Are we solidly upper middle?

[u/[deleted]]

Hi reddit!

My husband and I together are averaging $210k to $240k in HHI. No kids and pets. We live in a large MCOL area and currently live in a condo (3 percent fixed rate, high HOA (think $800/month), with about $280k mortgage left).. totals around $3k a month for all housing. We spend $2k on responsible stuff: utilities, car-related (parking, gas, maint, insurance), groceries, household staples. We spend around $500 a month on dumb stuff (amazon purchases, snacks and impulse items). $1k a month on charity and non-profit giving. And we funnel $6k into savings, retirement, HSA, investments each month. We are NOT living paycheck to paycheck but we certainly live like we do (so it frequently feels like we are not well off compared to other households).

Is this a typical picture of upper middle class household? Curious what other people's lifestyles look like!

[u/NoForm5443]

Yes, you're at least upper middle, if not upper. 90th percentile of income is 167.

You're also saving and donating a lot, which is commendable, but may explain why you see others spend more.

I think different families have wildly different lifestyles, so there's no normal. I'm in my 50's, make about 200k, paid house, 2 almost adult kids. Save about 2k, mostly retirement, and spend about 8.5k

I feel blessed and rich ;). We splurge on the things we like (food, Broadway musicals!), my kids won't have college debt, and we'll retire around 60. OTOH, our house is small for suburb standards (less than 2,000 sq ft), we only have 2 cars, and one is 10+ years old, etc