Allowance Then and Now
Select Dates:
Then:      1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004	Now:      1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Allowance:
Then $	Now $

If you want to do this manually, follow these three easy steps:

1. Determine the year you were the child's age:
     Your birth year + child's age =      ____

2. Fill in the Consumer Price Index from the table below for the above year:
     CPI the year you were the child's current age = ____

3. Calculate the value of your child's allowance when you were the child's current age:
     Child's allowance x CPI when you were their age (#2 above)
     divided by the CPI in the most current year =        181.9

For example, in 2004, my son, age 16, earns $20 allowance a week. I was born in 1954, so when I turned 16 in 1970, the CPI was 39.0. The CPI in 2004 was 181.9. Therefore, in 1970, his $20 a week allowance would have been worth $4.29. In other words, $4.29 in 1970 would be equivalent to $20 today:

$20 x	39.0
	181.9	= $4.29

Wanna look at this backwards? If I had received $20 a week in 1970, it would be worth a whopping $93.28 in today's dollars:

$20 x	181.9
	39.0	= $93.28

Here's yet another fun way to look at this. When I was a kid, I used to get five cents for each year of my age. When I was 16, I got 80 cents a week. In today's dollars, that would be worth $3.73:

$0.80 x	181.9
	39.0	= $3.73