Middle class Aussies were living better in the early 2000s than they are today

Being middle class in the early 2000s looked very different compared to 2023, with the wild salary you need to earn to be considered an “average” Aussie revealed.

In the early 2000s, living a middle-class life meant owning a home, being able to afford some kind of yearly holiday and springing for takeaway for the family every Friday night.

In 2023, if you’re considered middle class, it comes with none of these perks. You’ll either be renting or owning an apartment; if you own, it’ll be a struggle to afford that yearly holiday.

Essentially, what we used to consider middle class no longer exists.

The only thing the middle class of 2023 has in common with the middle class of 2003 is that takeaway food is still part of the lifestyle.

Financial adviser Alex Jamieson said middle class Aussies are getting “smashed”, and anyone who wants the house, annual holiday and ability to send their children to private or religious schools must earn in the highest income tax bracket.

Mr Jamieson explained there is a “different” reality for middle-class Aussies these days, and it can be attributed to the soaring property market that has torn the throat out of the Australian dream.

“The rapid change of interest rates in the last year has smashed the middle class,” he told news.com.au.

Owning a house in Australia is now more difficult than ever. Picture: iStock

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The financial adviser points out that if you think back to the early 2000s, there’s no denying things were different.

“Back in the 2000s, life was certainly easier; the houses were bigger, the school fees weren’t as expensive and many people didn’t have mortgages close to what they are sitting at now.”

Mr Jamieson claims the financial landscape is more “challenging” and the playing field couldn’t be called equal.

Mr Jamieson said that, generally speaking, Aussies are in “loads” more debt these days and achieve less than previous generations.

The financial expert said that he no longer thinks middle-class people attempting to have an early 2000s lifestyle live without considerable “financial stress.”

To be middle class in 2023, Mr Jamieson argues the minimum would be “$150,000” to reach the early 2000s aspirations.

“People do it with less, but $150k, $200k and do that with a decent sized mortgage; anything below that isn’t going to cut it.”

If you look back at the stereotypical middle-class life that plenty of us led in the 2000s, it does become clear how different things have become.

We were living like millionaires on our parents’ average wages and didn’t even realise it.

Don’t believe it? Here is a list of the things considered normal for medium-income earners in the early 2000s.

The classic Aussie home. Picture: istock

Back in the early 2000s, it was normal for your parents to own their home. Picture: istock

1. Your parents owned the house you grew up in

If you were middle class in the early 2000s, there’s a good chance your parents were paying money to the bank and not rent to some man who complains about you in a landlord Facebook group.

There was a poster of the times tables on the bathroom door, a Woman’s Weekly cookbook on the counter and, if you were fortunate, a flat-screen television that was so chunky it made the word ‘flat’ seem ironic.

You best believe there was some weird artwork or ode to frangipanis and a doormat that said anyone can come inside if they bring wine.

The home was usually at least three bedrooms and featured one huntsman spider smooshed between your wardrobe doors and you were waiting for dad to get home so he’d get rid of it.

Now, if you wanted a three-bedroom home in a major city in Australia, you’d likely need to fork out more than a million dollars.

2. Your backyard looked like this

Everyone had a swing set that, looking back, had the Sydney Opera House’s structural integrity and no amount of feral primary school students could break it.

The sprawling backyard was also an essential and also included thousands of bindis that made kids cry and dads swear.

Now, if you have a backyard, you’ll probably find your house on Luxe Listings. Even access to a courtyard makes you boujee these days, even if it is communal.

You likely had some variation of this swing set in your back yard. Picture: iStock

You also had to dodge bindis just to get to the swing. Picture: Mark Scott

3. You ordered takeaway most Friday nights or frequented a chain

You were a middle class kid if your parents told you they were getting divorced over curly fries at Hog’s Breath.

A weekly takeaway or a weekly dinner out at an RSL – or a restaurant chain with the same flooring as an RSL – meant you were right bang in the middle of the economy.

If you were a takeaway family, it was usually pizza or Chinese. If it was the latter, then you demanded prawn crackers, honey chicken, satay chicken and complained about the prawns in the fried rice.

If you were allowed a soft drink, it was one per child and you weren’t getting a refill if you spilt it … it wasn’t like your family was rich.

Hogs Breath was a family friendly classic.

Getting some local takeaway was a weekly routine. Picture: istock

4. Your parents drove either a Ford or a Holden

These were the cars of the moment; they were safe, not too expensive and the perfect place to put your gorgeous frangipani stickers, which slowly morphed into the family stickers that are still haunting Australia to this day.

These days, the most basic models without a single bell or whistle will cost you at least $20,000, and who can afford that?

Instead, the used car has become normal unless you earn above $150,000 or are prepared to put yourself in a tremendous amount of debt.

This was a classic middle class classic car. Picture: Mike Dugdale/News Corp Australia

5. You had an annual holiday

There were two locations that were particularly popular among the middle class and both involved getting sunburnt on the first day.

If you were from any of the southern states on the east coast, you likely went to the Gold Coast and your parents would insist on driving there to get the family road trip experience.

When you arrived in the sunny state, someone had spilt a McFlurry on the car seats and your parents were no longer talking because dad heard “right” when mum told him to take a clear “left”.

Or, if you were edging closer to upper-middle class, you headed off to Bali to get your hair braided and bring back bootleg DVDs with the sound quality of trying to talk to someone who is underwater.

It wasn’t lavish, but it was topical and normal.

6. You got to rent an overnight movie

I don’t think there is an activity left for the whole family to fight over that only costs $6.99. You’d head to the video store with your parents and be told you could pick one new release movie for the night or two of the less expensive weekly films.

There were arguments, tears, tantrums and sacrifices, but usually you’d agree on something Kate Hudson or Tom Cruise was starring in and then go home to watch your movie.

Getting a DVD was always a treat. Picture: Peter Cronin

Meat for every meal was normal.

7. You ate meat for every meal

These days people can’t purely rely on meat to feed their families, but back in the day if one of your parents worked full time and the other at least part time, you were swimming in meat.

Meat and three vegetables was the normal and it wasn’t considered lavish or fancy, just a basic meal to feed the family.

No one was eating pesto pasta or considering tuna salad a sufficient dinner meal, but the times have changed.