the CPI calculator from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Here's a link to the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI calculator: http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

You may also want to consider this article and the accompanying graphic: A Rough Ten Years for the Middle Class

graphic from US Census Bureau via CNN Money
Middle-class income fell 7% in the last decade, adjusted for inflation.

So are you better off than your parents?

Homework Suggestion:

• Go home and ask a parent what year it was when he/she was 25 years old. Next, ask what he/she earned during that year. Use the CPI calculator to see how much you would have to earn to have the same buying power as your parent when he/she was 25 years old.