[j6zauas4gz]

> I kind of think these are just middle class issues rather than poverty; but you're right that this means different things to different people.

I don't think so. I grew up squarely middle class (and the question was never "can we afford health care or collage", but a weeklong trip to Disney world set our vacation budget back several years (to the point we could not take vacations, or only took small road trips).

The idea of not being able to afford basic health care or a university education should be utterly alien to the middle class.

[chipsrafferty]

It sounds like you grew up lower middle class.

Poverty is never "do I buy a washing machine or buy something else" it's "can I afford to go to the laundromat this month".

[fatnoah]

This is the correct answer. I remember the weekly ritual of scrounging change for the laundromat and going with handwashing things if we came up short. When my dad got a new job with a decent pay increase, getting a washer and dryer felt like we'd finally made it.