I guess this all doesn't really apply to me yet but I guess I can still answer.

17, baby on the way.

I'm pretty financially comfortable, but still am dependent on my mother for some help with money. She helps pay for my car & insurance.

I don't work stabley at the moment but do odd jobs for friends and have been a temp at my mom's work since I was 14. I worked at Old Navy part-time not too long ago. I have an interview this week for a Hair Stylist's assistant part-time.

I'm still in High School but ALSO go to trade school for cosmetology, I'm about half way done.

My fiance works full-time at the bank where I temp, and my mom's his boss's boss.

He's not currently in school but by the time I'm hoping to start college he wants to try and attend as well for the same degree- Pharmacy at Idaho State.

I for the most part live off of my mother, and save all of my personally made money. My fiance also helps with a lot of expenses as well.

My family is upper middle class, and we live in a low upper class part of Phoenix.

Same here, but it's still fun to answer.

I'm 19. I'm childless, and hope it stays that way for about 10 years.

I'm pretty financially secure. I'm not spending any money at the moment, so it's not hard to be secure . I'm paying for my university next fall so that's what I'm saving up for, but thankfully I've gotten scholarships so I don't need all that much.

I do. Full time, just making over minimum wage but working my ass off so I'll get a nice raise. It's good money especially when I'm not spending it on much else.

I'll be going back to university this fall. Taking university 1 which is essentially a mismatch of courses that's supposed to help you decide your future. I already know I want to be a surgeon.

My SO is 18, but he's currently at university. He has no time for working, but starting next week he'll be alternating full time GOOD money jobs and school every 4 months.

I live with my parents, and they feed me and all that junk. I get to stay with them until I stop going to school.

And last but not least, I WAS considered upper/low upper class, not so much anymore.

I am 19 I had my son when I was 17,he will be 2 years old in May

My financial situation is good,we have enough so that I can be a stay at home mom.(besides daycare is WAY too expensive where I live)

I babysit 4 kids in my home(I am a government approved day home) which is pretty good money,I make anywhere between $500 and $1500 a month,depending on the amount of time I have the kids for.

I am actually working on my diploma still,I am doing correspondance.

My bf works full time but he's home quite a bit more now that he's been promoted to management,he has also just started his own business as well so he is really busy!

My bf never did post secondary education.

There are no other means of financial help,we do not qualify for much because of the amount of money my bf makes. My family all live in a different province and they have no financial stake in my life.

I'm not sure what class I would be in,probably middle class.

wildwoodflower, why wouldn't the question of the thread apply to you?

yeah doesn't apply to me but it is fun to anwser , all my anwsers will most likley back up why i had to let my mum take over completely.


How old are you, your current child status (# of children, age you had them, age they are)I'm 18, one child that I do not raise, I was 13 years old when he was born, he'll be 5 in April

What is the financial situation for your life?broke broke broke...(I have some money saved for new car and house but i don't spend it

Do you work? Full time Part time? Make decent money? work as a "casual" employee, fulltime student

Did you go to school/Are you attending? (not highschool--post HS education, trade school, JC, university?) high school studying what would be equivelent to GCSE

If youre with your SO (significant other) do they work? Full time/Part time? Make decent money? not with the babys real mum, although i'm in a relationship, but babys real mum currently doesn't work but is a qualified hair dresser and looking for a full time job in that field

Did they go to school/Are they attending? (not highschool--post HS education, trade school, JC, university?)nope

What other means of finances do you utilize?i'm too dumb for big words like this, but er i have stocks and i make money on that if that's an appropriate anwser? plus mummy gives me pocket money each week XD

Do you get government assistance? Do your parents help? Do you solely live off your parents financial means? Do you work under the table (i.e. unlicensed babysitting?) well yeah parents took over

and if youre willing to answer... your class... high upper, upper, low upper, upper middle, middle, lower middle, lower, poor...? i myself am lower class, mum and my step dad are probably upper class

Just wondering, if the questions are too personal dont answer... I am just curious kind of behind everyones story... their daily means and needs and struggles or eases... etc day to day struggles? dealing with my boy calling my step dad , dad and saying he loves him and stuff like that, cause i hate my step dad enough to begin with anyway

I'm 23. My oldest is 5 , then 3, then 2 (born when I was 17, 19 and 20, respectively). All girls.

My financial situation is pretty good. I'm technically a "stay at home" mom, but I do a lot of freelancing (writing and programming). I don't make much - anywhere from $200-$1000 a month. At present, I'm doing the online classes, but once dh is finished with university, I'll be going back to a brick and mortar campus.

My husband works full time as a web developer and makes a good buck. He also attends school part time while he finishes up his Bachelors (3 more classes).

My parent's helped us until we were 21. We lived with them (rent free), but did contribute to a lot of the household expenses. We definitely wouldn't have made it as far as we have so far if they hadn't been there to help. We moved into our own home a year and a half ago, and we're still there. We aren't on government living assistance, and never have been. The only program we've ever been on was state KidCare after the girls were born.

I'm not exactly sure about the income brackets and what's considered what class...If you looked at our house, you'd think we were poor. But, we're probably middle middle class - if all goes well with the business hubby is launching this Spring, we'll be upper middle class.

I am 18 years old (19 on April 14th), and I am 5 weeks pregnant.

I am pretty financially stable, I work part-time and make good money. I do live at my parents house but I pay rent to stay there about 700$ a month. I also pay all of my bills including car payment, insurance, and cell phone. My parents dont buy me ANYTHING...not even food.

I am going to college for Registered Nurse and will be graduating in the spring of 2011. Which is why I only work part-time becuase I go to school full-time.

My SO is 20, and works full-time at Herr's Potato Chip Factory making really good money. We did live on our own but moved into my parents to save money for a down payment on a house.

I would say that we are middle class.

I don't consider myself too much into finances at the moment because my mother takes care of pretty much everything, though I'm going to start making sure I'm more concerned with them and take over on some of my financial responsibilities. And I'm also still in High School and she stated more of secondary education in the education question which made it seem that this was for people further down the road than me.

How old are you, your current child status (# of children, age you had them, age they are)

im 19 (20 dec 22) and i have one baby girl who is 9 months (a year may 28th)

What is the financial situation for your life?

we have enough to get by, we get val everything she needs (i mean EVERYTHING you should see her room lol) and after that we have just enough for food and bills and maybe if were lucky a little something for ourselves

Do you work? Full time Part time? Make decent money?

i dont work, val has way to much going on with her health, day care is super expencive, and im afraid to leave her

Did you go to school/Are you attending? (not highschool--post HS education, trade school, JC, university?)

i graduated from high school right after val was born but im not in college right now, i wana go back when val gets a little bigger (and hopfully grows out of some of her health problems)

If youre with your SO (significant other) do they work? Full time/Part time? Make decent money?

hes in the navy, hes only e3 so he doesnt make that much (about 600 every 1st and 15th)

Did they go to school/Are they attending? (not highschool--post HS education, trade school, JC, university?)

he graduated high school but he never went to college, straight to the navy he never liked school so he didnt want to do that

What other means of finances do you utilize?

none

Do you get government assistance? Do your parents help? Do you solely live off your parents financial means? Do you work under the table (i.e. unlicensed babysitting?)

val gets wic but if her formula wasnt so expencive we wouldnt bother, other then that the only things we get is stuff all military gets (tricare, housing, bas, etc) my mum has helped us with money maybe 3 times total, shes helped with val (since she moved out) maybe 10 times total, so not much help there

and if youre willing to answer... your class... high upper, upper, low upper, upper middle, middle, lower middle, lower, poor...?

i think we would be classified as very low class, but if you think about it we dont pay rent or utilities and we dont pay health insurance (well we do pay all that technically but its taken directly out of his pay check so it doesnt really seem like it) so we have plenty

these are always fun!

I'm 18, number one for me on the way (34wks along). Husband has a 9yr old boy, he was 22 when he had him.

Financial situation is pretty good. We are living with our friend currently and it helps A LOT.

I don't work. I just keep the house clean and cook, and that's our 'rent' for our friend.

I graduated a year early from HS, and have no interest in furthering my education.

Hubby works as a truck driver, basically full time (depends on the season) and makes pretty decent money.

He has a GED and training school he hasn't paid off, so IRS took his taxes this year.

I am on WIC and I have a medical card.

Eh, I consider us middle class I guess. Not really POOR, but not living the high life. We do live in a trailer if that adds to the 'white trash' scene, lol. Not to mention in the hills of West Virginia

im 18 (19 july 16) im almost 3 months.

my financial situation is really good

yes i work, whenever my employee is not able to make it in or has to go to class other than that i make surprise visits. yeah we make decent money.

i attend a community college (nova) im lucky enough to go to college for free because when my grandmother passed me put it in her will that she will pay for my college

my fiance helps me run the store and on top of that he owns his own flooring company. but sadly its been slow because retail went down so much. so he has been home playing with the animals.

he dropped out of high school and didnt get his ged and he is an ex drug dealer and he used to steal peoples steros out of their cars and sell them. haha but he is done with that.obviously.

i geuss im in the low upper class?


we were struggling a little in jan. & feb because the store was so slow but his flooring buisness was shooting in jan. but once feb hit it stopped. so feb was very hard for us.

How old are you, your current child status (# of children, age you had them, age they are) I am 18, 19 in May. I have an 18 month old son and i'm pregnant with my second, due july 4th this year

What is the financial situation for your life?
We're coping

Do you work? Full time Part time? Make decent money?
I recently left my job. Bobby works full time.

Did you go to school/Are you attending? (not highschool--post HS education, trade school, JC, university?)
I finished school and received my grades

If youre with your SO (significant other) do they work? Full time/Part time? Make decent money?
Bobby works full time

Did they go to school/Are they attending? (not highschool--post HS education, trade school, JC, university?)
He finished school and got the grades he could get at the time. He started college, but dropped out


What other means of finances do you utilize?
we receive child tax credit and child benefit

Do you get government assistance? Do your parents help? Do you solely live off your parents financial means? Do you work under the table (i.e. unlicensed babysitting?)
My mum lends me money if we're stuck, which is very rarely. They look after william if im ill, etc. The goverment housed and help with financial issues (child tax credit, etc) which isn't much, but helps

and if youre willing to answer... your class... high upper, upper, low upper, upper middle, middle, lower middle, lower, poor...?
I wouldn't say we were poor as we are coping. I'd say lower middle

This is an interesting topic, but maybe it would be helpful to define terms.

Working class generally means having an hourly wage (as opposed to salary), doing work that is physical (i.e. blue collar vs. white collar), and having a high school diploma or GED (s opposed to a college degree).

Middle class (lower, middle and upper) generally refers to college educated, white collar, having a salary, and an income between approximately $20,000 and $98,000 (dual income).

All well and good to say however a lot of people here are from different places, uk, us, aus, europe, canada etc ..sure there's more

point of that is money has differnt values, school system is different and the comparison of classes is different

How old are you, your current child status (# of children, age you had them, age they are) I just turned 18 last month and am 26 wks pregnant with my first

What is the financial situation for your life?
We're coping

Do you work? Full time Part time? Make decent money?
I recently left my job to study

Did you go to school/Are you attending? (not highschool--post HS education, trade school, JC, university?)
I start studying to be a youth worker on monday

If youre with your SO (significant other) do they work? Full time/Part time? Make decent money?
He starts a new job on monday working full time making 1060 a fortnight

Did they go to school/Are they attending? (not highschool--post HS education, trade school, JC, university?)
he did a coupla courses- hes a fully qualified dairy farmer and cable logger


What other means of finances do you utilize?
none

Do you get government assistance? Do your parents help? Do you solely live off your parents financial means? Do you work under the table (i.e. unlicensed babysitting?)
we get housing assistance and income support until my SO gets his first paycheck
and if youre willing to answer... your class... high upper, upper, low upper, upper middle, middle, lower middle, lower, poor...?
im not really sure lol

im 18 childless

ummm ok would like to improve

im a full time nursery nurse and earn 1570.69 a month

was an apprentice

works part time in a factory engineer 3 nights a week n earn a hell of alot more than i do

nope just working



no help we got a house we got on our own so far not had 2 ask for help but my parents did buy my car for me

umm upper

Hence the term "generally". Why not post definitions for your country?

I think those "general" guide lines are a bit too precise (for the US). Someone with a Master's in Psychology (as my MIL) can have an hourly wage, but still be middle class.

Someone with a CCNA can be salaried with no degree and "blue collar" (working with their hands) but still be upper class.

Your class definition is mostly defined by where you fall in relation to the "poverty" level. If your family is under that line, you are lower class. At the line to up to $150,000 (dual income), is considered middle class. $150,000 is considered the "upper limit" on government assistance this year. Anyone above that limit is usually considered "upper class".

By whom? There are various definitions of thse terms, so I am interested in the origin of this particular definition.

Here is s some interesting information about different models distinguishing between classes. roll down to "social class":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_inc ome_in_the_United_States#Social_class



Academic Class Models
Dennis Gilbert, 2002 William Thompson & Joseph Hickey, 2005 Leonard Beeghley, 2004
Class Typical characteristics Class Typical characteristics Class Typical characteristics
Capitalist class (1%) Top-level executives, high-rung politicians, heirs. Ivy League education common. Upper class 1% Top-level executives, celebrities, heirs; income of $500,000 common. Ivy league education common. The super-rich (0.9%) Multi-millionaires whose incomes commonly exceed $350,000; includes celebrities and powerful executives/politicians. Ivy League education common.
The Rich (5%) Households with net worth of $1 million or more; largely in the form of home equity. Generally have college degrees.
Upper middle class1 (15%) Highly educated (often with graduate degrees), most commonly salaried, professionals and middle management with large work autonomy Upper middle class1 (15%) Highly educated (often with graduate degrees) professionals & managers with household incomes varying from the high 5-figure range to commonly above $100,000 Middle class (plurality/
majority?; ca. 46%) College educated workers with incomes considerably above-average incomes and compensation; a man making $57,000 and a woman making $40,000 may be typical.
Lower middle class (30%) Semi-professionals and craftsmen with a roughly average standard of living. Most have some college education and are white collar. Lower middle class (32%) Semi-professionals and craftsman with some work autonomy; household incomes commonly range from $35,000 to $75,000. Typically, some college education.
Working class (30%) Clerical and most blue collar workers whose work is highly routinized. Standard of living varies depending on number of income earners, but is commonly just adequate. High school education. Working class (32%) Clerical, pink and blue collar workers with often low job security; common household incomes range from $16,000 to $30,000. High school education. Working class
(ca. 40% - 45%) Blue collar workers and those whose jobs are highly routinized with low economic security; a man making $40,000 and a woman making $26,000 may be typical. High school education.
Working poor (13%) Service, low-rung clerical and some blue collar workers. High economic insecurity and risk of poverty. Some high school education.
Lower class (ca. 14% - 20%) Those who occupy poorly-paid positions or rely on government transfers. Some high school education.
Underclass (12%) Those with limited or no participation in the labor force. Reliant on government transfers. Some high school education. The poor (ca. 12%) Those living below the poverty line with limited to no participation in the labor force; a household income of $18,000 may be typical. Some high school education.
References: Gilbert, D. (2002) The American Class Structure: In An Age of Growing Inequality. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth; Thompson, W. & Hickey, J. (2005). Society in Focus. Boston, MA: Pearson, Allyn & Bacon; Beeghley, L. (2004). The Structure of Social Stratification in the United States. Boston, MA: Pearson, Allyn & Bacon.
1The upper middle class may also be referred to as "Professional class" Ehrenreich, B. (1989). The Inner Life of the Middle Class. NY, NY: Harper-Colins.