Annualized S&P 500 Growth Rate

I talked before about the annualized inflation rate since 1913, and how this is a good number to use in modeling the future. This time, I'll be looking at the annualized return of the stock market as a representative of investments in general.

Once again, my efforts started by trying to find everything I needed online. I came much closer this time around than before. I found an excellent CAGR calculator for the S&P 500 going back to 1871. Again, this is good to get a final answer for a given time period, but I'd like the time period to be less arbitrary. The problem is that historic price data is readily available, but that doesn't include dividends. We really need data reflecting the total return seriously, visit this link - 44% of the total return is dividend reinvestment - amazing!). After a lot of searching for raw data, I found some detailed monthly data for the S&P 500 going back to 1970, much of which was reconstructed. While not raw, it's at least data!

The graph below (click for full size) shows the 1970-2009 data - individual monthly total returns, trailing 12-month total returns, trailing 20-year annualized total returns, and cumulative total returns since 01/1970. The overall total return from 1970-2009 was 9.44%-9.93% depending on what month you end on. The average 20-year annualized return was 13.31%, and the average 12-month return was 11.33%. It's not included in the graph or the table below, but the average 30-year annualized return over 1871-2009 was 9.36%, while the overall annualized return was 8.89% for that range. (NOTE: The average of a sliding window is not a great statistic - the time periods on each end are under-weighted. I include them because if any readers are like me, taking the average of a series of numbers is one of the first things you try to do. I am simply saving them a bit of work. ;)

For modeling my future investments, I use a more conservative 8% growth rate. However, I have a column in my spreadsheet that projects a 10% growth goal from when I first created it. Of course, the financial crisis and recession means I have a lot of catching up to do, even to my original 8% plan.

S&P 500 Data Table Display S&P 500 Data Table

Date	Total Value	1-Month Total Return	12-Month Total Return	20-year Annualized	Annualized Total Return
01/1970	$85.28	---	---	---	---
02/1970	$90.03	5.575%	---	---	---
03/1970	$90.43	0.437%	---	---	---
04/1970	$82.52	-8.747%	---	---	---
05/1970	$77.75	-5.777%	---	---	---
06/1970	$74.12	-4.664%	---	---	---
07/1970	$79.82	7.686%	---	---	---
08/1970	$83.64	4.779%	---	---	---
09/1970	$86.66	3.619%	---	---	---
10/1970	$85.94	-0.832%	---	---	---
11/1970	$90.29	5.057%	---	---	---
12/1970	$95.68	5.975%	---	---	---
01/1971	$99.82	4.319%	17.045%	---	17.045%
02/1971	$100.98	1.168%	12.160%	---	16.883%
03/1971	$104.96	3.937%	16.069%	---	19.478%
04/1971	$109.04	3.888%	32.141%	---	21.727%
05/1971	$104.78	-3.906%	34.765%	---	16.701%
06/1971	$105.13	0.331%	41.826%	---	15.915%
07/1971	$101.06	-3.872%	26.605%	---	11.981%
08/1971	$104.98	3.882%	25.520%	---	14.027%
09/1971	$104.51	-0.445%	20.597%	---	12.978%
10/1971	$100.42	-3.914%	16.849%	---	9.790%
11/1971	$100.44	0.021%	11.247%	---	9.337%
12/1971	$109.37	8.884%	14.300%	---	13.859%
01/1972	$111.62	2.057%	11.822%	---	14.404%
02/1972	$114.71	2.771%	13.594%	---	15.292%
03/1972	$115.66	0.826%	10.193%	---	15.099%
04/1972	$116.44	0.680%	6.790%	---	14.847%
05/1972	$118.74	1.969%	13.319%	---	15.239%
06/1972	$116.43	-1.945%	10.749%	---	13.749%
07/1972	$116.98	0.476%	15.757%	---	13.477%
08/1972	$121.30	3.688%	15.541%	---	14.610%
09/1972	$120.99	-0.252%	15.765%	---	14.015%
10/1972	$122.42	1.185%	21.909%	---	14.050%
11/1972	$128.32	4.813%	27.749%	---	15.511%
12/1972	$130.14	1.422%	18.995%	---	15.594%
01/1973	$128.20	-1.491%	14.858%	---	14.555%
02/1973	$123.68	-3.525%	7.822%	---	12.814%
03/1973	$123.78	0.081%	7.025%	---	12.486%
04/1973	$119.04	-3.829%	2.231%	---	10.807%
05/1973	$117.11	-1.626%	-1.374%	---	9.981%
06/1973	$116.64	-0.400%	0.180%	---	9.597%
07/1973	$121.38	4.067%	3.760%	---	10.611%
08/1973	$117.24	-3.410%	-3.342%	---	9.289%
09/1973	$122.25	4.269%	1.039%	---	10.319%
10/1973	$122.45	0.165%	0.020%	---	10.127%
11/1973	$108.87	-11.090%	-15.156%	---	6.578%
12/1973	$111.02	1.980%	-14.689%	---	6.967%
01/1974	$110.23	-0.718%	-14.020%	---	6.625%
02/1974	$110.15	-0.073%	-10.943%	---	6.467%
03/1974	$107.89	-2.047%	-12.836%	---	5.807%
04/1974	$104.02	-3.586%	-12.616%	---	4.786%
05/1974	$100.88	-3.022%	-13.856%	---	3.953%
06/1974	$99.73	-1.135%	-14.491%	---	3.608%
07/1974	$92.34	-7.419%	-23.929%	---	1.782%
08/1974	$84.36	-8.637%	-28.046%	---	-0.236%
09/1974	$74.64	-11.517%	-38.940%	---	-2.814%
10/1974	$87.19	16.809%	-28.793%	---	0.468%
11/1974	$82.93	-4.886%	-23.824%	---	-0.576%
12/1974	$81.64	-1.558%	-26.467%	---	-0.884%
01/1975	$92.02	12.719%	-16.515%	---	1.534%
02/1975	$97.89	6.378%	-11.126%	---	2.750%
03/1975	$100.38	2.537%	-6.966%	---	3.205%
04/1975	$105.49	5.099%	1.414%	---	4.135%
05/1975	$110.52	4.764%	9.557%	---	4.981%
06/1975	$115.80	4.773%	16.104%	---	5.810%
07/1975	$108.34	-6.440%	17.331%	---	4.447%
08/1975	$106.43	-1.757%	26.166%	---	4.048%
09/1975	$103.11	-3.119%	38.141%	---	3.408%
10/1975	$109.85	6.534%	25.989%	---	4.502%
11/1975	$112.95	2.819%	36.195%	---	4.935%
12/1975	$112.03	-0.811%	37.229%	---	4.719%
01/1976	$125.67	12.174%	36.565%	---	6.675%
02/1976	$124.61	-0.843%	27.295%	---	6.433%
03/1976	$128.81	3.370%	28.328%	---	6.916%
04/1976	$127.81	-0.779%	21.152%	---	6.688%
05/1976	$126.39	-1.112%	14.357%	---	6.409%
06/1976	$131.99	4.432%	13.985%	---	7.044%
07/1976	$131.36	-0.480%	21.246%	---	6.872%
08/1976	$131.12	-0.183%	23.189%	---	6.752%
09/1976	$134.50	2.585%	30.442%	---	7.074%
10/1976	$132.00	-1.862%	20.162%	---	6.686%
11/1976	$131.46	-0.408%	16.390%	---	6.538%
12/1976	$138.84	5.612%	23.927%	---	7.300%
01/1977	$132.27	-4.728%	5.254%	---	6.471%
02/1977	$129.86	-1.823%	4.214%	---	6.117%
03/1977	$128.50	-1.052%	-0.244%	---	5.887%
04/1977	$129.03	0.416%	0.958%	---	5.878%
05/1977	$126.50	-1.961%	0.091%	---	5.524%
06/1977	$132.75	4.942%	0.580%	---	6.149%
07/1977	$130.71	-1.543%	-0.495%	---	5.859%
08/1977	$128.85	-1.421%	-1.728%	---	5.593%
09/1977	$129.05	0.155%	-4.056%	---	5.552%
10/1977	$124.02	-3.895%	-6.043%	---	4.951%
11/1977	$127.94	3.162%	-2.675%	---	5.315%
12/1977	$128.90	0.749%	-7.157%	---	5.357%
01/1978	$121.50	-5.742%	-8.144%	---	4.524%
02/1978	$119.04	-2.028%	-8.336%	---	4.212%
03/1978	$122.54	2.941%	-4.637%	---	4.539%
04/1978	$133.60	9.024%	3.537%	---	5.592%
05/1978	$134.82	0.919%	6.579%	---	5.650%
06/1978	$132.97	-1.377%	0.160%	---	5.419%
07/1978	$140.72	5.831%	7.661%	---	6.069%
08/1978	$144.96	3.010%	12.500%	---	6.375%
09/1978	$144.49	-0.320%	11.966%	---	6.273%
10/1978	$131.89	-8.718%	6.347%	---	5.110%
11/1978	$134.73	2.147%	5.301%	---	5.313%
12/1978	$137.37	1.964%	6.571%	---	5.492%
01/1979	$143.46	4.432%	18.074%	---	5.949%
02/1979	$138.85	-3.213%	16.646%	---	5.513%
03/1979	$147.13	5.962%	20.070%	---	6.130%
04/1979	$148.06	0.629%	10.824%	---	6.145%
05/1979	$144.84	-2.171%	7.430%	---	5.840%
06/1979	$151.14	4.350%	13.670%	---	6.266%
07/1979	$153.17	1.340%	8.847%	---	6.358%
08/1979	$162.01	5.771%	11.764%	---	6.925%
09/1979	$162.70	0.430%	12.605%	---	6.911%
10/1979	$152.29	-6.403%	15.461%	---	6.127%
11/1979	$159.53	4.754%	18.407%	---	6.576%
12/1979	$162.94	2.138%	18.609%	---	6.746%
01/1980	$173.06	6.216%	20.635%	---	7.334%
02/1980	$173.05	-0.009%	24.628%	---	7.270%
03/1980	$156.23	-9.722%	6.181%	---	6.135%
04/1980	$163.45	4.623%	10.395%	---	6.553%
05/1980	$171.86	5.147%	18.653%	---	7.017%
06/1980	$177.30	3.164%	17.305%	---	7.279%
07/1980	$189.64	6.959%	23.808%	---	7.908%
08/1980	$191.55	1.011%	18.237%	---	7.946%
09/1980	$197.19	2.942%	21.194%	---	8.175%
10/1980	$201.18	2.024%	32.107%	---	8.311%
11/1980	$222.61	10.654%	39.547%	---	9.261%
12/1980	$215.90	-3.017%	32.504%	---	8.881%
01/1981	$206.86	-4.184%	19.530%	---	8.389%
02/1981	$210.46	1.737%	21.616%	---	8.492%
03/1981	$218.87	3.999%	40.101%	---	8.807%
04/1981	$214.64	-1.934%	31.321%	---	8.551%
05/1981	$215.19	0.256%	25.212%	---	8.510%
06/1981	$213.84	-0.626%	20.612%	---	8.385%
07/1981	$214.28	0.206%	12.997%	---	8.341%
08/1981	$201.91	-5.775%	5.406%	---	7.724%
09/1981	$191.96	-4.927%	-2.651%	---	7.202%
10/1981	$202.32	5.397%	0.567%	---	7.630%
11/1981	$210.67	4.127%	-5.365%	---	7.942%
12/1981	$205.27	-2.565%	-4.923%	---	7.649%
01/1982	$202.59	-1.305%	-2.067%	---	7.477%
02/1982	$191.26	-5.590%	-9.119%	---	6.913%
03/1982	$190.27	-0.522%	-13.070%	---	6.818%
04/1982	$198.87	4.519%	-7.350%	---	7.156%
05/1982	$192.09	-3.409%	-10.737%	---	6.805%
06/1982	$189.20	-1.502%	-11.524%	---	6.628%
07/1982	$185.83	-1.779%	-13.276%	---	6.430%
08/1982	$208.39	12.139%	3.211%	---	7.359%
09/1982	$210.99	1.247%	9.913%	---	7.414%
10/1982	$235.28	11.510%	16.288%	---	8.285%
11/1982	$244.78	4.039%	16.190%	---	8.563%
12/1982	$249.50	1.927%	21.547%	---	8.666%
01/1983	$258.77	3.719%	27.734%	---	8.914%
02/1983	$264.70	2.292%	38.397%	---	9.043%
03/1983	$274.48	3.694%	44.263%	---	9.284%
04/1983	$296.11	7.878%	48.898%	---	9.850%
05/1983	$293.53	-0.870%	52.813%	---	9.714%
06/1983	$304.96	3.892%	61.181%	---	9.963%
07/1983	$295.96	-2.950%	59.259%	---	9.655%
08/1983	$300.40	1.501%	44.151%	---	9.713%
09/1983	$304.55	1.381%	44.342%	---	9.761%
10/1983	$301.03	-1.156%	27.946%	---	9.607%
11/1983	$307.38	2.109%	25.574%	---	9.712%
12/1983	$305.77	-0.523%	22.556%	---	9.609%
01/1984	$304.06	-0.558%	17.502%	---	9.506%
02/1984	$293.37	-3.519%	10.828%	---	9.169%
03/1984	$298.45	1.732%	8.730%	---	9.245%
04/1984	$301.28	0.949%	1.746%	---	9.261%
05/1984	$284.60	-5.536%	-3.043%	---	8.772%
06/1984	$290.78	2.172%	-4.648%	---	8.881%
07/1984	$287.17	-1.240%	-2.968%	---	8.734%
08/1984	$318.89	11.045%	6.155%	---	9.466%
09/1984	$318.97	0.024%	4.735%	---	9.411%
10/1984	$320.20	0.385%	6.368%	---	9.384%
11/1984	$316.61	-1.120%	3.004%	---	9.246%
12/1984	$324.95	2.635%	6.274%	---	9.383%
01/1985	$350.27	7.791%	15.196%	---	9.876%
02/1985	$354.56	1.225%	20.860%	---	9.908%
03/1985	$354.80	0.066%	18.881%	---	9.855%
04/1985	$354.46	-0.094%	17.653%	---	9.792%
05/1985	$374.94	5.778%	31.744%	---	10.139%
06/1985	$380.82	1.567%	30.964%	---	10.193%
07/1985	$380.26	-0.146%	32.415%	---	10.125%
08/1985	$377.01	-0.854%	18.226%	---	10.008%
09/1985	$365.22	-3.128%	14.501%	---	9.729%
10/1985	$382.09	4.619%	19.330%	---	9.990%
11/1985	$408.30	6.859%	28.959%	---	10.397%
12/1985	$428.05	4.838%	31.727%	---	10.667%
01/1986	$430.44	0.558%	22.888%	---	10.647%
02/1986	$462.62	7.475%	30.476%	---	11.086%
03/1986	$488.42	5.579%	37.664%	---	11.400%
04/1986	$482.93	-1.126%	36.242%	---	11.260%
05/1986	$508.62	5.320%	35.653%	---	11.553%
06/1986	$517.21	1.690%	35.817%	---	11.605%
07/1986	$488.28	-5.593%	28.408%	---	11.155%
08/1986	$524.49	7.416%	39.118%	---	11.576%
09/1986	$481.13	-8.267%	31.737%	---	10.939%
10/1986	$508.88	5.767%	33.183%	---	11.254%
11/1986	$521.25	2.430%	27.663%	---	11.354%
12/1986	$507.95	-2.552%	18.665%	---	11.125%
01/1987	$576.34	13.466%	33.896%	---	11.896%
02/1987	$599.12	3.951%	29.507%	---	12.088%
03/1987	$616.40	2.885%	26.203%	---	12.212%
04/1987	$610.93	-0.888%	26.506%	---	12.092%
05/1987	$616.23	0.867%	21.158%	---	12.086%
06/1987	$647.35	5.050%	25.161%	---	12.342%
07/1987	$680.14	5.066%	39.292%	---	12.597%
08/1987	$705.52	3.731%	34.514%	---	12.769%
09/1987	$690.05	-2.192%	43.422%	---	12.564%
10/1987	$541.44	-21.536%	6.399%	---	10.974%
11/1987	$496.82	-8.241%	-4.686%	---	10.387%
12/1987	$534.62	7.608%	5.251%	---	10.788%
01/1988	$557.10	4.206%	-3.338%	---	10.990%
02/1988	$583.07	4.661%	-2.678%	---	11.216%
03/1988	$565.06	-3.089%	-8.330%	---	10.970%
04/1988	$571.31	1.106%	-6.486%	---	10.984%
05/1988	$576.25	0.865%	-6.487%	---	10.984%
06/1988	$602.70	4.589%	-6.898%	---	11.202%
07/1988	$600.41	-0.379%	-11.723%	---	11.126%
08/1988	$580.03	-3.395%	-17.787%	---	10.867%
09/1988	$604.74	4.260%	-12.363%	---	11.064%
10/1988	$621.58	2.784%	14.801%	---	11.175%
11/1988	$612.72	-1.425%	23.328%	---	11.038%
12/1988	$623.41	1.745%	16.608%	---	11.089%
01/1989	$669.06	7.323%	20.096%	---	11.451%
02/1989	$652.39	-2.492%	11.888%	---	11.251%
03/1989	$667.60	2.333%	18.148%	---	11.334%
04/1989	$702.27	5.192%	22.922%	---	11.575%
05/1989	$730.68	4.046%	26.799%	---	11.751%
06/1989	$726.53	-0.567%	20.548%	---	11.665%
07/1989	$792.13	9.029%	31.932%	---	12.108%
08/1989	$807.62	1.955%	39.238%	---	12.165%
09/1989	$804.34	-0.406%	33.007%	---	12.087%
10/1989	$785.67	-2.322%	26.399%	---	11.900%
11/1989	$801.69	2.039%	30.841%	---	11.961%
12/1989	$820.94	2.401%	31.686%	---	12.042%
01/1990	$765.83	-6.714%	14.463%	11.600%	11.600%
02/1990	$775.69	1.288%	18.901%	11.369%	11.620%
03/1990	$796.25	2.650%	19.269%	11.490%	11.714%
04/1990	$776.38	-2.495%	10.554%	11.860%	11.524%
05/1990	$852.08	9.751%	16.615%	12.717%	11.986%
06/1990	$846.33	-0.675%	16.489%	12.948%	11.897%
07/1990	$843.62	-0.321%	6.500%	12.513%	11.828%
08/1990	$767.36	-9.039%	-4.984%	11.720%	11.264%
09/1990	$730.02	-4.867%	-9.240%	11.244%	10.948%
10/1990	$726.91	-0.426%	-7.478%	11.266%	10.879%
11/1990	$773.90	6.464%	-3.466%	11.340%	11.167%
12/1990	$795.46	2.786%	-3.104%	11.170%	11.266%
01/1991	$830.10	4.355%	8.393%	11.172%	11.445%
02/1991	$889.46	7.152%	14.667%	11.492%	11.763%
03/1991	$911.00	2.422%	14.412%	11.410%	11.840%
04/1991	$913.16	0.237%	17.618%	11.211%	11.804%
05/1991	$952.55	4.314%	11.791%	11.668%	11.977%
06/1991	$908.91	-4.581%	7.394%	11.389%	11.682%
07/1991	$951.28	4.661%	12.761%	11.863%	11.871%
08/1991	$973.82	2.369%	26.904%	11.781%	11.944%
09/1991	$957.52	-1.674%	31.163%	11.712%	11.809%
10/1991	$970.39	1.344%	33.495%	12.010%	11.829%
11/1991	$931.29	-4.029%	20.338%	11.779%	11.571%
12/1991	$1,037.80	11.437%	30.466%	11.908%	12.077%
01/1992	$1,018.46	-1.863%	22.692%	11.689%	11.933%
02/1992	$1,031.65	1.295%	15.986%	11.608%	11.951%
03/1992	$1,011.59	-1.945%	11.041%	11.453%	11.804%
04/1992	$1,041.34	2.941%	14.037%	11.577%	11.903%
05/1992	$1,046.44	0.490%	9.857%	11.495%	11.881%
06/1992	$1,030.88	-1.488%	13.418%	11.521%	11.759%
07/1992	$1,072.99	4.085%	12.794%	11.718%	11.912%
08/1992	$1,051.03	-2.047%	7.929%	11.401%	11.763%
09/1992	$1,063.38	1.175%	11.056%	11.480%	11.775%
10/1992	$1,067.05	0.345%	9.961%	11.434%	11.747%
11/1992	$1,103.39	3.405%	18.479%	11.358%	11.865%
12/1992	$1,116.93	1.227%	7.624%	11.348%	11.879%
01/1993	$1,126.21	0.831%	10.580%	11.477%	11.874%
02/1993	$1,141.56	1.363%	10.654%	11.753%	11.894%
03/1993	$1,165.65	2.110%	15.230%	11.865%	11.950%
04/1993	$1,137.47	-2.417%	9.232%	11.947%	11.787%
05/1993	$1,167.90	2.675%	11.607%	12.187%	11.869%
06/1993	$1,171.32	0.293%	13.624%	12.226%	11.838%
07/1993	$1,166.61	-0.402%	8.725%	11.980%	11.775%
08/1993	$1,210.87	3.794%	15.208%	12.383%	11.907%
09/1993	$1,201.59	-0.767%	12.997%	12.105%	11.827%
10/1993	$1,226.44	2.069%	14.938%	12.211%	11.879%
11/1993	$1,214.74	-0.954%	10.092%	12.818%	11.790%
12/1993	$1,229.43	1.209%	10.072%	12.775%	11.803%
01/1994	$1,271.22	3.400%	12.876%	13.005%	11.916%
02/1994	$1,236.72	-2.714%	8.336%	12.853%	11.744%
03/1994	$1,182.80	-4.360%	1.472%	12.719%	11.496%
04/1994	$1,197.97	1.282%	5.319%	12.997%	11.513%
05/1994	$1,217.63	1.641%	4.258%	13.262%	11.546%
06/1994	$1,187.78	-2.451%	1.405%	13.187%	11.391%
07/1994	$1,226.79	3.284%	5.158%	13.807%	11.497%
08/1994	$1,277.08	4.100%	5.468%	14.552%	11.638%
09/1994	$1,245.85	-2.445%	3.684%	15.113%	11.484%
10/1994	$1,273.84	2.247%	3.865%	14.349%	11.544%
11/1994	$1,227.45	-3.642%	1.046%	14.423%	11.336%
12/1994	$1,245.66	1.484%	1.320%	14.597%	11.362%
01/1995	$1,277.96	2.593%	0.530%	14.059%	11.436%
02/1995	$1,327.77	3.897%	7.362%	13.925%	11.566%
03/1995	$1,366.95	2.951%	15.569%	13.948%	11.655%
04/1995	$1,407.20	2.945%	17.465%	13.830%	11.742%
05/1995	$1,463.44	3.997%	20.188%	13.788%	11.875%
06/1995	$1,497.43	2.323%	26.070%	13.654%	11.934%
07/1995	$1,547.09	3.316%	26.109%	14.219%	12.037%
08/1995	$1,550.98	0.251%	21.447%	14.334%	12.006%
09/1995	$1,616.44	4.220%	29.745%	14.752%	12.145%
10/1995	$1,610.66	-0.357%	26.441%	14.369%	12.088%
11/1995	$1,681.36	4.390%	36.981%	14.456%	12.233%
12/1995	$1,713.75	1.926%	37.578%	14.612%	12.274%
01/1996	$1,772.08	3.404%	38.664%	14.146%	12.377%
02/1996	$1,788.51	0.927%	34.701%	14.247%	12.375%
03/1996	$1,805.72	0.963%	32.099%	14.113%	12.374%
04/1996	$1,832.35	1.474%	30.212%	14.241%	12.396%
05/1996	$1,879.60	2.579%	28.437%	14.451%	12.463%
06/1996	$1,886.77	0.382%	26.001%	14.224%	12.437%
07/1996	$1,803.42	-4.418%	16.568%	13.994%	12.204%
08/1996	$1,841.46	2.109%	18.728%	14.124%	12.252%
09/1996	$1,945.10	5.628%	20.333%	14.291%	12.442%
10/1996	$1,998.75	2.758%	24.095%	14.554%	12.515%
11/1996	$2,149.83	7.559%	27.862%	14.995%	12.780%
12/1996	$2,107.23	-1.981%	22.960%	14.567%	12.654%
01/1997	$2,238.88	6.248%	26.342%	15.193%	12.866%
02/1997	$2,256.43	0.784%	26.163%	15.344%	12.856%
03/1997	$2,163.72	-4.109%	19.825%	15.164%	12.640%
04/1997	$2,292.89	5.970%	25.134%	15.474%	12.839%
05/1997	$2,432.49	6.088%	29.415%	15.930%	13.042%
06/1997	$2,541.47	4.480%	34.699%	15.905%	13.180%
07/1997	$2,743.68	7.957%	52.138%	16.440%	13.453%
08/1997	$2,589.98	-5.602%	40.648%	16.188%	13.173%
09/1997	$2,731.82	5.477%	40.446%	16.489%	13.349%
10/1997	$2,640.59	-3.340%	32.112%	16.523%	13.168%
11/1997	$2,762.83	4.629%	28.514%	16.605%	13.310%
12/1997	$2,810.27	1.717%	33.363%	16.661%	13.337%
01/1998	$2,841.36	1.106%	26.910%	17.070%	13.340%
02/1998	$3,046.29	7.213%	35.005%	17.599%	13.579%
03/1998	$3,202.29	5.121%	47.999%	17.722%	13.737%
04/1998	$3,234.50	1.006%	41.067%	17.274%	13.735%
05/1998	$3,178.91	-1.719%	30.686%	17.119%	13.622%
06/1998	$3,308.03	4.062%	30.162%	17.433%	13.739%
07/1998	$3,272.81	-1.065%	19.285%	17.038%	13.653%
08/1998	$2,799.63	-14.458%	8.095%	15.956%	12.992%
09/1998	$2,978.98	6.406%	9.047%	16.335%	13.197%
10/1998	$3,221.30	8.134%	21.992%	17.325%	13.464%
11/1998	$3,416.53	6.061%	23.661%	17.546%	13.654%
12/1998	$3,613.41	5.763%	28.579%	17.761%	13.833%
01/1999	$3,764.51	4.182%	32.490%	17.747%	13.951%
02/1999	$3,647.51	-3.108%	19.736%	17.753%	13.785%
03/1999	$3,793.44	4.001%	18.460%	17.643%	13.896%
04/1999	$3,940.35	3.873%	21.822%	17.830%	14.002%
05/1999	$3,847.30	-2.361%	21.026%	17.818%	13.867%
06/1999	$4,060.82	5.550%	22.756%	17.886%	14.034%
07/1999	$3,934.02	-3.122%	20.203%	17.621%	13.869%
08/1999	$3,914.56	-0.495%	39.824%	17.262%	13.809%
09/1999	$3,807.24	-2.741%	27.804%	17.074%	13.661%
10/1999	$4,048.17	6.328%	25.669%	17.823%	13.854%
11/1999	$4,130.46	2.033%	20.896%	17.668%	13.890%
12/1999	$4,373.73	5.890%	21.042%	17.880%	14.067%
01/2000	$4,153.98	-5.024%	10.346%	17.223%	13.829%
02/2000	$4,075.35	-1.893%	11.730%	17.112%	13.716%
03/2000	$4,474.03	9.783%	17.941%	18.263%	14.028%
04/2000	$4,339.43	-3.009%	10.128%	17.816%	13.872%
05/2000	$4,250.40	-2.052%	10.477%	17.399%	13.753%
06/2000	$4,355.18	2.465%	7.249%	17.359%	13.804%
07/2000	$4,287.09	-1.563%	8.975%	16.872%	13.705%
08/2000	$4,553.38	6.211%	16.319%	17.166%	13.890%
09/2000	$4,312.99	-5.279%	13.284%	16.680%	13.648%
10/2000	$4,294.76	-0.423%	6.091%	16.538%	13.593%
11/2000	$3,956.16	-7.884%	-4.220%	15.475%	13.252%
12/2000	$3,975.53	0.489%	-9.104%	15.680%	13.232%
01/2001	$4,116.57	3.548%	-0.900%	16.130%	13.322%
02/2001	$3,741.22	-9.118%	-8.199%	15.476%	12.936%
03/2001	$3,504.21	-6.335%	-21.677%	14.874%	12.662%
04/2001	$3,776.52	7.771%	-12.972%	15.417%	12.896%
05/2001	$3,801.83	0.670%	-10.554%	15.441%	12.884%
06/2001	$3,709.29	-2.434%	-14.830%	15.335%	12.759%
07/2001	$3,672.78	-0.984%	-14.329%	15.266%	12.688%
08/2001	$3,442.86	-6.260%	-24.389%	15.236%	12.422%
09/2001	$3,164.84	-8.075%	-26.621%	15.042%	12.089%
10/2001	$3,225.19	1.907%	-24.904%	14.849%	12.122%
11/2001	$3,472.58	7.671%	-12.224%	15.041%	12.349%
12/2001	$3,503.00	0.876%	-11.886%	15.241%	12.346%
01/2002	$3,451.88	-1.459%	-16.147%	15.232%	12.260%
02/2002	$3,385.31	-1.929%	-9.513%	15.451%	12.158%
03/2002	$3,512.63	3.761%	0.240%	15.695%	12.254%
04/2002	$3,299.67	-6.063%	-12.627%	15.079%	12.003%
05/2002	$3,275.36	-0.737%	-13.848%	15.236%	11.944%
06/2002	$3,042.02	-7.124%	-17.989%	14.898%	11.657%
07/2002	$2,804.91	-7.795%	-23.630%	14.535%	11.347%
08/2002	$2,823.33	0.657%	-17.995%	13.918%	11.339%
09/2002	$2,516.49	-10.868%	-20.486%	13.195%	10.917%
10/2002	$2,737.98	8.802%	-15.106%	13.056%	11.174%
11/2002	$2,899.14	5.886%	-16.513%	13.155%	11.338%
12/2002	$2,728.82	-5.875%	-22.101%	12.706%	11.103%
01/2003	$2,657.33	-2.620%	-23.018%	12.351%	10.984%
02/2003	$2,617.46	-1.500%	-22.682%	12.139%	10.904%
03/2003	$2,642.88	0.971%	-24.761%	11.990%	10.908%
04/2003	$2,860.57	8.237%	-13.307%	12.008%	11.143%
05/2003	$3,011.29	5.269%	-8.062%	12.345%	11.285%
06/2003	$3,049.70	1.276%	0.252%	12.202%	11.298%
07/2003	$3,103.47	1.763%	10.644%	12.468%	11.326%
08/2003	$3,164.00	1.950%	12.066%	12.493%	11.361%
09/2003	$3,130.40	-1.062%	24.395%	12.356%	11.296%
10/2003	$3,307.48	5.657%	20.800%	12.731%	11.448%
11/2003	$3,336.58	0.880%	15.089%	12.663%	11.447%
12/2003	$3,511.57	5.244%	28.685%	12.981%	11.585%
01/2004	$3,576.02	1.835%	34.572%	13.115%	11.615%
02/2004	$3,625.73	1.390%	38.521%	13.396%	11.630%
03/2004	$3,571.02	-1.509%	35.118%	13.213%	11.551%
04/2004	$3,514.95	-1.570%	22.876%	13.070%	11.469%
05/2004	$3,563.18	1.372%	18.327%	13.470%	11.484%
06/2004	$3,632.44	1.944%	19.108%	13.457%	11.517%
07/2004	$3,512.21	-3.310%	13.170%	13.337%	11.379%
08/2004	$3,526.36	0.403%	11.453%	12.768%	11.363%
09/2004	$3,564.56	1.083%	13.869%	12.827%	11.369%
10/2004	$3,619.02	1.528%	9.419%	12.891%	11.389%
11/2004	$3,765.45	4.046%	12.853%	13.179%	11.487%
12/2004	$3,893.59	3.403%	10.879%	13.221%	11.565%
01/2005	$3,798.68	-2.438%	6.226%	12.658%	11.457%
02/2005	$3,878.60	2.104%	6.974%	12.707%	11.495%
03/2005	$3,809.91	-1.771%	6.690%	12.602%	11.409%
04/2005	$3,737.53	-1.900%	6.332%	12.500%	11.320%
05/2005	$3,856.45	3.182%	8.231%	12.360%	11.391%
06/2005	$3,861.93	0.142%	6.318%	12.281%	11.367%
07/2005	$4,005.55	3.719%	14.047%	12.494%	11.453%
08/2005	$3,969.02	-0.912%	12.553%	12.491%	11.396%
09/2005	$4,001.17	0.810%	12.249%	12.715%	11.394%
10/2005	$3,934.47	-1.667%	8.716%	12.366%	11.313%
11/2005	$4,083.28	3.782%	8.441%	12.202%	11.401%
12/2005	$4,084.66	0.034%	4.908%	11.939%	11.374%
01/2006	$4,192.83	2.648%	10.376%	12.055%	11.427%
02/2006	$4,204.19	0.271%	8.394%	11.667%	11.408%
03/2006	$4,256.53	1.245%	11.722%	11.433%	11.418%
04/2006	$4,313.70	1.343%	15.416%	11.570%	11.431%
05/2006	$4,189.55	-2.878%	8.637%	11.119%	11.314%
06/2006	$4,195.25	0.136%	8.631%	11.034%	11.291%
07/2006	$4,221.13	0.617%	5.382%	11.388%	11.283%
08/2006	$4,321.59	2.380%	8.883%	11.121%	11.327%
09/2006	$4,432.96	2.577%	10.792%	11.743%	11.377%
10/2006	$4,577.43	3.259%	16.342%	11.609%	11.447%
11/2006	$4,664.49	1.902%	14.234%	11.580%	11.477%
12/2006	$4,729.94	1.403%	15.797%	11.803%	11.491%
01/2007	$4,801.45	1.512%	14.516%	11.182%	11.509%
02/2007	$4,707.54	-1.956%	11.973%	10.857%	11.423%
03/2007	$4,760.17	1.118%	11.832%	10.761%	11.429%
04/2007	$4,971.04	4.430%	15.239%	11.051%	11.532%
05/2007	$5,144.53	3.490%	22.794%	11.194%	11.607%
06/2007	$5,059.13	-1.660%	20.592%	10.827%	11.530%
07/2007	$4,902.30	-3.100%	16.137%	10.380%	11.409%
08/2007	$4,975.78	1.499%	15.138%	10.260%	11.427%
09/2007	$5,161.88	3.740%	16.443%	10.585%	11.509%
10/2007	$5,244.00	1.591%	14.562%	12.023%	11.528%
11/2007	$5,024.75	-4.181%	7.723%	12.265%	11.376%
12/2007	$4,989.88	-0.694%	5.496%	11.816%	11.329%
01/2008	$4,690.59	-5.998%	-2.309%	11.241%	11.122%
02/2008	$4,538.19	-3.249%	-3.597%	10.805%	11.000%
03/2008	$4,518.68	-0.430%	-5.073%	10.955%	10.962%
04/2008	$4,738.74	4.870%	-4.673%	11.158%	11.075%
05/2008	$4,800.12	1.295%	-6.695%	11.181%	11.087%
06/2008	$4,395.47	-8.430%	-13.118%	10.445%	10.807%
07/2008	$4,358.50	-0.841%	-11.093%	10.419%	10.758%
08/2008	$4,421.52	1.446%	-11.139%	10.689%	10.775%
09/2008	$4,027.53	-8.911%	-21.975%	9.945%	10.484%
10/2008	$3,351.11	-16.795%	-36.096%	8.789%	9.937%
11/2008	$3,110.67	-7.175%	-38.093%	8.463%	9.704%
12/2008	$3,143.76	1.064%	-36.997%	8.426%	9.712%
01/2009	$2,878.79	-8.429%	-38.626%	7.569%	9.443%
02/2009	$2,572.26	-10.648%	-43.320%	7.100%	9.107%
03/2009	$2,797.58	8.759%	-38.089%	7.427%	9.321%
04/2009	$3,065.33	9.571%	-35.313%	7.646%	9.555%
05/2009	$3,236.79	5.593%	-32.569%	7.726%	9.686%
06/2009	$3,243.21	0.198%	-26.215%	7.767%	9.670%
07/2009	$3,488.51	7.564%	-19.961%	7.694%	9.851%
08/2009	$3,614.45	3.610%	-18.253%	7.781%	9.928%
09/2009	$3,749.27	3.730%	-6.909%	8.000%	10.008%
10/2009	$3,679.62	-1.858%	9.803%	8.026%	9.934%

Annualized Inflation

Knowing the current inflation rate is helpful in making short term decisions. Seeing a table of historical inflation rates is only slightly productive. For long term planning, what we're really interested in is the annualized inflation over a period of time. Sure, some years inflation may skyrocket to 20%, but other years it's flat or even negative. Taken together, they should be equivalent to one inflation rate applied each year. This annualized inflation rate (or geometric mean, or Compound Annual Growth Rate [CAGR]) is probably a good value to use when modeling inflation far into the future.

I found some great information over at InflationData.com, but I couldn't find any information on average or annualized inflation. I found a calculator at MeasuringWorth.com, but that also wasn't terribly useful except to give me a single final result. Then I found Peter Dolph on average inflation, but that was unclear whether it gave an average year-over-year inflation, which didn't make as much intuitive sense, or the geometric mean. So, I decided to compute it myself.

Since I love data, I started with the raw CPI data (see one of the tables below). I then computed the annualized inflation rate from 1913 up until each data point using the same month (or average, in the annual case) in each year. Looking at the table, things appeared to level out, so I decided to verify that with a graph! Not content with that, I then added the year-over-year inflation data for comparison purposes. Not content with that, I then computed and added a sliding 20-year window of annualized inflation rates.

The graph above (click for full size) shows the year-over-year inflation rate, a sliding 20-year annualized inflation rate, and an overall annualized inflation rate. Below, you can toggle between the raw CPI data and the overall annualized inflation rate table. The month of July was used for the graph for the simple reason that it was the most recent month data was available for this year. Also, the average 20-year annualized inflation rate was 3.236% compared to the overall annualized rate of 3.239% at the end of July, 2010, and compared to the 3.26% Peter Dolph found to be the average. Things seem to be pretty consistent.

"What about the risk of hyperinflation?" you may ask. Hyperinflation would indeed be bad, but I don't think it's particularly useful to worry about. If hyperinflation hits us, the world economy is likely completely broken and no amount of planning will help. You could argue that real goods like precious metals would hold their value, but I think owners of gold, for example, will have a hard time taking possession of that gold. Just a theory.

So, 3.3% is a pretty reasonable assumption for long term inflation, arrived at using various methods. This should give us some confidence when we create long term models and/or plans!

CPI Data Table Display Annualized Inflation Table

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2010	216.687	216.741	217.631	218.009	218.178	217.965	218.011	---	---	---	---	---	---
2009	211.143	212.193	212.709	213.240	213.856	215.693	215.351	215.834	215.969	216.177	216.330	215.949	214.537
2008	211.080	211.693	213.528	214.823	216.632	218.815	219.964	219.086	218.783	216.573	212.425	210.228	215.303
2007	202.416	203.499	205.352	206.686	207.949	208.352	208.299	207.917	208.490	208.936	210.177	210.036	207.342
2006	198.300	198.700	199.800	201.500	202.500	202.900	203.500	203.900	202.900	201.800	201.500	201.800	201.600
2005	190.700	191.800	193.300	194.600	194.400	194.500	195.400	196.400	198.800	199.200	197.600	196.800	195.300
2004	185.200	186.200	187.400	188.000	189.100	189.700	189.400	189.500	189.900	190.900	191.000	190.300	188.900
2003	181.700	183.100	184.200	183.800	183.500	183.700	183.900	184.600	185.200	185.000	184.500	184.300	183.960
2002	177.100	177.800	178.800	179.800	179.800	179.900	180.100	180.700	181.000	181.300	181.300	180.900	179.880
2001	175.100	175.800	176.200	176.900	177.700	178.000	177.500	177.500	178.300	177.700	177.400	176.700	177.100
2000	168.800	169.800	171.200	171.300	171.500	172.400	172.800	172.800	173.700	174.000	174.100	174.000	172.200
1999	164.300	164.500	165.000	166.200	166.200	166.200	166.700	167.100	167.900	168.200	168.300	168.300	166.600
1998	161.600	161.900	162.200	162.500	162.800	163.000	163.200	163.400	163.600	164.000	164.000	163.900	163.000
1997	159.100	159.600	160.000	160.200	160.100	160.300	160.500	160.800	161.200	161.600	161.500	161.300	160.500
1996	154.400	154.900	155.700	156.300	156.600	156.700	157.000	157.300	157.800	158.300	158.600	158.600	156.900
1995	150.300	150.900	151.400	151.900	152.200	152.500	152.500	152.900	153.200	153.700	153.600	153.500	152.400
1994	146.200	146.700	147.200	147.400	147.500	148.000	148.400	149.000	149.400	149.500	149.700	149.700	148.200
1993	142.600	143.100	143.600	144.000	144.200	144.400	144.400	144.800	145.100	145.700	145.800	145.800	144.500
1992	138.100	138.600	139.300	139.500	139.700	140.200	140.500	140.900	141.300	141.800	142.000	141.900	140.300
1991	134.600	134.800	135.000	135.200	135.600	136.000	136.200	136.600	137.200	137.400	137.800	137.900	136.200
1990	127.400	128.000	128.700	128.900	129.200	129.900	130.400	131.600	132.700	133.500	133.800	133.800	130.700
1989	121.100	121.600	122.300	123.100	123.800	124.100	124.400	124.600	125.000	125.600	125.900	126.100	124.000
1988	115.700	116.000	116.500	117.100	117.500	118.000	118.500	119.000	119.800	120.200	120.300	120.500	118.300
1987	111.200	111.600	112.100	112.700	113.100	113.500	113.800	114.400	115.000	115.300	115.400	115.400	113.600
1986	109.600	109.300	108.800	108.600	108.900	109.500	109.500	109.700	110.200	110.300	110.400	110.500	109.600
1985	105.500	106.000	106.400	106.900	107.300	107.600	107.800	108.000	108.300	108.700	109.000	109.300	107.600
1984	101.900	102.400	102.600	103.100	103.400	103.700	104.100	104.500	105.000	105.300	105.300	105.300	103.900
1983	97.800	97.900	97.900	98.600	99.200	99.500	99.900	100.200	100.700	101.000	101.200	101.300	99.600
1982	94.300	94.600	94.500	94.900	95.800	97.000	97.500	97.700	97.900	98.200	98.000	97.600	96.500
1981	87.000	87.900	88.500	89.100	89.800	90.600	91.600	92.300	93.200	93.400	93.700	94.000	90.900
1980	77.800	78.900	80.100	81.000	81.800	82.700	82.700	83.300	84.000	84.800	85.500	86.300	82.400
1979	68.300	69.100	69.800	70.600	71.500	72.300	73.100	73.800	74.600	75.200	75.900	76.700	72.600
1978	62.500	62.900	63.400	63.900	64.500	65.200	65.700	66.000	66.500	67.100	67.400	67.700	65.200
1977	58.500	59.100	59.500	60.000	60.300	60.700	61.000	61.200	61.400	61.600	61.900	62.100	60.600
1976	55.600	55.800	55.900	56.100	56.500	56.800	57.100	57.400	57.600	57.900	58.000	58.200	56.900
1975	52.100	52.500	52.700	52.900	53.200	53.600	54.200	54.300	54.600	54.900	55.300	55.500	53.800
1974	46.600	47.200	47.800	48.000	48.600	49.000	49.400	50.000	50.600	51.100	51.500	51.900	49.300
1973	42.600	42.900	43.300	43.600	43.900	44.200	44.300	45.100	45.200	45.600	45.900	46.200	44.400
1972	41.100	41.300	41.400	41.500	41.600	41.700	41.900	42.000	42.100	42.300	42.400	42.500	41.800
1971	39.800	39.900	40.000	40.100	40.300	40.600	40.700	40.800	40.800	40.900	40.900	41.100	40.500
1970	37.800	38.000	38.200	38.500	38.600	38.800	39.000	39.000	39.200	39.400	39.600	39.800	38.800
1969	35.600	35.800	36.100	36.300	36.400	36.600	36.800	37.000	37.100	37.300	37.500	37.700	36.700
1968	34.100	34.200	34.300	34.400	34.500	34.700	34.900	35.000	35.100	35.300	35.400	35.500	34.800
1967	32.900	32.900	33.000	33.100	33.200	33.300	33.400	33.500	33.600	33.700	33.800	33.900	33.400
1966	31.800	32.000	32.100	32.300	32.300	32.400	32.500	32.700	32.700	32.900	32.900	32.900	32.400
1965	31.200	31.200	31.300	31.400	31.400	31.600	31.600	31.600	31.600	31.700	31.700	31.800	31.500
1964	30.900	30.900	30.900	30.900	30.900	31.000	31.100	31.000	31.100	31.100	31.200	31.200	31.000
1963	30.400	30.400	30.500	30.500	30.500	30.600	30.700	30.700	30.700	30.800	30.800	30.900	30.600
1962	30.000	30.100	30.100	30.200	30.200	30.200	30.300	30.300	30.400	30.400	30.400	30.400	30.200
1961	29.800	29.800	29.800	29.800	29.800	29.800	30.000	29.900	30.000	30.000	30.000	30.000	29.900
1960	29.300	29.400	29.400	29.500	29.500	29.600	29.600	29.600	29.600	29.800	29.800	29.800	29.600
1959	29.000	28.900	28.900	29.000	29.000	29.100	29.200	29.200	29.300	29.400	29.400	29.400	29.100
1958	28.600	28.600	28.800	28.900	28.900	28.900	29.000	28.900	28.900	28.900	29.000	28.900	28.900
1957	27.600	27.700	27.800	27.900	28.000	28.100	28.300	28.300	28.300	28.300	28.400	28.400	28.100
1956	26.800	26.800	26.800	26.900	27.000	27.200	27.400	27.300	27.400	27.500	27.500	27.600	27.200
1955	26.700	26.700	26.700	26.700	26.700	26.700	26.800	26.800	26.900	26.900	26.900	26.800	26.800
1954	26.900	26.900	26.900	26.800	26.900	26.900	26.900	26.900	26.800	26.800	26.800	26.700	26.900
1953	26.600	26.500	26.600	26.600	26.700	26.800	26.800	26.900	26.900	27.000	26.900	26.900	26.700
1952	26.500	26.300	26.300	26.400	26.400	26.500	26.700	26.700	26.700	26.700	26.700	26.700	26.500
1951	25.400	25.700	25.800	25.800	25.900	25.900	25.900	25.900	26.100	26.200	26.400	26.500	26.000
1950	23.500	23.500	23.600	23.600	23.700	23.800	24.100	24.300	24.400	24.600	24.700	25.000	24.100
1949	24.000	23.800	23.800	23.900	23.800	23.900	23.700	23.800	23.900	23.700	23.800	23.600	23.800
1948	23.700	23.500	23.400	23.800	23.900	24.100	24.400	24.500	24.500	24.400	24.200	24.100	24.100
1947	21.500	21.500	21.900	21.900	21.900	22.000	22.200	22.500	23.000	23.000	23.100	23.400	22.300
1946	18.200	18.100	18.300	18.400	18.500	18.700	19.800	20.200	20.400	20.800	21.300	21.500	19.500
1945	17.800	17.800	17.800	17.800	17.900	18.100	18.100	18.100	18.100	18.100	18.100	18.200	18.000
1944	17.400	17.400	17.400	17.500	17.500	17.600	17.700	17.700	17.700	17.700	17.700	17.800	17.600
1943	16.900	16.900	17.200	17.400	17.500	17.500	17.400	17.300	17.400	17.400	17.400	17.400	17.300
1942	15.700	15.800	16.000	16.100	16.300	16.300	16.400	16.500	16.500	16.700	16.800	16.900	16.300
1941	14.100	14.100	14.200	14.300	14.400	14.700	14.700	14.900	15.100	15.300	15.400	15.500	14.700
1940	13.900	14.000	14.000	14.000	14.000	14.100	14.000	14.000	14.000	14.000	14.000	14.100	14.000
1939	14.000	13.900	13.900	13.800	13.800	13.800	13.800	13.800	14.100	14.000	14.000	14.000	13.900
1938	14.200	14.100	14.100	14.200	14.100	14.100	14.100	14.100	14.100	14.000	14.000	14.000	14.100
1937	14.100	14.100	14.200	14.300	14.400	14.400	14.500	14.500	14.600	14.600	14.500	14.400	14.400
1936	13.800	13.800	13.700	13.700	13.700	13.800	13.900	14.000	14.000	14.000	14.000	14.000	13.900
1935	13.600	13.700	13.700	13.800	13.800	13.700	13.700	13.700	13.700	13.700	13.800	13.800	13.700
1934	13.200	13.300	13.300	13.300	13.300	13.400	13.400	13.400	13.600	13.500	13.500	13.400	13.400
1933	12.900	12.700	12.600	12.600	12.600	12.700	13.100	13.200	13.200	13.200	13.200	13.200	13.000
1932	14.300	14.100	14.000	13.900	13.700	13.600	13.600	13.500	13.400	13.300	13.200	13.100	13.700
1931	15.900	15.700	15.600	15.500	15.300	15.100	15.100	15.100	15.000	14.900	14.700	14.600	15.200
1930	17.100	17.000	16.900	17.000	16.900	16.800	16.600	16.500	16.600	16.500	16.400	16.100	16.700
1929	17.100	17.100	17.000	16.900	17.000	17.100	17.300	17.300	17.300	17.300	17.300	17.200	17.100
1928	17.300	17.100	17.100	17.100	17.200	17.100	17.100	17.100	17.300	17.200	17.200	17.100	17.100
1927	17.500	17.400	17.300	17.300	17.400	17.600	17.300	17.200	17.300	17.400	17.300	17.300	17.400
1926	17.900	17.900	17.800	17.900	17.800	17.700	17.500	17.400	17.500	17.600	17.700	17.700	17.700
1925	17.300	17.200	17.300	17.200	17.300	17.500	17.700	17.700	17.700	17.700	18.000	17.900	17.500
1924	17.300	17.200	17.100	17.000	17.000	17.000	17.100	17.000	17.100	17.200	17.200	17.300	17.100
1923	16.800	16.800	16.800	16.900	16.900	17.000	17.200	17.100	17.200	17.300	17.300	17.300	17.100
1922	16.900	16.900	16.700	16.700	16.700	16.700	16.800	16.600	16.600	16.700	16.800	16.900	16.800
1921	19.000	18.400	18.300	18.100	17.700	17.600	17.700	17.700	17.500	17.500	17.400	17.300	17.900
1920	19.300	19.500	19.700	20.300	20.600	20.900	20.800	20.300	20.000	19.900	19.800	19.400	20.000
1919	16.500	16.200	16.400	16.700	16.900	16.900	17.400	17.700	17.800	18.100	18.500	18.900	17.300
1918	14.000	14.100	14.000	14.200	14.500	14.700	15.100	15.400	15.700	16.000	16.300	16.500	15.100
1917	11.700	12.000	12.000	12.600	12.800	13.000	12.800	13.000	13.300	13.500	13.500	13.700	12.800
1916	10.400	10.400	10.500	10.600	10.700	10.800	10.800	10.900	11.100	11.300	11.500	11.600	10.900
1915	10.100	10.000	9.900	10.000	10.100	10.100	10.100	10.100	10.100	10.200	10.300	10.300	10.100
1914	10.000	9.900	9.900	9.800	9.900	9.900	10.000	10.200	10.200	10.100	10.200	10.100	10.000
1913	9.800	9.800	9.800	9.800	9.700	9.800	9.900	9.900	10.000	10.000	10.100	10.000	9.900

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2010	3.243	3.244	3.248	3.250	3.262	3.250	3.239	---	---	---	---	---	---
2009	3.250	3.255	3.258	3.260	3.275	3.273	3.260	3.262	3.252	3.253	3.243	3.252	3.256
2008	3.284	3.287	3.297	3.303	3.324	3.323	3.318	3.314	3.301	3.290	3.258	3.258	3.295
2007	3.274	3.280	3.289	3.297	3.315	3.305	3.294	3.292	3.284	3.286	3.282	3.292	3.289
2006	3.287	3.289	3.295	3.304	3.321	3.312	3.304	3.306	3.290	3.284	3.271	3.284	3.294
2005	3.279	3.286	3.294	3.302	3.312	3.301	3.295	3.301	3.303	3.305	3.285	3.292	3.294
2004	3.282	3.289	3.296	3.299	3.318	3.310	3.296	3.297	3.288	3.294	3.283	3.290	3.293
2003	3.298	3.306	3.313	3.311	3.321	3.310	3.300	3.304	3.296	3.295	3.281	3.291	3.300
2002	3.306	3.310	3.317	3.323	3.335	3.324	3.313	3.317	3.307	3.309	3.298	3.307	3.312
2001	3.330	3.335	3.338	3.342	3.360	3.350	3.334	3.334	3.328	3.324	3.310	3.317	3.332
2000	3.326	3.333	3.343	3.343	3.357	3.351	3.342	3.342	3.336	3.338	3.327	3.338	3.337
1999	3.333	3.334	3.338	3.346	3.359	3.346	3.338	3.341	3.334	3.337	3.325	3.337	3.337
1998	3.352	3.355	3.357	3.359	3.374	3.363	3.352	3.353	3.343	3.346	3.334	3.345	3.350
1997	3.374	3.378	3.381	3.382	3.394	3.383	3.372	3.374	3.365	3.368	3.355	3.366	3.372
1996	3.378	3.382	3.388	3.393	3.408	3.396	3.386	3.388	3.380	3.384	3.374	3.386	3.385
1995	3.386	3.391	3.395	3.399	3.414	3.404	3.391	3.394	3.384	3.388	3.375	3.387	3.390
1994	3.393	3.397	3.402	3.403	3.417	3.408	3.399	3.404	3.395	3.396	3.385	3.397	3.397
1993	3.404	3.408	3.413	3.416	3.431	3.420	3.407	3.410	3.400	3.405	3.393	3.406	3.408
1992	3.406	3.410	3.417	3.419	3.434	3.425	3.415	3.419	3.409	3.414	3.403	3.415	3.413
1991	3.416	3.418	3.420	3.422	3.439	3.430	3.418	3.422	3.415	3.416	3.407	3.421	3.418
1990	3.387	3.394	3.401	3.403	3.420	3.413	3.405	3.417	3.415	3.423	3.413	3.426	3.408
1989	3.364	3.369	3.377	3.386	3.407	3.397	3.386	3.388	3.379	3.386	3.375	3.391	3.382
1988	3.346	3.350	3.356	3.363	3.382	3.373	3.365	3.371	3.366	3.371	3.358	3.374	3.363
1987	3.337	3.342	3.348	3.356	3.375	3.365	3.355	3.362	3.356	3.359	3.346	3.360	3.352
1986	3.363	3.359	3.352	3.350	3.368	3.361	3.347	3.350	3.342	3.343	3.330	3.346	3.348
1985	3.356	3.362	3.368	3.374	3.395	3.384	3.372	3.375	3.364	3.369	3.359	3.377	3.369
1984	3.353	3.360	3.363	3.370	3.389	3.379	3.369	3.375	3.367	3.371	3.357	3.371	3.367
1983	3.341	3.343	3.343	3.353	3.377	3.367	3.357	3.362	3.354	3.359	3.347	3.363	3.353
1982	3.336	3.340	3.339	3.345	3.375	3.378	3.371	3.374	3.362	3.366	3.348	3.357	3.355
1981	3.263	3.279	3.289	3.299	3.327	3.325	3.326	3.338	3.337	3.340	3.330	3.350	3.314
1980	3.140	3.162	3.185	3.203	3.233	3.235	3.219	3.230	3.227	3.242	3.239	3.269	3.213
1979	2.985	3.004	3.019	3.037	3.073	3.074	3.076	3.090	3.092	3.104	3.103	3.135	3.065
1978	2.891	2.902	2.914	2.927	2.958	2.958	2.954	2.962	2.958	2.972	2.963	2.986	2.942
1977	2.831	2.847	2.858	2.872	2.896	2.890	2.882	2.887	2.876	2.881	2.873	2.894	2.871
1976	2.794	2.799	2.802	2.808	2.836	2.828	2.820	2.829	2.818	2.827	2.813	2.835	2.815
1975	2.731	2.744	2.750	2.757	2.783	2.778	2.780	2.783	2.776	2.785	2.780	2.803	2.768
1974	2.589	2.611	2.632	2.639	2.677	2.674	2.670	2.690	2.694	2.710	2.707	2.736	2.667
1973	2.479	2.491	2.507	2.519	2.548	2.542	2.529	2.559	2.546	2.561	2.555	2.583	2.533
1972	2.460	2.468	2.472	2.476	2.498	2.485	2.475	2.480	2.466	2.475	2.461	2.483	2.471
1971	2.446	2.450	2.455	2.459	2.486	2.481	2.467	2.472	2.454	2.458	2.441	2.467	2.459
1970	2.397	2.406	2.415	2.430	2.453	2.443	2.434	2.434	2.426	2.435	2.426	2.453	2.425
1969	2.330	2.340	2.356	2.366	2.390	2.381	2.372	2.382	2.369	2.379	2.370	2.398	2.367
1968	2.293	2.298	2.304	2.309	2.334	2.325	2.317	2.323	2.309	2.320	2.307	2.330	2.312
1967	2.268	2.268	2.274	2.280	2.305	2.291	2.277	2.283	2.270	2.275	2.262	2.287	2.277
1966	2.246	2.258	2.264	2.276	2.296	2.282	2.268	2.280	2.261	2.272	2.253	2.272	2.262
1965	2.252	2.252	2.258	2.265	2.285	2.277	2.257	2.257	2.237	2.244	2.224	2.250	2.251
1964	2.277	2.277	2.277	2.277	2.298	2.284	2.270	2.263	2.250	2.250	2.236	2.256	2.263
1963	2.290	2.290	2.297	2.297	2.318	2.303	2.289	2.289	2.269	2.275	2.255	2.282	2.283
1962	2.310	2.317	2.317	2.323	2.345	2.323	2.309	2.309	2.295	2.295	2.274	2.295	2.302
1961	2.344	2.344	2.344	2.344	2.366	2.344	2.337	2.329	2.315	2.315	2.294	2.315	2.329
1960	2.358	2.365	2.365	2.372	2.395	2.380	2.358	2.358	2.336	2.350	2.329	2.350	2.358
1959	2.387	2.379	2.379	2.387	2.409	2.394	2.379	2.379	2.364	2.372	2.350	2.372	2.372
1958	2.409	2.409	2.424	2.432	2.456	2.432	2.417	2.409	2.386	2.386	2.372	2.386	2.409
1957	2.381	2.390	2.398	2.406	2.439	2.423	2.416	2.416	2.392	2.392	2.377	2.401	2.399
1956	2.367	2.367	2.367	2.376	2.409	2.402	2.396	2.387	2.372	2.380	2.357	2.389	2.378
1955	2.415	2.415	2.415	2.415	2.440	2.415	2.399	2.399	2.384	2.384	2.360	2.375	2.399
1954	2.493	2.493	2.493	2.484	2.519	2.493	2.468	2.468	2.434	2.434	2.409	2.424	2.468
1953	2.528	2.518	2.528	2.528	2.564	2.547	2.521	2.530	2.505	2.514	2.479	2.505	2.511
1952	2.583	2.564	2.564	2.574	2.601	2.583	2.577	2.577	2.550	2.550	2.524	2.550	2.557
1951	2.538	2.570	2.580	2.580	2.618	2.591	2.563	2.563	2.557	2.567	2.561	2.598	2.574
1950	2.392	2.392	2.404	2.404	2.444	2.427	2.434	2.457	2.440	2.463	2.446	2.507	2.434
1949	2.519	2.495	2.495	2.507	2.525	2.507	2.454	2.466	2.450	2.426	2.410	2.414	2.466
1948	2.555	2.530	2.518	2.568	2.610	2.604	2.611	2.623	2.593	2.581	2.528	2.545	2.575
1947	2.338	2.338	2.393	2.393	2.424	2.407	2.404	2.444	2.480	2.480	2.463	2.532	2.417
1946	1.894	1.877	1.911	1.927	1.976	1.977	2.123	2.185	2.184	2.244	2.287	2.347	2.075
1945	1.883	1.883	1.883	1.883	1.933	1.936	1.903	1.903	1.871	1.871	1.840	1.889	1.886
1944	1.869	1.869	1.869	1.888	1.922	1.907	1.892	1.892	1.859	1.859	1.826	1.877	1.873
1943	1.833	1.833	1.893	1.932	1.986	1.952	1.898	1.878	1.863	1.863	1.830	1.863	1.878
1942	1.638	1.661	1.705	1.727	1.806	1.770	1.756	1.777	1.742	1.784	1.770	1.826	1.734
1941	1.308	1.308	1.333	1.359	1.421	1.459	1.422	1.471	1.483	1.530	1.518	1.578	1.422
1940	1.303	1.330	1.330	1.330	1.368	1.356	1.292	1.292	1.254	1.254	1.217	1.281	1.292
1939	1.381	1.353	1.353	1.325	1.365	1.325	1.286	1.286	1.330	1.303	1.264	1.303	1.314
1938	1.494	1.466	1.466	1.494	1.507	1.466	1.425	1.425	1.384	1.355	1.315	1.355	1.425
1937	1.527	1.527	1.557	1.587	1.660	1.616	1.603	1.603	1.589	1.589	1.518	1.531	1.573
1936	1.499	1.499	1.467	1.467	1.512	1.499	1.486	1.518	1.474	1.474	1.430	1.474	1.486
1935	1.501	1.534	1.534	1.568	1.615	1.534	1.488	1.488	1.441	1.441	1.429	1.475	1.488
1934	1.428	1.465	1.465	1.465	1.514	1.501	1.452	1.452	1.475	1.439	1.391	1.403	1.452
1933	1.384	1.305	1.265	1.265	1.316	1.305	1.410	1.449	1.398	1.398	1.347	1.398	1.371
1932	2.009	1.933	1.895	1.857	1.834	1.740	1.685	1.646	1.552	1.512	1.419	1.431	1.724
1931	2.725	2.653	2.616	2.580	2.564	2.431	2.373	2.373	2.278	2.240	2.107	2.125	2.411
1930	3.329	3.293	3.257	3.293	3.320	3.221	3.087	3.050	3.026	2.990	2.892	2.841	3.124
1929	3.541	3.541	3.503	3.464	3.569	3.541	3.550	3.550	3.485	3.485	3.421	3.448	3.475
1928	3.862	3.781	3.781	3.781	3.892	3.781	3.711	3.711	3.722	3.682	3.613	3.641	3.711
1927	4.229	4.186	4.143	4.143	4.262	4.271	4.067	4.024	3.993	4.036	3.919	3.993	4.110
1926	4.743	4.743	4.698	4.743	4.781	4.653	4.479	4.433	4.399	4.445	4.410	4.490	4.571
1925	4.850	4.799	4.850	4.799	4.940	4.950	4.961	4.961	4.873	4.873	4.933	4.971	4.862
1924	5.302	5.247	5.191	5.135	5.233	5.135	5.094	5.038	4.998	5.054	4.959	5.109	5.094
1923	5.538	5.538	5.538	5.601	5.709	5.663	5.679	5.618	5.573	5.634	5.529	5.634	5.618
1922	6.242	6.242	6.101	6.101	6.222	6.101	6.052	5.911	5.793	5.864	5.817	6.004	6.052
1921	8.628	8.193	8.119	7.971	7.808	7.593	7.533	7.533	7.246	7.246	7.036	7.092	7.684
1920	10.166	10.328	10.489	10.964	11.360	11.427	11.189	10.803	10.409	10.330	10.094	9.930	10.568
1919	9.071	8.738	8.961	9.290	9.695	9.507	9.855	10.168	10.087	10.394	10.614	11.193	9.749
1918	7.394	7.547	7.394	7.699	8.373	8.447	8.810	9.239	9.441	9.856	10.046	10.534	8.810
1917	4.530	5.193	5.193	6.484	7.179	7.320	6.634	7.048	7.390	7.791	7.523	8.188	6.634
1916	2.001	2.001	2.326	2.650	3.325	3.292	2.943	3.260	3.540	4.158	4.422	5.072	3.260
1915	1.519	1.015	0.509	1.015	2.041	1.519	1.005	1.005	0.499	0.995	0.985	1.489	1.005
1914	2.041	1.020	1.020	0.000	2.062	1.020	1.010	3.030	2.000	1.000	0.990	1.000	1.010
1913	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---

CPI Data Table Display Annualized Inflation Table

Weaver's Auto Center Review

Weaver's Auto Center is where I've taken my car for it's oil change the last couple of times. The first time I also had a lot of brake work done.

While waiting for my car's oil leak to be diagnosed today, I witnessed something remarkable. If nothing else, it goes against the stereotype of car repair places. A woman was waiting on her car, too, and from what I could tell, her door handles weren't working reliably. The representative came out and talked to her about how online reports indicate that this is a common problem for her car, and that while they don't think it is anything related to what they previously worked on, they would go ahead and take care of it. So, he had already ordered the parts, would paint the handles if necessary, and install them when they arrived just to make sure there was no possibility that the car was in any way worse than when it was originally brought it. I was impressed.

The only problem I have with them so far is that they have Fox News playing on the TV. Perhaps they are just catering to the average Kansas customer, for which I can't really blame them. ;)

Old Technology Hurts Everyone

This week, I was shown an example of how some companies refusing to join the 21st century can impact other companies. WaterOne and the City of Olathe each handle a part of my water, sewer, and trash bills. As part of my plan to close my Merrill Lynch brokerage and checking accounts, I have been transferring my various bill payments to my credit card or my Bank of America checking account, depending on whether they offer free credit card payments or not.

Now, KCP&L and Atmos Energy at least allowed me to manage my payment methods online. They both required me to cancel automatic payments, wait two days, and then initiate automatic payments again with the new account information, but it was straightforward enough. WaterOne and City of Olathe, however, require a printed form to be mailed or faxed (ha!) along with a voided check for the new account.

I really don't write many checks. Just about the only time I write checks is when someone offers a discount for paying with "cash." So, I paid for my storm door and my furnace by check, and that's it for the past three years. Except for the homeowners' association dues, but I really shouldn't go into my complaints with them right now. Basically, I don't write checks. When I opened my Bank of America checking account, I didn't get checks with it because...I don't write checks. And I have checks for my E*TRADE brokerage account for those one or two checks a year I do write.

Ah ha! But Waterone and the City of Olathe require voided checks. So, in order to not have to write checks, I had to order checks and void them out. Really, that's what I had to do. The minimum order was 150 checks (thankfully free to me because Bank of America bought my mortgage). I tore out two, wrote "VOID" on them, and put the rest back in the box they came in. What a waste!

WaterOne and the City of Olathe make changing account information a hassle. It cost me time, two stamps, and two envelopes; it cost Bank of America 150 useless checks plus shipping; it cost WaterOne and City of Olathe personnel time to process the hand-written form. You know what's even worse? WaterOne still doesn't even offer paperless billing!

Thoughts on Marriage - The Screwtape Letters: XVIII

In The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis, specifically in letter XVIII, Screwtape describes how they have undermined the institution of marriage:

We have done this through the poets and novelists by persuading the humans that a curious, and usually short-lived, experience which they call "being in love" is the only respectable ground for marriage; that marriage can, and ought to, render this excitement permanent; and that a marriage which does not do so is no longer binding.

And later:

... thanks to us, the idea of marrying with any other motive [than being in love] seems to them low and cynical. Yes, they think that. They regard the intention of loyalty to a partnership for mutual help, for the preservation of chastity, and for the transmission of life, as something lower than a storm of emotion.

I have rejected many (many being highly relative) people that are good matches on paper simply because I didn't feel that spark. Having felt that spark - sometimes incredibly intensely, I really do feel that is the way it should be. I want to marry someone whose presence is all I desire. I want my first thought upon seeing her to be "I want to hold her hand." I think the key is the second half of the first quote: "...marriage can, and ought to, render this excitement permanent; and that a marriage which does not do so is no longer binding." That attitude is a major problem for the institution of marriage. It's not reasonable to expect a feeling to last, unchanged, forever. Still, I think marriage should definitely start with that excitement.

On the other hand, I understand the pressure to find someone so as to not be alone, or because your biological clock is ticking, or both, or other. There are also plenty of stories of arranged marriages resulting in two people loving each other very much. In short, it does not appear that that excitement is necessary for a successful, happy marriage. "[T]he intention of loyalty to a partnership for mutual help, for the preservation of chastity, and for the transmission of life" might really be a sound basis for marriage. I think that feeling of being completely in love might be necessary for me, though.

It really boils down to whether or not I feel like I'm settling, I think. Having felt that intense love, would it ever be OK for me to marry someone I simply love? Having dated someone, would it be fair to either me or another person if I married someone I didn't think was quite as spectacular? Having merely known someone I can find no fault in, have I limited myself to the 0.00001% of the population I find absolutely perfect? Or do I just find these people perfect because I'm already in love?

I think I only have more questions left, so I will open this up for discussion. Do you think love is necessary before marriage, or do you trust that it will develop? How intensely should love be felt at various stages in the relationship? When do you move your standards up or down when single? I've been assuming so far that monogamous marriage is the goal because it's my goal, but feel free to discuss alternatives to traditional marriage, too.

Get 10% off at Home Depot: Part II

I don't think I need to feel bad about gaming the system, or anything like that, when I bought a gift card for bonus rewards. So far, I've used my gift card twice and still have $30.64 left. I'm assuming that gift cards are accounted for in-house, so my small purchases with the gift card will save Home Depot a bit of money on the credit card transaction fees. There was the initial transaction fee when I bought the card, but after that each purchase should save them $0.25 or so.

More than that, having the gift card in my wallet encourages me to shop at Home Depot for things I might not normally go there for. The more you bring someone in, the more likely they are to buy something they didn't really want.... Even more important, this has gotten me to write two whole posts on this now, so I've advertised for them to... what, two or three people? ;)

Also, in addition to Chase's Rewards Plus program, Bank of America has their Add It Up program. It seems to offer similar deals on the big stores, but has its own collection of smaller merchants. One that was heavily featured when I just now looked at it was 50% off match.com. I'm sure the fine print makes it hard to use, but that's definitely not available through Chase. Check your banking institution or credit card supplier, and let me know if you find any good deals!

Get 10% off at Home Depot!

Thanks to an email from Chase advertising their Rewards Plus program, coupled with several recent trips to Home Depot making their logo catch my eye, I clicked through and looked at the extra rewards for HomeDepot.com. At the time, they were offering 10% bonus rewards! It has since dropped to 5%, but that's still better than nothing, for sure. What makes this special is that their offer includes the following: "Eligible on the purchase of gift cards." Most merchants include the word "Not" at the beginning, and so I was fearing it was a typo.

Honestly, I don't think that I'd ever shop at HomeDepot.com. I think I'll always want to see the hardware-type products first. However, I'm happy to buy gift cards online - especially the kind you can print off yourself! So, I went ahead and bought a $50 gift card to see if it actually worked. Today, I got the notification that I earned $5 in bonus rewards! Gift cards work just like cash, so this is in addition to any other sales or coupons you take advantage of. Not too shabby.

I'll be keeping my eye out for other merchants that offer bonus rewards on gift cards. In fact, the Chase Rewards Plus site has a link at the top called "Gift Cards." It's not clear if this list is 100% accurate or exhaustive. Nothing else really stood out to me, either. Ah well!