The way I think of them are: Lower class - you scrimp on needs like food, safe housing, medical care, education, insurance. In other words, you have to "sell"

The way I think of them are: Lower class - you scrimp on needs like food, safe housing, medical care, education, insurance. In other words, you have to "sell" your personal security to make ends meet Middle class - you scrimp on wants like travel, bigger/newer housing, smaller TV, keep your cell phone for a couple years, buy a 2 year old car instead of brand new, etc. Upper class - harder to pin down because wants are effectively unlimited. I'd say if you won't settle for the "default" choices, you're probably upper class. If you have to live in Atherton instead of Sunnyvale, you're probably upper class. If you drive a Lexus instead of a Toyota, you're probably upper class. If you shop at Whole Foods because the grocery store isn't good enough, you're probably upper class. If you wouldn't consider a top state school like UVigrinia, the UCs, or UMichigan, because you need to go to an Ivy, you're probably upper class. I was going to say something about Mac vs PC, which outside of hackers might be an indication of upper classism, but remembered that for hackers, the best computer for you is a business expense and a productivity investment.