Christmas is Expensive These Days

Christmas is getting expensive, according to a PNC Bank study. According to the study (and yes, this is real), the cost of Christmas went up 18.8% over last year. What is it, you ask, that went up 18.8%?

Well, that should be obvious. One partridge in a pear tree now costs $77.50. Two turtle doves come in slightly cheaper at $58.00. The really pricey parts of Christmas are the seven swans-a-swimming at $3,500 (which jumped 66.7% from last year), the 10 lords a leaping at $4,230.89 and the nine ladies dancing at $3,921.44. According to PNC Advisers, that brings the total price of Christmas to $65,264.28 — after all 12 verses, of course.

According to Jeff Kleintop, PNC's chief investment strategist, “the Index reflects the broader trend of productivity growth in the U.S. economy that has driven prices lower on goods while allowing prices for services to rise modestly.” Kleintop continued by noting, “whereas in the mid-1980s the cost of the goods in the song dominated the Index, the trend over time has been toward lower goods prices, such as the pear tree, and higher prices for skilled labor, such as the pipers.”

That's good to keep in mind.