In monetary terms what constitutes 'middle class'?

[Monkeytrousers]

DP thinks it well over 50k a year and that 50k a year is still aspirational middle class.

Well I consider myself and my DH to be middle class but we only earn about £23k a year between us. I think there are many many other factors involved, not just how much you earn.

I think he's right, for the South East, at least, assuming the earner(s) have a mortgage to pay. I felt well-off when I earned that much on my own and we had dh's wages as well.

Although class is about more than money of course, otherwise all rich people would be upper class and many aren't. Esp. round here!

Surely it's not just down to earnings? Perhaps also to do with background, accent, dressing well, nice house? (although obviously those relate to money). But my point is you don't have to be earning a lot to give off that air.

lol Fio

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Surely if you have to work for a living you are working class?

I've always thought of the middle classes as gentlemen farmers and people who live off their investments with houses in different parts of the country etc.

Upper class are the mob who inherit titles and old NT type properties but could be rich or not.

It's not money
It's education and speech and accent and attitude and all sorts of complicated things.

but that's inspirational middle class, isn;t it?

i mean aspirational

The class is shown is different ways in different areas I think. Or perhaps people who aren't middle class aspire to be a different type of middle class depending on which part of the country they're in.

Where I've moved to, there are lots of 'middle class' type people and there are lots of v wealthy people who to me aren't very 'middle class' despite very high earnings.

Surely middle class/working class is defined by ones profession rather than earnings. I know plumbers who earn shedloads and are working class and I am upper middle class, much to my and anyone who knows me's amusement incidentally

groundhog day this is

That was probably appauling grammar, but at this time of night I don't care

appalling spelling too

Is it CD? Did it kick off last time?

ah sharrap!!!!!

oh I can't remember

here is one example do a search there are billions more

I think being middle class is defined by wanting to be defined as middle class and actually caring! Upper class people just are, know it and are beyond thinking about it.. and working/lower class people are either too scummy to care.. or, on the other hand entirely, too grounded in reality and what really matters to be arsed with such classification bollocks!

why is everyone so obsessed with money this week?

apropos of nothing (I agree that money is nothing to do with class) you can still get working tax credit if your family income is 50k

food for thought

I'm going to go w/the words of the immortal Coco Chanel:

'There are people with money, and there are people who are rich.'

I like that Expat, I really do.

CD... oh dear. I hate leaping on bandwagons. But I have to confess that may have been the thread where I derived my upper middle class status from (link posted). But my favourite contribution was:

By bundle on Thu 31-Aug-06 17:50
arse

I really loathe the obsession with class. What is 'class' other than a caste system of trying to demonstrate that one group is somehow 'better' than another. It stinks imo

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