AIBU to feel middle-class luxuries have become increasingly out of reach?

This is just referring to normal people, not those on benefits.

This is completely true. And what will happen even more is that the prices for sofas will rise even more because they don't sell as many and they still want to retain their staff if they can.

This is terrible for the economy but brilliant for the environment. We need to stop wasting stuff, creating landfill, polluting our environment etc... rising prices are painful and I feel it too. But it's better for us as a species long term if we travel less, buy less, make things last etc...

There you go. Zero pound universal credit with you both earning £2000 a month with no childcare, no housing, couple with two kids. All you’ll be entitled to is child benefit.

Nobody knows it because it’s untrue! Go on entitledto or turn to us and put in that you have 2 children, zero housing costs and both you and your partner earn £2000 a month and it will give you the exact same sum I just gave you and tell you you’re entitled to zero. I have no idea what that photo is you’ve posted because I’ve never seen that calculator but it’s wrong. Everyone has told you you’re wrong.

I just did it for you in turn to us.

This.

’Middle class’ has never meant having endless cash to splurge on expensive clothes and skincare.

Middle class is about spending wisely on things that will last. Not about Sephora and a new top every week. This is aspirational behaviour and always has been.

my parents were middle class and so were their parents. They had nice, quality things but they were bought occasionally. It was always having what you needed and not going without but not spending sprees.

Of course it’s true that inflation is wild and everything has gone up exponentially in the past couple of years. But a ‘middle class’ lifestyle is not the same thing as being able to afford heavy consumerism.

What is wrong with you?

Plus I don't need to. Total benefits is zero!

I cant search your user name as not pro. If you link would be good to see it 😊

I did. Ages ago as the link.was in a thread. I was entitled to zero.

Welcome for you to run the same numbers on a different or same calculator and show it.

No offence but I am not believing the random protestations of mumsnet users who can’t read a table over Entitled To or any other well known benefits calculator.

Run it in turn to us if you want. Haven’t done it and don’t have time but would be interested to see your results.

Why are you wanting to be so horrible to me ? And yes, you were rude. I did try with the Kindle. I didn’t get on with it. You do. Good for you.
All I said was that books are beautiful. They are to me. I am the last person you would call pretentious if you knew me. You don’t. So please stop being personal.
Books do not make me an intellectual ! I am not an academic but nor do I turn my nose up at people who are.

Multiple people have told you are wrong. Apply and let us know how you get on.

lol they are not.. that’s the difference on the calcs. Read the table.

Anyway to summarise for OP..

This is why you don’t feel you have money to buy ‘middle class’ things. I am not saying it’s because people get UC that somehow diminishes you - I am saying it’s because pretty much most of the country takes home this amount that you don’t economically have a ‘middle class’ income. You have an extra £600 or so a month. And if you think of your middle class expenses (higher housing costs/ insurances/ expensive hobbies) that might disappear quickly to give you the same disposable purchasing power or less than the ‘working class’

I'm not being rude for the sake of it. You sound pretentious. Almost everyone learned to read from hard copy books. So what? It doesn't mean kindles are difficult once you get used to them. And while some hard backs look nice, the majority of paper backs don't. Some people just seem to want them cluttering their house because it makes them feel intellectual.

Total benefits are a minus figure.

I think that redefining class in your own mind is fine, however it doesn’t mean that’s actually the definition of class

class definitions are very simple. It is working class is working for a wage in an unskilled or semi skilled role. Middle is salaried in a professional role that requires further eduction.

people like the bbc tried to come up with different classes, new definitions etc, which is ridiculous really.

class isn’t about behaviour, or earnings, you can easily have a working class person who earns more than a middle class. It’s not about being privately educated, it’s about further education, and it’s not about liking museums over pub crawls. And your roots, ie what your parents class is, is not your class once an adult. That’s just your upbringing. You can also change class in your lifetime.

having the trappings of middle class, ie private education, or loving museums, or behaving a certain way, doesn’t make you middle class. Your job and your education levels define it.

its a subject that brings a lot of emotion, which I find a little bizzare. People try to redefine it to something that fits their personal comfort levels. Or grasp onto the bbc definers like it’s fact, it’s not. I read so many odd definitions, if you work your working class, you are what your parents were, if you like museums and art galleries, or if you like a pint on a Friday night.

class is actually very simple. Redefining it in our own heads doesn’t change it,

Median graduate salary is £42k.

@dingodan

Here screenshot above, you have some space to increase earnings further on the taper but I am not running them because I have used most of my allowance this year (you only get 10 calcs). But there’s 4.7k and the taper is .55 per £ so you can work it out mathematically you can get a few extra hundred retaining eligibility for other elements.

A lot of bad behaviour is from what you would think is middle or upper middle-classes, however you want to define it, they get good grades, they can quote poems, they can put on black tie and be confident and polite in a formal setting.

But they also get dropped off at Cornish beaches end of exams, get drunk, have sex on the beach, little, play loud rap music and generally behave as the underclass because they know there won’t be any major consequences because mummy and daddy will privilege their way out of it.

There is no such thing as particular class behaviour or interests anymore. Thinking you are oh so middle-class because you read high brow poetry whilst shivering at home eating beans on toast is delusional.

And thinking “working class” people don’t enjoy opera or know how to behave on public transport is also wrong. Just wrong.

Behaviour and interests are varied over all classes, what makes access to some of these is money and opera houses don’t enquire if you earned the ticket money via building a wall or analysis of a FTSE company quarterly cash flow.

Class is so very outdated in the UK, thank god, by all means judge people as you find them but thinking that class gives people class is insane. The upper classes get away with a lot of dreadful behaviour because they do it behind walled estates and can shut people down, but sexual/physical abuse is the same action.

All there really is, is what you can and can’t afford. What behaviour you can and can’t get away with. Class is just something kept alive to make people who aren’t wealthy feel better because there are markers (made up delusional markers) they tick which makes them “middle-class” - so better in their minds. It’s a trick.

I didn't say middle class anywhere. I was responding to the poster who said a dress "should" cost £80, and pointing out to them that a) that isn't actually affordable to many and b) they may have somewhat over estimated the costs involved in making a comparatively cheap dress.

It’s just a basic, c. minimum wage family. No housing, no childcare.

Dont understand how no one knows this

I find people who are rude for the sake of it ignorant.

Everyone says that but they just haven't really tried to get used to a kindle. I made the effort because I wanted too spend less and not have so much clutter and now I prefer to read that way. I find it a bit pretentious when people talk about books being beautiful.

Nobody's going to cut pensioner benefits so the bill will continue to rise.

I struggle with Kindle. I learnt to read from books. Not a screen. And for me a book I much prefer. You can get beautiful books with fantastic illustrations too. Not sure that would come across on a screen. A book is a beautiful thing.