Middle, Upper Middle Class Distinction for Retirees

[Gumby]

Reginald Hunter nails it about class. Click through to get to Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlmVyW0Or6g

[Bestwifeever]

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can

[RobbieB]

I think I know what he's getting at.

I live in a "middle class" neighborhood. Most here work in construction or the construction trades. Gardening and landscaping.

I'm an engineer and I chose to live here for lower housing cost and I like it. I have very little in common with my neighbors and have no problem with that. We wave and say hi and congratulate each other on our Christmas decorations, but that's about it.

If you want to be "social" with your neighbors maybe you care if they are your "occupational peers"? I don't, so it's not important.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lawrence of Suburbia I see myself as occupying a fairly singular "class", at least compared to most of you. Once I quit my job, I'll be in the category of (hopefully) 'comfortable poverty'. This is because I'll not really be "early retired" (unless you allow one year before S.S. 'full retirement'), and my net worth is a fraction of most of yours'. But my wants are pretty insignificant now, so I'd say my retirement income will be spent on what is only necessary. Anything extra (fancy meals out, new musical gear, trips out of town, etc.) I will have to earn with part-time casual work.

I am probably in the bottom half of forum members as far as net worth, but due to hard times in my early adulthood I feel awfully well to do right now. I could easily afford those extras you mention, but just wanted to tell you that in 8+ years of retirement I haven't bothered with fancy meals (who wants to dress up anyway?), new musical gear (I'm too busy to get that Yamaha electric piano that I always thought I'd get when I retired), or trips out of town (I'd rather stay here). So, maybe you won't have to work part time for extras, depending on what your retirement turns out to be like.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB I think I know what he's getting at. I live in a "middle class" neighborhood. Most here work in construction or the construction trades. Gardening and landscaping. I'm an engineer and I chose to live here for lower housing cost and I like it. I have very little in common with my neighbors and have no problem with that. We wave and say hi and congratulate each other on our Christmas decorations, but that's about it. If you want to be "social" with your neighbors maybe you care if they are your "occupational peers"? I don't, so it's not important.

According to statistics that I find online, I have a lot in common with my neighbors. The median age is downright elderly, most have lived in the neighborhood since it was built between 1955-1965, and apparently most neighbors have an unusually high educational level for this region. I am an elderly PhD retired scientist/engineer, so I guess I fit right in.

But despite possibly having a great deal in common I just wave while backing my car out of the driveway. The only time I ever talked to one of them was while waiting in line to vote back in 2016. Most of them have relatives here and have friends that they have known for over half a century. That's great as far as I'm concerned, because honestly retirement just keeps me too busy for a big social life, plus with strong INTJ tendencies a busy social life does not appeal to me at all.

[Cessna152]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum Now in your post this morning you still want to label and/or categorize people. I'm not hung up on the word "class", I'm hung up on the whole concept that you are wanting to put people in buckets. Why? Why is this important?

A great deal of political discourse is predicated on categorizing people for the explicit and deliberate purpose of treating them differently. Then those categories get codified into law; e.g.: Large or small income? Assets - how much and in what form? Homeowner or renter? Married or unmarried? And what is marriage? What is poverty and who belongs in that class? You know that it isn't hard to find laws that define those categories (and many more!) and treat the members accordingly.

So don't be so hard on the OP.

[Mdlerth]

It's amusing that for a thread with so many "I don't care" responses, there sure are a lot of responses! Why so much interest in a ho-hum topic?

Doth we protest too much? Could it be that, while most of us believe class distinctions are not important, each of us is prey to a sort of naughty pleasure in privately knowing he is just the tiniest bit "better" than the next guy?

In our defense, does a bit of covert vanity mean we are bad people? No, it only means we are people.

[Nightcap]

We live in a class-less society, and as long as I'm upper class, it's going to stay that way.

[MichaelB]

I just got back from an HOA special meeting, to discuss the new cable TV contract, and based on the questions and discussion points, it's pretty clear that my neighborhood is the "math challenged" class.

[ScottS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by racy +1 I spend more on my dog's meds than mine. When the dog passes my expenses will decrease 4%!

I guess the "w" in your swr stands for "Woof!"

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can

Surely I can. I still remember when I had only the clothes I wore, and even that was debatable.




I was a juvenile dependent. My parents owned everything.

[iloveyoga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst Class is about how you treat people and move through the world.

Yes, this is what I meant to say!

[Out of Steam]

There are many "rules of thumb" as far as finances, some useful, some not so much. Middle class vs. upper middle class is probably less useful than matching one's spending to available income over a lifetime, and avoiding financial calamities--where a major element of luck is required.

When my parents were retiring in the mid-1980s, I remember them saying that they were OK because they were able to match their Social Security from other sources--a pension, savings, and a small pension payment my mother earned.

Their finances turned out fine. It's probably still a pretty useful test.

[PatrickA5]

Using income as an indicator, we're probably solidly middle class. NW might put us higher. Who knows? All I know is that the guy 200 yards directly behind me must be rich. His house is 18,000 sqft with 18 bedrooms and 15.75 bathrooms (per Zillow). My house wouldn't even qualify as his pool house. So, in terms of distance, I can say I'm very close to being Upper, Upper class.

[Lawrence of Suburbia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R I am probably in the bottom half of forum members as far as net worth, but due to hard times in my early adulthood I feel awfully well to do right now. I could easily afford those extras you mention, but just wanted to tell you that in 8+ years of retirement I haven't bothered with fancy meals (who wants to dress up anyway?), new musical gear (I'm too busy to get that Yamaha electric piano that I always thought I'd get when I retired), or trips out of town (I'd rather stay here). So, maybe you won't have to work part time for extras, depending on what your retirement turns out to be like. [...]

Thanks for your response!

I'm pretty much with you, actually; travel in particular has plummeted in appeal for me the last year or so. I'm a homebody; maybe a Sunday drive out to some small towns in the countryside for a bird-watching walk on some trail, but I'm home again well before dinnertime! And regarding the other extras ... if I find I really want (say) a nice new guitar and don't have a spare $1,500 about, keeping my hand in to earn a few bucks will help keep me active, which is the real reason for doing it. 100% leisure retirement, for me, would mean boredom and slow decline to early mortality.

[karen1972]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can

Well my parents house burned down.. like fire inferno, no people were lost, but I did lose my kitty., so yep, can imagine that.

My honey moved in with me with 1 laptop, 1 suitcase of clothes, his car, 2 lamps, and a recliner... when he says his ex-wife took everything, he was serious.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Surely I can. I still remember when I had only the clothes I wore, and even that was debatable. I was a juvenile dependent. My parents owned everything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by karen1972 Well my parents house burned down.. like fire inferno, no people were lost, but I did lose my kitty., so yep, can imagine that. My honey moved in with me with 1 laptop, 1 suitcase of clothes, his car, 2 lamps, and a recliner... when he says his ex-wife took everything, he was serious.

Sorry this was so vague—it’s from John Lennon’s “Imagine”.

[Major Tom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby Reginald Hunter nails it about class. Click through to get to Youtube.

The first time I ever saw that, I laughed out loud! An interesting and insightful perspective on discrimination.

[RobbieB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Sorry this was so vague—it’s from John Lennon’s “Imagine”.

I always liked that song. A multi-millionaire singing about having nothing.

I guess we'll always want what we don't have.

[Cayman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby Reginald Hunter nails it about class. Click through to get to Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlmVyW0Or6g

Brilliant.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Surely I can. I still remember when I had only the clothes I wore, and even that was debatable. I was a juvenile dependent. My parents owned everything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Sorry this was so vague—it’s from John Lennon’s “Imagine”.

My post was a joke.