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by jonknee 2820 days ago
For those curious, inflation adjusted $3,000 in 1994 is $5,173.99 and the budget $995 HP would be $1,669.23.

Source: https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

1 comments

I don't like the way the results of calculations like this are often presented with absurd levels of precision. So much more sensible to say $5200 and $1700. Arguably $5000 and $2000.
It's not absurd precision, it's just what happens when you multiply something by a percentage.
Whenever you do a calculation, whether it's multiplying by a number and dividing by a hundred (that's all multiplying by a percentage means) or anything else you need to think about what the result means before presenting it. If the result is the amount of money in your bank account after balancing your check account, sure present it to one cent precision. It's a precise, exact number. But the purchasing power of $3000 1994 dollars in 2018 cannot be anything else than a rough approximation, and so it should be presented with appropriate precision. Pretending the number is accurate to one cent is nothing short of ridiculous.