Remembering when you could eat for cheap

Is there something for 25 cents these days? Honestly, with the way prices are going up, it’s hard to find anything at that price! If I have less than $100 on my netspend card, I don’t even think about going to a restaurant. The prices are insane, and it feels like you’re paying for just the atmosphere rather than the food itself. It’s crazy how everything has increased, from groceries to eating out. Sometimes I just end up cooking at home, even though it’s not always as fun.
 
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I moved from small town New Zealand to study at OSU in 1992. I didn’t have access to fast food in NZ so I clearly remember the $99 whopper and $5 all you can eat KFC.
 
Funny how we remember the cost but forget the money.

When I was in high school, gas was 32 cents a gallon. I was making $1.60 /hour. So it took me 12 minutes to earn a gallon of gas.

You can’t find anyone that will work for $16.00/hour these days and gas is now $3.20/gallon.

The simple math would say that it is relative in cost/gallon of gas, but the truth is, a minimum wage earner is making more than $16.00/hour, so it is actually cheaper today than it was at $.32/gallon…
 
Funny how we remember the cost but forget the money.

When I was in high school, gas was 32 cents a gallon. I was making $1.60 /hour. So it took me 12 minutes to earn a gallon of gas.

You can’t find anyone that will work for $16.00/hour these days and gas is now $3.20/gallon.

The simple math would say that it is relative in cost/gallon of gas, but the truth is, a minimum wage earner is making more than $16.00/hour, so it is actually cheaper today than it was at $.32/gallon…
That's true, but that's for one item.
 
$2.99 all you can eat at Captain D's (Tuesday nites in college, obscene amounts of fish and fries consumed). Burger and small drink at McD's 37cents (including tax). 11 cent gasoline (town was famous for gas wars).

I have started looking at the cheaper meals at the drive thrus, and just wonder what they are feeding us if they can do it at that price (well, used to be cheap when a sausage biscuit was a buck).
 
That's true, but that's for one item.
The items are endless, inflation is relative. Everything produced is being sold. So expensive is as expensive was.

I also bought Corn Chex for 35 cents a box back then…


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What'd you pay for a house? How about insurance?
You can find expensive anywhere you want, but the truth is, houses are still being built and lived in. Cars and trucks are being sold. People are buying clothes and other essential items at a consistent rate.

If all the products and services are available today weren’t being bought, there would be some need for concern.

My mother taught at the University here in Bozeman and I remember in the 60’s and she said she never thought she would earn a salary of $8,000.00 a year.

I can’t remember any time in my life that people didn’t complain about the cost of things, so we easily forget the time of economic conditions and remember how cheap we thought we had it then…
 
You can find expensive anywhere you want, but the truth is, houses are still being built and lived in. Cars and trucks are being sold. People are buying clothes and other essential items at a consistent rate.

If all the products and services are available today weren’t being bought, there would be some need for concern.

My mother taught at the University here in Bozeman and I remember in the 60’s and she said she never thought she would earn a salary of $8,000.00 a year.

I can’t remember any time in my life that people didn’t complain about the cost of things, so we easily forget the time of economic conditions and remember how cheap we thought we had it then…
I agree with most of that. Was just asking a question about how housing and insurance compared? How many blue collar or middle class families can make it on one income now vs then?
 
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