As it has been doing since 1984, PNC
announced its annual Christmas Price Index, which shows the current cost for
one set of each of the gifts given in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”.
The price tag for the 32nd
Christmas Price Index totals $34,130.99, only $198 or .6%, more than the 2014
CPI. This is the lowest increase in 6
years. The increase is not much more
than the .2% increase in the Consumer Price Index.
The CPI has increased a total of 84% since
its inception in 1984.
Nine of the twelve items show no increase
for 2015. Only the Partridge in a Pear
Tree (up $7.31 or 3.5%), the Turtle Doves (up $2.31 or 11.5%), and the Leaping
Lords (up $160.46 or 3%) cost more in 2015 than 2014.
The increase in the Partridge is due to the
growing popularity as a gourmet food and in backyard farming. The Turtle Doves cost more because of
increased grain prices. And apparently
the Leaping Lords had the only effective union this year.
The performers in the group, Leapers and
Dancers, earn much more than the musicians, Pipers and Drummers, the average
performer earning $768.33 each while the average musician earned only
$238.70. The Dancing Lady is the highest
paid of the group, earning $288.33 more than a Leaping Lord. The poor Milking Maids get the minimum wage
of only $7.25.
PNC also calculates the total cost of the
items gifted by the True Love in all of the song’s verses, aka the “True Cost
of Christmas”. The total cost for all
364 gifts for 2015 is $155,407, $899.10 more than last year.
And it adds up the cost for those who
prefer the convenience of online shopping.
The 2015 Internet CPI is $43,626.73, almost $9,500 more than buying in
person. This is up $667.66 or 1.6% from
2014. Convenience is expensive, mostly
due to added shipping and handling costs for the specialty items.
FYI, the “cheapest” PNC Christmas Price
Index was 1995, when it was just over $15,600.
For more information on the PNC Christmas
Price Index go online to https://www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com.
THE 2015 PNC CHRISTMAS
PRICE INDEX ®
Item
|
Traditional
|
|||
2014
|
2015
|
% Change
|
||
One Patridge in a
Pear Tree
|
$207.68
|
$214.99
|
3.5%
|
|
Patridge
|
$20.00
|
$25.00
|
25.0%
|
|
Pear Tree
|
$187.68
|
$189.99
|
1.2%
|
|
Two
Turtle Doves
|
$260.00
|
$290.00
|
11.5%
|
|
Three French Hens
|
$181.50
|
$181.50
|
0.0%
|
|
Four Calling Birds
|
$599.96
|
$599.96
|
0.0%
|
|
Five Gold Rings
|
$750.00
|
$750.00
|
0.0%
|
|
Six Geese-‐a-‐Laying
|
$360.00
|
$360.00
|
0.0%
|
|
Seven Swans-‐a-‐Swimming*
|
$13,125.00
|
$13,125.00
|
0.0%
|
|
Eights Maids-‐a-‐Milking
|
$58.00
|
$58.00
|
0.0%
|
|
Nine Ladies Dancing
|
$7,552.84
|
$7,552.84
|
0.0%
|
|
10 Lords-‐a-‐Leaping
|
$5,348.24
|
$5,508.70
|
3.0%
|
|
11 Pipers
Piping
|
$2,635.20
|
$2,635.20
|
0.0%
|
|
12 Drummers Drumming
|
$2,854.80
|
$2,854.80
|
0.0%
|
|
Total
Christmas Price Index
|
$33,933.22
|
$34,130.99
|
0.6%
|
|
True Cost of Christmas in Song
|
$154,508.08
|
$155,407.18
|
0.6%
|
|
"Core" Index, excluding Swans
|
$20,808.22
|
$21,005.99
|
1.0%
|
|
* Revised: 2014 traditional price adjusted
to better reflect open market
pricing.
TTFN
No comments:
Post a Comment