Inflation calculator

[JJEH]

I'm browsing through my Weatherby Guide catalogs (Tomorrow's Rifle Today), looking for more info on my 7mm WM rifle. Found the rifle in the 1969/1970 catalog and it's listed at $329.50

Since I'm curious by nature I looked up us inflation calculator dot com and put that data in. The result shocked me at first; the same item would cost $2,190.76 today.

I was like come on.... no once could afford this in 1970.... but same rifle today has an MSRP of $2,349.00

So what does that tell me? Prices are almost still the same? Or just this company kept their prices over all those years?

Help me understand please...

 

[M29since14]

Companies always try to maximize their return on investment while maintaining a certain competitive posture. Weatherby, like any other manufacturer, would produce as little as possible and charge as much as possible if that nasty little competitive posture thing weren’t operative. So they balance price (profit), production volume, and competitive influences, among other things, as best they can. I imagine that balance, in their market segment for hunting rifles, hasn’t changed that much since the ‘70s - but I have no proof of that. JMHO.

 

[rockquarry]

Factoring in inflation over the years often shows us that many things remain about the same as far as price. A lot of us think we make money on a gun when we buy it for $100 and sell it many years laters for several times that amount. If we check the inflation rate, we might find we're breaking even or actually selling at a loss. That $100 invested elsewhere may have done far better over many years that it did in a gun. I know, we couldn't have "enjoyed" that invested money like we did the gun...yes, many of us have been there.

 

[jrm53]

I bought a Mossberg 144 target rifle that used to sell for about 50 dollars when they came out, I bought it about 1980 for close to 100 dollars with out the S331 peep sight, I found one on ebay for 97.50 delivered, I got it today and its beautiful, it completed the rifle. I gave almost twice the price of the first 144 rifles for just the sight. Thats how much our currency has been devalued! I was looking in a 1967 Rhur american/Herters catalog and they had the Mossberg 144 rifle for 45.00 and in 1967 you could send them a check and get it through the mail! Jeff

 

[Bullet Bob]

I'm not going to argue about devalued currency, because I'm too old for that.

However many things are cheaper today, such as gasoline, than they've ever been when compared with the average wages people make.

Look how many of us regular Joe's have quite a few firearms, more than the people in the same socioeconomic strata had 50 years ago.

Life, she be good.

 

[Engineer1911]

Inflation comparisons

My bench mark is high school graduation June 1966 in Wisconsin. Minimum wage was $1.25 per hour, cigarettes were $0.35 per pack from vending machine and regular gasoline was $0.35 per gallon. Conclusion, discounting taxes, ONE of labor bought 3 gallons of gas or 3 packs of cigarettes.

Today, according to Google, minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. I bought gas yesterday at Sam's club for $2.08 per gallon, I have seen cigarettes posted at $5.75 per pack (huge tax increases).

 

[ben_g1]

yep! My first job was packing groceries, made $.65 cents an hour.

Gas was $.20 cents a gallon. So comes out to about 3.2 gallons.

I'm guessing a grocery packer makes $15. an hour now and gas here today is $2.19. so that's about 6.8 gallons.

I know it doesn't make any sense but I kind of liked it when you could fill your tank up for $3.50

 

[Bozz10mm]

I calculate that almost everything costs right at 10 times what it did in 1966. Gas, food, even automobiles and houses. Not electronics tho, they are actually cheaper now factoring in inflation.

Most wages are 10 times what they were in 1966, except for the minimum wage.

 

[JJEH]

My bench mark is high school graduation June 1966 in Wisconsin....
[…]
cigarettes were $0.35 per pack from vending machine
[…]
...I have seen cigarettes posted at $5.75 per pack (huge tax increases).

I think you are on to something with them taxes.... according to the calculator your $0.35 pack would cost only $2.79 today.

Inflation Calculator | Find US Dollar's Value from 1913-2020

 

[OFT II]

Money is just a way to keep score in a poker game.

 

[Farmer17]

You can buy a Savage or Ruger American rifle for under 300 bucks that will shoot MOA and no, it doesn't have the class and charm of a pre 64 M70 but it will kill an elk just as dead.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

When I got married in 1978 I grossed $165 a week for our family business, and had plenty of money. When we sold of the business in 2006, I was making $525, and pretty cash strapped! Two months later I work for a company at $875 a week, and thought life was pretty sweet. A year after that I was making $925 W/profit sharing and retirement. Just about the same amount of work, but nowhere as mush fun as 1978! OH to be 23, have a hot new wife, and feel like you are on top of the world!

Ivan

 

[Farmer17]

My daughter just got her occupational therapy license and got a job with all the benefits and payroll matching 401K making $65K/yr in Oklahoma City and she's 24 years old. She has no car payment and pays $700/mo rent for a house in a really nice neighborhood which she shares with another girl who's a pharmaceutical rep. I would love to be 24 making that kind of money with a 40 hr/week low stress job. In construction I was always working 50-60 hrs per week in high stress with multiple deadlines so even when I was off work I was thinking and/or worrying about work.