Purchasing power back then

Discussion in 'Markets & Economies' started by Lunarowl, Nov 10, 2012.

  1. Lunarowl

    Lunarowl Active Member Silver Stacker

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    Hi all,

    A question for the oldies (no offence intended what so ever) or forum's historians :p
    Back when the pre-dec sterling was used as currency, how much money did a meal cost (in term of threepence, sixpence, florin etc)?
    And typically how much was the average wage?
    If i remember it correctly someone mentioned that an army personnel got paid 2 crowns per month (?) is that right?

    Darn i just bought some florin out of boredom, now i feel like buying more.. Gahhh.. As if we have limited supply of PM products..

    Cheers!
     
  2. errol43

    errol43 New Member Silver Stacker

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    In 1960 a tradesman got paid around twenty pounds ($40) today. 30 litres petrol for a pound.

    Hamburger, coke and chips for a crown/ 5 shillings.

    The Army personal were not well paid in those days but I think that they got more than 2 crowns a month.

    Regards Errol 43
     
  3. Lunarowl

    Lunarowl Active Member Silver Stacker

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    So, the value of silver has tripled in a way, as a crown now will buy about 3 meals (?)
    Or was hamburger/coke set meal was considered a luxury at that time?
     
  4. REDBACK

    REDBACK Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    1973 average tradesman wage $70/week
    Average shopping Bill including fine foods from Deli for family of 3=$10/week
    Thats 1/7th of your wage on food.
    Today if i earn $1200/week and i walk into a supermarket and spend $400 and put everything away when at home into the pantry and fridge-they both still look relatively empty. :(
    Thats 1/3rd of an average weekly wage.

    REDBACK
     
  5. tozak

    tozak Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Not sure if you could even compare them like that, I mean quality of a meal then would have to have been substantially different to now not to mention the service either. Petrol is probably the best one to compare as it's stayed fairly consistent with the only exception being lead and ethanol. We have lost quality and service out of almost everything comparable so you would need to try and account for that in the calculations to get a better idea.
     
  6. JulieW

    JulieW Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    When my dad was doing it hard, (1960 story) he and his workmate emptied their pockets at lunchtime and came up with just over two shillings in pennies and threepences etc -equivalent your florin. Their two bob bought them a meat pie for lunch which they shared and a packet of 5 cigarettes, which they shared between them till they could get back home to teatime. At school, I used to buy a pastie and a paddlepop for lunch at the tuckshop with my two shillings and put away sixpence for 'saving up'. Sadly I lost that habit in my teenage years or I'd be very comfortable now.
     
  7. Byron

    Byron Guest

    True words spoken. Not to mention Woolies and Coles quality of fruit and veg has gotten worse and worse over the years, as well as pricier. It seems like they are putting third rate quality fruit and veg on the shelves.

    Recently i shopped at a little farmer stall on the outskirts of Sydney. Paid $20 and got a massive box full of fresh veg. Would have paid 3 x that at the local Coles.

    As for wages there was a site that mentioned an average white collar worker would receive 300 pounds around the early 60s.
     
  8. Byron

    Byron Guest

  9. Auspm

    Auspm New Member

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    Inflation on many things since then...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  10. willrocks

    willrocks Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    I just discovered where I put stacks of the 1962 newspapers collected from under carpets in a previous house.

    Land prices in Katoomba NSW were 98 pounds (or 5 weeks wages according to errol43). I'll have to scan a few of the adverts and post them in this thread. There's plenty of job ads, car ads, house and land packages ... etc. All from 1962.
     
  11. JulieW

    JulieW Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Love to see some scans Willrocks.

     
  12. Auspm

    Auspm New Member

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    Yep, me too.

    The data above has been poo poo'd here on SS a number of times.

    Wages up 27x
    Housing up 72x

    Housing has outstripped the crap out of wages here nearly triple since 1960 which would account for a lot of the affordability issues we see today (and social issues that go along with it).

    Yet we're constantly told there's never been a better time to buy.

    Funny thing is, housing as a percentage isn't even on par with many of the other increases which all culminate to create an environment where dual income is needed just to live 'comfortably'.

    No getting around the fact though that as population increases, taxes increase and the dollar value continues to dwindle with endless printing and cheap credit, living standards will continue to worsen.

    IMHO I think the 'best' years of affordable living in this country are behind us.
     
  13. Byron

    Byron Guest

    Ditto Willrocks.
     
  14. renovator

    renovator Well-Known Member

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    Yep sure was cheap ....but in 1962 who really wanted to live there ? . ....who really wants to live there now ? :lol: There would have been nothing there then . It would have been considered as a alien outpost lol .

    But would love to see the old ads .
     
  15. willrocks

    willrocks Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    The point is you could by a good building block for five week's wages. Try buying a block there today with five week's wages. You'd need to be earning $15,000 per week.
     
  16. renovator

    renovator Well-Known Member

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    My point is you wouldnt have considered it a good building block in 1962. There was nothing there & would have been a 5 hour trip to sydney. You need to compare apples with apples There was no freeway there like there is now & the highway was a 2 lane goat track even going out anywhere past parramatta .
    I dont think you have any idea how much things have changed like the vehicle you were travelling in for starters . Think about it not many people had new cars if they had enough for a new car you werent buying a block in whoop whoop they were driving at least 10 year old cars so that put you in a early 1950s clunker doing a 5 hour trip fk that hahaha think about it a bit longer
     
  17. SilverSurfer77

    SilverSurfer77 Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Hey Errol, so are you saying that the above cost 5 shillings or a 1937 crown?

    Because of inflation a 1937 crown (0.8407 ASW) would have been equal to 9 x 1960 shillings (0.8174 ASW)

    Most people I have spoken to about the old days of pre-decimal currancy, mainly relatives, had never seen an actual 37/38 Crown in their lives.

    So I guess collectors had already been stacking these because they were rare to see back then. But then again they didn't have ebay back then either :lol:
     
  18. errol43

    errol43 New Member Silver Stacker

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    Around 1960,SS 77. I never ever saw a crown in circulation, but my grandmother gave me one and I knew it was worth five shillings.. Eventually the temptation was too much and I spent it.. There was a lot of pre 46 silver still around in 1960.

    I can well remember when the 66 fifty cent round was minted.. What an outcry from the oldies..They couldn't tell the difference between them and the 20cent pieces and so the round fifty cent coins were withdrawn and replaced with the eight sided version. If I had only known about silver then. :)

    Regards Errol 43
     
  19. willrocks

    willrocks Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    And it's still a long trip to Sydney. There's now freeways to a lot of places, so trip times have dramatically dropped to most places. Are you saying land prices have gone up from 5 weeks to 50 weeks wages because of freeways? By your logic car prices should have gone up, not the land. Maybe you should think about it a bit?
     
  20. bordsilver

    bordsilver Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Hmmm. Hate to say it but I think I mostly agree with reno's points about being cautious making comparisons. There are lots of competing changes that mean that comparing two time points is always difficult - hence the motivation for the ABS to do hedonic pricing and whatnot (as flawed as it sometimes is).

    I suppose another way to look at it is to ask "whether there exists a town today that was similar to Katoomba in 1962 where a good building block will cost you 5 weeks wages?"

    Can anyone buy a similar sized building block in Australia in a country town (presumably with council amenities) for $6,000? I think not. How about $12,000? "Cheap" blocks do exist but how cheap are they (and how comparable to Katoomba in 1962)?
     

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