The Biggest Lie About the Middle Class Is That It Still Exists

I grew up believing middle class meant stability. Now it just means debt with better branding.

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

At the grocery store last week, I put grapes back. They were £3.35 ($4.50 USD). I’d already added bread, milk, oats, and eggs. The total was £11.46. Grapes pushed it to nearly fourteen. I could have bought them, but I didn’t want to risk the card decline warning coming up again. It was easier to leave them on the shelf.

I used to think being middle class meant you didn’t have to think like that.

We had a house growing up. Two cars. A big fridge that always looked full. I brought packed lunches with branded snacks and never wondered how they were paid for. I figured that was the line. Rich meant ski trips and private school. Poor meant benefits and overdue bills. We were in the middle. Safe enough.

Now I open the calculator app while pushing the grocery cart, running the totals in my head. I carry two cards, one as a backup, because I never know which one will go through. Sometimes I split the payment across both. It doesn’t feel like failure. It feels or…