> After all the 'added expenses' of a upper-middle-class lifestyle You mean if you earn a lot but then make the decision to spend a lot, there's not much money

> After all the 'added expenses' of a upper-middle-class lifestyle You mean if you earn a lot but then make the decision to spend a lot, there's not much money left over, making you middle class? You seem to treat it as a given that if your income is high, you necessarily ratchet up your lifestyle expenses to a point where there's "not that much" left over. What if your income is $4 million per year? After all the 'added expenses' of an upper-class lifestyle, you're certainly left back in the... middle class...?