Comments on: Settling for middle class is cowardly http://thepennysaved.com/2008/04/09/settling-for-middle-class-is-cowardly/ Personal Finance, career, investing, retirement, saving and debt blog Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:40:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: KA http://thepennysaved.com/2008/04/09/settling-for-middle-class-is-cowardly/#comment-920 KA Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:24:17 +0000 http://thepennysaved.com/2008/04/09/settling-for-middle-class-is-cowardly/#comment-920 I really don't know what middle-class is anymore. I have a friend who is a partner at a large CPA firm. His wife is a school superintendent, and I know her salary is $140,000 (school employees salaries are public where I live). My guess is that he makes a similar amount of money. They have no children, and live a very modest lifestyle. He and I were golfing the other day and he referred to himself as middle-class. I thought 'what'? 'You and your wife are making near $300,000 and you are middle class?' Obviously, I didn't say that, but I sure did think it. I thought I was middle class making $104,000/year. I suppose I'm lower middle class now. Sigh. I really don’t know what middle-class is anymore. I have a friend who is a partner at a large CPA firm. His wife is a school superintendent, and I know her salary is $140,000 (school employees salaries are public where I live). My guess is that he makes a similar amount of money. They have no children, and live a very modest lifestyle.

He and I were golfing the other day and he referred to himself as middle-class. I thought ‘what’? ‘You and your wife are making near $300,000 and you are middle class?’ Obviously, I didn’t say that, but I sure did think it.

I thought I was middle class making $104,000/year. I suppose I’m lower middle class now. Sigh.

]]> By: Mrs. Micah http://thepennysaved.com/2008/04/09/settling-for-middle-class-is-cowardly/#comment-907 Mrs. Micah Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:10:59 +0000 http://thepennysaved.com/2008/04/09/settling-for-middle-class-is-cowardly/#comment-907 Here's the thing, Jesse. My passions come from things that aren't always directed towards money. Like quilting, I have a passion for making quilts and giving them away, particularly to hospitals. If I focus most of my time and efforts on getting rich, that leaves me less time for quilting. Or other things I love. That passion isn't exactly a big moneymaker. And even if I have talents that can earn me more, they're not my passions. Maybe someday I could quilt when I'm rich, but rich is never rich enough and maybe I won't last until someday. In my book, getting rich at the expense of my passions when I can be comfortablely well-off and enjoy them instead is a wasted life. It would be cowardly to be too afraid of being middle class to do what I want. Now when I say middle class, I mean debt-free with a comfortable retirement account, etc. Not middle class in debt with no prospects for the future. At the same time, if someone just wants to be lazy...well it depends on what they mean by lazy. If they don't want to work more than 40 hours a week so they can do something they love, that's cool. If they don't want to work more than 40 hours a week so they can lie around the house...that's their choice, but maybe it's not a good one. Here’s the thing, Jesse. My passions come from things that aren’t always directed towards money. Like quilting, I have a passion for making quilts and giving them away, particularly to hospitals. If I focus most of my time and efforts on getting rich, that leaves me less time for quilting. Or other things I love.

That passion isn’t exactly a big moneymaker. And even if I have talents that can earn me more, they’re not my passions.

Maybe someday I could quilt when I’m rich, but rich is never rich enough and maybe I won’t last until someday.

In my book, getting rich at the expense of my passions when I can be comfortablely well-off and enjoy them instead is a wasted life. It would be cowardly to be too afraid of being middle class to do what I want.

Now when I say middle class, I mean debt-free with a comfortable retirement account, etc. Not middle class in debt with no prospects for the future.

At the same time, if someone just wants to be lazy…well it depends on what they mean by lazy. If they don’t want to work more than 40 hours a week so they can do something they love, that’s cool. If they don’t want to work more than 40 hours a week so they can lie around the house…that’s their choice, but maybe it’s not a good one.

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