Hi,
A lot of people talk about the growing wealth disparity between the middle class and the upper class. Let's avoid discussing the macro causes in this thread; instead, can we focus on the individual? I'd like some feedback on ways that an individual in the middle class can generate a substantial enough wealth to change their social position. How does a middle class person move into the upper class?
Let's accept this as the definition for middle class:
http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/551b2426eab8ea6d3c285bd1-1200-2470/middle-class-cutoff-table (1).png (taken from this article What middle class means in every US state - Business Insider
I'll throw out a few obvious things:
1. Make more money than you spend. You may start building up a nice little pile of cash, but you'll probably never move into the upper class this way.
2. Start a business. If you can sell something for a net profit, then you're generating equity for yourself. If you get really good at it, you can make a lot of money for yourself. Often, you need access to working capital to start this business. How much depends on the business. You may not have access to this cash.
3. Make smart loans. This requires having some amount of cash to loan out to begin with.
What are other ways? Does the stock market play into it? How does a middle class person move into the upper class?
A lot of people talk about the growing wealth disparity between the middle class and the upper class. Let's avoid discussing the macro causes in this thread; instead, can we focus on the individual? I'd like some feedback on ways that an individual in the middle class can generate a substantial enough wealth to change their social position. How does a middle class person move into the upper class?
Let's accept this as the definition for middle class:
http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/551b2426eab8ea6d3c285bd1-1200-2470/middle-class-cutoff-table (1).png (taken from this article What middle class means in every US state - Business Insider
I'll throw out a few obvious things:
1. Make more money than you spend. You may start building up a nice little pile of cash, but you'll probably never move into the upper class this way.
2. Start a business. If you can sell something for a net profit, then you're generating equity for yourself. If you get really good at it, you can make a lot of money for yourself. Often, you need access to working capital to start this business. How much depends on the business. You may not have access to this cash.
3. Make smart loans. This requires having some amount of cash to loan out to begin with.
What are other ways? Does the stock market play into it? How does a middle class person move into the upper class?
