Being middle class in India is often treated as a ceiling a comfortable plateau between rent, EMIs and the next salary credit. In reality, it is a starting line. What separates a household that stays on the plateau from one that climbs off it is rarely the size of the paycheque ; it is where that paycheque is directed every month. This playbook lays out six practical moves from choosing the right assets to using calculators before committing money that middle class earners i