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On a roll..... What is $100 really worth?

KUCHKUCH Posts: 1,186
in Precious Metals
Just thinking? What was a hundred worth in the 30's and what is it worth today? Mathematics is not my forte, so let's assume $100 today is worth $50. Then what is $50 dollars worth today? Lets say $25 dollars. And then, what's $25 worth today, $15. You see where this is going? $100 today is worthless!

Stand and Deliver

Comments

  • derrybderryb Posts: 36,778 ✭✭✭✭✭
    $100 is always worth $100. What it can buy is what changes over time. In 1930 $7.15 would buy what it takes $100 to buy in 2013 (your $100 bill will buy 92.8% less than it would in 1930).

    You can do it the hard way


    or, you can do it the easy way.

    "Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey

  • piecesofmepiecesofme Posts: 6,669 ✭✭✭
    Wow! 35% just since 2000...depressing, in more ways than one.
    To forgive is to free a prisoner, and to discover that prisoner was you.
  • silverinvestorsilverinvestor Posts: 55
    As yardsticks, sometimes a loaf of bread is used at the comparative medium. $0.13/loaf back in 19xx vs $1.59 now, etc.

  • drwstr123drwstr123 Posts: 7,036 ✭✭✭✭✭
    In 1900, you could walk into a gun store and put down a double eagle as payment for the finest Colt revolver. Today you still can.
  • Steve27Steve27 Posts: 13,274 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Just thinking? What was a hundred worth in the 30's and what is it worth today? Mathematics is not my forte, so let's assume $100 today is worth $50. Then what is $50 dollars worth today? Lets say $25 dollars. And then, what's $25 worth today, $15. You see where this is going? $100 today is worthless!

    Stand and Deliver >>




    While in 1930 a gallon of gasoline cost only $0.20 and today it's about $3.90 (in my area), I don't think that tells the whole story. For instance, in 1930 if you wanted a calculator, all you could get was one of these:
    image
    And while I don't now what it cost then, I suspect $100 wouldn't cover it. By the early 1970s, you could get a Bomar Brain for a few hundred dollars (take a look at all those features +, -, *, and /):
    image
    Today, for less than $100, you can get a programmable graphing calculator:
    image

    Thus, IMO today's $100 may actually be worth a lot more than $100 in 1930.
    "It's far easier to fight for principles, than to live up to them." Adlai Stevenson
  • DoubleEagle59DoubleEagle59 Posts: 8,304 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Steve, you should apply for a job at the US Fed Reserve.

    Just kidding, but it's examples like these that Bernanke just loves to show the strength of the US dollar.
    "Gold is money, and nothing else" (JP Morgan, 1912)

    "“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)

    "I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>In 1900, you could walk into a gun store and put down a double eagle as payment for the finest Colt revolver. Today you still can. >>



    Sad, but true.....although, the finest Colt revolver of today is likely a better product.... Cheers, RickO
  • unknowncomicunknowncomic Posts: 945 ✭✭
    Don't forget that in 1930 ,IF you even had a job, you didnt make much more than 100 a month if even that much.
    Molon Labe
  • yellowkidyellowkid Posts: 5,486 ✭


    << <i>Wow! 35% just since 2000...depressing, in more ways than one. >>



    But there's no inflationimage
  • drwstr123drwstr123 Posts: 7,036 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>Wow! 35% just since 2000...depressing, in more ways than one. >>



    But there's no inflationimage >>



    Are you going to believe the government or your lying eyes???
  • s4nys4ny Posts: 1,568 ✭✭✭
    The Federal Reserve publishes the answer. In 1935 the Consumer Price index was 41.2, in April 2013 it was
    701.5. Based on these US Gov't numbers, the $100 of 1935 is now worth $5.87.
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 44,271 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Grading is subjective. Show me the FRN or 5 $20 Gold Pieces.
  • derrybderryb Posts: 36,778 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>The Federal Reserve publishes the answer. In 1935 the Consumer Price index was 41.2, in April 2013 it was
    701.5. Based on these US Gov't numbers, the $100 of 1935 is now worth $5.87. >>


    Consumer price index calculation methods used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics change over time. Incentives to give a true picture of CPI have also changed over time. 1935 CPI formulas and current CPI formulas are apples and oranges. Another consideration is that production methods and technology improvements over time have a production cost reduction effect that may or may not be passed on to the consumer, dependent on the amount of competion in a given market.

    The most accurate method for measuring inflation is to determine the cost for a basic item in terms of labor time required to purchase the item. For example "what was the cost of a loaf of bread in minutes of labor then vs. now?"

    "Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey

  • drwstr123drwstr123 Posts: 7,036 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>The Federal Reserve publishes the answer. In 1935 the Consumer Price index was 41.2, in April 2013 it was
    701.5. Based on these US Gov't numbers, the $100 of 1935 is now worth $5.87. >>


    Consumer price index calculation methods used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics change over time. Incentives to give a true picture of CPI have also changed over time. 1935 CPI formulas and current CPI formulas are apples and oranges. Another consideration is that production methods and technology improvements over time have a production cost reduction effect that may or may not be passed on to the consumer, dependent on the amount of competion in a given market.

    The most accurate method for measuring inflation is to determine the cost for a basic item in terms of labor time required to purchase the item. For example "what was the cost of a loaf of bread in minutes of labor then vs. now?" >>



    My friend, The most accurate is what it costs me each week in order to maintain my standard of living.
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