Why Upper Middle Class is Collapsing while the Lower Middle Class is inching it's way upwards
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The Real Cause of Poverty is Unbridled Aspirations.
Middle Class Man earning 2 lac per month (job with a corporate) has a family where each member aspires to an international holiday, designer clothes, fine dining and so on. The Middle Class Man earns 2lac per month but his cost of Aspiration including an EMI of Rs 75K takes away 1.85 lac leaving 15K with him. The man slogs 12 to 14 hours a day and enjoys a sub optimal quality of life.
The Lower Middle Class on the other hand comprises people working in Malls, McDonalds, KFC, Swiggy, Zomato, Big Basket, Jio Mart, Amazon etc etc. All family members of the lower middle class work (say there are 4 family members). Each one earns Avg Rs 20,000 per month. Family gets Rs 80,000 per month. Sometimes Govt. subsidies provide stuff worth Rs 5000 per month like food grains etc. These people have no Challenges like Moonlighting / doing Side Hustles in their free time and let's say that adds another 10,000 per month to the family. The lower middle class people often are at the receiving end of tips (Bakshish). This let's say adds another Rs 5000 per month to the family.
The biggest gift these people have is the Power to bear Hardships and their Moderate Aspirations. Their cost of living is their Biggest Asset. They very comfortably use Municipal Hospital facilities, Govt. Schools while we struggle with other hospitals and aspire to study in Education Institutions that charge us a bomb. The LMC (Lower Middle Class) use the Monorail and Metro while the UMC (Upper Middle Class) fume in the traffic in their AC cars. Their cost of living for the entire family of LMC does not go beyond say Rs 15,000 per month. They live comfortably in their chawls. They don't need ACs while we cannot manage without it. Thus their total earnings are in the range of Rs 1 lac per month for a total cost of living is Rs 15,000 per month. Their saving potential is thus Rs 85,000 per month while the Rs 2 lac earner has a saving potential of barely Rs 15,000 per month.
This kind of a savings potential makes the Lower Middle Class Financially Free in less than 10 years and thus providing them with more than adequate surplus seed capital coupled with rich experiences to transform them into budding Entrepreneurs. The Upper Middle Class on the other hand with their Massive Aspirations are more likely to confront unemployment challenges when they are in their forties. Their kids after spending a bomb in Expensive Colleges will find it even more difficult to adjust the the real competitive job environment. Their Aspirations will get the better of them. Their failure to bear hardships will cause their cost to go up without having adequate income to support their Aspirations. They will be nowhere near to reaching their Financial Freedom even after 20 to 30 years of investing. This is a very likely scenario that a fast Growing Nation like India is likely to see. The lower middle class will inch their way upwards towards a better quality of life. The Upper Middle Class Minority will spiral their way down rapidly towards poverty. The lower middle class will benefit from Govt. Schemes, Lower Taxes, Grants etc. The Upper Middle Class will find themselves High and Dry burdened by their wrongly placed Aspirations.
Aspirations are good only if you have enough thread to Stitch those Aspirations. Otherwise, the UMC will hurtle down towards an inevitable crash that will derail their future. Don’t come under peer pressure. Don’t buy stuff that are beyond your reach because big expenses open the door to the most dangerous parasite called EMI. Don’t waste Invaluable Resources on Education and Marriages. Both are massive Opportunities to provide Financial Independence to the next generation.
The Writing is Clearly On the Wall. Yeh Desh Badal Raha Hai
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