> This is why the best way to escape the upper middle class trap is to stop participating in it altogether. Opt out of those ultra-competitive sectors that won’t materially change your lifestyle. Send your kids to good public schools instead of costly private ones. Skip first class and fly economy. Buy a little less house than you can afford.

> The ironic part is that the data supports this. … And, as I demonstrated last year, premium travel experiences aren’t what they used to be.

On one hand I see the author’s point but anyone who’s flown the last decade will also see economy has become increasingly a shitty, cramped experience, where you’re treated with a certain level of baseline disdain and distrust from airline staff.

For housing, agree on living below your means, but it’s the same issue. Housing on the low end and middle price ranges is in many places most competitive, with multiple bids over ask for a fixer upper with major issues. For general goods and services, companies are extracting every ounce of value they can from budget offerings, usually by sacrificing quality to drive down cost.

I think the author sees this as an upper middle class issue because that’s their experience and lens but the truth is everyone is getting squeezed, and I’d argue the value prop on purchasing essentially anything gets worse, not better, as you try to save money.

> companies are extracting every ounce of value they can from budget offerings, usually by sacrificing quality to drive down cost

I grew up poor. Not like destitute or anything, we had food and all the necessary basics, but there were 3 of us sharing a 50m^2 apartment on a single income with a dad who wouldn’t pay child support. So it was kinda tight.

Now I’m sorta upper middle class in SFBA. There’s 2 of us sharing 1500sqft, each saving almost 2x/year than my parents salary was back when times were tough. The fear of no-money never quite leaves you.

Here’s what I learned: Buy the most expensive thing you can afford. Use that thing until it dies. Do regular maintenance.

Thought I was super clever when I figured that out, but it’s just the Vimes Economic Theory of Boots – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory

Also never try to keep up with the joneses or buy things just for status. Unless you can leverage that status into financial opportunities.

Yes! The fact that as a civilization we decided to run real estate as a ponzi scheme does not uniquely impact the upper middle class. Quite the opposite. Ditto inflation, which is notoriously good at punching down.