Welcome to a genuinely unscientific index

of how much it used to cost

and what it costs now.

This index tracks two commodities. The base prices begin in the year 2000 and any percentage  increases or decreases are based on that 2000 price. No taxes, where applicable, are added into the listed prices. There are no "adjustments" made anywhere. While most prices were published in January, as the decade progressed, some price increases were recorded as they occurred. Why? Because, in 2007, almost prophetically, they came so fast and furiously, I thought it important to record these increases as they happened.

For the purposes of this index, I have chosen to use Publix Supermarket's in-store bakery Buttercrust Homestyle White Bread. I believe that the one pound loaf more than adequately fulfills the "Bread" requirement of this study. It also tastes better than the other stuff they have in the regular bread aisle. No specialty breads (hamburger buns, baguettes, etc.) were researched, or recorded, though I did stop buying the french hamburger buns when the price went from a $1.79 for 8 to a whopping $3.59.

To fulfill the requirement for the "Circus" portion of the Index, and since I am based in Orlando, Florida, I have decided to use the price of a one day admission ticket to Disney World. Again, this is just the straight ticket price. No taxes have been added. No "special" deals or package prices were researched, tracked or recorded.