BTW, adjusted for inflation, long-term returns on investment are barely over 6%, not 10%. In addition, there's a further loss from investing in an actual fund, rather than abstract market indices. Finally, at some point you have to cash out, and that comes with a high risk. Most investment managers will suggest gradually moving into safer investments as you grow older. That is very sensible, but it means lower rates of return in the final years.
Retired. Assets are Lower Upper Class. 2/3 in stock and 1/3 home equity (paid off). Income is barely middle middle class. Zero debt. We live way below our means. We lack for nothing and if there is something we want, we get it. The main thing that the money buys is peace of mind
This is more true to life than anyone would have ever thought. I'm in the Low, Low Class. Maybe I am pessimistic, but my pessimistic approach worked so well that I survived the job collapse in 2020. I moved faster than a stealth bomber.
Living below your means aka living poor is a tie for our greatest source of wealth. The other one is don't pay people to manage your money, even a low .5% AUM fee compounded over 40 years is serious chunk of change. Lower Upper class net worth but with a lower median income and retired at 54, no degree, no income real-estate, just investing and smart choices. We took vacations and lived well to get to our place. Setbacks happen but the emergencies seem to be less when you pay yourself 1st.
@@j887276 I can drive a 100k vehicle and live in 1m mill house and still be living below my means but much closer to neutral line. By living poor we drove cheaper vehicles and live in a more modest house that resulted in us retiring earlier and traveling. You can call it what ever you want I call it living poor because I was raised poor and carried over many of the traits from my informative years. The called it the rust belt in my childhood for a reason..
"Who is rich ? One whom is happy with what he has." That is the problem with consumerism and materialism, it outs you on a path pf permanent dissatisfaction, seeing higher income and giving more of your brief life to employers, so called higher education,... Even the Upper Upper often feel they do not have enough. Do not buy into this foolishness, life is too short. Stop thinking in term of class, think in terms of independence and autonomy. Live simply, do not get into debt slavery or consumerism slavery. Do not let your income determine your self esteem.
Yeah, ‘xept for in capitalism, you can hardly scrape by without some form of slaving for money. Consumerism and materialism are staples, built into the system, inescapable. With Fiat, they are the only game in town
This video isn't about basing self worth on financial net worth, I believe striving to the next level is a spark that ignited human ingenuity and persistence.
I have an income of middle, middle class and net worth between upper lower and upper upper class. We've always lived within our means and I regularly funded my 401k and IRA.
Same here. Net worth $3m+. Income around $100k a year but I only work 20 hours a week at a job I really enjoy. I don’t have to continue working but it is very social and fun for me. It also pays for my hobbies so I don’t have to touch any investment funds. I have a pension, 401k, SEP IRA, Roth IRA, 457b, and 529 plans for the kids. Neither child will have any college debt upon graduation. My net worth will be around $8m by the time I can start collecting social security.
Same.. in my 30s.. and networth of 1.1M.. should be between 10-15 M by the time I am in the 60s.. but we are outliers.. most of the finance RUclips video viewers are
I Hit 110k today. Thank you for all the knowledge and nuggets you had thrown my way over the last months. Started last month 2024. Financial education is indeed required for more than 70% of the society in the country as very few are literate on the subject. thanks to Brooke Miller for helping me achieve this
She is my family's personal broker and also a personal broker in many families I'm United States, she's a licensed broker and a FINRA AGENT in United states
I just withdrew my profits a week ago, To be honest it was an amazing feeling when the profits hits my wallet I wish I could reinvest but, too much bills
We are upper upper class in item of net worth with around 5 million. But we got here with a single middle class income. Saving and investing are our way of getting to where we are.
@@off_mah_lawn2074yeah the 2020 Plague led to incessant money printing, which in turn led to a lot of goofs with houses suddenly becoming unintentional millionaires. They can thank the Fed for that
Automate investing into retirement accounts, at least 15% of your income. Chose a target date fund or an index that mimics the S&P 500. Start asap. And be frugal and disciplined, spend less than you make, save up an emergency fund, stay out of debt and live simply. You may not get to 5 million but you will climb higher in this pyramid! My husband and I started 6 years ago and we have tripled our net worth. Onward and upward.
Ha ha...we know the feeling. Upper class assets, no debt, but middle income. We drink water at restaurants and usually get the lower priced menu items, drove 15 year old vehicles (until we upgraded my wife this year to a pristine 3 year old SUV), usually wear jeans with tee shirts, and are living in an RV while I build our home. I often wonder how people afford the things they do.
Same here although our assets are upper upper class and we have no debt. We keep our income to what we need and to minimize taxes. We don't splurge and even sold one of the yachts a couple years ago.
I'm Irish living mostly in Ireland earning around 45k dollars,no debt ,own a property in the Philippines and a small plot of land and plan on buying more because it's an up and coming market,I'm 41 but I can't figure out what bracket I fit in,it doesn't suit everyone but it's possible to own property aboard on a small income and use the property as an investment ladder, example you can buy a new house there around 6k dollars and then trade up after a year and purchase a bigger or better location, again won't suit everyone,my wife is Filipino that's were I got the idea,now I have a retirement home for myself and the beauty of it is anyone can do the same,a few thousand euros or dollars and a local with knowledge and anyone can do it @@keywestalert6329
I dislike using arbitrary percentiles to denote classes. It would imply that if you go to some poor African country, someone could be living on $200 a year and be considered middle class, and someone who is poor in the US would be upper class there. I think it is better to identify specific qualities of life that someone of a certain class is able to achieve. The notion of the "middle class" originally emerged to distinguish wealthy people who had some political power but did not have noble titles. In France, this was the Bourgeoisie - wealthy merchants who weren't members of the nobility, clergy, or military elite. In the US, it came to mean a certain lifestyle - you were a homeowner, had a well-compensating job, owned various appliances, could afford the occasional vacation, etc. If you have a static measure for middle class, you can observe that people in recent years are falling out of it. The amount of wealth (measured in dollars) you need to live the middle class lifestyle is growing larger and larger. If you just set it as arbitrary percentiles, then the entire society could collapse into poverty without this measure identifying this collapse occurred. You've just moved the goal posts. Middle class no longer means owning a home and a car - it means you struggle less to eat your meals every day, and I think that does a disservice to describing what people are looking to say when they are "middle class."
I’ve heard many talk about how it’s important to focus on increasing your means (income) rather than just trying to cut expenses as much as possible. It can be difficult for younger generations to adopt that abundance mentality after they’ve lived through 2008, Covid and our current job market though.
It is easier to do when you grew up poor. The problem is that when you have kids and give them everything that you never had they have a difficult time cutting back.
@@mocheen4837 agreed. Some of the most entitled, worst kids I’ve come across came from families who could provide everything, so they never made the child have to earn anything. Conversely, some of the best kids I’ve met came from a household where parents made their kids earn anything they want
At 40 and 42 we are upper middle income with assets closer to lower-upper class… I Started out as a high school dropout, single teen mom on welfare. It’s hard and a lot of things need to align but it can be done. College, working hard at a career, marrying (and staying married!), having a partner who is also college educated and career-driven, investing in retirement and real estate.
Wow, I've never thought of myself as upper class. Not sure if I quite buy this breakdown. I definitely don't feel upper class, though my asset level and mix definitely suggests that. Likely I'll hit upper upper within the next year actually. But my life is decidedly middle class. Paid off car. Simple little 3b/2b cottage. Cook my own meals and rarely eat out (yes, all organic), and spend leisure time with family. Vacation is usually a meditation retreat, so no real expense there. I guess upper just means you can be content with the above instead of feeling a need to strive for more?
There is no "feeling" of upper class or whatever. It's all about numbers. People can go from class to to class technically throughout their lives without even noticing it. He's just going over the technical definitions
That shows how badly the average Joe is doing. You’re whatever class based on your networth in relation to others.. “feeling” have nothing to do with it
Your relationship with money needs to change in order for you to fully understand and appreciate your hard work has landed you there! I’m upper middle class by NW but my income is a little below what is shown for that group. It’s possible to have a high NW and a lower income, and in fact I’d say if that’s you, then you’ve done a hell of a lot better than people who make a lot of money and are able to save that much because it shows frugality
Nobody can become financially successful overnight. They put in background work but we tend to see the finished part. Fear is a dangerous component, hindering us from taking bold steps we need in other to reach our goals. you have to contend with inflation, recession, decisions from the Feds and all. I was able to increase my portfolio by $289k in months. You have to seek for help in the right places.
I think it's not always about fear, Sometimes realistic factors discourage people from reaching their goals in life. For instance, I've tried investing in the stock market several times but always got discouraged by fluctuations of stock value
It's often true that people underestimate the importance of financial advisors until they feel the negative effects of emotional decision-making. I remember a few summers ago, after a tough divorce, when I needed a boost for my struggling business. I researched and found a licensed advisor who diligently helped grow my reserves despite inflation. Consequently, my reserves increased from $275k to around $750k.
this is definitely considerable! think you could suggest any professional/advisors i can get on the phone with? i'm in dire need of proper portfolio allocation
My CFA ’Melissa Terri Swayne’ , a renowned figure in her line of work. I recommend researching her credentials further. She has many years of experience and is a valuable resource for anyone looking to navigate the financial market.
thanks for sharing this, I googled the lady you mentioned and after going through her resume, I can tell she's a pro. I wrote her and I'm waiting on her reply
The only problem with this view is that there are enormous regional disparities. So although you may be upper class in one region you can find yourself lower middle class in another.
This is not a valid point tbh. If you are within top 10% nationwide then you are always upper upper class. some areas or cities might have higher % within that top 10% but it wouldnt make you not upper upper even if you go there. Plus Feds look at inflation nationwide to come up with monetary policies. The stats he is presenting is looking at nationwide not area or state specific.
As a Brit - your class and your wealth are normally related but not actually the same thing. You can still be born in an upper class family with all the schooling, mannerisms, behaviours, traits etc but end up with little money or assets, but that does not suddenly make you working or middle class. The same can be said in reverse - you could win the lottery and be filthy rich and have no class whatsoever :-) In your examples, I would be 'lower upper class" (as Im nearing the end of a long I.T career in the city which has paid pretty well over the years) - but there is no way anyone in the UK would consider me upper class. Maybe its just money related in the US, in which case - interesting video to see where people like me would stand out there 🙂
It's the same in Australia though less hierarchical. Money definitely plays a larger role than the UK (considering we don't have aristocracy), however top private schooling, generational wealth, attitudes, behaviours, and who you know play just as much of a role. So I guess we're a perfect mixture of the UK and US class systems haha.
The reason for the little skirmish in 1775 is that difference! In the US, you _earn_ the class you belong to. You could be a low class Rockefeller, who lost everything, or a high-class nobody who worked hard. However, we would still say someone who is uncouth "has no class".
These are national averages depending on where you live in America you can be rich and then you can move and find yourself poor and nothing has changed except your location.
Numbers seem very low for upper upper class. 2.5M net worth usually includes abode, which is as asset without regular return vs say mutual fund, and income of
True, but that varies depending on where you live. I make around 150k but am basically a one percenter in the area I live. But if I moved to NYC I’d be broke!
I don't think he made it clear whether these were numbers for individuals or households. 2.5M for an individual might indeed be upper-upper *median* net worth (top 5% by his definition), but I would expect household total to be much higher.
2 million , single and not one single debt. Minor investments and a DB pension is the key. When you have no debt you feel rich. A high school teacher for 32 years.
Vincent Chan’s videos are always top notch. What surprised me in this video is when he said he doesn’t come from a family that knows anything about finance. He sounds like he does because he understand this topic very well. Much credit to him and being self made in the finance world.
@@phoenix5054 Think that, some of this data may be from the year 2020, U.S. Census which, may been based on year 2019, tax filing information. At the lower level, I would add 10 percent to these values, at the Middle Class level, I would add 15 percent, and at the Upper level, I would add 30 percent (smile ... smile).
I've work in banking for 25 years and he's rigth..... you wold be suprises how mutch people have overleveradge mortage, credit card debt and less than 1000$ in their account.
At 35 we are in the lower upper class with assets and income. We bought a few houses at the beginning of the pandemic and they have since skyrocketed. We also invested heavy into the stock market when everything bottomed out during the pandemic.
I am a business owner and I’m old (70) so of course my assets put me in the upper upper class but my income is not even close, even though I am still working and have a nice pension and social security. I would never consider myself rich, just moderately comfortable.
Extremely detailed and interesting. I'll be at the middle upper class by 32. Iam now 31. Hope I'll make it to the upper class one day. Thank you for your quality work.
Well explained. Thanks for bringing up the video. Financial education is indeed required for more than 70% of the society in the country as very few are literate on the subject...
9:07 I think "je ne sais quoi” translates to "I don't know what.” To my understanding, people generally use this phrase to express a pleasing, indescribable quality and/or make note of special distinguishing feature that is hard to define or describe.
The biggest difference is when you have money to finance your home ( paid in full) and your car, you have so much left over to save…, now that we are older ready to retire and don’t need credit, our credit scores are both at the top!! Unfortunately, that’s how this world works!! 😭😭😔🙏
I'm in the category where you say I can buy organic and take any vacations any time, but I buy used, older cars so I don't go into debt, and I never buy luxury items except for very rare occasions. I don't need them, and I think most people get further ahead by finding contentment in life as it is (not saying you shouldn't go on vacations), but getting debt eliminated, a well-funded emergency fund, house paid off, and investing as much as you possibly can afford, work quickly becomes something you do because it's interesting and challenging rather than focused on duty, fear, and burn-out. Prioritizing luxury or finding ways to escape the life you live (outside of some fun, occasional things) really gets in the way of achieving financial independence.
Thank you, so much for breaking up the Middle-Class into three (3) different levels and also for dividing the Upper-Class into two (2) separate groups. During my 20's and 30's, I was in the "Middle Middle-Class"; in my 40's and 50's, I was in the "Upper Middle-Class"; and now in my early 60's, I am in the "Lower Upper-Class" with a Net Worth of $1.4 million (with half in the value of my fully paid-off home and, half in my retirement accounts and personal savings). It is nice to no longer have to look at the price of an item before, I buy it. But, the funny thing is each year as my Net Worth has grown the fewer things that, I want to buy (smile ... smile).
I think it would be interesting to subdivide the Upper Upper Class. Wealth really starts becoming exponential at that point. I suspect that the Upper Upper Upper Class has a net worth of 10x or more of the mere Upper Upper Class.
Family of 3 lower upper soon to cross to next level, we r in mid 30 (1 typical STEM (non-tech) income in public sector, 1 grad student stipend). From single to family, we have simple rule : 1/3 for tax, 1/3 for saving, 1/3 for spending. I dropped out college 3 times, drive my car from college to the ground and have roommates from college to the first 8 yr of working, paid off student loan in 3 year, pay for my brother 5 yr college rent, bought a condo after working 8 yr and paid off in 6 yr. Still live a full life (travel 3-6 trip per year with 1-2 international trip, organic food, surfing, run marathon ect…). It s doable, you can stay in banff hotel for 2k/night or camping right there for less than $30/night. I dont have a car for past 5 year despite living in small town. Currently we also pay for our parents bills (prop tax, internet, grocery, utilities) except mortgage.
Larry Burkett's book on "Giving and Tithing" drew me closer to God and helped my spirituality. 2021 was a year I literally lived it. I cashed in my life savings and gave it all away. My total giving amounted to 30,000 dollars. Everyone thought I was delusional. Today, 1 receive 75,000 dollars every two months. I have a property in Calabasas, CA, and travel a lot. God has promoted me more than once and opened doors for me to live beyond my dreams. God kept to his promises to and for me
It is the digital market. That's been the secret to this wealth transfer. A lot of folks in the US and abroad are getting so much from it, God has been good to my household Thank you Jesus
I'm a born Christian and sometimes I feel so down of myself and challenges I am facing right now but I still believe in God. I want to also do it! Can I?
What's interesting to me is the income is so high compared to net worth. Is this due to high cost of living areas where people make that kind of money, or really crappy savings habits? We aren't in the "upper upper" by income but have well more than 2x that in net worth.
I love this video, throughout my time at the age of 25, people ask how are you doing well, or how did you get to this point and where you’re going on to next, I always put emphasis on lifestyle inflation and not to get caught up in that. You can have a high paying job, investments and just be living regular. Over time you’ll have a better foundation which will be more lasting. Loving this vid. ❤️. Atleast that’s my understanding and principle. “A fool with a plan can beat a genius without one”
Did you mention the taxes that are paid on any money earned in high yield savings account? What’s the tax rate for that? If you earn $500 a year through a HYSA will you pay taxes on that?
I remember my income being -23 dollars a month after bills. Eating a can of green beans for lunch was the norm and turning off the AC for a few summer months to make it by. With time and just a steady normal job I was able to climb to lower upper class...according to this video....but it sure feels like I'm just average. Good luck on your journey, it a lot of nose to the grind stone but you can climb out. Live within your means and save some amount of money each month.
Me and wife is in the lower upper class. We just started our career as a nurse just over 9 years ago and have been consistently maxing out our 401k, got lucky in 2020 real estate, and covid pay def helped. Combined net worth is just over 1.5 mill in both stocks, cash high yield, real estates. Its doable because we never got out of the poor college students mode. We are expecting to double our net worth in 5 years and hit the retirement button
I do wonder how accurate this video is, the "Lower Upper Class" seems really cheap to "Break Into" 750k is just a house in most coastal states. Not everyone with a house is Lower Upper Class.
I don't like the grouping of net worth and income as if they're somehow linked. You can make $100k and easily have a net worth of $1m if you invest decades. That means your income is only middle class, but your net worth is upper class.
@@VincentChan apparently I a long way to go get to one of the two subtypes of lower/upper upper class. Always aiming higher. Thank you for the video Vincent.
With a high school education, I landed a job with the telecom company. The first 10 years, I was averaging 70,000 dollars a year in the 1990s. From 2000 to today, I averaged 130,000 dollars a year. I own the home outright worth 450,000 dollars. No outstanding bills. 1.2 million dollars in my 401k. 250,000 in Roth IRA, 175,000 dollars in cash investment. Which bracket am I? I'm planning to retire this year at the age of 59. The key to my success was Don't get married with children. 😊
each to their own. Personally getting married enabled me to save MORE money in the long run and having children gives me a reason for all that hard work and ability to pass those assets on and create a legacy. Not going to lie though - kids are expensive! I hope as you have gone down the other path you make sure to have a blindingly good retirement and spend a lot of that money. Not judging you at all - many of my friends have made total messes of their lives and finances getting married and then divorced etc, Im just lucky its worked out for me so far. Well done by the way - thats a nice pot you have there.
@@richardparker82 Your key word was "so far" A lot of my friends divorced in the earlier years. Some divorced in the later years They are stuck working to their death. The odds of staying married is 40/60. The divorce happens after the kids move out Just like Warren Buffett, He doesn't support his kids. He leaves anything for their future. All his fortunes are donated to charity. Kids need to stand on their own feet.
Really? Who the hell gets a job that pays $70,000 a year with a high school education? That would be a fantastic salary *now* straight out of high school, never mind in the '90s. Freakish luck like this doesn't apply to most people.
Can you cite your sources in your description? I'm trying to find out where you get the numbers for each average. Different websites say different things.
Hey, Vincent. I have a question. What would you consider someone who has quantity of two classes? For example, my family's combined income is 100k (middle middle), but or net worth is negative (lower). Would you say we are lower, lower middle, or middle middle?
Nice video! You did not mention people in higher classes have access to lower loan rates as well. The more money you have the more you can make, i.e. compound interst!
Hi Vincent. How do I DCA with my Merrill Lynch Edge platform? I do have an IRA but I don't know how to automate future payments. I was told because I'm self directing I have to do everything manually. Any thoughts? Thank you!
I am between the lower and middle middle class, but since this usually scales higher by age, I tend to think of it in that sense and among others my age, I am 10 years ahead of the curve. Since when adjusted for age, I am essentially in the lower upper class.
Can you do a video breaking down the classes and average for a high cost of living area. I'm in San Francisco, and making under $100k/year here as an individual is considered lower income by the city's definition.
By the income, my fiance and I are upper middle class, by the net worth, we are lower class. Mortgages are too expensive to even get started unfortunately
Also depends on where you live. For instance, a 200K income for.a single person in the S.F. Bay Area is considered only middle class. Not upper. That same income in the southern states is considered high income above all the middle class levels. With a 200K income in most states would quality you to buy a home. Not in New York or San Jose though. That income wouldn't even get you a garage.
The vast majority of experienced (over 1 year of driving) truck drivers earn over the lower middle class bracket. Just saying. Over the past years my highest pay was 102k and my lowest pay was 78500. It’s a range as I’m paid a percentage of the gross load.
i’m at 4m net worth by age 50. self made, 1st gen by learning what “rich folks” do at my first job working in corporate tax at age 25. i learned wealthy folks have mostly “passive income” so i copied what they did within my wherewithal. nothing beats having financial freedom. both of my parents passed with negative net worth which contributed to my OCD on building wealth. godspeed
Technically, my family qualifies as lower upper class, but most of it is cause of the home. We live in CA as well, so it feels more like upper lower class.
In California many millionaires worth $3 to $5 million identify as middle middle class. Some people worth $10 million consider themselves to be middle class. Making $300,000 per year in San Francisco barely qualifies you as middle class.
I’ve been retired from full time working since 39. It’s weird to see me classified as upper upper (my net worth is over $3m). I don’t see myself that way. Mindset thing I guess but I still live like I am middle class. My closet is still filled with clothes that is probably on average over 10 years old. I did buy a golf shirt last year and a pair of shoes ($60) but apparently I am not a fashionista. lol. My most recent biggest splurge was a new Tesla Model Y which I paid cash for. I love it. I had to talk myself into it a bit as I don’t like making big purchases easily. I did have a lake house and a boat for 10 years but sold them a few years ago. By the time I hit social security age, my net worth should be right around $8m. I do have a few trips starting to line up (Costa Rica, Japan and an Alaskan cruise) so yeah, I guess it’s going fine so far.
I'm in an interesting place financially myself. I got to school full time and work as an overnight custodian , so the job covers tuition and I somehow even though I only make a little over 15/hr have savings. Granted I live very very modestly and such but I am curious where I will end up once I get my degree
Wow. I'm well into the lower class when it comes to income. But I have equity in my house which puts me into the middle class. I have to sell my house because I can't afford to live in the area anymore. Yet that equity isn't enough to buy another house, even when I move to a cheaper part of the country. It's not a good situation to be in.
Yeah the rising insurance rates, regulations, and property tax in this area are turning away many aspiring investors. Don’t want to try renting out a room first to help offset the cost of ownership?
@@christians131 I tried that but it didn't work out well, at all. I have an exit plan and since I don't see any chance for improvement, in the foreseeable future, I'm pushing the button.
How are these being defined? Because I've seen a lot of different definitions floating around. It seems strange to me that according to these numbers, you can consider yourself upper class but not have enough net worth to own a home in a nice suburb outright.
I've worked construction the last 30 years and the most I've made is recently $120,000, working loads of OT. Keep in mind, there's been brutal years where I didn't make squat. 08-11 come to mind. I had to burn through savings to make it through those lean years. I have lower upper class assets now, in large part because I'm cheap and willing to drive a vehicle for 20 years before replacing it, paid the 30 year mortgage off after 17 years and threw some money into the 401k for years. Oh. *I also never married, so never lost 1/2 my belongings in the divorce.* That one will destroy any man's dreams of climbing the class pyramid. Strangely, the women climb the class pyramid much of the time after divorce. Go figure...
I’m 31 and my wife is 32. I always thought we were upper middle class. But according to this we are doing even better than I thought. She stays home with the kids and I make about $140k as a software engineer. Net worth of $2.1m with no debt.
My income is lower at 100k but i have a net worth of 1.3 million at 57. I live below my means. I dont feel upper middle class and still worry if i have enough to retire but the reality is that i probably do.
I'm not going to say which class I belong to. I'm grateful and will continue to work hard, live below my means, and dress poor. I'm extremely appreciative of my life.
Middle middle class is my current status. House paid off (483K) Credit card debt (29K) Tech stock (160K in internet computer protocol) Occupation Registered Nurse of 10 years. End Goal retirement by 40 (35 Y.O) Great video. Very easy to understand.
I have 1.5M$ and I don`t see how I could even retire right now at 40. If you think you will be able to live for 40 years on 500k, you are out of your mind.
@@evalangley3985 You can, if you move to a different country. Southeast Asia seems like a pretty good option. If you can make 5% real growth rate with your assets, that $75k annually pretty much gives you a more than comfortable lifestyle there.
it's so interesting that in America you can actually climb classes, using net worth and money. In the UK or Australia, doesn't matter how much money you make. It's prohibitive to climb classes.
@@VincentChan meaning the snobs still don't take you seriously no matter how much money you have if you don't come from old money families (or consider you riff raff no matter how little money you have if you do come from the 'right' family).
The US and UK class systems are clearly different. In the US it's about money and in the UK it's about birth (your parents' class) and whether you were privately educated, with the network that that gives you, or not.
This analysis is quite revealing of the 'Layer Cake' of assets that is required to climb the ladder. I don't begrudge those at the top their riches if they have worked and risked for it - after all, nearly all businesses *fail* so those we see up there on their money mountain are the survivors. Even those who sit at the top because of inheritance are not completely undeserving because their family has put in the work to get there (and most of those inheritors will blow the stash anyway :)). The biggest surprise for me is how high up the ladder I stand - but that is nearly all down to my house and having paid off the mortgage. Having decided that working myself into an early grave, in a high-stress technical job, was not my preferred choice, I decided to try retiring early. So my income right now is zero and I am subsisting off my assets until pension time arrives. So, according to the pyramid shown here, on the one hand I am Upper Middle Class and on the other I am a pauper! The recent inflation and tax spikes have not been kind, that much is for sure :(
Curious if this is household numbers or individual? We are 40(f) and 42(m) with two kids. Net worth is 3M and income ranges from 180k to 300k . And we feel like we are living paycheck to paycheck (cost of childcare is astronomical) . We are also based in the Midwest so you think it would be cheaper but the costs of everything have increased post COVID. So considering we are somewhere in the upper class I will tell you that it doesn’t feel much different than when we were in our late 20s with medium paying white collar jobs. It’s all about living below your means and collecting appreciating assets . Doing so will get you into the next class bracket but won’t substantially change how you live
I think until now, people seem to equate high income and high net worth. I think people are more focused on achieving the former than the latter and it's unfortunate. That's why you still have a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck even if they are earning six figures annually.
Subtracting house out of net worth doesn’t really make sense. Houses generally appreciate in value, and you can generally sell not at a loss. Including cars doesn’t make sense.
You don’t subtract the house. You take the difference between the house value and any debt owed on the house. I don’t think vehicles are included as they depreciate so quickly, unless you have expensive classic cars.
This was super helpful! I thought net worth was how many nets I owned and how much they were worth. So I’ve been buying lots of nets with all my disposable income to impress my wife with a high net worth. I think she’s going to be mad at me when she learns what I’ve done. But this has to be a common mistake. Right?
I followed my parents advice. They immigrated and i am first generation born in US. Work and have a retirement plan, as soon as possible and not working forever like in other countries. I worked my butt off and was able to get a lifetime pension. I retired on my 40th birthday a few years ago. I own a home, car and many personal belongings. Adopted multiple pets, Married with young children which i finally have time to be around for both and i still have investments and savings. Yes i still have debt, but its being paid off and i don't live "paycheck to paycheck" and yet i feel comfortable. Depending on the City and State for "cost of living expenses"....a person may be up or down the "class" level. For instance in Hawaii, homes including land is worth millions, but the families are lower and middle class living paycheck to paycheck. Are thet rich? On paper they are, are they well off? Certainly not. Thats why so many move away from Hawaii to a more affordable place to live, raise family and finally retire in. So in conclusion, wealth ans status is "subjective"..... all that really matters is your comfortable lifestyle is sustainable? Or "going to be the death of you".....
Interesting, our assets are in the upper middle class but our incomes are in the lower middle class. We have always lived frugally, would rather not work a lot of overtime, instead have more family time. We do live in a state with a lower cost of living. Our home and 2 vehicles under 5 years old are all paid for, have no debt and have a decent retirement fund. Even though we only had about 40 grand for retirement at age 40, we are now about 65 with enough to retire comfortably.
I think the state you live in makes a big difference too. A upper middle class income in Los Angeles or New York city doesn't mean you are going to live a upper middle class life style.
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BTW, adjusted for inflation, long-term returns on investment are barely over 6%, not 10%. In addition, there's a further loss from investing in an actual fund, rather than abstract market indices.
Finally, at some point you have to cash out, and that comes with a high risk. Most investment managers will suggest gradually moving into safer investments as you grow older. That is very sensible, but it means lower rates of return in the final years.
When you are stating the Median Income, is that Gross or Net? Pls clarify ty
Retired. Assets are Lower Upper Class. 2/3 in stock and 1/3 home equity (paid off). Income is barely middle middle class. Zero debt. We live way below our means. We lack for nothing and if there is something we want, we get it. The main thing that the money buys is peace of mind
Like you, I'm retired and with $1.5 in net worth. But no way do I feel Lower Upper class, or Upper middle class.
You need to get out there and start helping the poor before it's too late, and you are in h377...
This is more true to life than anyone would have ever thought.
I'm in the Low, Low Class. Maybe I am pessimistic, but my pessimistic approach worked so well that I survived the job collapse in 2020. I moved faster than a stealth bomber.
Living below your means aka living poor is a tie for our greatest source of wealth. The other one is don't pay people to manage your money, even a low .5% AUM fee compounded over 40 years is serious chunk of change. Lower Upper class net worth but with a lower median income and retired at 54, no degree, no income real-estate, just investing and smart choices. We took vacations and lived well to get to our place. Setbacks happen but the emergencies seem to be less when you pay yourself 1st.
@@j887276 I can drive a 100k vehicle and live in 1m mill house and still be living below my means but much closer to neutral line. By living poor we drove cheaper vehicles and live in a more modest house that resulted in us retiring earlier and traveling. You can call it what ever you want I call it living poor because I was raised poor and carried over many of the traits from my informative years. The called it the rust belt in my childhood for a reason..
"Who is rich ? One whom is happy with what he has." That is the problem with consumerism and materialism, it outs you on a path pf permanent dissatisfaction, seeing higher income and giving more of your brief life to employers, so called higher education,... Even the Upper Upper often feel they do not have enough. Do not buy into this foolishness, life is too short. Stop thinking in term of class, think in terms of independence and autonomy. Live simply, do not get into debt slavery or consumerism slavery. Do not let your income determine your self esteem.
Well said! I like this idea !
Yeah, ‘xept for in capitalism, you can hardly scrape by without some form of slaving for money. Consumerism and materialism are staples, built into the system, inescapable. With Fiat, they are the only game in town
This video isn't about basing self worth on financial net worth, I believe striving to the next level is a spark that ignited human ingenuity and persistence.
Lame
I have an income of middle, middle class and net worth between upper lower and upper upper class. We've always lived within our means and I regularly funded my 401k and IRA.
Same here. Net worth $3m+. Income around $100k a year but I only work 20 hours a week at a job I really enjoy. I don’t have to continue working but it is very social and fun for me. It also pays for my hobbies so I don’t have to touch any investment funds. I have a pension, 401k, SEP IRA, Roth IRA, 457b, and 529 plans for the kids. Neither child will have any college debt upon graduation. My net worth will be around $8m by the time I can start collecting social security.
Same.. in my 30s.. and networth of 1.1M.. should be between 10-15 M by the time I am in the 60s.. but we are outliers.. most of the finance RUclips video viewers are
I Hit 110k today. Thank you for all the knowledge and nuggets you had thrown my way over the last months. Started last month 2024. Financial education is indeed required for more than 70% of the society in the country as very few are literate on the subject. thanks to Brooke Miller for helping me achieve this
The very first time we tried, we invested $1000 and after a week, we received $5500. That really helped us a lot to pay up our bills.
She is my family's personal broker and also a personal broker in many families I'm United States, she's a licensed broker and a FINRA AGENT in United states
I'm new at this, please how can I reach her?
I just withdrew my profits a week ago, To be honest it was an amazing feeling when the profits hits my wallet I wish I could reinvest but, too much bills
she's mostly on Instagrams, using the user name
We are upper upper class in item of net worth with around 5 million. But we got here with a single middle class income. Saving and investing are our way of getting to where we are.
thanks for sharing! any advice for people who are starting where you were?
So your home and cars paid off
@@VincentChanbe born 40 years ago and invest in real estate with some luck on location. Lol
@@off_mah_lawn2074yeah the 2020 Plague led to incessant money printing, which in turn led to a lot of goofs with houses suddenly becoming unintentional millionaires. They can thank the Fed for that
Automate investing into retirement accounts, at least 15% of your income. Chose a target date fund or an index that mimics the S&P 500. Start asap. And be frugal and disciplined, spend less than you make, save up an emergency fund, stay out of debt and live simply. You may not get to 5 million but you will climb higher in this pyramid! My husband and I started 6 years ago and we have tripled our net worth. Onward and upward.
So, we're retired. Middle income but lower upper class assets. 🤷🏼 Minimal debt. And yes, we look poor! 😂
Ha ha...we know the feeling. Upper class assets, no debt, but middle income. We drink water at restaurants and usually get the lower priced menu items, drove 15 year old vehicles (until we upgraded my wife this year to a pristine 3 year old SUV), usually wear jeans with tee shirts, and are living in an RV while I build our home. I often wonder how people afford the things they do.
Same here although our assets are upper upper class and we have no debt. We keep our income to what we need and to minimize taxes. We don't splurge and even sold one of the yachts a couple years ago.
Anyone who can afford to build their own home without a mortgage is rich.
I'm Irish living mostly in Ireland earning around 45k dollars,no debt ,own a property in the Philippines and a small plot of land and plan on buying more because it's an up and coming market,I'm 41 but I can't figure out what bracket I fit in,it doesn't suit everyone but it's possible to own property aboard on a small income and use the property as an investment ladder, example you can buy a new house there around 6k dollars and then trade up after a year and purchase a bigger or better location, again won't suit everyone,my wife is Filipino that's were I got the idea,now I have a retirement home for myself and the beauty of it is anyone can do the same,a few thousand euros or dollars and a local with knowledge and anyone can do it @@keywestalert6329
I am retired, similar assets than you but poverty income level. Yes, I look poor as well!! 😅
I dislike using arbitrary percentiles to denote classes. It would imply that if you go to some poor African country, someone could be living on $200 a year and be considered middle class, and someone who is poor in the US would be upper class there. I think it is better to identify specific qualities of life that someone of a certain class is able to achieve.
The notion of the "middle class" originally emerged to distinguish wealthy people who had some political power but did not have noble titles. In France, this was the Bourgeoisie - wealthy merchants who weren't members of the nobility, clergy, or military elite.
In the US, it came to mean a certain lifestyle - you were a homeowner, had a well-compensating job, owned various appliances, could afford the occasional vacation, etc.
If you have a static measure for middle class, you can observe that people in recent years are falling out of it. The amount of wealth (measured in dollars) you need to live the middle class lifestyle is growing larger and larger. If you just set it as arbitrary percentiles, then the entire society could collapse into poverty without this measure identifying this collapse occurred. You've just moved the goal posts. Middle class no longer means owning a home and a car - it means you struggle less to eat your meals every day, and I think that does a disservice to describing what people are looking to say when they are "middle class."
I’ve heard many talk about how it’s important to focus on increasing your means (income) rather than just trying to cut expenses as much as possible. It can be difficult for younger generations to adopt that abundance mentality after they’ve lived through 2008, Covid and our current job market though.
It is easier to do when you grew up poor. The problem is that when you have kids and give them everything that you never had they have a difficult time cutting back.
@@mocheen4837 agreed. Some of the most entitled, worst kids I’ve come across came from families who could provide everything, so they never made the child have to earn anything. Conversely, some of the best kids I’ve met came from a household where parents made their kids earn anything they want
At 40 and 42 we are upper middle income with assets closer to lower-upper class…
I Started out as a high school dropout, single teen mom on welfare. It’s hard and a lot of things need to align but it can be done. College, working hard at a career, marrying (and staying married!), having a partner who is also college educated and career-driven, investing in retirement and real estate.
Wow, I've never thought of myself as upper class. Not sure if I quite buy this breakdown. I definitely don't feel upper class, though my asset level and mix definitely suggests that. Likely I'll hit upper upper within the next year actually. But my life is decidedly middle class. Paid off car. Simple little 3b/2b cottage. Cook my own meals and rarely eat out (yes, all organic), and spend leisure time with family. Vacation is usually a meditation retreat, so no real expense there. I guess upper just means you can be content with the above instead of feeling a need to strive for more?
Yeah to me upper class means you can live in comfort off your investment income, not just having a fatter pay cheque.
There is no "feeling" of upper class or whatever. It's all about numbers.
People can go from class to to class technically throughout their lives without even noticing it.
He's just going over the technical definitions
That shows how badly the average Joe is doing. You’re whatever class based on your networth in relation to others.. “feeling” have nothing to do with it
Your relationship with money needs to change in order for you to fully understand and appreciate your hard work has landed you there! I’m upper middle class by NW but my income is a little below what is shown for that group. It’s possible to have a high NW and a lower income, and in fact I’d say if that’s you, then you’ve done a hell of a lot better than people who make a lot of money and are able to save that much because it shows frugality
Nobody can become financially successful overnight. They put in background work but we tend to see the finished part. Fear is a dangerous component, hindering us from taking bold steps we need in other to reach our goals. you have to contend with inflation, recession, decisions from the Feds and all. I was able to increase my portfolio by $289k in months. You have to seek for help in the right places.
I think it's not always about fear, Sometimes realistic factors discourage people from reaching their goals in life. For instance, I've tried investing in the stock market several times but always got discouraged by fluctuations of stock value
It's often true that people underestimate the importance of financial advisors until they feel the negative effects of emotional decision-making. I remember a few summers ago, after a tough divorce, when I needed a boost for my struggling business. I researched and found a licensed advisor who diligently helped grow my reserves despite inflation. Consequently, my reserves increased from $275k to around $750k.
this is definitely considerable! think you could suggest any professional/advisors i can get on the phone with? i'm in dire need of proper portfolio allocation
My CFA ’Melissa Terri Swayne’ , a renowned figure in her line of work. I recommend researching her credentials further. She has many years of experience and is a valuable resource for anyone looking to navigate the financial market.
thanks for sharing this, I googled the lady you mentioned and after going through her resume, I can tell she's a pro. I wrote her and I'm waiting on her reply
The only problem with this view is that there are enormous regional disparities. So although you may be upper class in one region you can find yourself lower middle class in another.
This is not a valid point tbh. If you are within top 10% nationwide then you are always upper upper class. some areas or cities might have higher % within that top 10% but it wouldnt make you not upper upper even if you go there. Plus Feds look at inflation nationwide to come up with monetary policies. The stats he is presenting is looking at nationwide not area or state specific.
Definitely need to go by age for this to get a more accurate data
Nope.
As a Brit - your class and your wealth are normally related but not actually the same thing. You can still be born in an upper class family with all the schooling, mannerisms, behaviours, traits etc but end up with little money or assets, but that does not suddenly make you working or middle class. The same can be said in reverse - you could win the lottery and be filthy rich and have no class whatsoever :-)
In your examples, I would be 'lower upper class" (as Im nearing the end of a long I.T career in the city which has paid pretty well over the years) - but there is no way anyone in the UK would consider me upper class. Maybe its just money related in the US, in which case - interesting video to see where people like me would stand out there 🙂
It's the same in Australia though less hierarchical. Money definitely plays a larger role than the UK (considering we don't have aristocracy), however top private schooling, generational wealth, attitudes, behaviours, and who you know play just as much of a role. So I guess we're a perfect mixture of the UK and US class systems haha.
The reason for the little skirmish in 1775 is that difference! In the US, you _earn_ the class you belong to. You could be a low class Rockefeller, who lost everything, or a high-class nobody who worked hard. However, we would still say someone who is uncouth "has no class".
Verarmter britischer Landadel ist ein gutes Beispiel
I am in the” lower upper class”, but I live paycheck to paycheck.
My house worth $0.5 M in CA. I make 120k. I am considered a poor guy in CA.
These are national averages depending on where you live in America you can be rich and then you can move and find yourself poor and nothing has changed except your location.
Yea this would have to be adjusted heavily depending on your location
Numbers seem very low for upper upper class. 2.5M net worth usually includes abode, which is as asset without regular return vs say mutual fund, and income of
True, but that varies depending on where you live. I make around 150k but am basically a one percenter in the area I live. But if I moved to NYC I’d be broke!
@@mikezerker6925 ya thats why i said 10 biggest cities. But go to middle of nowhere and theres no where to even buy a “luxury” home sometimes
I don't think he made it clear whether these were numbers for individuals or households. 2.5M for an individual might indeed be upper-upper *median* net worth (top 5% by his definition), but I would expect household total to be much higher.
2 million , single and not one single debt. Minor investments and a DB pension is the key. When you have no debt you feel rich. A high school teacher for 32 years.
How’s your mental health?
@@C2EZ😂
Vincent Chan’s videos are always top notch. What surprised me in this video is when he said he doesn’t come from a family that knows anything about finance. He sounds like he does because he understand this topic very well. Much credit to him and being self made in the finance world.
There's no way you are near the upper upper class with only $2.5M in net worth. All of these categories seem skewered very low.
True, I think this data is about 5-years old. But, I still enjoyed watching (smile ... smile).
"Upper class" here is top 15%. That's a pretty low bar.
@@phoenix5054 Think that, some of this data may be from the year 2020, U.S. Census which, may been based on year 2019, tax filing information. At the lower level, I would add 10 percent to these values, at the Middle Class level, I would add 15 percent, and at the Upper level, I would add 30 percent (smile ... smile).
I've work in banking for 25 years and he's rigth..... you wold be suprises how mutch people have overleveradge mortage, credit card debt and less than 1000$ in their account.
It is the top 5% average, not the top 1%.
At 35 we are in the lower upper class with assets and income. We bought a few houses at the beginning of the pandemic and they have since skyrocketed. We also invested heavy into the stock market when everything bottomed out during the pandemic.
Smart!
@@mikezerker6925 same. Hit 1M last year at 38.. bought stock during the pandemic when everyone was selling and the market was at a 30% discount
Okay so
Wish I knew the ins and outs to buying houses.
I am a business owner and I’m old (70) so of course my assets put me in the upper upper class but my income is not even close, even though I am still working and have a nice pension and social security. I would never consider myself rich, just moderately comfortable.
Extremely detailed and interesting. I'll be at the middle upper class by 32. Iam now 31. Hope I'll make it to the upper class one day. Thank you for your quality work.
Well explained. Thanks for bringing up the video. Financial education is indeed required for more than 70% of the society in the country as very few are literate on the subject...
Is this per person or per household?
9:07 I think "je ne sais quoi” translates to "I don't know what.” To my understanding, people generally use this phrase to express a pleasing, indescribable quality and/or make note of special distinguishing feature that is hard to define or describe.
The biggest difference is when you have money to finance your home ( paid in full) and your car, you have so much left over to
save…, now that we are older ready to retire and don’t need credit, our credit scores are both at the top!!
Unfortunately, that’s how this world works!! 😭😭😔🙏
Great video! Question - Is this household or individual net worth?
I'm in the category where you say I can buy organic and take any vacations any time, but I buy used, older cars so I don't go into debt, and I never buy luxury items except for very rare occasions. I don't need them, and I think most people get further ahead by finding contentment in life as it is (not saying you shouldn't go on vacations), but getting debt eliminated, a well-funded emergency fund, house paid off, and investing as much as you possibly can afford, work quickly becomes something you do because it's interesting and challenging rather than focused on duty, fear, and burn-out. Prioritizing luxury or finding ways to escape the life you live (outside of some fun, occasional things) really gets in the way of achieving financial independence.
This video is so spot on! Great watch!
Thanks so much! Which class do you fall into?
Thank you, so much for breaking up the Middle-Class into three (3) different levels and also for dividing the Upper-Class into two (2) separate groups. During my 20's and 30's, I was in the "Middle Middle-Class"; in my 40's and 50's, I was in the "Upper Middle-Class"; and now in my early 60's, I am in the "Lower Upper-Class" with a Net Worth of $1.4 million (with half in the value of my fully paid-off home and, half in my retirement accounts and personal savings). It is nice to no longer have to look at the price of an item before, I buy it. But, the funny thing is each year as my Net Worth has grown the fewer things that, I want to buy (smile ... smile).
I think it would be interesting to subdivide the Upper Upper Class. Wealth really starts becoming exponential at that point. I suspect that the Upper Upper Upper Class has a net worth of 10x or more of the mere Upper Upper Class.
Family of 3 lower upper soon to cross to next level, we r in mid 30 (1 typical STEM (non-tech) income in public sector, 1 grad student stipend). From single to family, we have simple rule : 1/3 for tax, 1/3 for saving, 1/3 for spending.
I dropped out college 3 times, drive my car from college to the ground and have roommates from college to the first 8 yr of working, paid off student loan in 3 year, pay for my brother 5 yr college rent, bought a condo after working 8 yr and paid off in 6 yr. Still live a full life (travel 3-6 trip per year with 1-2 international trip, organic food, surfing, run marathon ect…). It s doable, you can stay in banff hotel for 2k/night or camping right there for less than $30/night.
I dont have a car for past 5 year despite living in small town. Currently we also pay for our parents bills (prop tax, internet, grocery, utilities) except mortgage.
Larry Burkett's book on "Giving and Tithing" drew me closer to God and helped my spirituality. 2021 was a year I literally lived it. I cashed in my life savings and gave it all away. My total giving amounted to 30,000 dollars. Everyone thought I was delusional. Today, 1 receive 75,000 dollars every two months. I have a property in Calabasas, CA, and travel a lot. God has promoted me more than once and opened doors for me to live beyond my dreams.
God kept to his promises to and for me
There's wonder working power in following
Kingdom principles on giving and tithing.
Hallelujah!
It is the digital market. That's been the secret to this wealth transfer. A lot of folks in the US and abroad are getting so much from it, God has been good to my household Thank you Jesus
And thanks to my co-worker (Michael) who suggested Ms Susan Jane Christy
How can I start this digital market, any guidelines and how can I reach out to her?
I'm a born Christian and sometimes I feel so down of myself and challenges I am facing right now but I still believe in God. I want to also do it!
Can I?
What's interesting to me is the income is so high compared to net worth. Is this due to high cost of living areas where people make that kind of money, or really crappy savings habits? We aren't in the "upper upper" by income but have well more than 2x that in net worth.
I love this video, throughout my time at the age of 25, people ask how are you doing well, or how did you get to this point and where you’re going on to next, I always put emphasis on lifestyle inflation and not to get caught up in that. You can have a high paying job, investments and just be living regular. Over time you’ll have a better foundation which will be more lasting.
Loving this vid. ❤️. Atleast that’s my understanding and principle.
“A fool with a plan can beat a genius without one”
Did you mention the taxes that are paid on any money earned in high yield savings account? What’s the tax rate for that? If you earn $500 a year through a HYSA will you pay taxes on that?
Yes you do and, it is taxed the same way as your salary and counted as ordinary income (smile ... smile).
@@transitengineer you didn’t answer the other questions
I remember my income being -23 dollars a month after bills. Eating a can of green beans for lunch was the norm and turning off the AC for a few summer months to make it by. With time and just a steady normal job I was able to climb to lower upper class...according to this video....but it sure feels like I'm just average. Good luck on your journey, it a lot of nose to the grind stone but you can climb out. Live within your means and save some amount of money each month.
Me and wife is in the lower upper class. We just started our career as a nurse just over 9 years ago and have been consistently maxing out our 401k, got lucky in 2020 real estate, and covid pay def helped. Combined net worth is just over 1.5 mill in both stocks, cash high yield, real estates. Its doable because we never got out of the poor college students mode. We are expecting to double our net worth in 5 years and hit the retirement button
Are the numbers for single individual incomes or households with two incomes?
I’m wondering that too.
I have the same question!
I do wonder how accurate this video is, the "Lower Upper Class" seems really cheap to "Break Into" 750k is just a house in most coastal states. Not everyone with a house is Lower Upper Class.
Linking income and wealth in a single ‘class level’ doesn’t work, as some have high income low net worth and others high net worth but low income
I don't like the grouping of net worth and income as if they're somehow linked. You can make $100k and easily have a net worth of $1m if you invest decades. That means your income is only middle class, but your net worth is upper class.
They are linked if that’s how you built the net worth.
Financial Sunday with Vincent Chan 🤗
hahahah thank you hunter and chavy :) what did you think of the video?
@@VincentChan apparently I a long way to go get to one of the two subtypes of lower/upper upper class. Always aiming higher. Thank you for the video Vincent.
With a high school education, I landed a job with the telecom company.
The first 10 years, I was averaging 70,000 dollars a year in the 1990s.
From 2000 to today, I averaged 130,000 dollars a year. I own the home outright worth 450,000 dollars. No outstanding bills. 1.2 million dollars in my 401k.
250,000 in Roth IRA, 175,000 dollars in cash investment. Which bracket am I?
I'm planning to retire this year at the age of 59.
The key to my success was Don't get married with children. 😊
each to their own. Personally getting married enabled me to save MORE money in the long run and having children gives me a reason for all that hard work and ability to pass those assets on and create a legacy. Not going to lie though - kids are expensive!
I hope as you have gone down the other path you make sure to have a blindingly good retirement and spend a lot of that money. Not judging you at all - many of my friends have made total messes of their lives and finances getting married and then divorced etc, Im just lucky its worked out for me so far.
Well done by the way - thats a nice pot you have there.
@@richardparker82
Your key word was "so far"
A lot of my friends divorced in the earlier years. Some divorced in the later years
They are stuck working to their death.
The odds of staying married is 40/60.
The divorce happens after the kids move out
Just like Warren Buffett, He doesn't support his kids. He leaves anything for their future.
All his fortunes are donated to charity.
Kids need to stand on their own feet.
Really? Who the hell gets a job that pays $70,000 a year with a high school education? That would be a fantastic salary *now* straight out of high school, never mind in the '90s. Freakish luck like this doesn't apply to most people.
Can you cite your sources in your description? I'm trying to find out where you get the numbers for each average. Different websites say different things.
Hey, Vincent. I have a question. What would you consider someone who has quantity of two classes? For example, my family's combined income is 100k (middle middle), but or net worth is negative (lower). Would you say we are lower, lower middle, or middle middle?
Thank you Vincent for putting together is video. It was very informative. I have liked and subscribed to your channel.
Nice video! You did not mention people in higher classes have access to lower loan rates as well. The more money you have the more you can make, i.e. compound interst!
Hi Vincent. How do I DCA with my Merrill Lynch Edge platform? I do have an IRA but I don't know how to automate future payments. I was told because I'm self directing I have to do everything manually. Any thoughts? Thank you!
I’m definitely in the lower middle class but working hard to move up! 🙌 Anyone else here hustling to get to that next level?
Same level working hard to get to the next level 🙌
I am between the lower and middle middle class, but since this usually scales higher by age, I tend to think of it in that sense and among others my age, I am 10 years ahead of the curve. Since when adjusted for age, I am essentially in the lower upper class.
so interesting. would be cool to see a video about why sometimes being upper class doesn't feel that way. everyone feels middle class i think.
Can you do a video breaking down the classes and average for a high cost of living area. I'm in San Francisco, and making under $100k/year here as an individual is considered lower income by the city's definition.
By the income, my fiance and I are upper middle class, by the net worth, we are lower class. Mortgages are too expensive to even get started unfortunately
Also depends on where you live. For instance, a 200K income for.a single person in the S.F. Bay Area is considered only middle class. Not upper. That same income in the southern states is considered high income above all the middle class levels. With a 200K income in most states would quality you to buy a home. Not in New York or San Jose though. That income wouldn't even get you a garage.
Lower upper class here grinding on the weekend. Upper upper class is my goal good video. 👌
The vast majority of experienced (over 1 year of driving) truck drivers earn over the lower middle class bracket. Just saying. Over the past years my highest pay was 102k and my lowest pay was 78500. It’s a range as I’m paid a percentage of the gross load.
i’m at 4m net worth by age 50. self made, 1st gen by learning what “rich folks” do at my first job working in corporate tax at age 25.
i learned wealthy folks have mostly “passive income” so i copied what they did within my wherewithal.
nothing beats having financial freedom. both of my parents passed with negative net worth which contributed to my OCD on building wealth. godspeed
Technically, my family qualifies as lower upper class, but most of it is cause of the home. We live in CA as well, so it feels more like upper lower class.
In California many millionaires worth $3 to $5 million identify as middle middle class. Some people worth $10 million consider themselves to be middle class. Making $300,000 per year in San Francisco barely qualifies you as middle class.
I’ve been retired from full time working since 39. It’s weird to see me classified as upper upper (my net worth is over $3m). I don’t see myself that way. Mindset thing I guess but I still live like I am middle class. My closet is still filled with clothes that is probably on average over 10 years old. I did buy a golf shirt last year and a pair of shoes ($60) but apparently I am not a fashionista. lol. My most recent biggest splurge was a new Tesla Model Y which I paid cash for. I love it. I had to talk myself into it a bit as I don’t like making big purchases easily. I did have a lake house and a boat for 10 years but sold them a few years ago. By the time I hit social security age, my net worth should be right around $8m. I do have a few trips starting to line up (Costa Rica, Japan and an Alaskan cruise) so yeah, I guess it’s going fine so far.
I'm in an interesting place financially myself.
I got to school full time and work as an overnight custodian , so the job covers tuition and I somehow even though I only make a little over 15/hr have savings. Granted I live very very modestly and such but I am curious where I will end up once I get my degree
Wow. I'm well into the lower class when it comes to income. But I have equity in my house which puts me into the middle class. I have to sell my house because I can't afford to live in the area anymore. Yet that equity isn't enough to buy another house, even when I move to a cheaper part of the country. It's not a good situation to be in.
Yeah the rising insurance rates, regulations, and property tax in this area are turning away many aspiring investors. Don’t want to try renting out a room first to help offset the cost of ownership?
@@christians131 I tried that but it didn't work out well, at all. I have an exit plan and since I don't see any chance for improvement, in the foreseeable future, I'm pushing the button.
4:20 other than avoiding lifestyle inflation. This has to be the most important thing about becoming wealthy.
How are these being defined? Because I've seen a lot of different definitions floating around. It seems strange to me that according to these numbers, you can consider yourself upper class but not have enough net worth to own a home in a nice suburb outright.
I've worked construction the last 30 years and the most I've made is recently $120,000, working loads of OT. Keep in mind, there's been brutal years where I didn't make squat. 08-11 come to mind. I had to burn through savings to make it through those lean years. I have lower upper class assets now, in large part because I'm cheap and willing to drive a vehicle for 20 years before replacing it, paid the 30 year mortgage off after 17 years and threw some money into the 401k for years. Oh. *I also never married, so never lost 1/2 my belongings in the divorce.* That one will destroy any man's dreams of climbing the class pyramid. Strangely, the women climb the class pyramid much of the time after divorce. Go figure...
This also varies by location. Being is San Francisco with that amount is vastly different than being in Atlanta with the same amount.
Income not only comes from working 9-5 jobs or side hustles but also through the dividends and interests you make yearly with your assets.
I’m 31 and my wife is 32. I always thought we were upper middle class. But according to this we are doing even better than I thought. She stays home with the kids and I make about $140k as a software engineer. Net worth of $2.1m with no debt.
My income is lower at 100k but i have a net worth of 1.3 million at 57. I live below my means. I dont feel upper middle class and still worry if i have enough to retire but the reality is that i probably do.
Are these per person or household income/assets?
Playbook is winding down. Do you have any other tools to suggest?
3:54 "...you're still sucseptible (sic) to other kinds of problems..."
I'm not going to say which class I belong to. I'm grateful and will continue to work hard, live below my means, and dress poor. I'm extremely appreciative of my life.
Are these figures, median net worth and income stats given for individuals or for household?
Middle middle class is my current status.
House paid off (483K)
Credit card debt (29K)
Tech stock (160K in internet computer protocol)
Occupation Registered Nurse of 10 years.
End Goal retirement by 40 (35 Y.O)
Great video. Very easy to understand.
What are you going to do with your time when you retire so early? And how are you going to fund the rest of your life?
Why do you have credit card debt when you have stocks? No way the stocks grow better than the debt?
I have 1.5M$ and I don`t see how I could even retire right now at 40. If you think you will be able to live for 40 years on 500k, you are out of your mind.
Get an HELOC and pay that stupid Credit Card debt.
@@evalangley3985 You can, if you move to a different country. Southeast Asia seems like a pretty good option. If you can make 5% real growth rate with your assets, that $75k annually pretty much gives you a more than comfortable lifestyle there.
Is this per individual or per household?
it's so interesting that in America you can actually climb classes, using net worth and money. In the UK or Australia, doesn't matter how much money you make. It's prohibitive to climb classes.
what do you mean by "prohibitive?"
Economic class and social status is different?
@@VincentChan What's your bloodline? You're not a real aristocrat if you can't trace a lineage of counts, barons, and lords. You're simply bourgeois.
That’s true. Americans are caught up in looking and feeling rich. It’s a huge difference between having money and having class.
@@VincentChan meaning the snobs still don't take you seriously no matter how much money you have if you don't come from old money families (or consider you riff raff no matter how little money you have if you do come from the 'right' family).
Suggest you describe median vs mean.
Both can mislead, but both matter.
Also, how about showing the tiers by age range. Those are actually your peers.
Are those incomes household incomes or personal incomes?
I have exactly the same question.
It’s household income
35yo here. Net worth at 141k and base salary of 67k. Putting in 23% net income into investments with an additional 3.5% 401k match
The US and UK class systems are clearly different.
In the US it's about money and in the UK it's about birth (your parents' class) and whether you were privately educated, with the network that that gives you, or not.
This analysis is quite revealing of the 'Layer Cake' of assets that is required to climb the ladder. I don't begrudge those at the top their riches if they have worked and risked for it - after all, nearly all businesses *fail* so those we see up there on their money mountain are the survivors. Even those who sit at the top because of inheritance are not completely undeserving because their family has put in the work to get there (and most of those inheritors will blow the stash anyway :)).
The biggest surprise for me is how high up the ladder I stand - but that is nearly all down to my house and having paid off the mortgage. Having decided that working myself into an early grave, in a high-stress technical job, was not my preferred choice, I decided to try retiring early. So my income right now is zero and I am subsisting off my assets until pension time arrives. So, according to the pyramid shown here, on the one hand I am Upper Middle Class and on the other I am a pauper! The recent inflation and tax spikes have not been kind, that much is for sure :(
Where are you getting this info? The number seems to low for upper class
Curious if this is household numbers or individual? We are 40(f) and 42(m) with two kids. Net worth is 3M and income ranges from 180k to 300k .
And we feel like we are living paycheck to paycheck (cost of childcare is astronomical) . We are also based in the Midwest so you think it would be cheaper but the costs of everything have increased post COVID.
So considering we are somewhere in the upper class I will tell you that it doesn’t feel much different than when we were in our late 20s with medium paying white collar jobs.
It’s all about living below your means and collecting appreciating assets . Doing so will get you into the next class bracket but won’t substantially change how you live
Thank you very much Vincent 🙏🏻🙏🏻
I think until now, people seem to equate high income and high net worth. I think people are more focused on achieving the former than the latter and it's unfortunate. That's why you still have a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck even if they are earning six figures annually.
Subtracting house out of net worth doesn’t really make sense. Houses generally appreciate in value, and you can generally sell not at a loss.
Including cars doesn’t make sense.
You don’t subtract the house. You take the difference between the house value and any debt owed on the house. I don’t think vehicles are included as they depreciate so quickly, unless you have expensive classic cars.
Are these numbers for a household or an individual? But I am surprised how little you need to get into the highest “class”.
how would you classify someone who has no real estate, no job (disability), no credit card or auto debt, but 2 million in liquid assets (stock/cash)?
There are 5 social classes: 1 Lower-Lower 2 Upper-Lower 3- Lower Middle 4 - Upper Middle 5 - Upper
According to your chart I am at the very top. I live NYC I feel very much middle class.
This was super helpful! I thought net worth was how many nets I owned and how much they were worth. So I’ve been buying lots of nets with all my disposable income to impress my wife with a high net worth. I think she’s going to be mad at me when she learns what I’ve done. But this has to be a common mistake. Right?
😂🤣
I followed my parents advice. They immigrated and i am first generation born in US. Work and have a retirement plan, as soon as possible and not working forever like in other countries. I worked my butt off and was able to get a lifetime pension. I retired on my 40th birthday a few years ago. I own a home, car and many personal belongings. Adopted multiple pets, Married with young children which i finally have time to be around for both and i still have investments and savings.
Yes i still have debt, but its being paid off and i don't live "paycheck to paycheck" and yet i feel comfortable.
Depending on the City and State for "cost of living expenses"....a person may be up or down the "class" level. For instance in Hawaii, homes including land is worth millions, but the families are lower and middle class living paycheck to paycheck. Are thet rich? On paper they are, are they well off? Certainly not. Thats why so many move away from Hawaii to a more affordable place to live, raise family and finally retire in.
So in conclusion, wealth ans status is "subjective"..... all that really matters is your comfortable lifestyle is sustainable? Or "going to be the death of you".....
Interesting, our assets are in the upper middle class but our incomes are in the lower middle class. We have always lived frugally, would rather not work a lot of overtime, instead have more family time. We do live in a state with a lower cost of living. Our home and 2 vehicles under 5 years old are all paid for, have no debt and have a decent retirement fund. Even though we only had about 40 grand for retirement at age 40, we are now about 65 with enough to retire comfortably.
Looking at all sorts of figures, it seems that they are all skewed low, probably so that most people can be above average.
I think the state you live in makes a big difference too. A upper middle class income in Los Angeles or New York city doesn't mean you are going to live a upper middle class life style.
What class is between lower upper class and upper upper class?
Also, is this valid for a household with only one spouse that is working?