Had to look...its a little hard to get 1940s information, but here is what i found for food. Keep in mind that in 1949, min wage was 40 cents until nearly 1950, so most of these prices are from 1944 to 1948. 2 hours of min wage would buy you a little less than 2 pounds of Coffee. Today if you get the same type of coffee that they sold in 1940s (they didnt have expensive fancy coffee then) 2 hours min wage would buy you about 4.5 pounds of coffee.(the folgers in a can type) 1 hour min wage in 1949 would buy you 1 pound of chicken. Today...about 2.5 pounds 1 hour min wage would buy you 1 tube of toothpaste in 1940s. Today 1 hour min wage would buy you 2 to 3 tubes. 1 hour of min wage to buy 9 chewing gums. 1 hour of min wage would buy you about 30 today 1 hour min wage to buy 5 cans campbells tomato soup. Today, about the same price. 1 hour min wage to buy 1 bottle of aspirin, today, you can buy maybe 2 bottles of aspirin with min wage. 9.25 hours min wage to buy a mans shirt in 1948 5 hours min wage to buy a ladies gloves in 1948 20 hours min wage to buy a mans raincoat in 1949 7.5 hours min wage to buy a girls blouse in 1948 52.5 hours min wage to buy a womans wool suit in 1946 I dont know todays prices to compare it to, but im pretty sure that you get alot more for min wage today. Im pretty sure it wouldnt cost $380 dollars(52.5 hours min wage today) to buy a womans suit today (unless you are shopping at a high end store.) A basic couch would cost 125 to 175 hours of min wage in the 40s 125 to 175 hours of min wage today would buy you at least 2 or 3 couches today. So thats what I could find on prices. I looked for rent but couldnt find it. Oh I did find gas prices though. About 2.3 gallons of gas in 1949 for 1 hour min wage. Its pretty close to the same today, you can get about 2.6 gallons with your min wage.
Or a home? In Southern Cal, around 2007, you could work your whole life at minimum wage and still not have enough left over to buy a home.
Basically you want me to add in all the stuff that the government has screwed with in the last 60 years to this? Cant do it as its not a fair analysis then. Anything that the government has heavily taxed, or heavily subsidized has gotten alot more expensive in terms of the wage vs price relationship. You could buy a carton of cigarettes in 1949 for 2 hours min wage, so you could get alot more cigs back then than today. Everything that the government has NOT touched has gotten cheaper.
Ever try to go 30 years without eating? First 2 or 3 days your dreams of a nice home can really keep you motivated, but after that, it starts to get a little tough.
Exactly. You'd be lucky to save $4,000 a year working minimum wage - and forget having any dependents, or going out to eat.
I've gone close to two weeks without eatting. First few days are hard...next few days are easy, then its pure suffering after that. Its actually a funny story. I was working for near min wage ($4.40 per hour when min wage was 4.25) and roommate bailed out on me. Had to cover her half of the rent and after I paid it I had 8 dollars to live on for the next two weeks. I had never been so freaking hungry in my life. I was only 18 at the time so I didnt know about food banks or food stamps and I was too proud to ask my parents for money. I would equate being that hungry with heroin withdrawal. You can do nothing but think about food. So 30 years might be just a little too much to handle.
If you have a couple of kids, you get between $3-5k in your taxes every year. So you dont really have to save, you get a lump sum every year. Its kind of like getting $250-$400 per month extra if you add in the EIC. Dont forget, if you make min wage and have kids, you get WIC and food stamps, so you basically dont pay for food. Also most states give you a huge discount on utilities. I know Nevada gives like $1600 per year towards your utility bill which will pretty much pay the whole thing for the year. Also, HUD housing will lower your rent. I've seen people paying 100-$250 per month for rent with HUD. If you wanted to, you could probably save $10k+ if you really work the system.