Want £1 per week for life?

atypical

JohnRo wrote: »

I'm suspicious of official inflation figures, applied retrospectively just compounds that distrust.

It'd be interesting to know what equivalent every day items really did cost back then. Difficult to find the right items to make any sort of objective comparison though since the world then was very different in so many ways.

This a good site:
http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/relativevalue.php?use%5B%5D=CPI&use%5B%5D=NOMINALEARN&year_early=1931&pound71=1&shilling71=&pence71=&amount=1&year_source=1931&year_result=2014

If you want to compare the value of a £1 Income or Wealth, in 1931 there are three choices. In 2013 the relative:
historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £59.28
economic status value of that income or wealth is £265.40
economic power value of that income or wealth is £367.00

jimjames

JohnRo wrote: »

I'm suspicious of official inflation figures, applied retrospectively just compounds that distrust.

It'd be interesting to know what equivalent every day items really did cost back then. Difficult to find the right items to make any sort of objective comparison though since the world then was very different in so many ways.

I'll have another look at the paper and check the price. That might be something directly comparable although readership numbers are probably a lot less now.

JohnRo

I did a little digging around, read an interesting report by George Speight regarding "Who bought the inter-war semi?"

It seems there was a heavy concentration of house prices in 1931 in the £500-550 ballpark. There's some dispute and discrepancy it would appear, as well as regional variations. In London the average seems to have been nearer the £650 mark.

Generally affordable housing stock seems to have been somewhere between £416 and £817 according to Speight.

A £550 house purchase would require a £3 8s 9d weekly income which was apparently high at the time given the great many industrial, low paid jobs. The claim is that only about 11% of the population met that requirement.

By 1933 the average house price had dropped as low as £400 in many regions as the depression took it's toll before recovering later in the decade.

I found some 1931 car prices too, though I can't vouch for the accuracy,

Morris Minor £125
Austin Sixteen £315
Bentley 8-litre £1050 (chassis form)

grey_gym_sock

cars have become a lot cheaper (in real terms) since the 1930s. house prices have risen roughly in line with rises in earnings (so more than inflation).

there have been improvements in quality for houses - you didn't get a bathroom, or central heating, in the 30s - so you do get something for the extra money. but the same goes for cars.

JohnRo

I'm not so sure about no bathroom. They had electricity but central heating didn't become a normal feature in homes until the 70's

Late 19th century and early pre-war working class housing had outside toilets but by the 30's indoor was the norm.

They also typically had a garage and grounds in the price brackets mentioned which would today be seen as premium perhaps.

Very difficult to make clear assessments, the destruction of the industrial north and the gravitation of work to the south east all confound simple comparison with today.

sabretoothtigger

JohnRo wrote: »

By 1933 the average house price had dropped as low as £400 in many regions as the depression took it's toll before recovering later in the decade.

I found some 1931 car prices too, though I can't vouch for the accuracy,

Morris Minor £125
Austin Sixteen £315
Bentley 8-litre £1050 (chassis form)

Sounds low but 1 pound coin used to be a gold sovereign. Same as today, about 300 now. 400x300 is £120,000 and we'll knock off a third because uk dropped gold standard by then.
I dont know how much sterling devalued in that time to 1933 but even 80,000 isnt as cheap as 400 sounds now.

& that makes the bentley over 100k
London house £128k


650 was £40,527.70 according to:
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1633409/Historic-inflation-calculator-value-money-changed-1900.html
This site translates prices, says Im totally wrong. Its going on official inflation rates, obviously gold price is not set by anyone and this is by gov.

JohnRo

The only safe conclusion is that official inflation figures are a pack of lies. Which most people are already well aware of.

grey_gym_sock

to be fair, it would be difficult to measure inflation accurately, even if they wanted to

there can be more than 1 sensible way of measuring it. the measuringworth site (mentioned earlier) is good for laying out some of the different ways of looking at it.

bear70

shireknight wrote: »

Yeah but what is a 1931 £1 worth in today's money?

Edit: Hmm £55 according to this website http://safalra.com/other/historical-uk-inflation-price-conversion/

Surely this is wrong. You would have got paid £1 gold sovereign. Like this one: http://http://predecimal.com/images/sovereign.jpg

Even at the spot price worth at least £800 today.

I heard Peter Schiff (guy on youtube) make the arguement that prices have not rose due to inflation. Rather the value of the money is worth less and less each year.

Eco_Miser

bear70 wrote: »

Surely this is wrong. You would have got paid £1 gold sovereign. Like this one: http://predecimal.com/images/sovereign.jpg

Even at the spot price worth at least £800 today.

No, pound notes effectively replaced sovereigns in 1914, and legally in 1925. In 1931, the UK came off the gold standard altogether.