Having a freezer is great. I dropped into the store to pick up milk. While I was there, I noticed family packs of chicken breasts for$1.99 a pound. So I picked up a package. Split them up and froze when I got home. Also got ground beef for $1.99 a pound also a family pack. Split that up too! That will be a LOT of meals for two of us. A lot.
Ice cream was on sale for $2.50 for a half gallon so I bought six. DH eats it every night.
Shopping the sales really helps!
@thumper1 Absolutely. That’s what I do many times, buy what’s on sale. I splurged last week on ribeyes for $7.99 a pound, normally much more. I never would have bought them at regular price. Bought some Breyer’s ice cream on sale recently so look forward to that. We like ice cream but probably not as much as your husband! 
Most of us here probably have never gone hungry so I don’t understand the snark. I have seen real poverty having been raised in a “hardship country” but very few people in this country understand what real hunger is. Picture the children we used to see in Biafra posters and that’s what I mean by hunger, not those who are overweight and complain that they can’t afford “real” food.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t buy any ribeyes at any price. We don’t eat much red meat. No judgements from me.
H and I went out to eat again this evening, but to a higher end restaurant this time (since the 5th is our monthly anniversary and we like to celebrate). Dinner for 2 with appetizers and one alcoholic drink each + tip came about $120. We were curious to see if this place was being hit by the theoretical recession since the median income in our area is 68K, hardly supportive of expensive restaurants.
They had a sign on the door saying reservations were required tonight (we had one), and yes, we were there until 20 minutes before closing and at that time they only had three empty tables. The place was full otherwise. Few youngsters were there (<30) unless with parents, but age 50+ was quite common, and there was a large group of all ages in their “celebration room.”
Dinner was delicious. This restaurant is not in a tourist area at all, so not pulling from that - no motels nearby, etc.
There are undoubtedly some struggling in our area, but that’s true during all time periods. I see no evidence at all of Upper Middle Class people cutting back. If it’s not happening at this restaurant, it’s not happening in our area. Tonight is a Saturday, but for most folks, it’s an ordinary Saturday. If we hadn’t been taking up a table, someone else would have been in our spot.
It’s complicated.
I can brag that I can make a full meal for $3 a person- but I have a freezer (two actually, but don’t want my privilege showing too much). I have a car to load my groceries into, and don’t have to take the bus with two young kids and juggle bags of perishables. I can afford gas to go to three stores if I have to. And I’ve got everything I need to turn cheap food into a palatable meal-- oven, stove, pots, pans, ingredients for marinades just sitting in the cabinet. Tomatoes going bad? I can make extra pasta sauce to freeze.
I know in my community there are people living in a crowded apartment cooking on a one burner camp stove, with a small college sized frig and washing dishes in a bathroom sink. Our local homeless shelter does not allow cooking of any kind- so if you aren’t a hamburger/macaroni/tacos person you aren’t going to be whipping up a nutritious couscous and chickpea casserole any time soon. You see the people struggling to get a gallon of milk, bunch of bananas and a few loaves of bread up the stairs of the bus… my guess is that buying extra kale or bulgur when it’s cheap is not high on the list of priorities.
There is a local organization that helps women in transition- mostly mothers with kids- leaving abusive/dangerous home situations. The number one item asked for a frying pan. it’s a little humbling to realize that once these women are situated in safety- they just want to make their kids a plate of scrambled eggs. People are always trying to offload their junk (I know @Thumper can relate)-- does a woman fleeing an abusive partner need a dozen champagne glasses or several chip and dip sets? No. She wants a frying pan.
Food is a complicated thing.
Not to mention the food deserts that are out there. Shopping for groceries at the local dollar store, convenience stores or fast food places are a reality for many people.
No doubt, I know many from school who get free lunches and more. But it’s not the Upper Middle Class that is supposedly struggling according to the title of this thread.
I’m certainly upper middle class according to the numbers. The thing is…we aren’t one paycheck away from poverty. We have the blessing of savings, and having a paid for roof over our heads, and everything we need to subsist, and then some.
There is plenty I could sell, give away or toss and I wouldn’t suffer.
Those with less are not in our position.
We regularly donate to our local food bank (which takes donations all the time). We have given to refugee organizations and womens shelters. Because we can.
If I’m not doing something, it’s because I don’t want to spend the extra money…not because I don’t have the extra money. There is a difference.
Do I think the UMC is struggling? Not like those with less.
The biggest thing I worry about is my investments…but let’s face it. Folks with less don’t even have investments.
I’m counting my blessings that I’m in the situation I’m in…I really am.
Same here, and for each splurge we make, we donate the same (or more) to those less fortunate. I’d feel really guilty otherwise.
ETA It’s also why we tend to leave really good tips to those truly working for a living. They deserve it IMO. We’re the ones who can afford the luxuries they’re providing.
There are definitely Upper Middle Class people who are overextended. I don’t know that most of us are going to be taking up a collection for them any time soon- but this is reality. If you’ve used your house as an ATM and refinanced ('cause money was cheap) to fuel your lifestyle, a dip in home values AND an increase in your payments is going to hurt. If you’ve had rising income over the last decade- and every extra dollar went towards consumption- hearing your boss tell you that salaries are frozen or that you’re losing your job- is going to hurt. Paying for college with less in the 529, not being able to contribute to your own retirement this year if cash is tight- these are the things the upper middle class deals with given the inflationary environment. It’s not that the price of eggs keeps them up at night- I think that’s the straw on the camels back of living an affluent lifestyle but always on the edge of toppling over.
Those leased cars? I’m going to guess the Tesla dealers don’t want to hear “I’ll catch up next month”.
But that’s been true forever. I recall stories in my youth of folks spending money to keep up with the Jones’ and having houses with next to no furniture in them - living paycheck to paycheck due to how much they spend.
And now having no furniture is chic- minimalism, Marie Kondo, etc!!!
I’m sorry, it seems sterile to have no furniture.
I feel like there are many upper middle class older couples (like us) that cringe a bit at increasing menu prices… but still eat there. With Covid, our initial “go go” years of retirement have less international travel than envisioned, more local splurges.
I’m fine with local splurges. Ww haven’t traveled since 2019 due to covid. H’s buddy just got covid on his European cruise. he’s recovering in SF and hoped to test negative so he can come back to HI. Cruises seem like a great way of sharing germs.
We are planning to go to Japan in a tour in March/April 2023. It will be our 1st trip and I’m excited (but a big nervous).
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Hey, I’m also a minimalist except when it comes to travel and plants, I have no curtains in some windows even. I like wide open view.
Yes, let’s pour one out for the folks who can no longer run a tab at the country club!
And there’s the fallacy. Too many equate being able to pay for something with meaning they can afford it. The two can be miles apart.
Living paycheck-to-paycheck is quite common today. An example table from the report at https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/PYMNTS-New-Reality-Check-September-2022.pdf is below It suggests that ~half of upper middle class families lived paycheck-to-paycheck (using their definitions) in August 2022, but of course the rate was highest for low income families. This percentage is up substantially from decades ago, when average portion of income put in savings was higher.
I personally have known many persons with six figure incomes that would be in serious financial difficulty if they missed a paycheck or two. A good portion of persons spend however much someone will let them spend via a combination of paycheck + borrowing. If they get a raise, that means they spend more. If the government or other group sends them a check, that means they spend the check on something immediately.
I’m in the opposite extreme. If someone sends me a check – work or other, it goes in to my bank account and does not influence my spending habits. If someone asks me what I spent a government check on, the question wouldn’t make sense to me, since it goes in the same pool as my other income sources. Similarly when I receive an income increase, my spending doesn’t change. This year I have been saving or investing ~90% of my after tax (including property tax) income. Previous recent years were in the 80-90% range.