Inflation As Measured By The CPI

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is  a common measure of inflation, however a more interesting CPI is the Christmas Price Index, calculated each year by PNC Bank. This CPI calculates the cost of all of the gifts mentioned in the Twelve Days of Christmas, from a partridge in a pear tree to 12 drummers drumming. This year, uncovering the cost of the CPI requires you to take a virtual journey around the world. Over the past year, the CPI increased 4.8 percent to $25,431.18, a fairly expensive Christmas! The biggest price jump was the 29.6 percent increase in the six geese-a-laying. Six items remained unchanged, including the partridge, turtle doves, and lords-a-leaping. And for the really interested individual, the website has prices for each of the items back to 1986, the beginning of the CPI.