Inflation calculator: https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ I believe many may find this interesting. You hear old timers talking about how inexpensive things were back in the day but...

JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
I believe many may find this interesting. You hear old timers talking about how inexpensive things were back in the day but when adjusted for inflation many things were quite expensive.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

JRiepe wrote:

https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
I believe many may find this interesting. You hear old timers talking about how inexpensive things were back in the day but when adjusted for inflation many things were quite expensive.

Do different things inflate differently?
Our ranch with a new custom house and out buildings cost 8,000 in 1952.
It was purchased by a school teacher and no second income from the wife.
It sold in 1980 for close to 1 million.
I know of no single income school teacher in the area that could have bought that ranch in 1980 or even in 2020.
Inflation varies greatly.

Ollieboy

Color televisions when they hit the market in the 60's were $400. Today a 20inch HD TV can be found for $100 or so. The opposite applies here. TV prices adjusted for inflation are a steal today.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Architect1776 wrote:

Do different things inflate differently?
Our ranch with a new custom house and out buildings cost 8,000 in 1952.
It was purchased by a school teacher and no second income from the wife.
It sold in 1980 for close to 1 million.
I know of no single income school teacher in the area that could have bought that ranch in 1980 or even in 2020.
Inflation varies greatly.

Houses certainly inflate differently from consumer items. For one thing the demand changes due to blight/gentrification, population density, taxes, school district quality, and many other things.

When I was a kid houses were selling for about one years income. The first house I looked at cost something just over a years income. The first house I bought cost about 1.25 years income. I was offered a job in California in 1981, but the house prices were running about 10 years income. The second house I bought cost about 2.25 years income. The third house I bought is off the charts. They are all in different areas, which accounts for some of the differences, but the first interval was about 9 years and the second interval was 35 years. My stepdaughter just bought a house at around 3 years income.

A 1.2 MPx digital camera cost me around $500 in 1999. Tech items tend to decrease in price as technology improves and demand drives production up.

JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

Architect1776 wrote:

Do different things inflate differently?
Our ranch with a new custom house and out buildings cost 8,000 in 1952.
It was purchased by a school teacher and no second income from the wife.
It sold in 1980 for close to 1 million.
I know of no single income school teacher in the area that could have bought that ranch in 1980 or even in 2020.
Inflation varies greatly.

There are exceptions to most every rule. Do you believe in general that in the 50's people lived better lives and could afford more than today's general population?

JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

The minimum wage in 1952 was 75 cents per hour.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Architect1776 wrote:

Do different things inflate differently?
Our ranch with a new custom house and out buildings cost 8,000 in 1952.
It was purchased by a school teacher and no second income from the wife.
It sold in 1980 for close to 1 million.
I know of no single income school teacher in the area that could have bought that ranch in 1980 or even in 2020.
Inflation varies greatly.

Inflation and item value are different.
Inflation compares dollar values (buying power) between dates, not the value change of items, but it might be close. Lets say for a pair of plain jeans, ~$7 around 1972.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

JRiepe wrote:

There are exceptions to most every rule. Do you believe in general that in the 50's people lived better lives and could afford more than today's general population?

Yes.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

DirtFarmer wrote:

Houses certainly inflate differently from consumer... (show quote)

My Dad, who was a Ceramic Engineer, commented once that 1960 was the first time his salary was over $10,000. We had macaroni-and-cheese a lot as a kid .... only later did I realize that reflected how little he received in the 1950's.

JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

Architect1776 wrote:

Yes.

Are you serious?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

JRiepe wrote:

Are you serious?

Probably because they lived withing their means then.
How much of a person's income back then would a $1,000 cell phone cost?

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

JRiepe wrote:

Are you serious?

Yes I am.
Home ownership was far more accessible in the 50's.
Households by and large got by just fine on one income.
Now people struggle with 2 incomes to make ends meet.
How do you explain this phenomenon of two incomes vs one income to make ends meet.
Personal observation made this clear.
The breaking point was Jimmy Carter and the hyper inflation under his horrible presidency. Things like food went up like the Weimar Republic. I was lucky to be in the service but friends were devastated by the indlation and it never balanced back. Two incomes have been required ever since.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

JRiepe wrote:

There are exceptions to most every rule. Do you believe in general that in the 50's people lived better lives and could afford more than today's general population?

"Better lives" probably. "Afford more..." no. Expectations were lower. Adults in the '50s had either lived through the great depression or experienced it as a child.

I was in a suburban setting, and there was a car in every household. One car. We had a pickup truck also because my father ran a hardware store. Out of 83 graduates of my High School, there were maybe 3 that had a car in their senior year, and they bought it with their own money and put sweat equity into it (you could get a serviceable car for a few hundred dollars back then).

I can't speak for those who lived in more rural areas.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Architect1776 wrote:

Yes I am. br Home ownership was far more accessib... (show quote)

Look at my comment above.
We had very simple meals - even main meals - we ate less meat then than out daughters did.

As an example, I have owned a SLR/DSLR our entire marriage - my Dad owned a simple box camera and took many fewer most of the time than I did.

We lived in a suburb of Chicago; yes, both we and my parents owned houses, but their family owned less 'frilly' things.

Our vacation was usually a trip into Michigan to "Torch Lake", where costs were actually quite low back then - my Mother said later that costs went up only in recent years - while we usually took two-week trips with our daughters

We were not poor, but our toys were much more "basic" than what our children were raised with.

We had a series of used cars that my Dad coaxed to run; as a ceramic engineer, he literally did recoat brake linings once. The family joke was that my Dad would tell the dealer where to find the trade-in. My parents would literally use a car until it refused to run any more. My wife and I would use a car until fixing it would get too expensive, and trade it in on another.

JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

In the 50's people were content to live simpler lives because many had no other choice. The things we take for granted would have been luxuries for them. One of the reasons households have two incomes is because we want more. Perhaps many households would do fine on one income if they lived like a typical 50's household in a smaller house with one bathroom, no central air, one car, no cell phones, no computers, no internet service, no cable TV, etc., etc., etc. So maybe two incomes is because we want more and expect more as opposed to it being a real necessity.