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Your Retirement Life: Don’t Pay Too Much for Your Big Macs

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Since 1986, The Economist has published its Big Mac Index. The index is a lighthearted way of viewing purchasing power across national borders. The theory is that a McDonald’s Big Mac uses the same ingredients and labor from one country to another, so when prices are compared in dollar terms, the differences in the purchasing power of money between locations is easy to see. In the latest reading, Russia has the cheapest Big Mac, at only $1.65. Fluctuating currency valuations can have a big impact on the index when dealing with different countries.

When comparing the U.S. states, however, currency effects are not a factor. You can see via the Cost of Living Index below that different states can have vastly different costs. Is it any wonder so many Americans are moving for retirement from high tax, high cost states to those with low taxes and low costs of living? See where your state shows up on the 2018 Annual Cost of Living Average released by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC).

If you’re about to retire, and you’re looking for a change, consider doing a little Big Mac research of your own. First visit the McDonald’s in your high tax home town, then when you’re scoping out your possible retirement destination, compare the price of a Big Mac there. It’s not very scientific, but it could be fun.

2018 Annual Cost of Living Average – MERIC
State Rank Index Grocery Housing Transportation Utilities Health Care Misc
Mississippi 1 85.7 91.4 70.8 91.6 90.6 91.4 94.2
Oklahoma 2 88.1 92.5 74.6 92.7 95.7 95.4 95.5
Arkansas 3 88.4 96.5 76.4 90.9 91.1 85.9 91.2
Missouri 4 88.8 93.0 73.5 93.8 99.5 98.0 98.0
Michigan 5 89.3 94.6 78.0 101.0 96.6 92.8 85.9
Alabama 6 89.5 97.0 72.4 92.1 104.6 87.9 96.0
Tennessee 7 89.5 94.1 80.3 90.8 95.2 88.0 93.9
Kansas 8 89.7 93.7 76.5 95.8 102.4 96.5 93.4
Indiana 9 90.1 96.6 76.7 97.2 96.6 95.2 92.0
Wyoming 10 90.5 92.6 79.8 95.5 92.8 94.5 102.2
Georgia 11 91.2 97.7 76.8 97.4 92.2 96.9 98.9
Texas 12 91.3 94.0 84.3 94.4 101.0 95.2 89.9
Iowa 13 91.8 95.4 80.3 97.9 99.7 97.1 96.3
Kentucky 14 91.8 99.4 80.9 98.3 96.2 90.9 88.9
New Mexico 15 92.8 94.2 84.1 96.2 90.0 102.2 104.5
Ohio 16 92.8 100.8 77.2 101.4 93.2 96.1 99.2
Nebraska 17 93.3 94.6 88.4 99.9 91.2 98.9 95.4
Louisiana 18 93.6 97.0 86.8 96.6 89.6 94.9 100.4
North Carolina 19 94.0 100.5 83.0 93.9 95.3 107.5 96.0
Idaho 20 94.2 98.0 86.9 107.9 87.6 100.2 93.1
West Virginia 21 94.7 103.1 88.6 87.1 89.3 91.6 96.0
Illinois 22 95.7 98.6 88.2 104.2 96.7 100.3 97.0
Wisconsin 23 95.8 97.7 88.8 101.7 96.6 112.9 96.4
Arizona 24 97.7 94.8 95.6 103.3 107.7 95.8 99.6
Utah 25 98.2 99.8 95.0 103.3 93.5 96.8 101.0
South Carolina 26 98.3 104.7 87.4 92.7 108.4 101.0 101.8
South Dakota 27 98.5 99.0 100.5 92.3 92.2 105.1 99.4
Pennsylvania 28 98.6 98.9 93.1 107.1 106.8 92.3 100.4
North Dakota 29 98.7 98.7 94.4 104.1 92.0 111.8 105.1
Florida 30 98.9 98.2 96.1 99.2 101.3 95.5 106.2
Minnesota 31 101.5 109.1 89.4 102.6 98.1 111.4 106.6
Virginia 32 102.0 100.3 111.9 89.4 97.7 100.4 96.6
Montana 33 104.0 104.6 110.5 95.4 86.6 105.4 105.5
Colorado 34 105.5 100.2 120.7 104.8 86.2 102.2 100.6
Delaware 35 106.0 112.0 101.4 103.9 100.0 99.3 108.0
Nevada 36 108.3 103.3 119.2 110.3 88.9 107.4 109.2
New Hampshire 37 109.3 114.2 106.9 97.4 115.0 117.1 103.8
Washington 38 109.5 108.4 114.4 114.1 90.6 119.0 108.1
Maine 39 117.2 117.7 125.4 104.6 113.5 116.6 109.6
Vermont 40 118.7 105.8 144.1 110.8 117.6 102.7 108.1
New Jersey 41 122.5 110.9 155.0 110.3 107.0 105.1 105.4
Rhode Island 42 122.5 118.1 142.1 102.3 121.2 111.0 109.4
Connecticut 43 128.8 121.5 155.4 116.3 113.7 118.8 111.1
Alaska 44 130.6 117.0 138.1 119.8 150.8 146.3 138.8
Oregon 45 131.2 112.9 182.2 116.8 88.1 111.2 112.3
Maryland 46 131.3 109.0 189.9 106.7 105.9 91.1 107.6
Massachusetts 47 133.8 120.4 174.4 111.9 111.6 120.8 113.9
New York 48 135.7 112.7 197.1 107.9 105.5 103.9 110.6
California 49 138.7 111.2 196.1 122.0 121.6 110.8 116.6
District of Columbia 50 162.9 127.7 268.2 102.7 115.6 99.6 116.9
Hawaii 51 190.1 124.2 311.0 140.7 172.1 116.3 165.9
US Average 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com