I think, here in the UK at least, classes are actually based on what position your parents are in: if they have a certain amount of money, own their home and have professional jobs then you count as middle class (I believe.)
So although I'm working class, my mum's middle class because her dad was an actor and her mum was a bureaucrat, I think, but she got rejected by them and has mental issues as a result so is unemployable... so I grew up in a council estate and for some parts of my childhood we survived on beans on toast because we literally couldn't afford better food.
My boyfriend is middle class and a graduate, he earns about £11k a year. (roughly $17k) Lucky for him, his well-off parents let him live at home rent free, so he actually makes quite a lot of money after expenses.
So although I'm working class, my mum's middle class because her dad was an actor and her mum was a bureaucrat, I think, but she got rejected by them and has mental issues as a result so is unemployable... so I grew up in a council estate and for some parts of my childhood we survived on beans on toast because we literally couldn't afford better food.
My boyfriend is middle class and a graduate, he earns about £11k a year. (roughly $17k) Lucky for him, his well-off parents let him live at home rent free, so he actually makes quite a lot of money after expenses.