What's the value of being Middle-Class?

[bae]

Most people manage their work and personal lives. If you want to work less move to a lower cost of living.

Tricky business though, as many lower cost-of-living areas also have lower wages, and fewer job opportunities.

I sold off part of my grandfather's farm in rural Ohio a few years ago - the house and a few acres - for an incredibly low price. However, within a sane drive from the spot, there were very very few jobs available, so that depressed the price methinks. A 30-year mortgage to buy the property would have produced payments of ~$250/month for principle/interest. That doesn't sound like much, but, where would that income come from?

[ApatheticNoMore]

I work a 40 hour week, I've seldom ever worked more. I manage but I'm real tired. I have lines I will and will not cross though. I'm not going to start eating processed food and take out and so on even though that's how some people manage. I try hard to make healthy food. But there are other chores I'm pretty lazy on. Adult-ing as the millenials call it, is hard. It's triage mostly.

[bae]

I wonder also how folks set their expectations of what their lifestyle "should" be, these days?

[sweetana3]

I found it helpful to read the now old book, Your Money or Your Life. Many of the discussions will apply to anyone at any time in their life. Know what you are spending and how much it costs in life energy. Make decisions based on knowledge and not just what is popular or easy. Keep learning.

[Tybee]

I found it helpful to read the now old book, Your Money or Your Life. Many of the discussions will apply to anyone at any time in their life. Know what you are spending and how much it costs in life energy. Make decisions based on knowledge and not just what is popular or easy. Keep learning.

Such great advice, Sweetana. I need to do the life energy calculations again now that I am working only part time.

[Teacher Terry]

My middle son lives in Wichita Kansas making 10/hour and rents a nice apartment for 400. It’s a big city with tons of jobs. Plenty of places like this in the Midwest.

[Simplemind]

https://www.thestreet.com/personal-f...class-14833259

[ToomuchStuff]

I ask because seeing that you have to work 40 to
50 hours/week and then I have to come home and
do chores too; it seems over-whelming. I already
have a hard enough time working 30 hours/week plus.

Personally, I don't want a family. I just want a
quiet life and am happy with a one-room studio.

It doesn't matter if you work one hour a week, or 100, there will always be chores/life.
Family, really has nothing to do with middle class. Family is those your stuck with, as well as those you choose to be with.
As long as you can find a place you can afford, and work accordingly, and still build up a little bit of cushion, because life still happens, then what does it matter if your "middle class" or not.
As I stated in another thread, middle class is kind of a misnomer as it has been a moving goal. From a late neighbor and her daughter, middle class in the 50's, would have been a car (per family), a refrigerator (not ice box), a tv and if you were really well off, you had a/c.

[JaneV2.0]

In sociology, we learned that class was a conflation of income and certain indicators like level of education and values.

[Gardnr]

I found it helpful to read the now old book, Your Money or Your Life.

This book LITERALLY changed our lives! Evaluating every single penny spent? Priceless! Retiring early was suddenly fathomable and $ no longer controlled our lives rather, we controlled our $$$$

I can't say enough good things about this book!