Forget the high cost of college or that healthcare costs are twice the national rate of inflation. If you want eye-popping price increases, look no further than the going rate for the “Twelve Days of Christmas.”
If you have an extra $27,393 lying around, you can pay the 7.7 percent increase from 2012 according to PNC Wealth Management’s Christmas Price Index.
The high-priced talent inflated the price tag by leaps and bounds: 10 lords-a-leaping rose 10 percent to a cool $5,243 while nine ladies dancing increased a cool 20 percent to $7,553.
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Reuters reported that PNC took pains to calculate the costs carefully with specialty retailers. They contacted the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, the Philadelphia Dance Company and the Pennsylvania Ballet, which they no doubt believe represents a national median on costs.
PNC’s Jim Dunigan, managing executive for investments, told Reuters, "We were surprised to see such a large increase from a year ago, given the overall benign inflation rate in the United States. But the dancers in the index took a huge leap this year to play catch up from paltry increases the previous few years."
Some items didn’t fly off the shelves last year and showed no increase, including the partridge, the turtle doves and the French hens. With gold prices down, the 5 gold rings remained steady as well.
One surprise—the partridge’s pear tree dropped in price, costing a mere $184.
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