Are you rich or poor?

[Ranger]

Self explanatory.

As for me... I'm a uni student... of course I'm poor! :D

Gotta love it though. I chose a course that I enjoy and that should pay good money when I graduate. :up:

[anthonyvop]

Self explanatory.

As for me... I'm a uni student... of course I'm poor! :D

Gotta love it though. I chose a course that I enjoy and that should pay good money when I graduate. :up:
Two points

Define Rich?

Being a college student is not being poor. Fighting over a cardboard box at the garbage dump because that is a new home is poor.

[Hondo]

Rich is anybody that makes $5000.00 or more than you do.

Poor is anybody that can get more government benefit dollars faster than you can and keep getting them longer.

[Tazio]

You fools of fortune. . . .

Timon Of Athens Act 3, scene 6, 96

[BTCC2]

Lets be honest, any of us who are sat talking on a computer in a home are not poor.

[Drew]

I have €10 to spend next week, does that make me poor? :D

[pettersolberg29]

But there is a gap between poor and poverty.

Poor is below about 6,000 pounds a year IMO. Poverty is no job, no house etc.

But in a society like us using a PC, I would say poor is below 20,000 quid a year.

There is my opinion. Therefore I fall into the 'sort-of' poor society. But thats because I earn 10 pounds a week for scrubbing the dishes and still live at home with no job!

[driveace]

Always poor,If you have a wife and dustbin lids your poor !

[MrJan]

I wouldn't say that I'm poor but there is no way that I could afford my own house (even with a mortgage) so I'm not rich, although my choice of car may be one of the main reasons why :D

[J4MIE]

So according to pettersolberg29 anyone earning just below the national average is poor, so that includes me. I don't earn that much, but I reckon I spend my money wisely (mainly on holidays) that mean a lot to me and justifies my choice of getting a bus to work every day instead of using a car which would be easier by a good long margin.

However I wouldn't consider myself poor, our family went through my childhood with next to no money and yet I have been places where people cannot afford to eat. I'll never complain about money worries ever again without thinking of that first.

[Donney]

I am middle class crap, nothing original or fancy, I cannot complain or boast. Just your regular one trying to make ends meet.

So what smiley should I choose :) or :(

[Storm]

Middle class here too...I earn more than enough for all my daily needs + certain other luxuries of life (like vacations etc)
My parents had dead-end jobs and we never had a huge amount of money to spend on stuff but they did well to get us a good education :up:

[Mark]

Depends what you mean really. I have a terraced house and a nice car and can afford to go on a couple of short holidays a year so I wouldn't say I'm poor. But I don't have money to splurge on things so I'm not rich either.

[leopard]

We may sometimes consider that rich would be like to have a good, old-fashioned nine-to-five job plenty of time and money in hands. Rich is actually state of mind relating to effective function role models when it came to handling money and utilize anything we have. Those can share anything useful with others and enhance their life are the real definition of rich.

There are still a lot of things I want for my life, in the mean time there's a wealth of sights and sounds and smells, probably within walking distance, that at least reminded me that I am not in a bad stage. I have to thank to God that I am alive, had my health and could enjoy the pleasures of life free.

At least I am rich and young at heart... :)

[schmenke]

Lets be honest, any of us who are sat talking on a computer in a home are not poor.

Exactly.
There are millions of people who do not even have access to electricity to operate a light bulb, let alone a computer :s

[555-04Q2]

David Beckham and Brad Pitt are rich.

Your neighbour who gets in his car everyday at 7:00am, drops the kids off at school, goes to work all day and returns at 5:00pm to a home cooked meal every night wondering how he is going to pay the mortgage is middleclass.

The guy who begs for a few cents from you at the traffic lights is poor.

The people you see on TV in places like Africa who havent seen a decent meal in a month are destitute.

[555-04Q2]

P.S. I'm not David Beckham or Brad Pitt but I'm not your neighbour either :p :

[pettersolberg29]

So according to pettersolberg29 anyone earning just below the national average is poor, so that includes me. I don't earn that much, but I reckon I spend my money wisely (mainly on holidays) that mean a lot to me and justifies my choice of getting a bus to work every day instead of using a car which would be easier by a good long margin.

However I wouldn't consider myself poor, our family went through my childhood with next to no money and yet I have been places where people cannot afford to eat. I'll never complain about money worries ever again without thinking of that first.


I'm not saying that under 20,000 is poor normally, but within a society which I assume we're all in (i.e. have a PC, use it, can afford internet), I would say that is about the level underneath average or in the bottom third.

[yodasarmpit]

Your neighbour who gets in his car everyday at 7:00am, drops the kids off at school, goes to work all day and returns at 5:00pm to a home cooked meal every night wondering how he is going to pay the mortgage is middleclass.

You just described working class, if you have to work to pay the bills you are working class i.e. me.

I love how people like to call them selves middle class, even when they have to go out to work 5 days a week.
House, car, and holidays does not middle class make.

[Alexamateo]

You just described working class, if you have to work to pay the bills you are working class i.e. me.

I love how people like to call them selves middle class, even when they have to go out to work 5 days a week.
House, car, and holidays does not middle class make.

I would re-think your definition. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet both work very hard 5 days a week or more I am sure, so by your definition they are working class. On the flip side, my retired parents are rich because they do not work anymore.

[Donney]

Ok I don't mind the name working or middle class, in any case neither rich nor poor.

[pettersolberg29]

If ALL workers are working class, then how would you define middle and upper class? What's the difference?

I quote a 19 year old girl from a London estate who said, perfectly seriously, 'I'm not working class, because I don't work'. What is she then!!??

[yodasarmpit]

I would re-think your definition. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet both work very hard 5 days a week or more I am sure, so by your definition they are working class. On the flip side, my retired parents are rich because they do not work anymore.


If ALL workers are working class, then how would you define middle and upper class? What's the difference?

Have a quick reread of my post, I stated have to work to pay the bills.
I've put it in bold this time :)

[Alexamateo]

Have a quick reread of my post, I stated have to work to pay the bills.
I've put it in bold this time :)

Well, my parents don't have to work to pay the bills, but I assure you that while comfortable, they are not "rich". On the other hand, there are "rich" people who have to work hard every day to maintain their standard of living. Now I am sure they could downsize their expectations and move into a 1900 square foot house in Dunlap, Tennessee and not have to work another day in their life, but the question is do they want to?

Your definition about having or not having to work in order to be rich is invalid.

[yodasarmpit]

My basic definition of working class is if you found yourself out of work tomorrow, could you maintain a good standard of living for a sustained period of time. If no, it would tend to suggest you are working class, if however you could sustain a good standard of living for a sustained period of time then that would tend to suggest middle class.

The definition is not perfect by any means as it does not take into account every possible combination of factors, however as a basic guide it does apply.


I earn a good wage, drive a SAAB :) , have been abroad twice this year to Israel and Holland, but that doesn't elevate me from working class.
When I'm earning £100,000 a year and have the same in savings I'll maybe consider myself middle class.


And forget about upper class, you can not achieve upper class you have to be born into that. For the Americans, don't confuse upper class with rich.


As for the OP's question, I would consider myself to be neither poor nor rich, although in someone else's eyes I could be considered either.

[Alexamateo]

Is that the standard definition of "working class" in Great Britain? I have always understood it to mean someone who works in a production or non-managerial type of position.

If I were to have no paycheck tomorrow, I could go for at least 6 months without having to change my spending habits. Am I "middle class" by your definition or just frugal?

[Hondo]

I'm comfortable, unemployed but can work temp jobs when I want to, and could probably go 6 years maintaining current lifestyle without working.

However, it took 40 years of working and careful money management to get here so I consider myself to be living on what I earned and what I risked to earn more. My background is mostly blue-collar, skilled crafts so I would consider myself working class.

Most of all, I'm content with both the life that got me here and the life I live now. A man of simple tastes.

[yodasarmpit]

Is that the standard definition of "working class" in Great Britain? I have always understood it to mean someone who works in a production or non-managerial type of position.

If I were to have no paycheck tomorrow, I could go for at least 6 months without having to change my spending habits. Am I "middle class" by your definition or just frugal?
I just think that people get too hung up on the class status, and typical of human nature we always like to consider ourselves a class above.

Working class has taken on negative connotations recently, so people like to distance themselves from the term as if it something to be ashamed off.

We may all have different idea's of what constitutes working and middle class, I'm a technology manager for a major blue chip company in the UK and don't consider myself middle class, I work for a living like most therefore consider myself working class.

I guess it's one of those things that many will disagree on and I'll concede I don't believe there is a definitive answer.

[yodasarmpit]

Having taken the time to refer to several definitions online of working and middle class, of which there are many and varied. It would appear that the consensus is similar to your view Alexamateo. I'll concede to your better wisdom.

My apologies to the OP for dragging this thread of topic somewhat.

[Alexamateo]

Lots of definitions going on here so here goes.

I am not independently wealthy and have to work for a living so I am working class.

With a household income between $60-$85,000, I am solidly in the third income quintile in the US so I am middle class. I have taken a new job and should move to the fourth quintile by the end of the year (upper middle?)

My dad was a farmer and I've always worked and sold in the construction trades, so my collar is definitely blue.

So I'm a blue collar working class soon middle income guy! :p :

[Alexamateo]

Having taken the time to refer to several definitions online of working and middle class, of which there are many and varied. It would appear that the consensus is similar to your view Alexamateo. I'll concede to your better wisdom.

My apologies to the OP for dragging this thread of topic somewhat.

I wouldn't worry about it, I have often found there are differences between the British and American usage of words and way of looking at things. That's why I come here, you can really learn a lot. :)

[jso1985]

I've been recently labelled as "alienated pro-USA middle class white scum" by the current goverment... I guess that makes me rich, right?

[Hondo]

I've been recently labelled as "alienated pro-USA middle class white scum" by the current goverment... I guess that makes me rich, right?


Wow! You could live here in the USA with me! Thats the same thing my new government thinks of me and Michael Savage.

[jso1985]

but being Pro-USA and American at the same time does not make you alienated, right? :p

(seeing on wikipedia who Michael Savage is...) damn :s

[Hondo]

but being Pro-USA and American at the same time does not make you alienated, right? :p

(seeing on wikipedia who Michael Savage is...) damn :s


It does now.

[Mark]

Is that the standard definition of "working class" in Great Britain? I have always understood it to mean someone who works in a production or non-managerial type of position.


Yes, I think that's what it basically means, you are a manual worker on a relatively low wage, and have enough money to rent a small house and buy food but not much else. If you have money to afford luxuries (and the definition of a luxury has changed somewhat) then you are middle class.

It used to be very much defined by the standard of house you were living in. i.e. Terraced house, working class. Semi-detached, middle class. Detached with lots of land, upper class.

But it's not so simple now with house prices, our household income is in excess of £50k a year and yet a terraced house is all we can afford.

[Ranger]

Two points

Define Rich?

Being a college student is not being poor. Fighting over a cardboard box at the garbage dump because that is a new home is poor.

I shouldn't need to say that I was exaggerating.

Rich, to me, would be the position you are in when you can live financially very comfortably for the rest of your life without needing any current or future source of income.

I don't understand this 'working class' category though. Why can't 'middle class' suffice as a definition? Most people work hard regardless of their financial position.

[Camelopard]

Most people work hard regardless of their financial position.

Not according to vop, in his opinion only the boss works hard, the rest are just there for the ride, freeloading off their employers 'hard' work without a care for anything nor anyone! :)


On the subject of bosses, how much money does one person need?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/05/2589936.htm?section=justin


Oh I forgot, it's 'his' money, he has 'worked' hard for it and 'he' should be able to do what he wants without any intervention from the likes of former KGB members! :)

[anthonyvop]

With all do respect....nobody posting here is poor!!!!!!

[Camelopard]

With all do respect....nobody posting here is poor!!!!!!


You could 'do' a little respect, man..........


I think you meant 'due'. :)