Surprising Signs You’re No Longer Middle Class

What are some signs that you've made it past the middle class? In this video, we examine 8 surprising signs you may notice if this applies to you. For those who aren't there yet, we go through some actionable steps to help you get there.

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WHO AM I?
Hello 👋 I’m Humphrey, I used to be a financial advisor, worked in gaming/tech, and started my own eCommerce business. I make practical, rational content on investing, personal finance, the news, and much more with a data-backed approach. My goal is to help you with financial literacy and creating wealth.

PS: I am no longer a current Financial Advisor, any investment commentary are my opinions only. Some of the links in this description are affiliate links that I do receive a commission for & they help support the channel!

⏱️ Timestamps:
0:00 - Start Here
0:35 - Extra Money After Investments & Expenses
1:49 - You Own a Mix of Assets
3:05 - You Live in a More Expensive Neighborhood
3:52 - You've Experienced Positive Lifestyle Changes
5:10 - You Can Afford Higher Education Expenses
6:37 - You Have Minimal Financial Stress
7:57 - You're Considering Retiring Early
8:54 - You Have Multiple Income Streams

[ErinTalksMoney]

Hey Humphrey! Thanks so much for the shoutout!! 🙏 I'm such a fan of your wonderful content! My favorite point of your vid striving for a life of minimal financial stress. Amazing video, as always!! 😊

[RaymondKeen.]

At the very least, I now grasp the concept of leverage. Creating wealth and financial freedom isn't as tough as many people believe. Building wealth and remaining financially stable indefinitely is a lot easier with the appropriate information. Participating in financial programs and products is the only true approach to make a high income and remain affluent indefinitely.

[maness]

My financial stress is compound interest. I'm addicted to it.

[matwx]

Frequent fine dining and expensive cars are the biggest killers of wealth.

[captngravity]

I make low "middle class" income but have gotten to the point where I dont feel middle class anymore. I have extra money, i spend less than i make, i just bought a car with cash last month, and I dont really worry about gas prices or grocery prices. If i cant afford the bag of chips, i dont buy them. I buy the food that fits my budget. My mortgage is extremely affordable, and its the only debt I have. 😊

[josephkelleher]

Bein upper middle class isn't defined by how much you make but by how much you keep. Net worth is always the determining factor in determining if you are upper middle class.

[valerieproctor]

Erin!! Yes! She deserves so much love too! She speaks calmly and soothingly.

[cpzer]

I have always considered our family middle class but apparently we’re well above that according to these metrics, so I guess we’re doing something right. Thanks for the great content.

[RollTide]

great video here. i think the takeaway from these type videos that always blows my mind is that people have credit card debt. I by no means would consider myself beyond upper middle class but taking on credit card debt has always seemed insane to me just based off their interest rates alone!

[AskSebby]

@4:08 No cleaners and unhappy with price changes ($4 to $5 is a 20% increase!)... but happy to spend $$$ on Michelin-starred meals that are on my bucket list (i.e., fly to Greenland or Faroe Islands to try KOKS).

Spend on things you enjoy and that matter to you. Try and be cheap/frugal with things that don't.

[RichardTouchfaith]

Even though we are officially Upperclass, we are hanging onto our Middleclass mentality!

[SteveG]

Great video. I also love how large channels like yours’ occasionally shoutout the little channels!!! That’s awesome to see Erin Talks Money getting love by one of the massive staples of financial YouTube channels.

Humphrey, any chance of a collaboration video with you and Erin? You both have such a calm and collective demeanor with your well articulated and easily understood educational videos!

[FoodiesVacations]

I agree with most of this. But I think you need to have at least 5000 in your emergency cash if you’re upper middle. Mainly because you tend to have bigger expenses in this class status. If your air conditioning goes out in a 500, 000+ house… it’s not going to cost 1000 dollars to replace. Ijs 😊

[rosepink]

This makes me feel less bad about my Porsche splurge! 25 yrs old in the Bay Area and have had excess household income for awhile now. But because I kept hearing about how it’s bad to splurge, better to focus on investing, etc… I’ve fixed all my financial issues and felt it was time to finally spend a little on myself. Sometimes it’s better not to compare yourself to the average person especially since finances are still fairly private. Happy to say that even with a high monthly payment I’m below my 50% monthly spend target and get to invest about the other 50-60% of my income. If I continue this, even without raises, I’m set to become a multimillionaire. Diligence pays off!! Don’t feel bad about spending a few dollars here and there especially after working hard!

[highlyillogical]

It's wild how circumstances vaulted me from a paycheck to paycheck guy to firmly in the middle class. My first career netted me a pension and benefits worth over 40k per year. That, added to my new job earnings, allowed me to purchase a second home and rent out my old one. Then covid struck, housing got scarce, and the equity in both my properties jumped up. Based on my total income and my 250k in equity, I'm part of the upper middle class now.

[beyondtherhetoric]

I feel like part of the challenge with analyses like this is that the stats keep mixing individuals with households. You talk about a household median income of $150k, but is the "upper middle class" net worth of $200k that of an individual or a household?

[amuseinthecraftroom]

Oh wow. I'm doing way better than I thought. Glad because i just retired at 50 from corporate life to do my own thing.

[ap]

i live deliberately in a lower middle class neighborhood to save as much as possible, so when i pay off mortgage at 58 and cont to save what i am now I'll have almost a mill new worth at 65.. and on an income under 100k. so there 😁

[Adiautu]

Awesome shoutout to Erin Talks Money ❤❤❤

[xiphoid]

I'm upper middle class. My financial stress is the daily movement of the stock market. When you have 7 figures in 401k/Roth/IRA/HSA/brokerage accounts, a whole month's paycheck worth of money is created or destroyed on a daily basis. It's stressful trying to stop yourself from looking. 😅