According to a new survey commissioned by Visa, high income earners, those with a household income of more than $125,000, are more likely to clip coupons and shop at discount stores than the general population.
Also, ninety percent of those households think of themselves as middle-class or upper-middle-class rather than affluent. If being in the top 7 percent of wage earners throughout the country and earning more than three times the national median household income ($43,000) is considered “middle-class” I wouldn’t even know how to classify myself.
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4:41 pm (reply)
I was listing to an NPR show the other day that basically said most of the people that think they are middle-class are actually working-class. They basically said the true middle-class are the people who control large companies. The upper class or wealthy own the company, the middle-class would be those that occupy the top-tiers organizationally of these companies. Everyone else would make up the working-class – both white- and blue-collar workers.
I know quite a few people who make more than six figures who consider themselve to be working-class rather than middle-class.
erin
http://www.frugalgirl.blogspot.com
4:57 pm (reply)
That does seem to make sense. Here is a further description of the class system in the United States.
10:04 pm (reply)
There’s a lot of mythology about the rich. (They’re not like you or I.) It’s the movies. People have an unrealistic image of the rich. I remember when a bunch of us cashed out $1M+ during the boom. You think it’s cool for a while, but then you realize you still have to work, then you forget about it. Also: it’s never enough.
1:51 am (reply)
Good points, Anonymous. $1M “sure ain’t what it used to be” but it would sure be nice to cash one out nevertheless.
9:35 am (reply)
In our society, it seems like the more you have, the more you spend. So while a family with a household income of $125,000 may be considered wealthy by the government, they may only really have as much disposable income as someone who makes $35,000 a year because they’re spending more of it on things like their house and cars. This makes them feel no more wealthy than anyone else. Also, a household income of $125,000 means that with two wage earners, each of them is making a salary that could be considered more in-line with what middle-class earners are making. This makes them, individually, feel more like they are middle class. And yes, I do think that television and movies have distorted our image of wealthy. If you don’t live in a huge mansion and have a nice garage of cars, you’re just another working bum…