I tend to define lower class as if you qualify for reduced lunches, which is $45,000 a year of a family of 4 here. If you make more than that you are middle class until you make about $300,000. But it is so subjective to where you live.
Going with the old definition of middle class, we are middle class who live among the peasants.
I live in a poor rural area but my husband has a professional job. By the standards of the area we are middle class, but if we moved 50-60 miles north, toward DC, we would be poor. We couldn't afford to buy a home, let alone save money for anything if we lived in a more expensive area. Here you don't need a 6 figure income to own a house, save for retirement, etc. But you do need more than $60,000.
We can afford for me to be a SAHM while the kids were little but we sacrificed savings for that. Right now we have house and older cars. We can save some money but we don't necessarily consider college as a route to a better life. Our mechanic makes more money than we do.