Middle class people DO feel strapped. Always have.
I grew up upper middle class and I remember my dad worrying about money. (He was an engineer). But we lived in a nice neighborhood. We always had used cars, my mom pinched pennies at the grocery store, as the youngest I’m not sure I ever had new clothes – just “new to me” hand me downs. And we were upper middle class. My mom was able to stay at home till I was in middle school.
My husband’s family was more typical middle class. Family of 8 in a row house. Both parents worked from when the youngest was in kindergarten. But didn’t make a lot. (Fortunately, both jobs had pensions because there was no budget for retirement saving). All 6 kids went to college. But only got a little help from the parents. No orthodontia. Dental was emergency only. When money was tight they ate a whole lot of soup and pasta. Meat was for Sunday dinner. They qualified for reduced tuition (almost free) from their diocese. One car for the family – bus was standard for all the kids and the mom. Dad would pick mom up when she worked nights.
They were right at the median household income for their city.
The fact that people discuss $200k, $400k, etc as being middle class is truly denying that most people get by on a whole lot less.
You may feel deprived with a combined income of $100k – but you’re less deprived than 2/3’s of those around you.
My point is both figurative and literal. I thought I was middle class till I got my first job out of high school and saw how “poor” my coworkers were. They weren’t poor – just typical/middle class, vs upper middle. Changed my perspective from that point on.
