You have a point to a point. When a person is asking about the current value of an estate, they are not usually talking about cash only. Most estates are assets that are not cash. If you look at the value of property that is a good example of how much inflation has caused the price of housing to go up. Houses you could by in 1950 for $5000 are now selling for 30,000 to 50,000 dollars. A house that sold for 17,500 in 1969 is now selling for at least three to six times that amount. Land prices have gone the same way. I would like to know where you can live like a king in AZ. I live here and it is not cheap! Our cost of living in Sacramento was much lower than in Mesa. And wages are generally lower here with NO labors to protect employees unless it is a large company. Julie > -----Original Message----- > From: RUBYdakoda@aol.com [mailto:RUBYdakoda@aol.com] > Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 1998 6:26 AM > To: WASHINGTON-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: Re: [WASHINGTON-L] Value of estate > > > Okay......now that you went to that site.....which I also > did.......I think > something is wrong!!!!!! Last year I went there....put in > a figure of > $2,000,000 (two million).....in the year 1895. And last > year the figure came > out at about $1,230! Now.......I think that's more like it. > INFLATION..........is what it's about. Think about it. > IF you had $20,000........didn't do anything with it but > stuck it under your > bed......what would it be worth today? It would still be only > $20,000..........but inflation eats away what you can buy with it. > Soooooooo....that figure of $181,664.80 that you got from the > internet.......means .......that today........you would need > $181,664.80 to buy goods and services......that $20,00 > would have bought in > 1920!!!!!!!! > We had a big to do on NORCAL mailing list with this same > question. And we all > agreed that any amount ......ie: in the early days would diminish > tremendously in buying power. NOT go UP! > The worth of ANY amount of money is what it will buy in goods and > services.......at any certain time period......and where > you happen to live. > Now go to this URL: > http://pathfinder.com/money/bestplaces/ > It's call Best Places to Live in America. > You type in the town you live in.......and your salary!!!! > Then type in another town where you would like to live and > put in the same > salary figure. > I did this for La Jolla CA where I live.....then I typed > in Seattle where my > cousin lives. I think it turned out that I could live > almost twice as well in > Seattle as I could in La Jolla for the SAME amount of > money!!!!! That's like > saying.....hey....I make $20,000 a year and I can't afford > to live in La > Jolla. BUT in Seattle or Ohio, or Ariz........I can live > like a KING for that > money.! > Food for thought......... > xxxxxxoooo > Louise King > La Jolla, CA (average house sells for $690,000 as we speak) !! > Seattle.....about $360,000 > > In a message dated 12/7/98 20:42:20, celitoml@kcls.org wrote: > > >The site at: http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ > >is quick and dirty. > >ie. $20000 in 1920 is equal to about #181664.80 or so in 1997 > >Celia > >P.S. There are other calculators > >