Here's the inflation-adjusted price of gasoline every years since 1978 to 2021.

[ultrarunner]

Don't know any $7 but CA does have $6

 

[MossRoad]

We drove to Chicago on Sunday for a pleasure trip to the Art Institute of Chicago. I noticed the freeway was packed, the toll road was packed, the museum was packed, Millennium Park in Chicago was packed, restaurants were packed, the gas stations had customers, there were people waiting for the trains, etc. There was no indication that anything was amiss.

Despite prices being up, inflation, etc., people seem to keep spending their money, which would indicate someone still has money to spend. Prices will keep increasing and supply will keep decreasing until people stop buying things. That hasn't happened yet, so prices will continue to rise.

 

[LD1]

The inflation adjusted stuff is pretty telling for sure.

I get pretty sick and tired of older folk talk about prices of things back in the 60's-70's like there is something wrong with the prices today.

Like back then, they could fill their tank of gas, grab a soda and snickers all for $5....today that cost $50.....they think that is absurd....
But its worth pointing out that back then....$3/hr was a good paying middle class blue collar gig. Just about like what $30/hr is today...

All we did was shift the decimal point one place to the right over the last 50 years. IF you was a union blue collar trade worker.....you were no better off then than you would be now doing the same work. Same with any white collar management position.

 

[MossRoad]

Another indicator that people will keep spending... Amazon is building a warehouse about 15-20 miles to my east. It will employ 1000 people. They're building it in a county with a current unemployment rate around 1.5%, in a state with an unemployment rate under 2.5%. They don't know where they're going to get workers from, but they're building it.

Amazon is supposed to open over 90 of these huge warehouses nationwide in 2022-2023. People keep buying.

 

[ultrarunner]

I believe it’s because their retirements in many ways are still tied to $3 hour wage.

There was a time when a paid off home, social security and a 100k T-Bill looked very good.

Recently had a new roof put on… the original owner nearly had a heart attack when he learned the cost I paid for the roof was more than he paid for the home brand new!

 

[Hay Dude]

The inflation adjusted stuff is pretty telling for sure.

I get pretty sick and tired of older folk talk about prices of things back in the 60's-70's like there is something wrong with the prices today.

Like back then, they could fill their tank of gas, grab a soda and snickers all for $5....today that cost $50.....they think that is absurd....
But its worth pointing out that back then....$3/hr was a good paying middle class blue collar gig. Just about like what $30/hr is today...

All we did was shift the decimal point one place to the right over the last 50 years. IF you was a union blue collar trade worker.....you were no better off then than you would be now doing the same work. Same with any white collar management position.

I dont disagree with what you’re saying and generally think your posts are of sound judgement. However, why is it that most households now have 2 working adults, many in debt and still cant make ends meet?
Either wages & salaries arent keeping up with expenses, or the mentality of Americans has changed from the virtues of saving money to spending everything you have to have more material wealth and “keep up with the Jones’s”
When I was a dependent, I had one primary working parent and the other worked part time to “get out of the house and make a little extra money”. We lived very comfortably on my fathers salary alone and he was self employed (taxed more). My parents were able to write a check for a new car or vacation and send us to a decent college. Now, it seems as if people will finance a lawn mower.

 

[MossRoad]

The inflation adjusted stuff is pretty telling for sure.

I get pretty sick and tired of older folk talk about prices of things back in the 60's-70's like there is something wrong with the prices today.

Like back then, they could fill their tank of gas, grab a soda and snickers all for $5....today that cost $50.....they think that is absurd....
But its worth pointing out that back then....$3/hr was a good paying middle class blue collar gig. Just about like what $30/hr is today...

All we did was shift the decimal point one place to the right over the last 50 years. IF you was a union blue collar trade worker.....you were no better off then than you would be now doing the same work. Same with any white collar management position.

Yes. My mother in-law will still drive across town to save 20 cents on a gallon of gas. We've tried explaining to her that if she saves 20 cents on 10 gallons, that's two bucks. But she drove 10 miles round trip. Her car gets around 20 mpg. Gas is around $4. She spent two bucks to save two bucks. Plus put wear and tear on her car.

She has a moo-cow if gas prices rise a quarter. At $4 a gallon thats about 6.25%.
She had no such moo-cow when gas rose 2 cents from 29 to 31 cents per gallon and that was a 6.9% jump. Prices are all relative to what you are making at the time of the purchase.

She's 83 years old. She just spent $34K on a used car, $1000 on a new washer/dryer and laundry room move from basement to 1st floor, and $650 on a new water heater. She goes to the casino once a week. She has plenty of funds to last her the rest of her life. But that $2.50 extra on a tank of gas every 3-4 weeks is her main concern in life.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

However, why is it that most households now have 2 working adults, many in debt and still cant make ends meet?

My parents raised four children in a 900 square foot house and had only one car for the first 20 years they were married. Nothing was financed. They bought used cars and furnished the house with handed down furniture. People don’t need two incomes to “make ends meet”, they need two incomes to go to Disney World and buy 80 inch TVs and live in 2000 square foot homes with two financed, new cars sitting in the driveway.

Everything I’ve ever bought I first figured the cost in “hours at work”, it really dampens the spending urge.

 

[Hay Dude]

Yes. My mother in-law will still drive across town to save 20 cents on a gallon of gas. We've tried explaining to her that if she saves 20 cents on 10 gallons, that's two bucks. But she drove 10 miles round trip. Her car gets around 20 mpg. Gas is around $4. She spent two bucks to save two bucks. Plus put wear and tear on her car.

She has a moo-cow if gas prices rise a quarter. At $4 a gallon thats about 6.25%.
She had no such moo-cow when gas rose 2 cents from 29 to 31 cents per gallon and that was a 6.9% jump. Prices are all relative to what you are making at the time of the purchase.

She's 83 years old. She just spent $34K on a used car, $1000 on a new washer/dryer and laundry room move from basement to 1st floor, and $650 on a new water heater. She goes to the casino once a week. She has plenty of funds to last her the rest of her life. But that $2.50 extra on a tank of gas every 3-4 weeks is her main concern in life.

True, but your MIL is smart in ways you dont understand.
By driving across town and paying .20 cents less/gallon, she is “rewarding” the cheaper fuel station with her business and not giving it to the more expensive gas stations. That, in turn makes the less expensive gas station more profitable and helps his business compete more favorably with the others charging more per gallon.
If lots of folks buy the cheaper gas, like your MIL, it’ll force the more expensive guys to drop their prices and the whole town gets rewarded with cheaper gas.

In my area of business, we have 3 or 4 fuel stops boarded up and closed. All have one thing in common, they were higher priced.

 

[MossRoad]

My parents raised four children in a 900 square foot house and had only one car for the first 20 years they were married. Nothing was financed. They bought used cars and furnished the house with handed down furniture. People don’t need two incomes to “make ends meet”, they need two incomes to go to Disney World and buy 80 inch TVs and live in 2000 square foot homes with two financed, new cars sitting in the driveway.

Everything I’ve ever bought I first figured the cost in “hours at work”, it really dampens the spending urge.

Well, that's the issue. Back then, they had multiple jobs to pay off their debts sooner, save money for retirement, and have some fun and nice things. Today, a lot of folks have to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet, let alone get some luxuries.