(The Center Square) – Black Friday is upon us. Got 200 grand?
For the 41st year, financial services firm PNC has compiled the consumer costs for those who would wish to make corresponding purchases for their true love replicating “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
The fun, uplifting English Christmas carol is a staple of the holiday season. Though the gifts mentioned in the song aren’t normally what we look for when shopping local or at online retailers like Amazon, they’re a whimsical variety and certainly not immune to inflation – even though that is down from the 40-year high in June 2022.
Singing through, adding respective verses each time, it’s a $209,272 buy this year. Or, just for the 12 items individually one time through – PNC calls it the core index, excluding swans – write the check for $36,138.47. With the swans, $49,263.47 – up 5.4% from a year ago.
Whew!
Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday … and please don’t forget, Giving Tuesday.
’Tis the season, and here’s how it lines up:
• A partridge in a pear tree: $370.18. That’s up 16%. Song has 12 verses. Have mercy!
• Two turtle doves: $750.
• Three French hens: $346.50. Up 5%.
• Four calling birds: $599.96.
• Five golden rings: $1,245. That’s three of the first five with no change! Keep singing!
• Six geese-a-laying: $900. Up 15.4%.
• Seven swans-a-swimming: $13,125. Thankfully, no higher this year. But what else can we spend $13,000 on? Just sayin’!
• Eight maids-a-milking: $58. Ah, the consistency we’ve needed. Or not? Only reason it hasn’t increased since 2009 is federal minimum wage has not increased since then. Remains a bargain, and we all need that this time of year.
• Nine ladies dancing: $8,557.37. Going up 3%.
• Ten lords-a-leaping: $15,579.65. Up 7.2%, and still most expensive in the index.
• Eleven pipers piping: $3,714.96. Up 15.8%, though only twice through in the song – so a definite bargain shopper’s delight.
• Twelve drummers drumming: $4,016.85. Up 15.8%.
PNC assures this is like the U.S. Consumer Price Index. That’s the measure of housing, food, clothing, transportation prices, and other things average Americans purchase.
The first year of the index, in 1984, the core cost was $20,023.57.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
