[Shaun @ Tru6]

I grew up blue collar, working middle class, lower middle class, whatever you want to call it. we did not take vacations. we had used bikes. A Chevy station wagon and a Chevy pick-up lasted for a decade each, and then they were replaced with used. We did not really go to the doctor much, nor the dentist. Investment in anything wasn't ever a consideration. When we moved once, we couldn't afford the same size modest home we'd always had, so the family room was my bedroom for a year. I'm the only one in my family to go to college, which I paid for. We were extremely provincial, unsophisticated and naive about the bigger world around us. We were uncomfortable around comfort.

As my father was a boat mechanic, our extravagance was having a decent 22 foot boat, but only after a summer's restoration. We went fishing and camping every weekend while living in MN. We cut a lot of wood in the fall and burned it all winter. We lived within our means for the most part.

I'm sure that there are many families living in the U.S. today that make what my mom and dad, adjusted for inflation. But I don't think that many live the way we did, instead credit cards adding to their "net income" allowing folks to move one notch up on the ladder.

I think many people who feel like they are middle class really aren't. They are either making a good living and saving for the future or making a good living and living beyond their means. Either way, these people may not have a lot of money in their personal bank accounts at the end of each month, but they make too much to be considered middle class.