle class or upper middle class. So, what am I?

[The Pirate]

Good question Psilos.  Economic class can be very subjective.

For those dependent on parents, I would factor in that support and judge their economic class based on lifestyle, at least up to a certain age.

There's also the matter of potential class vs. actual.  When I was first working, I rented a small apartment, but I was always on an upper middle class track. 

Did you ever live right in NYC?

And there's gotta be somebody else who is WT.  Soup half qualifies, and I'm sure somebody who hasn't posted fits that role.  NACar could kind of be WT too, he put a lift kit on a Jetta and an airhorn on the 'st33m.

[dazzleman]

Well, then, uh, still billionaire.

Now I have a lower middle class/"upper lower class" income and no expenses (until I move elsewhere--soonish). When I was a student I got rent from my parents, my truck from my gramma, and I paid for everything else with my po' ass income. I have the future earning potential of middle class or upper middle class. So, what am I?

I'd call you middle class, for lack of a better label.  You have an education, and middle class status is probably the minimum you could expect to achieve, unless you go totally off the grid.

[Rich]

So, of those voting seriously, who is with me in the lower class category? 

yo, wat up in da hood, dawg

[dazzleman]

Did you ever live right in NYC?

And there's gotta be somebody else who is WT.  Soup half qualifies, and I'm sure somebody who hasn't posted fits that role.  NACar could kind of be WT too, he put a lift kit on a Jetta and an airhorn on the 'st33m.

No, but I lived a short distance outside New York City.  All I could afford around there was an apartment, and I was sick of it.  I wasn't even thinking about Connecticut, but I came up here one day to help my parents get something at Home Depot (at the time, it was the closest one), and I really liked the town.  I looked at real estate listings, and saw that home prices were much cheaper, and property taxes much lower, than where I was then living.  So I decided to move up to Connecticut, and I never looked back.

[The Pirate]

yo, wat up in da hood, dawg

Yo yo, peeps be in da hizzouse!

[Onslaught]

Onslaught -
I'd take your situation over having a little money in the bank, but massive debt.

Having a home that's paid for is phenomenal at your age.  How did you manage that?

I can't take credit for that one at all. The land in this area has been in the family all the way back from before the Revolutionary war.
My Grandfather had lot's of land and a new, small little house on some of it. After he passed my relatives wanted me to live on
some of it so they wouldn't have to sell it to someone they didn't know.  Needless to say I got a very good deal on it. I had to
pay, but not near as much as if it wasn't in the family.  So I got a modest little house with 9 fenced in acres to live on.

[dazzleman]

I can't take credit for that one at all. The land in this area has been in the family all the way back from before the Revolutionary war.
My Grandfather had lot's of land and a new, small little house on some of it. After he passed my relatives wanted me to live on
some of it so they wouldn't have to sell it to someone they didn't know.  Needless to say I got a very good deal on it. I had to
pay, but not near as much as if it wasn't in the family.  So I got a modest little house with 9 fenced in acres to live on.

Still, not having a house payment means that in terms of lifestyle, you can have a higher standard of living at a lower income.  And not having to worry about losing your home is a big bonus.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Yo yo, peeps be in da hizzouse!

Ding dawng zip zoobity zap, y'all ain't from around here are ya?

[Rupert]

I can't take credit for that one at all. The land in this area has been in the family all the way back from before the Revolutionary war.
My Grandfather had lot's of land and a new, small little house on some of it. After he passed my relatives wanted me to live on
some of it so they wouldn't have to sell it to someone they didn't know.  Needless to say I got a very good deal on it. I had to
pay, but not near as much as if it wasn't in the family.  So I got a modest little house with 9 fenced in acres to live on.

We had land like that, until my great-grandparents sold it in the sixties before it was worth the butt-ton it would be now. It's all developed and stuff.

[Soup DeVille]

You can take the boy out of the trailer park, but you can't take the trailer park out of the boy...

Or something like that. 

Never lived in a trailer park, but I can't say the neighborhood I grew up in was that great either I guess.

[Onslaught]

We had land like that, until my great-grandparents sold it in the sixties before it was worth the butt-ton it would be now. It's all developed and stuff.

When I was a kid I could walk for ever in almost any direction and be on a relatives land. Hunt or fish at any pond in the area without asking anyone.
But over the last 20 years it's almost all been sold off by the younger kids who don't even live here anymore. It's full of homes and people who think they
live in the "country" now. They have no idea.

[Rupert]

Sad.

I'd totally live on the land we had if it was still in the country. It's a bit close to D.C...

[giant_mtb]

I don't really have a class, but I'd gauge my family as upper-middle class.

[Minpin]

I didn't vote. I'm fully dependent on my parents, and while I know the range my dad made last year, I don't know anything specific.

And even if I did, what defines the classes? What your net worth is? Your salary? 401/k? Lack of debt?

Is class based on how much your house costs or your standard of living?

Someone making 150k in the south or Midwest is gonna live a hell of a lot better than someone in the Northeast.

Regardless, I am in the student category and while I'm not going to go hungry I still watch what I buy as usual. 

[MaxPower]

I don't give a damn what class I am--it's so subjective anyway.  I know I'm balance-sheet insolvent, and all that matters is fixing that problem.

[dazzleman]

I don't give a damn what class I am--it's so subjective anyway.  I know I'm balance-sheet insolvent, and all that matters is fixing that problem.

That probably means you're upper middle class......

[MaxPower]

That probably means you're upper middle class......

I'll take that as a compliment?  Again, its subjective though.  For where I live I might be upper middle class.  If I were judged where I go to school, then I'm a lot worse off...

[dazzleman]

I'll take that as a compliment?  Again, its subjective though.  For where I live I might be upper middle class.  If I were judged where I go to school, then I'm a lot worse off...

It was sort of a dark joke, since so many people who like to think they're upper middle class have insolvent balance sheets right now.  No offense intended.

It's hard to judge a guy like you, since you're still very young and still in school.  I'd seriously lean toward upper middle class, because that's the track you're on.  If you had the same amount of money/income, and you weren't in school and your job was serving coffee at Dunkin' Donuts, I'd say something different.

[SVT666]

We are currently Middle Class, but when my wife goes back to work we will be back to Upper Middle Class.

[the Teuton]

The question is, because everyone on these forums has some kind of post high school education or they're intending to get it, how long did it take everyone to get to where they are (if you're comfortable with your current lot in life), and did you do it on your own or did mom and dad buy you your first house, college education, etc.?

[Laconian]

Somewhat related note:

A friend of mine is always, ALWAYS talking about the specifics of his income. The topic of conversation always makes me uncomfortable because if I reciprocate, the two possible outcomes are A) I disclose that I make more money than he does, and thus he would perceive me as pitying him, or B) he makes more money than me, and I would interpret his response as pity. I try to change the subject but he's always going into the details of his finances. Does anybody feel uncomfortable about it like this too?

In China it's not impolite to be asked flat out "how much money do you earn?" Now THAT is a reason to feel awkward, because even minimum wage is a king's ransom converted into RMB!

[the Teuton]

Somewhat related note:

A friend of mine is always, ALWAYS talking about the specifics of his income. The topic of conversation always makes me uncomfortable because if I reciprocate, the two possible outcomes are A) I disclose that I make more money than he does, and thus he would perceive me as pitying him, or B) he makes more money than me, and I would interpret his response as pity. I try to change the subject but he's always going into the details of his finances. Does anybody feel uncomfortable about it like this too?

In China it's not impolite to be asked flat out "how much money do you earn?" Now THAT is a reason to feel awkward, because even minimum wage is a king's ransom converted into RMB!

I've talked about everything with my best friend -- everything but money.  We have some kind of unwritten pact that neither of us will really ever delve into personal finances.  It's just not a good thing to do with friends.  And people who have to flaunt their money or disclose such things really are fairly insecure because they have to mention it to make themselves feel that much more superior.

No, I don't condone it at all.

[93JC]

I voted billionaire because, as was pointed out earlier, everyone is rich on teh internets.

[SVT666]

The question is, because everyone on these forums has some kind of post high school education or they're intending to get it, how long did it take everyone to get to where they are (if you're comfortable with your current lot in life), and did you do it on your own or did mom and dad buy you your first house, etc.?

My wife was making $80,000 a year by year 5 out of school, and I was making $75,000 by year 10 out of school.  The difference is she has two degrees, and I have a 10 month drafting certificate from a trade school.  We both got to where we are on our own or together (no outside help).  

[MaxPower]

It was sort of a dark joke, since so many people who like to think they're upper middle class have insolvent balance sheets right now.  No offense intended.

No offense taken--I was wondering if that's where you were going, because that's sort of a point I was trying to subtly make.

Regardless, I won't feel secure until I am solvent, which will be quite a few years.

[dazzleman]

We are currently Middle Class, but when my wife goes back to work we will be back to Upper Middle Class.

Your house looks pretty upper middle class to me. 

[SVT666]

Your house looks pretty upper middle class to me. 

It is.  It's been valued at $675,000.  When my wife was working last year we had a combined income of $150,000.

[dazzleman]

Somewhat related note:

A friend of mine is always, ALWAYS talking about the specifics of his income. The topic of conversation always makes me uncomfortable because if I reciprocate, the two possible outcomes are A) I disclose that I make more money than he does, and thus he would perceive me as pitying him, or B) he makes more money than me, and I would interpret his response as pity. I try to change the subject but he's always going into the details of his finances. Does anybody feel uncomfortable about it like this too?

In China it's not impolite to be asked flat out "how much money do you earn?" Now THAT is a reason to feel awkward, because even minimum wage is a king's ransom converted into RMB!

I tend to agree with you.  I make more money than most of my friends and relatives (except for one of my brothers), and I avoid specifics when discussing money.  They obviously know the generalities of my financial situation, and I don't mind discussing generalities of both my and their situations if they want to, but I don't disclose specific numbers most of the time.

I have told my nephew what I make, but that has a purpose.  I'm trying to give him a sense of financial realities, how much a person has to make to achieve the lifestyle that he aspires to.  I don't want him walking around thinking it can be done for much less than what the reality is.

I have had friends tell me what they make.  I don't really mind, but I haven't yet reciprocated because my amount has been more, and I don't want it to look as if I'm trying to show them up.  I've been a little more open with my brother, but not totally because there's the competitive thing there.  I suspect he makes more than I do, and I want to keep his idea of what I make as high as possible.  Ditto for my overall financial situation beyond income.

[dazzleman]

The question is, because everyone on these forums has some kind of post high school education or they're intending to get it, how long did it take everyone to get to where they are (if you're comfortable with your current lot in life), and did you do it on your own or did mom and dad buy you your first house, college education, etc.?

In my experience, the first few years out of school are tight economically, unless you're being partially subsidized by parents (very common now, but I was not).

It took me 9 years out of school to buy a home.  I would have done it sooner, but I suffered a job loss when my previous company was taken over and the office was closed.

After about 2 years out of school, I was reasonably comfortable financially for the level of lifestyle I was living -- a small apartment, economy car, etc.

After I bought my house, it took me another 2 years to adjust financially.  I put 20% down, and I received a short-term loan from my parents.  I bought the house in August, and I was getting a bonus in December, so they lent me some money that I repaid from my bonus.  Other than that, I bought my first house on my own.  I got no help at all with the second house.

I prefer being financially independent.  When people give you money, there is a certain implied control that comes with it.  Money is never free.  I'd rather have a modest place that is mine than a fancier place paid for by somebody else.  That way I don't have to answer to anybody for my spending choices.  My dad doesn't 100% approve of my spending habits, so it's better to be in a position where he can't question what I do, other than shake his head in bemusement....