Despite a low unemployment rate, Americans are still feeling the pinch of inflation, cost of living and general fiscal pain. It leads to the question: "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" That's what former President Ronald Reagan famously asked during a presidential debate in 1980.

Let's broaden that question beyond one presidency. In light of the inflationary struggles the world has experienced in the last year, are we better off now than we were 40 years ago? In the 1980s?

"Yes, as a society, I believe we are," said Shane Stewart, a certified financial planner with DMBA. "When you take all things into consideration and look at what an average family could afford in 1985, that family is better off today than they would have been back then."