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Growing up, my family definitely wasn’t rich. We weren’t jetting off to Europe during the summer or visiting a ski lodge over Christmas break. We might have had one domestic vacation a year, often a road trip, and we’d spend most of our summers at the neighborhood pool doing cannonballs until the sun went down.
But we did have a cluttered garage with an extra refrigerator for drinks, a lawnmower that my dad was proud to use and a grill that cooked more burgers, salmon and veggies than I can count. We were the quintessential middle class family. And, of course, my upbringing wasn't unique; there are millions of other families around the globe who had nearly the exact same experiences.
Redditors have been discussing the tell-tale signs that someone is middle class, so we’ve gathered their most spot-on replies below. Enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote the ones that make you want to have a picnic with your neighbors!
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#1
Being able to afford everything you need but not everything you want.
ChuushaHime:
This is where I am now for the first time in my life and I love it. I'm very comfortable, have solid emergency funds, can afford everything that I need as well as small luxuries like the occasional nice restaurant or weekend getaway, but still need to put some effort into saving for trips or similar largescale purchases that make me feel like I earned them. Next financial goal is to move apartments to a more expensive but prettier and more convenient part of town. Looking forward to it :)
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#2
Adopted a little boy earlier this year... 6 years old. His background is, erm, rough, shall we say.
Last week we were sat in a Cafè and he described his scone as "delightful". A little later he asked where we were going for dinner.
I suddenly realised we'd ruined him already. 🤦♂️.
#3
Student loans
Too wealthy for need-based scholarships; not wealthy enough to pay for college.
#4
Family vacations. I remember coming back from summer break and my classmates talking about the trips their families went on and being extremely jealous.
Elwood Schwartz (it/that) 6 months ago (edited)
We took family vacations... 400 miles to Grandma's house in a small town. 50 miles or so to visit aunts and uncles in a suburb. Never anywhere fun or at hotels or anything. Stayed at someone's house the whole time.
#5
Buying a Subaru because its practical and safe.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 6 months ago
"That's what makes a Subaru a Subaru!" - one of the company's current slogans here XD
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QueerAxolotls 6 months ago
Okay, but like Subarus are awesome. My mom's 2015 Outback is still up and running, better than my dad's 2020 Acura. Subaru for the win!
Lady Eowyn 6 months ago
I have a Subaru impreza outback sport (hatchback, slightly higher body) that I bought new 26 years ago. My mechanic wants it for his daughter when she reaches driving age. She's 11. When I'm ready to give it up, he'll have it.
Uncle Panda 6 months ago
My nephew bought my 1998 Outback. He's currently using it to terrorize the streets of Boulder under the guise of pizza delivery.
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ucp 6 months ago (edited)
I knew I had become middle class, abandoning my working class roots, when I bought a brand new car. I was able to make the decision to finance it based not on need, but on what worked better financially (0% APR credit, meaning I could earn interest on savings, even after a huge discount on the sales price).
Forrest Grump 6 months ago
I bought one just to drive on the rare occasion when we get snow in my local area. I drive my fun cars the rest of the year.
Geoffrey Scott 6 months ago
Same with Toyota I'm sure. When the kids were little, I drove a Buick LeSabre as the family car. large sedan which is no longer made.
#6
Spending an entire day from your weekend cleaning your own house and doing your own yard work and going to Costco.
Little Bit 6 months ago
Is this middle class? I thought this was more a working class thing. All the middle class people I know employ cleaners and gardeners.
#8
When your passenger side door handle breaks, you take it to the dealership for repair since it's under warranty, when they send you to the rental company for a loaner car and the only thing they have is a ~~Camero~~ Camaro. When you pull in to the driveway of your suburban home and tell your pregnant wife you're going out to dinner at a nearby sit down restaurant because you need a reason to drive the ~~Camero~~ Camaro around.
Ladies and gentlemen, my husband last week.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 6 months ago
When I was a kid, my dream car was a mid-90s Camaro T-top XD ....and then when I got my license at 16, I bought a used Mazda 323 that was only 4 years younger than I was XD I drove it until it died. Aaaand I've driven a van for the last 24 years since XD Ah, young Lakota, I'm sorry... XD
#9
*opens fridge full of tons of diverse fresh food*
There's nothing ~~already cooked and prepared to mindlessly shove in my gullet~~ to eat.
#10
I'm going to paint my fence China white instead of 1/4 piano white.
My suburb passed a ruling no green fencing...so I'm getting white that has a green hue in it.
I'm just one man fighting against the oppression.
John Mosley 6 months ago
Sounds like you probably have an HOA and you'll probably end up repainting that fence piano white. They have ways of fining and screwing you over until they get their way. F-ing HOA's.
#11
Those vases that middle class mothers put in the corner of the room with twigs in it.
#13
Lawnmowing.
QueerAxolotls 6 months ago
My parents had to hire people once I was born; apparently my dad was so sleep deprived from baby me, he BURNT A HOLE IN HIS SWEATSHIRT WHILE LAWNMOWING (no clue how)
#14
Helping your children do their homework.
Poor people don't have time for that. Rich people have tutors for that.
StrangeOne 6 months ago
Um... how does being poor keep you from helping your kids with their homework? I can understand shift work, but even then, there's some time to help your kids with their education at some point of the day.
#16
Thinking that you're not well off, when you actually are.
Oskar vanZandt 6 months ago
I have to remind myself sometimes that I am MUCH better off than billions of people on this planet...
#17
A mortgage, a car loan or two, and having to save the entire year (or two) to take a vacation with the spouse and kids.
#18
Too rich for the FAFSA, too poor to afford college.
General Anaesthesia 6 months ago
FAFSA = Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Application is free.
#20
Gotta go to work everyday so I can come home and spend all my free time taking care of bills, food, and my children. Just so I can wake up tomorrow and do it all over again.
#21
Planning for retirement. The rich don't have to worry about it, and the poor know they wont ever reach it.
Robert T 6 months ago
That depends very much upon how you are employed and what country you live in. There are plenty of working class jobs that come with a decent pension scheme. There are plenty of countries with good state pensions. The middle ground is where you have to contribute to your own retirement plan, and it is only those with sufficient income that can afford to put away enough to make a decent retirement.
#22
A Toyota Highlander with "Frozen" playing in the backseat pulling up to a block party at a master-planned starter home community's pool where the dads are grilling and the kids are running around everywhere eating freeze pops.
#24
I take _forever_ to grocery shop now that I'm making a decent living.
When we were poorer it was just buy whatever we could afford that would keep us alive. Now, when arriving at the spot in the aisle for EVERY item on my list, a chain reaction of decision making fires off that passes through statistics, guilt, and the meaning of life.
> There are 6 choices of jarred olives
> That one is $18 so its an outlier
> The remaining 5 prices are between $0.89 and $3.99, biased to the right
> My income is in the 65th percentile nationally
> http://i.imgur.com/itMcsy5.gif
> Really these are just going in my martinis, I won't even notice the difference from the cheaper ones
> But I do like to eat them in salads sometimes...
> *Looks back at $18 olives*
> I MAKE GOOD MONEY DAMNIT I SHOULD BE ABLE TO BUY NICE OLIVES.
> They're just going to waste in the fridge because I pass out after 2 drinks
> The expensive ones probably taste funny anyway
> Honestly I don't even remember how much Gin I have left
> *Looks back at list*
> I'll go look at the yogurt and come back to the olives before I leave.
#25
A grade school aged child having tempered expectations for Christmas gifts, and getting pretty much everything they wanted except for the most expensive thing. "Maybe next year, bud.".
Oskar vanZandt 6 months ago
Nothing wrong with giving modest gifts... Parents don't need to go into debt to fulfill their kids' wish lists. My parents stretched to give each of us one main present and stocking stuffers... and we didn't suffer.
#26
Having a nice double car garage but no room for your mid size SUV or Toyota sedan because its full of kids toys, unopened boxes of random s**t that you haven't looked at since you moved in and golf clubs you don't use often.
StrangeOne 6 months ago (edited)
Double car garages and multiple vehicles I thought were for the rich. Middle class, to me, was having a vehicle and a garage to store it, and you went golfing at the Golf Dome where you rent your clubs.
#28
One Prozac a day. Husband's a CPA
and her yellow SUV.
#29
A basketball hoop in every driveway.
EDIT: or on the garage. but i mean really that's still in the driveway isn't it?
Duane Ringlein 6 months ago
Now you see stand alone hoops in the driveway (my grandson has one) but growing up in the 60s my Dad put one on the garage roof, probably wasn't regulation height, but my friends and I spent a lot of hours shooting on it.
#30
As a Hispanic that grew up middle class.
Using butter containers to store leftover beans. My Tupperware came from re-purposed lands.
*typos are inevitable.
George Costanza 6 months ago
My very white family did this as well. Old margarine tubs held almost all our leftovers.
#31
Having those silly little stick figure family stickers on the back of your minivan.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 6 months ago (edited)
The non-standard ones always used to make me smile when I was a kid. (The ones where the family was actually Star Wars characters or zombies or something.) EDIT: ......oh lawd I just realized what the hangers symbolize on the one above. :x
#34
An above ground pool, alone, in the middle of the back yard, with those s****y plastic ladders that flail all over the place when you climb them.
#35
Company picnics.
Robert T 6 months ago
Company holidays are better! First one I did, we went to Nantes and did go-karting and other fun activities - we thought it was brilliant - the guy from the Paris office thought it was a massive pain to have to go all the way over to Nantes for something they could do nearer home. The second one was in Paris and involved actual work. There wasn't a third! LOL
#36
This thread has me reminiscing on the sweet summer times of my middle-class childhood:
-drawing with chalk in the driveway.
-Going to a neighbor's to swim in their above-ground pool, while swatting away occasional wasps, and if this wasn't an option, putting a sprinkler under the trampoline.
-A tire swing and/or one of those assembly-required jungle gyms in the backyard.
-Various soccer/music/overnight camps (not fancy ones, usually run by the local university)
-Being a tomboy by necessity because all your bikes/sporting goods/some clothes were passed through the neighborhood boys before they got to you
-Bringing your dad a glass of freshly mixed red koolaid while he takes a break from mowing the lawn with giant noise-cancelling headphones on. Not the ones that play music. They just cancel noise. Blanking on what to call these.
#39
"I'm so glad I bought that Chevy Tahoe. Now I can listen to NPR while driving Bella from her Montessori school to soccer practice.".
#40
Bringing a lunch to the office.
#41
My wife told me about growing up, regularly having smoked salmon over eggs for breakfast, took regular family holidays to other countries/continents and had horse riding lessons.
Meanwhile there's me not allowed to have milk in my porridge/off brand Weetabix.
#42
Getting nice and loaded prior to a sporting event to save money; getting drunk enough for long-term-financial-goal apathy to set in and buying tons of food and beer in the stadium because you *can* afford it but *shouldn't* waste the cash.
#43
Buy a house with a 2 or 3 car garage and pack them full of c**p and park the cars in the driveway.
#44
My father having his neighborhood friends over to play horseshoes and drink Yuenglings out back.
#45
Having a moderate sedan that you try to keep clean. Theres bird s**t all over it but youre waiting for the next rain instead of doing a car wash.
#46
Camping as a family vacation. We went to Disney World when I was 9, but other than that our vacations were usually camping trips. My dad made enough money to be able to take almost a month off of work each summer (not consecutively, but a week or weekend here and there), but not enough to take us anywhere expensive.
Oskar vanZandt 6 months ago
Camping or family visits for our family... Going abroad wasn't really a thing like it is now.
#49
Mac and cheese go mighty fine with a big a*s box of
Costco wine.
#50
A white teenager driving his dad's subaru and blasting XXXtentacion.
Multa Nocte 6 months ago
🎶 Suicide if you ever try to let go, uh I'm sad, I know, yeah, I'm sad, I know, yeah 🎶
#51
An SUV full of tons of kid's toys, garbage, and equipment being driven from one sport to another by a mom holding a large Starbucks coffee and carrying an expensive handbag.
#53
There was a news story a couple of years ago threatening a shortage of halloumi and several members of my family panicked.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 6 months ago
Just learned was halloumi was yesterday from reading a post on Mumsnet! (Yes, I live "across the pond" but I read "AIBU" Mumsnet posts for entertainment occasionally.) It honestly sounds really delicious - I actually really love goat cheese and sheep cheese but it tends to be difficult to find in the US. :(
#54
Not sure that’s a middle class thing you’re describing, sounds to me like you’ve got a quirky 3 year old on your hands which is great!
My partner is a SAHM to both our 3 year old and 8 week old, which I think in this day and age could be considered quite a middle class thing.
Then there’s the multiple holidays we do, the fact we are home owners etc.
I recognise we are very fortunate, but I think we probably slot into the “middle class” thing because of that.
#55
We had a cleaner and a gardener. Sounds awfully posh but really wasn’t. Mum and dad worked full time with 3 kids so didn’t have the time to stay on top of it. The cleaner came once a week and the gardener once a fortnight - just to keep on top of things. Mum and dad felt it was money well spent, kept their stress levels down!
QueerAxolotls 6 months ago
IMO; a cleaner once/twice a month isn't super fancy. My parents do it, and it costs them maybe 200 dollars a month, not including any tips. It's worth it; they vacuum, dust, and mop the whole house. The money pays for that, and the benefit of not having to do that on top of busy work schedules/other health issues.
#56
Jogging with your Golden Retrievers during the work day while pushing a stroller and trying to lose that baby weight. Next stop Starbucks!
#57
Dads with Merona plaid shirts, cargo shorts, and $7 Panama Jack sunglasses from Walmart grilling next to an above ground pool outside a 3/2 home that their Honda Accord is parked outside.
#58
Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla.
Unkeptwoman 6 months ago
I have the 2006 Corolla AND a 1996 Dodge Ram 2500 with a diesel engine. I'm set for life!
#60
$7 bloody marys/ $5 mimosas on top of a $14 brunch entree on a patio that features croquet and boccie ball... while sitting on many thousands of dollars worth of student loan debt.
#63
Making *barely* too much money for any government assistance, yet living paycheck to paycheck without doing really anything extra besides pay your bills and buying groceries... While Susie next door gets every form of government assistance making $30k less than you, but is able to have the newest clothes, nicest bags, go on vacations etc. And Jenny down the road makes $30k more than you, lives in a huge house, drives a BMW, has all the nicest clothes, bags etc and goes on a slightly nicer vacation than Susie.
The USA is screwed up. LOWER middle class is bad because you're excited about your raise - you don't have to live off food stamps anymore! - but you're now more poor than you were -$10k ago.
Child of the Stars 6 months ago
Sorry, I don't buy "Susie's" story. I know that there are those who take advantage of the system, but they're very rare. The requirements are too rigid that it's difficult to take advantage of.
#64
I, when I was about 5, went into my parent's friend's house. I then asked where their library was. We had one, I thought everyone did.
The Scout 6 months ago
First thing I did when I moved into my first appartment was exactly that - fashioning my study into an old-fashioned library with upholstered reading chairs and a globus bar. And, of course, the books to go with it, but I already had tons of those before... Ate nearly two thirds of my furniture budget, but was worth every cent.
#65
Walking into Waitrose and not being like woaaaah.
ucp 6 months ago
There is a common misconception about Waitrose. Yes, it is more expensive for its own brand food. But it also treats farmers (and the animals reared by some of those farmers) better than other supermarkets. Also, for context, I went to Tesco this week. Six free range eggs £1.65. In Waitrose, they are £1.45. If you value quality, Waitrose own brand stuff is often superior to branded goods, and considerably cheaper. In my town, it’s also the biggest supermarket so has the broadest range. TL;DR - it’s not as expensive as people who never go there often believe.
#68
This is sorta area specific because I'm in the PNW.
Driving to Disneyland.
If you have more than one or two kids, flying gets expensive. But a 12-15 hour drive down is accessible.
#69
Jorts
Tucked in polo shirt
Visors.
#71
Coming up with schemes to retire before you're 60. It used to be 50 but the economy and current market trends have pushed that out of the realm of possibility. I got a buddy who's invested about a grand into a website to flip houses. Another has invested some money in a website trying to be the next Amazon. On more who is moving his entire 401k into wells Fargo stock.
I guess the biggest thing you learn in middle class is that it's not much better than lower class. That maybe if you get into that next tax bracket you'll finally be comfortable and be able to breathe a bit.
#72
2 weeks paid vacation.
The Scout 6 months ago
Well, I got six, and that really is on the lower side for Germany... especially as there is no such thing as numbered sick days (when you are sick, you are sick, no vacation or sick days needed). By carefully constructing that around the numerous public holidays you can more or less expand that.
#73
Don't make enough to afford to pay for college, but too much to get need-based financial aid.
#74
In law school we learnt about this one case in Britain about a neighbour hosting a party celebrating their favourite musical composer which annoyed the neighbour, who then played his classical music by a different composer louder than the partying neighbours.
I mean r/madlads aside, that might be the most middle class thing I could have imagined.
#76
My parent's generation was, I think, the last generation where it was socially acceptable to be aspirational in the 'hyacinth bucket' sense. We didn't have much money at all growing up, but things like having Sky TV or wearing expensive trainers was seen as 'yobbo' behaviour - flashing your cash was not encouraged at all.
Nowadays it seems more common for people to downplay their privilege, people don't tend to have a 'phone voice' any more and usually emphasise their regional accents.
My theory is that you can work out what type of middle class people are from what supermarket they shop at. Lower middle class people love Waitrose & M&S and wouldn't be seen dead in Asda, whereas upper middle class people shop exclusively at aldi, wear charity shop clothes and drive old bangers.
#77
Kohls.
QueerAxolotls 6 months ago
My grandmother should be their token customer by now. Everything she owns is from Amazon Basics, Target, Kohls, or some random now-closed store.
#82
A group of moms drinking trader Joe's wine and talking about their MLM "businesses" while their three year olds splash about at swim lessons. Every one drives a white SUV and every one had something to say about Mommy Juice and Happy Hour and what reward was next on their list for selling enough leggings or candles or essential oils.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 6 months ago
My mom briefly sold Avon when I was a kid and had the (very) occasional Tupperware party. I wonder if that was the 1980s version of this XD
#83
I never had Sky TV.
(I do genuinely think it’s a pretty middle class thing to forgo sky).
#85
I once went to a friend's house and they started singing around a piano. Knocked me sick to my stomach.
#86
Growing up we had a tennis court and a swimming pool in the garden, as well as a maze. My aunt and uncle and also my early childhood best friend also had swimming pools or tennis courts - I thought pretty much everyone had one until I was about 10/11.
I am a much, much more grounded person now.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 6 months ago
Oh, sweet summer child, you weren't middle-class. You were rich XD
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What do you think ?
Ace 6 months ago
All this list highlights to me is the vast range of views of what is considered "middle class" by different people. Many of them resonate with what I thought of as aspirational back in the day, suburban living, if you like, things that working class people might aspire to but actual middle class folk would view as 'common' or beneath them.
LooseSeal's $10 Banana 6 months ago
Yeah, middle class in San Diego, CA is vastly different than middle class in St. Louis, MO.
Load More Replies... Scrupulous Panda 6 months ago
Living in the UK after growing up in America, I have learned that “Middle Class” is defined differently in the US vs the rest of Europe. The US definition of middle class would be working class. The UK version would be working class rich (but not necessarily wealthy).
Mimi M 6 months ago
Big difference for me was being able to live without acute worry. A lot of this is because I keep expenses very low. But there was a long period of time where even though my expenses were low, I still worried all the time that I would not be able to cover my basic needs (food, shelter). I'm glad not to be there now.
James Ward 6 months ago
Having a TV in the bedroom. Only eating out on weekends. Beach vacations. Maids every two weeks. Polo shirts. Dogs in a baby stroller.
Lady Eowyn 6 months ago
I grew up middle class in the 60s/70s, and almost none of this is relatable.
Asri 6 months ago
70's for me. I think there was a lot fewer expectations about needing to have a big house in the suburbs and an expensive car. (US style) Now people who call themselves middle class are in debt up to their eyeballs instead of living within their means.
Load More Replies... Ace 6 months ago
All this list highlights to me is the vast range of views of what is considered "middle class" by different people. Many of them resonate with what I thought of as aspirational back in the day, suburban living, if you like, things that working class people might aspire to but actual middle class folk would view as 'common' or beneath them.
LooseSeal's $10 Banana 6 months ago
Yeah, middle class in San Diego, CA is vastly different than middle class in St. Louis, MO.
Load More Replies... Scrupulous Panda 6 months ago
Living in the UK after growing up in America, I have learned that “Middle Class” is defined differently in the US vs the rest of Europe. The US definition of middle class would be working class. The UK version would be working class rich (but not necessarily wealthy).
Mimi M 6 months ago
Big difference for me was being able to live without acute worry. A lot of this is because I keep expenses very low. But there was a long period of time where even though my expenses were low, I still worried all the time that I would not be able to cover my basic needs (food, shelter). I'm glad not to be there now.
James Ward 6 months ago
Having a TV in the bedroom. Only eating out on weekends. Beach vacations. Maids every two weeks. Polo shirts. Dogs in a baby stroller.
Lady Eowyn 6 months ago
I grew up middle class in the 60s/70s, and almost none of this is relatable.
Asri 6 months ago
70's for me. I think there was a lot fewer expectations about needing to have a big house in the suburbs and an expensive car. (US style) Now people who call themselves middle class are in debt up to their eyeballs instead of living within their means.
Load More Replies...
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