Raising Prices???

Posted by admin on February 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment

I just heard a thing on TV where they said in the 1930’s bread cost $.09 and the average hourly wage was $.25. With a little figuring I found the average person in the 30’s could buy not quite 3 loaves of bread with their hourly wage.

I then used an average wage of $20 for now a days and figured we could buy about 20 loaves of bread. Even if you just get minimum wage it will still be 6 loaves which is double of the 30’s prices. I get my bread for $.79 so that would be 25 loaves of bread. Big difference isn’t there.

I have done these same types of numbers over and over for other things and other decades and I still come up with the same thing – compared to the income we bring in now a days even those on minimum wage we still have it better then years ago.

I don’t want to sound uncaring or anything but I do get frustrated when a new catch phrase comes out and we all start using it with out thinking or really finding out if it is true or not. Phrases like “Prices are so much higher now” of course they maybe higher because incomes are higher.

I can hear you say “That’s true but things have changed in the past year or two” which is right but so have the prices. My TV died on me so I finally broke down and bought me a new one. I paid half the price for my new one that I did for my old one a few years back.

I just paid $.99 for a 3lb bag of oranges which is almost 1/3 of what I paid for them last year. I could easily go to the store and pick out 10 things whose prices have gone down in the past year or so.

I just want you to be aware of these things because often we use these phases as a crutch which keeps us from exercising and properly using the muscles we need to help us with our finances. Muscles like self control and wise thinking and buying.

Even if these phases were true which often they aren’t we shouldn’t let them pass our lips because they turn into excuses which keep us from thinking of ways to help ourselves as best as we can.

There is a billboard I drive past a couple of times a week which I think says it all:

Recession 101: Bill Gates started Microsoft during a recession.

People who succeed do it in spite of their circumstances or the times they live in.

Jill