There's no such thing as a middle class. There are people who live under their means so they can continuously invest their money, and then there are people who live paycheck to paycheck and don't think about investing. The ones who invest eventually get to the point where they no longer have to work because their investments eradicate the need to bring in new revenue. The ones who don't invest will have to work for the rest of their lives. That's it. It's that simple.