On 8 Oct 2011 at 18:20, Keith Meintjes wrote: > I have just come across my grandfather's estate. In 1919, it was 3,000 pounds > sterling. Am I correct in thinking that was a large amount of money? > > What would be the equivalent worth today? You could probably have bought a fairly substantial house with it, so it might have been around a million or so. -- Steve Hayes E-mail: shayes@dunelm.org.uk Web: http://hayesstw.tumblr.com/ (follow me on Tumblr) Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com Phone: 083-342-3563 or 012-333-6727 Fax: 086-548-2525

In 1900 you bought a pint of beer in a bar for 2p. Today, about 300p. A pint of milk was 2p too, and is today about 30p. The difference lies in the added tax on beer, and the subsidy on milk. The average level of retail prices in 1999 was around 66 times the level of 1900. Source: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/rp99/rp99-111.pdf An estate of £3,000 in 1919 would be worth about 66 times more. £3,000 X 66 = £198,000. In 1930 you could buy a house in London for £500. Today, about £500,000, but the house you get today is of a significantly higher quality (double glazing, central heating, carpets, etc). Regards, Francois _____________ Francois Greeff, 36 Aston Road, London, SW20 8BE, United Kingdom Phone: 0044 20 8123 4224. Mobile 0044 79 6372 2345. Skype: Greefffrancois. Greeff Family Web Site: www.Greeff.info -----Original Message----- From: Steve Hayes [mailto:hayesstw@telkomsa.net] Sent: 09 October 2011 05:04 To: south-africa@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [SOUTH-AFRICA] Value of money? On 8 Oct 2011 at 18:20, Keith Meintjes wrote: > I have just come across my grandfather's estate. In 1919, it was 3,000 pounds > sterling. Am I correct in thinking that was a large amount of money? > > What would be the equivalent worth today? You could probably have bought a fairly substantial house with it, so it might have been around a million or so. -- Steve Hayes E-mail: shayes@dunelm.org.uk Web: http://hayesstw.tumblr.com/ (follow me on Tumblr) Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com Phone: 083-342-3563 or 012-333-6727 Fax: 086-548-2525 ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SOUTH-AFRICA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Francois' comments highlight the futility of trying to evaluate a sum of money from the past in today's terms. The real problem is the huge change in the "basket" of goods against which the sum is calculated. (For example, the Australian Bureau of Statistics adjusts the "basket" every few years to reflect changes in such factors as - Automation's effects on employment etc. - Public transport - Private transport (cars etc.) - Housing: rental vs. ownership, quality of housing, etc. - Population shifts, demographics, immigration etc. - Entertainment (TV, movies, live shows) - Leisure: amount and how filled - Food: degree of home cooking vs. bought food -- The list is endless. Not only do we buy different stuff now from what our ancestors bought, but we also do different work to get the wherewithal to do so. And that's before you add in the effects of the economic cycle and of our efforts to abolish it. The UK paper Francois cites recognizes the difficulty also, but presses ahead nonetheless. It is interesting but not really as relevant to the future as it might seem: as it points out, the last century has been a period of far greater and more rapid change than any century before it, and the real question is how much longer this can go on before it all gets beyond our ability to adapt to change. (At my age, I'm tempted to feel it is already well beyond!) Andrew Rodger rodgera@audioio.com On 10 Oct 2011, at 5:05 AM, Francois Greeff wrote: > In 1900 you bought a pint of beer in a bar for 2p. Today, about 300p. > A pint of milk was 2p too, and is today about 30p. > The difference lies in the added tax on beer, and the subsidy on milk. > > The average level of retail prices in 1999 was around 66 times the > level of > 1900. > Source: > http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/rp99/ > rp99-111.pdf > > An estate of £3,000 in 1919 would be worth about 66 times more. > £3,000 X 66 > = £198,000. > > In 1930 you could buy a house in London for £500. Today, about > £500,000, but > the house you get today is of a significantly higher quality (double > glazing, central heating, carpets, etc). > > Regards, > Francois > _____________ > Francois Greeff, 36 Aston Road, London, SW20 8BE, United Kingdom > Phone: 0044 20 8123 4224. Mobile 0044 79 6372 2345. Skype: > Greefffrancois. > Greeff Family Web Site: www.Greeff.info > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Steve Hayes [mailto:hayesstw@telkomsa.net] > Sent: 09 October 2011 05:04 > To: south-africa@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [SOUTH-AFRICA] Value of money? > > On 8 Oct 2011 at 18:20, Keith Meintjes wrote: > >> I have just come across my grandfather's estate. In 1919, it was >> 3,000 > pounds >> sterling. Am I correct in thinking that was a large amount of money? >> >> What would be the equivalent worth today? > > You could probably have bought a fairly substantial house with it, > so it > might have been around a million or so. > > > -- > Steve Hayes > E-mail: shayes@dunelm.org.uk > Web: http://hayesstw.tumblr.com/ (follow me on Tumblr) > Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com > Phone: 083-342-3563 or 012-333-6727 > Fax: 086-548-2525 > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SOUTH-AFRICA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SOUTH-AFRICA- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message > > Ann and Andrew Rodger rodgera@audioio.com