&gt; Middle class for me is someone who has maybe $1000 of disposable income in a month. In times I was better off and could burn through a couple grand I didn't really think twice about a hundred bucks here and there.

I would consider myself relatively middle class, and I can't fathom burning through a couple thousand dollars in a month, and not thinking twice about $100 here or there. Like, if it's to get an appliance or something like that that's really needed, large spending every once in a while doesn't feel too jarring, but just this seems like it was a more regular thing to you.