What’s Your Class?

What’s Your Class?

The other day, my daughter was asking me what class we are, as she had heard about it at school somehow.  I told her, you know, I’d say that I grew up in an upper-middle-class household, and I’m not sure what we would even be considered today.  Then it dawned on me that I kinda made that up, as I’m not even really sure what constitutes different financial classes.  I went down a huge rabbit hole, as naturally, I find this type of stuff fun, and found the results interesting.  Since I found it so interesting, you know what that means, got to write a blog about it.

First a Disclaimer

Disclaimer: Now, before I get into the results, let me preface by saying this blog is meant to be fun and educational, not to make you feel bad or superior.  Rather, I always find understanding where you stand is a helpful exercise.

Social Classes

According to my research, there are 7 social classes.  I’ll rank them in ascending order and then leave you with a fun anecdote.

1. Lower class- Household income of $30,000 or less, or net worth under $25,000. 
2. Working class- Household income of $30,000- $60,000 or net worth from $25,000-$100,000.
3. Lower Middle Class- Household income $60,000-$100,000 or net worth $100,000-$250,000.
4. Middle Class- Household income $100,000-$180,000 or net worth of $250,000-$750,000.
5. Upper Middle Class- Household income $180,000-$400,000 or net worth of $750,000-$3,000,000.
6. Upper Class- Household income over $400,000 or net worth of $3,000,000-$30,000,000.
7. Ultra-Wealthy- Income “irrelevant” or net worth over $30,000,000 to beyond.

Did you find this interesting?  I certainly did, as I’ve found people in general like to know their social standing.  Not that I agree with it or that it really means anything, but it is human nature to benchmark ourselves against others.  I get the question all the time: how are my finances compared to others?

 

A Conversation with Children

Maybe a better understanding can motivate you or simply make you comfortable with where you are.  In any event, I’ll now share with you the funny dialogue I had with my daughters after this.  So, my daughters naturally asked where our family currently fell.  I shared the answer, and then they said Well, what do we do if someone asks?

First, I said, well, you shouldn’t discuss finances with your friends, and it is the content of the character, not their financial standing. 

Also, went into money doesn’t make the man; it is the man who makes the money.  Then followed a handful of other platitudes before my daughters stopped me in my tracks and said But what do we say, Dad… ugh.

The AI Angle

Well, I then turned to my trusty ChatGPT to see if it had any insightful thoughts on what to say to their friends.  Here were some of the suggestions.

“We’re fortunate, but what matters is being a good friend.”

“Maybe, but I still have to clean my room.”

“I guess?  But I’m just me.”

“Yeah, but I still have to do chores like everyone else.”

“Guess that makes me rich in friends, too.”

“Yeah, but my brother still annoys me like normal.”

Welp, needless to say that after reading this, I was made fun of for half an hour as my very cool teeny bopper daughters were like Dad, you’ve got to be kidding me.  I guess after reading them, I totally get it, but we all had a good laugh.  Guess AI hasn’t replaced us yet!

Hope you enjoyed this little fun blog and perhaps got a chuckle at my expense, like my daughters.  In any event, stay wealthy, healthy, and happy.