Quote:
Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy
part time: $2.00 per hour 1974, 1975 landscaping, mowing, raking
full time: $42,000 per year, 1980, only working 6 months per year per industry standards, Third deck officer aboard a Gulf Oil oil tanker going from West Coast to Gulf Coast to East Cost and to Puerto Rico.
BUT my rate of salary increase from there to retirement is exactly 3.0% per year, annualized rate.
CPI inflation over that time period: 2.9% per year, annualized rate, so basically, I just stayed in place, even after adding graduate school. I made lots of mistakes. . . employment and investment related, but have two great kids and my best friend as my wife and traveling partner. |
That looks like a wonderful starting salary back then!
"$42,000 in 1980 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $159,818.16 today, an increase of $117,818.16 over 44 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.08% per year between 1980 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 280.52%.
This means that today's prices are 3.81 times as high as average prices since 1980, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index. A dollar today only buys 26.280% of what it could buy back then.
The inflation rate in 1980 was 13.50%. The current inflation rate compared to the end of last year is now 3.36%. If this number holds, $42,000 today will be equivalent in buying power to $43,410.09 next year. The current inflation rate page gives more detail on the latest inflation rates."
$42,000 in 1980 → 2024 | Inflation Calculator