Affordability is relative to income, not nominal price

principle

Affordability is not the sticker price but the share of your earning power needed to pay it. A product can rise sharply in rupees while becoming dramatically cheaper in lived time.

In 1985, a colour TV cost ₹8,000—and the average Indian had to work about two and a half years to buy it. Today, a far better 4K television may cost ₹30,000 yet require only two months of earnings.

Convert rupees into working time

Nominal prices measure currency; affordability measures sacrifice. It moves with two variables: the price of the good and the buyer’s income. If earnings rise much faster than the price, the purchase consumes a smaller fraction of income even though the number on the tag is larger.

Working time makes that change legible. The television’s price rose nearly fourfold, but the labour needed to obtain it fell from years to months. That is the economically relevant comparison: not ₹8,000 versus ₹30,000 in isolation, but how much of a life each amount claims at the prevailing earning power.

Where it shows up

From years of work to months

The television comparison shows why memories of lower prices can misdescribe material life. The older product was nominally cheaper but demanded roughly fifteen times as much working time—and delivered much less capability than the newer 4K set.

The average can hide the buyer

This comparison establishes a broad change in affordability, not universal access. A person’s actual burden depends on their own income, so an average-income calculation cannot prove that every household can afford the television. Quality differences also mean this is not a like-for-like price index; it is a comparison of the lived sacrifice required for the available product.

Put the price tag on a clock

For a major purchase, divide its price by your take-home earnings per month or hour, then compare that working-time cost with the closest historical or competing option. Make the decision using months or hours of income—not the larger rupee figure that first grabs your attention.

Episodes that teach this

The Past Sucked - Here’s The Truth No One Wants to Admit - FutureIQ 14,252 views
In 1985 a color TV cost 8,000 rupees — an average Indian worked 2.5 years for that. A far better 4K TV costs 30,000 — earnable in 2 months.