# How much money would I need to earn today to live comfortably in 1960? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 11, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-would-i-need-to-earn-today-to-live-comfortably-in-1960/549993 "2010-08-11T22:58:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-would-i-need-to-earn-today-to-live-comfortably-in-1960/549993/41 "2010-08-18T06:00:39Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I think that I’d probably try taking some manmade sapphires and possibly some of the better fake diamonds. Yeah, I wouldn’t get the full retail value of them…but they’re VERY small, compared to coins and bills, and if I was careful about selling them, I think that I’d be able to do very well. I’d probably take SOME coins and bills, I’d just have the bulk of my wealth in artificially created gemstones. I think good synthetic sapphires have been around since 1900 or so, and jewelers can almost always tell a synthetic from a natural stone. The diamonds you might do better with, though. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-would-i-need-to-earn-today-to-live-comfortably-in-1960/549993/42 "2010-08-18T06:08:23Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > …I’ve probably gotten the realtors’ math wrong, but by 1.75 I meant: > > 1.0 = full bath–sink with cabinets, bathtub with a shower at one end, and toilet. Located between the two back bedrooms > 0.5 = smaller bathroom–pedestal sink, toilet, and shower stall only. > 0.25 = smallest bathroom off the family room that had only a sink and toilet… Yeah, that’s not quite right. A “full bath” has a toilet, sink, and bathtub. A “three- quarters/.75” bath has toilet, a sink, and a shower stall (no tub). A “half/.5” bath only has a toilet & sink (they’re also called powder rooms). A “quarter/.25” bath would a small room with \*just a toilet \*(no sink, no shower) in it. Basically it’s a water closest. They’re kind of rare in North America; usually it’s what happens when someone puts an extra toilet in a basement or garage or off a laundry room. A “slit bath” would be two rooms side by side; one with just a toilet, the other with a sink and tub/shower. It’s a pretty common setup in the UK, Australia, & New Zealand. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-would-i-need-to-earn-today-to-live-comfortably-in-1960/549993/43 "2010-08-20T04:00:17Z")
After reading this thread, a thought occurred to me: how much have expectations changed? When I was growing up, nobody had their own bedroom except my grandmother, and only then because nobody wanted to sleep with her. I shared with my sister, my mom and dad had their own room. I think each child having their own room is a relatively new phenomenon, just like cable TV, cell phones, and college degrees aren’t “luxuries” anymore. Also, how much are we trapped by these expectations? Even if we don’t want it, need it, or use it, how much pressure is there to have say a cell phone or a college degree today? ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-would-i-need-to-earn-today-to-live-comfortably-in-1960/549993/44 "2010-08-20T07:12:38Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > After reading this thread, a thought occurred to me: how much have expectations changed? > > When I was growing up, nobody had their own bedroom except my grandmother, and only then because nobody wanted to sleep with her. I shared with my sister, my mom and dad had their own room. I think each child having their own room is a relatively new phenomenon, just like cable TV, cell phones, and college degrees aren’t “luxuries” anymore. > > Also, how much are we trapped by these expectations? Even if we don’t want it, need it, or use it, how much pressure is there to have say a cell phone or a college degree today? We have two things going on today. The families got smaller and the houses got bigger. Plus Grandparents are more likely to be in retirement communities or assisted living. Women work, so they aren’t at home to take care of their parents. Also keep in mind that the lifecycle is: Single, Couple, Couple + Kids, Couple, Single as people marry, have kids, the kids move out, couples die or divorce. This stat shows that average household size is 2.5 people. [http://www.statemaster.com/graph/lif\_ave\_hou\_siz-lifestyle-average-household-size](http://www.statemaster.com/graph/lif_ave_hou_siz-lifestyle-average-household-size) That is actually fairly typical among developed nations. [http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo\_ave\_siz\_of\_hou-people-average-size-of-households](http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo_ave_siz_of_hou-people-average-size-of-households) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-would-i-need-to-earn-today-to-live-comfortably-in-1960/549993.md?page=2)