“So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on ‘em. ‘Give me five bees for a quarter,’ you’d say.” ~ Grandpa Simpson
I just bought a bottle of Gatorade in the lobby of this hotel, and paid a whopping $2.75 for 20 ounces of fluid. No, it wasn’t smart, but I was thirsty. However, as I paid for this drink (which for the price should be a miracle cure for cancer, influenza, runny bowels, pink eye and athlete’s foot), it started a conversation with the desk clerk about “the way things used to be.”
Do you ever take that journey down memory lane? It’s a very sad trip. We remembered how “in those days” we could buy a Coca Cola with a nickel (yes, it was before 1959 … when 5¢ Coca Cola became a thing of the past). With that memory, a flood of lamentations about prices began.
He volunteered how $5 would buy milk, eggs, bread, and bacon. I had to give him points for that one, because I couldn’t remember it. Then, he remembered, “Why, I bought a Ford Mustang in 1969 for $2400.”
“Big deal,” I replied. “In 1972, Mr. Ex and I bought a two bedroom house on a corner lot for $7,000. It would hold six of your Mustangs and it had indoor plumbing!”
I won that round.
We talked for probably thirty minutes about prices back when we were younger. I’m not really sure they were “the good old days.” We neglected to discuss how small our paychecks were back then. That two bedroom house had a monthly mortgage payment of $70, and we scrambled to make the payment each month.
I wish the prices were what they were, and the salaries were what they are!
I bet you have some stories about the good old days. Wanna share one? You can sound like Grandpa Simpson, too.
Other posts you might enjoy:
- They Call Themselves “Apple Geniuses”
- Life Gave Me A Lemon
- Experiencing The Dallas Farmer’s Market
- Old Jigsaw Puzzlers Never Die…They Just Go To Pieces
- The Consensus on The Census
![\"paperclips\"](\"http://thiseclecticlife.com/wp-content/themes/thesis_15/images/clips.jpg\")
{ 7 comments }
Now don’t get me started! Thing is, I might start off as Abe Simpson — but I tend to morph into Dana Carvey’s “Grumpy Old Man” schtick. You know: I don’t like the way things are compared to how they used to be. Everything today is improved and I hate it. In my day we didn’t have hair dryers. If you wanted to blow-dry your hair, you stood outside during a tornado. Your hair was dry but you had a sharp piece of wood driven clear through your skull and that’s the way it was and we were grateful!
Back in 1967-68, when my oldest was a baby, I supported her and my Mom too on less than $5,200 a year! We managed without food stamps -as there was no such thing as that back then -and I averaged about $50 a MONTH for groceries for the three of us, which included purchasing special foods -i.e. baby food -for my daughter. Today, granted there are six of us in the household now, $50 barely scratches the surface of our grocery expenses in a week! I agree completely with your thoughts -prices being what they were then and income being what it is today! Good luck in achieving that idea, huh?
.-= Jeni Hill Ertmer´s last blog ..Confusion Reigns Supreme! =-.
I tend to be a bit more Bill Cosby.
When I was a girl, you got 50 cents to spend at the pool after swimming – and that would buy you a pie AND a softdrink. Of course, we would buy lollies instead, and 20 cents of mixed lollies would get all you friends and you on a sugar high – that was when lolly false teeth actually FIT on your teeth.
.-= jeanie´s last blog ..Do you DO mornings? =-.
I remember paying a quarter for the bus. A dime for my little sister when we went out for a bus ride together. But, when I got an allowance (which was not every week) it would be a couple of dollars for the month. Sometimes I’d get $10 or even $20 for my birthday and Christmas. (They are in the same month so I’d be feeling pretty rich for awhile then.)
My Dad was on the cutting edge, and when they opened the newest hamburger place, he took Mom and me to the new McDonald’s. Fifteen cents for a burger, fifteen cents for fries and fifteen cents for a soft drink. Two cents tax back then, (4% on the dollar). He fed me and Mom for $0.94. (He probably had two burgers and spent less than two bucks on a night out).
Arlene’s, the small grocerette on the corner, a forerunner to the modern day convenience store, was where I was sent for milk, bread, eggs and cigarettes. Mom would write a note at first, but after a while, Arlene just gave me a pack of Parliament for Mom when I asked her. By the way, a dollar would buy the bread, milk and eggs and I’d have change for a five cent candy bar. (I liked Chunky, “What a chunk of chocolate!”
I could go on for hours, maybe because I’m getting as old as dirt!
Peace.
.-= Spadoman´s last blog ..A Sunday Morning at Spadoville =-.
I think if you looked at the ratio of income to whatever anything cost back then, I would be surprised if it weren’t less than it is now. I remember sales tax being a lot less than the 10.25% we pay now, too. Hard to say because buying power varies on where you live, too.
My mom says we had more money back then because we didn’t have cable and cell phones and all this other techno stuff we keep buying and replacing. It’s probably true.
.-= Jessica The Rock Chick´s last blog ..Right Place, Wrong Time =-.
We had a different “mind set” back then, too. We saved our money instead of spending money we didn’t have. The dollar was worth more, too (isn’t it strange how the dollar’s value fluctuates?). I don’t want to go back, but I wish that prices would settle down a bit!
Comments on this entry are closed.