First of all, I stumbled upon a hilarious blog called Budgets Are Sexy. I think you should check it out--the contributors are very good at making everyday budget questions highly entertaining. One question they asked was pretty interesting:
Would you rather:
make $70,000 a year in 1910
OR
make $70,000 a year today?
In 1900, $70,000 a year means you are super rich. I mean, it's the equivalent of about $700,000 a year today. You'd live in the mega-mansion, have awesome stuff, servants, companies, tiny snooty dogs, etc.
image credit here
Today, $70,000 is a solid income. You're not rich, but you're not poor. While you probably don't have a 20-room mansion or a live-in butler, you don't have to worry about getting killed by a flu outbreak and your chances of dying in childbirth are drastically reduced. And you might have a tiny snooty dog.
I'm a dork, so I would choose to live in 1900. While I adore our personal hygiene habits and modern medicine, I love Anne of Green Gables almost as much.
What about you, Young & Free people? Would you rather have a $70,000/year income in 1900 or 2011?
Leave it here!
Stay awesome,
Janelle