Prices

In 1959 I was earning $5,000 and I bought a low cost house that cost $10,000. I was going to a local community college where the tuition was $600 per year for a full time student. My friends were buying new V8 Chevies for $3,000. Over these past 65 years inflation has averaged 3.8% which means my salary would be $56,000 and tuition would be $6,700 and a new car would cost $39,500. Today the average salary in MN is $52,000, the tuition for a community college is $6,000 and a new Chevy cost $31,000. In general prices today are the same as 65 years ago when taking into account inflation. Big exception is the cost of a home. My $10,000 house in today's world should cost $113,000. A two bedroom low cost home in MN today is $150,000. In 1960 the average family spent 17% of its income on food and today that figure is 9%. Gas in 1960 was 25 cents per gallon and today it should be $2.82 but cigarettes that were 25 cents now cost $8. The lesson from all this is to smoke less and eat more and forget about buying a house unless grandpa can help you.