I wonder if I need to start adjusting my pocket change for inflation?
Those of you who’ve read this on a long-term basis may have noticed that I’ve picked up a few, well, strange habits over the years. A couple of days ago, one of those habits popped uninvited into my head, and started me thinking that maybe I need to do something different.
Ever since I was in college (back in the 1880s), I’ve always made sure that I had a five dollar bill stuck in with my ID, or in my backpack, or just thrown in a pocket. That way, I know that I have a chunk of emergency cash, should I ever need it. I don’t think I’ve needed it more than once or twice in my life; more often than not, I’ll actually forget about the five and then come across it months later, after it’s already been replaced by another five two or three times. It’s just knowing that I have the cash somewhere that’s the important thing.
Now, I decided on making my emergency stash a five dollar bill all those years ago for two reasons, the first being that back then five bucks could get you just about anything you needed, and the second being that when I was in college in the 1880s, five bucks was a TON of money. Not only that, but it was basically all I could spare. I have no idea why I’ve kept the amount I carry around at five bucks; I suppose I could always make the joke that I work in radio and don’t get paid much more now than I did as a college student. But unfortunately that joke wouldn’t be 100% true, and I would be forced to admit that I just never considered changing the amount from five dollars in the several decades since I graduated from college.
Laziness 1, Jim 0.
I’m well aware that five bucks doesn’t buy what it used to all those years ago. Trust me, I’m PAINFULLY aware that five bucks doesn’t buy what it used to even just a year or two ago. So I went online to find out how much inflation has increased since I was in college and was kind of surprised by what I found. Since 1985, inflation has only doubled, with some change added on. Prices have, according to economists, increased by a factor of 175%, which means that five dollars back then is worth $13.77 today. Based on everything you read in the news these days I would’ve thought it’d been a lot more, but it’s nice to know I can be wrong about something and have it turn out well, as opposed to what usually happens when I’m wrong about something.
So that leaves me with this quandary--should I bow to economic reality and start carrying a ten instead of a five? Or should I continue the tradition and continue going with the five, knowing full well that it can only buy half of what it used to. In all honesty, I though inflation had gone up by a factor of three or four instead of just slightly over two, which means that if that were the case I should actually be carrying a twenty instead of a five. That’s a change that would be easy to rationalize. But when you’re just going from a five to a ten it’s like, “Well, that’s no big deal”. To my little brain, a five and a ten are pretty much the same even though one’s worth twice what the other’s worth.
You know what? With thinking like that, I could probably make a killing in the financial world, couldn’t I?
At this point, I have no idea what I’ll do. I have no idea if I’ll keep carrying a five dollar bill tucked away somewhere, or if I’ll up it to a ten. When I do figure it out, though, you guys will be the first know to. After all, it’s the least I can do for making you read through yet another example of The Strange Habits In The Life Of Jim.
8-)
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