Historical Price Tags That Make People Wish They Could Time Travel
One of the biggest rites of passage when coming of age is learning to appreciate how much everything actually costs. Once people have to manage their own money, it's a lot easier to understand why those childhood tantrums that had once had them screaming, "I want it, I want it" rarely accomplished anything.
However, if growing up makes it easier to appreciate current prices, getting older makes it easy to relate to our grandparents when they marvel at how much everything costs nowadays. Although it's true that prices don't always move in the same direction, it's hard not to notice how expensive everything is.
It's a slight difference but it's rare to see it
Generally, the staff at grocery stores are pretty diligent about removing old price tags. After all, it's not the best customer satisfaction strategy to remind them how much less they could have paid for something a few years ago.
However, it seems that someone missed this tag from 2009, which shows this pumpkin pie filling costing a little under a dollar less than it would nine years later. Considering the length of time at play there, it could have been worse.
Computer makers used to make us pay more for less
Considering how fast advancements in computer technology move, it's very easy to find the computers of the past outright primitive. It would take less than an hour to fill this computer's data storage capacity nowadays, which makes the $2,597 price tag seem outrageous in retrospect.
However, the present day offers an even better deal on modern computers than it seems, as this cost amounts to about $5,200 when adjusted for inflation. Even a high-end gaming PC doesn't cost quite that much nowadays.
If this seems bad, it's worse now
Those who look at this 11-year-old hospital bill after recently having a child may remark that the cost isn't too far removed from what they just paid. However, it's worth noting that this was a high-risk birth that required the new baby to stay in the NICU for ten days.
As necessary as that is to ensure a precious little one makes it home OK, that intensive care is also expensive care. Although the new parents who reported these figures were fortunate enough to have insurance that ate most of these costs, it's not unusual to pay between $156,000 and $220,000 for the same level of care today.
Good luck finding a gallon of milk for that price now
Whether it's due to the inconvenience of removing it or because a staff member wanted a frame of reference, this old sticker from Reddit user Sire777's local grocery store shows how much a gallon of milk would have cost in 1999.
Although the fact that milk is the subject of government subsidies is likely keeping the modern price of milk from running away further, there's still a significant difference between the turn of the millennium and now. The price of milk varies from state to state, but most people can expect to pay somewhere between $3.50 a gallon and $5 a gallon now, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The difference from now isn't as intense as it seems
It's worth noting that the fact that these prices are from over 100 years ago means a lot when inflation is taken into account. Considering how much of it would take place over that much time, some people have found that, for instance, modern peanut butter is actually slightly cheaper than this stuff when adjusted for inflation.
However, that doesn't make it any less staggering to realize that someone could once purchase possibly a year's worth of flour (at least several months' worth) for less than two dollars. It's also worth remembering that some of these products wouldn't have had the preservatives that today's cheaper options are loaded with.
That must have seemed outrageous rather than enviable
Although the cost of a ticket to a football game nowadays can fluctuate wildly depending on the desired seat, it seems that's not how Memorial Stadium worked in 1966. At the time, it must have been considered the fodder for more than a few grumbles to see ticket prices climb to $6 for the first time in seven years.
However, even the cheapest seats at the same stadium are more than twice that price nowadays. Even if the players look like ants, it still costs at least $15 to see them. Those who actually want a good seat can expected to pay between a couple of hundred dollars and a couple of thousand, depending on where the seat is.
Nowadays, people would take either of these prices
Although this book is supposed to highlight how intensely inflation and other factors can change the cost of living over 16 years, it also has the effect of showing modern people how out-of-control their cost of living is. Not only would it feel like a steal to get a car for the 2000 price now, but so many of us haven't seen a single-digit movie ticket price for about a decade.
Of course, the real elephant in the room for this comparison is housing. In a world where rent can often go above $1,000 a month and a house can easily cost well over $500,000, it's hard not to see a paradise in either of these past years.
This only took a year to happen
When Reddit user y_ddraig_goch_101 bought two identical packs of nails a year apart, they noticed that the newer one was 50 pence more than before. Although it's true that this doesn't amount to a lot of money, that is nonetheless a 14% price increase, which indicates some very steep inflation.
That said, inflation rates usually have a lot to do with the wider context of what's going on in the world. There's always going to be some inflation, but this steep hike is clearly influenced by the way inflation spiked dramatically in the years immediately following the unprecedented events of 2020.
Calculators used to be ridiculously expensive
Nowadays, it's easy for most school children to take their calculators for granted. Not only do similar programs exist for free on the internet and people's phones, but even a pretty nice scientific calculator costs just $25 now. At most, folks will have to shell out about $150 for a graphing calculator when the kids are in high school.
According to the AARP, however, the same calculator that could be purchased with a couple of small bills now would have cost $395 in 1972. That's not adjusted for inflation, so the real price from a modern perspective would be about $2,775. No wonder most people just did their math on paper back then.
Gas prices changed forever after 1972
Nowadays, it's considered pretty lucky when gas prices hover around three dollars, as it's not unheard of for them to surge enough that they approach five dollars a gallon. Such a cost would have been unthinkable in 1972. However, they might be considered a grim sign of the future in 1973. According to the AARP, gasoline used to cost 36 cents per gallon.
Even when adjustments are made for inflation, it would seem that people should pay about $2.53 for gas nowadays. However, the embargo that the The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries placed on oil imports between 1973 and 1974 tripled the price to $1.19 by 1980. Ever since, there's been little hope of them falling back down for long.
There's a whole new digit in front of this number now
Since the total cost of Reddit user bugchild9's birth during the early '90s is faintly handwritten, it's worth noting that it amounts to about $4,200. While some in other countries might find that a staggering price for something they're used to getting for either free or very little, so many modern Americans would consider that a dynamo deal.
According to Forbes, the average childbirth costs about $18,000 nowadays. If the baby has to come out via Cesarean section, that average price jumps up to about $26,000. Of course, it's very easy for medical costs to balloon higher depending on the state the hospital is in or the circumstances of the birth.
This place was a lot happier for the parents back then
There's a five dollar difference in the rates for adults and children for these one-day tickets to Disneyland from 1997. However, all of them suggest that it wasn't so long ago that a person could get into the park for less than $30.
Naturally, that is not the case anymore and hasn't been for years. However, it's worth noting that when adjusted for inflation, the child's ticket should cost about $44 today. However, any adult will find that they can't get into Disneyland for less than $100 a day in modern times, and a child's ticket costs about $65.
Getting a special treat was a little easier back then
When Reddit user GrooferBoofChree was looking through old books, they found this receipt for two pitas from 1991. It's a little hard to read but each pita cost 98 cents, which brought the total to a flat two dollars.
Unfortunately, it's not possible to compare these prices to how much a pita costs at that restaurant now, as it has since gone out of business. However, it seems unlikely that most people could get two pitas for $4.50 nowadays, which is how the Bureau of Labor Statistics adjusted the initial price for inflation.
Let's just say this pricing book was overly optimistic
As this book noted back in 1998, most Beanie Babies cost about $5 each. However, since it wasn't clear which toys customers would come across, certain models like Patti the Platypus were considered worth $500 at the time. True to the frenzy at the time, the book also suggested Patti would be worth $2,500 in 2008.
Although there are certainly people trying to sell it for that price and more nowadays, there are others who recognize that the Beanie Babies speculator market was wrong about their future value. Thus, anyone who really wants this can get it on eBay for between $10 and $20. The lower end of that would be the equivalent of the toy's original price.
In 100 years, the tastes changed as much as the prices
This restaurant kept its original menu from 1917, which offered hot dogs for eight cents and hamburgers for a dime each. Even adjusted for inflation, these are pretty good prices, as the hot dog would only cost $2.15, and the hamburger would cost just $2.68.
Although it's possible to get a hot dog that cheap at Costco nowadays, the supermarket chain is unusual that way. That said, another major difference between this menu and modern ones is that if someone wanted to order pigs' feet at a restaurant nowadays, they'd have to search far and wide.
This price was utterly outrageous in any time period
Although it seems that many more people have laptop computers than desktops nowadays, the trend was the complete opposite during the '90s. Despite how convenient the concept was, laptops weren't very widely adopted. And this advertisement makes it easy to see why.
On the one hand, it's understandable. Even designing a mediocre computer for mobile use would have been revolutionary at the time, which is always going to mean higher prices for tech. However, people wouldn't pay anywhere this much for a laptop now, let alone in a time when that money is the equivalent of $18,300.
These prices are older than television
As Reddit user dustin1776 explained, their father's workplace used to be a JCPenney location. Moreover, it seemed that this stopped being the case an incredibly long time ago, as the leftover price tags shown here are from 1930.
Since JCPenney is still around, it's fairly easy to see the difference between the 98 cents people would have paid for khaki pants now and the store's current prices. Although that original price would be the same as $18 today, men's khaki pants tend to sit between the $65 and $70 range. In fairness, it's not clear how many socks a customer would have received for 49 cents, as modern packs tend to offer at least six.
Who knew gravestones had price tags written on them?
As Reddit user danelectro15 assured people, they found this gravestone in this condition and did not damage it at all. They also believe that the price engraving for this stone is normally supposed to go in the ground so mourners don't see it.
However, their discovery definitely makes it interesting to learn that a headstone would have cost $11.15 in 1807. That amounts to about $302 today, but an upright headstone tends to cost around $2,000 nowadays. It's hard not to feel like the funeral industry is taking advantage of people.
Nobody will ever see an act this big for so little again
Although they were hardly the only band associated with the British Invasion phenomenon of the 1960s, The Beatles were as much of a cultural juggernaut by 1966 as they are now. For that reason, it can be pretty staggering to see a ticket to one of their shows cost only $5.50.
Even when this number is adjusted for inflation via the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it still amounts to about $54.32. Compared to the $1,000 (at the lowest in many cases) that Taylor Swift's Eras Tour can charge per ticket nowadays, that seems like practically nothing.
There are a couple of differences at play here
Although it's a little unclear when this old battery was manufactured, the most likely answer is the early-to-mid 70s, given the intersection between the price and level of technology at the time. However, it's also a little trickier to buy individual batteries nowadays, as even D batteries tend to come in little packs.
However, harmonizing those factors shows that batteries are more expensive than they used to be, as the quarter spent on this one would be the equivalent of $1.91 nowadays. When the cost of an individual Duracell D battery in modern times is broken down, it amounts to about $3.65.
Surprisingly, this price is only slightly better now
In the age of streaming, DVDs aren't the dominant way to watch movies that they would have been in 2003. Indeed, since the technology was relatively new at the time, this $35 price tag wouldn't have been out of the ordinary. It's also worth noting that this was bought in a Virgin Megastore in Australia, which means the price would be $23.30 in American dollars.
However, it may be surprising to learn that new releases from the Virgin Megastore haven't declined in price as much as one might expect. Although $23.30 in 2003 is the equivalent of $40.27 now, a new DVD release would still cost $25.87 in American dollars or $38.86 in Australian dollars.
Old paint may have been cheaper but using it is a bad idea
According to the AARP, a gallon of Sherwin-Williams paint would have cost about $3 per gallon in 1972. Granted, that amount balloons to $21.08 when adjusted for inflation. Nonetheless, a lot of commercial paints will still set consumers back significantly more.
Although it's possible to get a gallon of paint from the same company for $20, it's more likely to be higher, and prices can go as high as $45. However, this is one case where the extra cost is worth it. That's because lead was permitted in paint sold throughout The United States until 1978.
Hopefully, this gas company didn't charge interest
Although the late fees on certain bills can really pile up nowadays, they didn't seem that bad in 1960. If the customer didn't pay this $6.71 bill by July 19, they'd just need to pay 39 cents extra. Even adjusted for inflation, that would only mean a $4 difference.
Indeed, even the maximum payment for this gas bill would be considered an incredibly reasonable price nowadays. That's because it would amount $76.11, while the average monthly gas bill often hovers at around $100 in recent years. This varies from state to state, of course.
Even adjusting for inflation, X-Rays cost way more than this
It was hard for commenters not to be stunned when Reddit user Kytothelee revealed the cost of their great-grandmother's X-Ray back in 1950. Although they didn't specify what the X-Ray was for, it's impossible to imagine that process costing as little as $7.50 now.
Indeed, doing the math and taking inflation into account only further expresses how outrageously expensive healthcare is in America now. After all, this should cost about $80 today. According to K Health, even the cheapest X-Ray is going to cost $100 without insurance but it's more likely for that price to lie between $260 and $460.
One of the only things that isn't more expensive is labor
As Reddit user kps102 explained, this was the pay stub from their first full-time job with a plastics company out of Minneapolis. It was 1973, they were married with one child, and their hourly rate was $3.17. That may not sound like much now but it was actually decent money at the time.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that would be the equivalent of $22 per hour today. Sadly, the average wage is one of the only things that haven't kept up with or surpassed inflation since that time. After all, the $1.60 minimum wage of 1973 would have amounted to $11.61 today. Meanwhile, the national minimum wage is $7.25, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
They were right to be concerned
In this 1983 magazine article from Illinois, students expressed concern about the fact that rising inflation rates in the United States were putting a crunch on their ability to afford college. As it turned out, a year of tuition, books, and other expenses amounted to $4,300 at the time.
Indeed, that was not a small amount at the time, as it's the equivalent of about $13,800 now. Concerns at the time of students being priced out of their own education were also valid, as the best a student at a public university can do now is to pay $10,490 a year. If they're from out of state, that number increases to $24,000. If it's a private university, that number balloons to $46,870.
Beef was both more and less expensive before
According to AARP, a trip to a Chicago-area supermarket in 1972 would have presented the opportunity to buy rib-eye steaks for $2.49 a pound and chuck roast for 65 cents a pound. That price difference gets even wider when adjusted for inflation, as the chuck roast would cost about $4.50 a pound with today's money and the rib-eye would cost $17.50 a pound.
Interestingly, the difference between those prices has flattened significantly in the decades since. Not only has chuck roast become more expensive, but rib-eye steaks are relatively cheaper. After all, it's not unusual to pay $7 a pound for chuck roast nowadays, while $11 a pound for rib-eyes is considered on the high end of the pricing scale.
Buying a car didn't used to be such a hole in the pocket
According to the AARP, a person in 1972 would only have to pay $2,510 for a brand-new Ford Mustang. Not only would that car be considered an enviable classic now, but that initial investment would only amount to $17,636 when adjusted for inflation.
Meanwhile, one would have to wonder what's wrong with a modern Mustang if someone was offering that price for it as a used car. That's because a new Mustang will set someone back between $28,865 and $57,665 now, depending on how good of a negotiator they are.
These tubs always last a long time, and so have their prices
Unless they're eating it or something, it takes most people years (if not decades) to go through a tub of petroleum jelly. That's how Reddit user FleshLghtSwrdFight was able to show this off, complete with its $1.53 K Mart price tag from 1992.
Adjusted for inflation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggested that cost was the equivalent of $3.48 now. Although the difference isn't exactly a steal, a tub of vaseline costs about $3.30 nowadays. At least some prices have effectively stayed the same.
At least they had warning
Although it would be misleading to call these predictions from 1990 100% accurate, it's nonetheless true that many of them do reflect the prices of certain items now, if not quite how they were in 2000. Indeed, most paperback books cost a little more than even their projection nowadays.
Sadly, perhaps the most accurate prediction concerned how staggeringly high college tuition would climb in the future. Although it's possible to go through college without paying $250,000, that prediction is almost a bullseye when it comes to private colleges. State schools cost north of about $100,000 for four years.
Memory cards age fast in terms of storage space
In 2004, a two gigabyte memory stick was a pretty spacious item. It's true that there were iPods and other electronics at the time that offered more space but this was still considered enough to get by.
Nonetheless, paying about $110 (the $150 price tag is Canadian) for one of these would have only seemed marginally less ridiculous at the time than it does now. This scenario doesn't even require an inflation adjustment because Sony is now offering a memory stick that holds four times as much data for about $62.
Tools only seemed like they cost less back then
According to the AARP, a hammer would cost about $4 in 1972, while a new seven-inch circular saw would cost $19.88. Although that makes them reasonably priced, the truth is that there isn't as much of a cost difference between then and now as it seems.
That's because $19.88 in 1972 is the equivalent of $151.91 today, and it's possible to get a circular saw of that size for the same price now. Granted, these tools can cost as much as $500, so it depends on the quality of the 1972 saw. Hammers are actually cheaper nowadays, as $3.99 in 1972 is the same as about $30 now, and a decent hammer costs $20 at the most.
Car batteries have definitely become more expensive
According to the AARP, a car battery would have cost $15.88 in 1972. When adjusted for inflation, that would be the equivalent of about $112. Although draining it wouldn't have been advisable back then for that reason, it's an even worse idea now.
Granted, it's true that the cost of a car battery depends so much on what kind of car it's being used to power. Nonetheless, it is not considered unusual to spend $250 on a car battery nowadays, and that isn't the maximum potential cost.
This isn't as cheap as it looks
When Reddit user shooter_32 received this card table from their wife's grandmother, they noticed this old price sticker indicating that she paid $7.95 for it. Although it's a little tricky to get a fix on when she bought it, the "strongest lasts longest" slogan suggests it was during the 1950s.
If that's the case, it meant she could have paid the equivalent of $92.82 for it. Although Samsonite is much more focused on its luggage production nowadays, a similar card table would only cost about $58 today.
This was a rare time to get gas
After Reddit user ahhvey posted this sign from a gas station that was abandoned in 1995, commenters noted that these prices seemed low even for the time. Indeed, the AARP noted that people had to spend at least a dollar a gallon as early as 1980.
However, the fact that the gas station was about to close was likely a factor, as knocking gasoline down to the prices shown here is a great way to get rid of it. However, it seems unlikely that even a soon-to-be-shuttered gas station would drop its prices this much nowadays. Since this is the equivalent of $1.67 today, we can substitute that number as the rock-bottom price per gallon.
Pepsi is actually a little cheaper now
Unfortunately, it's a little tricky to figure out exactly when this Pepsi bottle was made. However, since its design matches those found throughout the 1970s, it's reasonable to assume that the 89 cents spent on this would amount to between $4 and $5.50.
While that exact number depends on the specific year it was made, it's nonetheless true that this bottle of Pepsi costs more relative to the price it would cost nowadays. Yet, while it's true that a bottle of the same size can be purchased for about $3.87 nowadays, it's worth noting that the high fructose corn syrup in it isn't as satisfying as the cane sugar the company used in the '70s.
Dishwashers are both cheaper and more efficient now
According to the AARP, a four-cycle dishwasher would have cost $189.95 in 1972. Although that price seems to blow every modern one out of the water, it's worth remembering that this amounts to $1,335 when adjusted for inflation.
Granted, it is certainly possible to buy a dishwasher at that price or higher. However, it's also just as possible to get a decent one for between $800 and $900. Moreover, modern dishwashers tend to use less energy and water than the models from the '70s.
This is about as thorough as it gets
As Reddit user uyb101 explained, one pub in south London features a sign that lists the price of a pint of beer from 1900 to 1994. Since this encompassed changes in the U.K.'s currency, these prices are expressed in both "old" and "new" money, where applicable.
Since the sign ended in 1994, it's clear that a pint cost £1.85 (or $2.35) at the time. The Redditor noted that the price they're now likely to pay is about £4, which is the equivalent of about $5. The price of a pint has apparently held for 30 years, as there's only a difference of four cents (favoring the present time) once the 1994 price is adjusted for inflation.
Blenders are much cheaper than they once were
According to the AARP, a Sears 16-speed blender would have cost $23.99 in 1972. That may not sound half-bad, but that number increases a lot to $170 when it's adjusted for inflation.
As with many appliances nowadays, there is a very wide range of options at various price points. Yet, while it's possible to spend $150 on a sophisticated blender, one that works as well as a model from the '70s can easily be found for less than $50. Some blenders can cost as little as $30.
After 14 years and 31 editions, a new price
In case it's a little hard to read, the original version of this book was published in 2009 and cost about $14 in The United States and $16 in Canada. After 14 years, Reddit user Vahdo found that not only is the same book now on its 32nd edition, but that edition now $17 in The United States and $23 in Canada.
That illustrates how much inflation can add up over time but some may suggest that the new information in the new editions is worth the price increase. However, a lot of college graduates would disagree with them, as they found that very little usually changes between textbook editions other than the need to suddenly pay the full price.