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AIBU?

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Original poster

What things that were little luxuries when you were a child are now big luxuries due to cost of living?

239 replies

Holdontightly · 19/05/2023 01:07

When I was little, things like cinema tickets, or swimming lessons or owning a dog or cat were fairly routine parts of childhood. Most kids in my bog standard state school had treats on this level, cost wise - obviously there have always been a group of people that can't stretch to any of these treats, but it was much more unusual. They seemed very affordable.

Nowadays, all of these things seem vastly more expensive relatively speaking, imo.

Is there any stuff like this you have thought of?

OP posts:
Ninjama1 · 21/05/2023 09:23

Holdontightly · 19/05/2023 18:02

To be fair, this sounds like good entertainment from a small kid's perspective as a bit of excitement Grin

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You got two showings in those days and god help if anything went wrong as there was a big stamping of hundreds of pairs of feet !

Usernamen · 21/05/2023 09:28

TooOldForThisNonsense · 21/05/2023 09:19

Another factor is how much money you have/earn compared to your parents. I earn much more than mine ever did which will have an impact obviously

I don’t think it’s just this. There are certain things now, like eating out or weekends away, that just weren’t the norm back then for anyone - whether you were a dentist or a doorman.

One thing that could be a factor though, is number of children. Families were bigger in previous generations. I am one of four but both of my nephews are only children (I don’t have children yet but DP and I are aligned on only wanting one).

Usernamen · 21/05/2023 09:34

If we compare like for like, cinema is definitely cheaper now than in the 90s, i.e. mainstream cinemas like Odeon and Vue are not more expensive, adjusting for inflation.

What we have now though is premium cinemas (Everyman, Curzon) which are pricey - like £15+ a ticket, but these didn’t exist in the 90s, so their prices are irrelevant to the discussion here.

wheresmymojo · 21/05/2023 09:38

When I was a student in 2003 we could go to the Odeon cinema for £1.50 and got every fifth film free!

wheresmymojo · 21/05/2023 09:42

And yes, you could get a moggy kitten for £50.

I'm actually sad that you can't get proper cross-breed mutts any more. They're often (IMO) healthier and more well rounded dogs than breeds.

And it hasn't solved any problems about horrible people overbreeding dogs. Usually they would come from the average family having one litter...

I don't believe that animal abuse, the number of dogs in rescue centres or puppy farms have reduced as a result of putting off normal families from letting their dog have one litter.

In fact; it seems to have had the opposite effect - 'nice' people stopped, puppies got very, very expensive and that's resulted in more puppy farms.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 21/05/2023 09:46

Usernamen · 21/05/2023 09:34

If we compare like for like, cinema is definitely cheaper now than in the 90s, i.e. mainstream cinemas like Odeon and Vue are not more expensive, adjusting for inflation.

What we have now though is premium cinemas (Everyman, Curzon) which are pricey - like £15+ a ticket, but these didn’t exist in the 90s, so their prices are irrelevant to the discussion here.

Except that for some of us that’s the only cinema we have got (mine is a small local independent which is £15 a ticket despite being in a generally cheap area) and one thing that has definitely gone up is public transport, as well as getting less frequent.

Saracen · 21/05/2023 09:56

Going to university. Not me (I'm foreign and worked hard to pay for uni before, during and afterward) but my DH went to uni here in the 70s. He paid no fees and had a grant rather than loan. Sounds like he and his mates got takeaways and went out to the pub pretty often, and didn't even work during their summer holidays! His parents weren't rich either.

Ninjama1 · 21/05/2023 09:58

Little luxuries in the 1960s? 😂 we played on the street with our friends. My luxuries were a secondhand bike , roller skates and a scooter. We didn't live in a cardboard box though.

Usernamen · 21/05/2023 10:03

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 21/05/2023 09:46

Except that for some of us that’s the only cinema we have got (mine is a small local independent which is £15 a ticket despite being in a generally cheap area) and one thing that has definitely gone up is public transport, as well as getting less frequent.

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Do you think there are more or fewer cinemas now than in the 90s?

My home town has two now, both opened in the last 20 years.

Usernamen · 21/05/2023 10:13

shivawn · 21/05/2023 08:55

I was a 90's child. My memory obviously isn't great I guess because I don't remember much from before I was 12 and I definitely don't remember prices of specific activities.

I do remember going to see Titanic four or five times in the cinema when it came out so cinema must have been very obtainable, I was 10 years old then. We had a small old fashioned local cinema, it didn't have a popcorn machine or anything like that.

We had Sky TV, I was the only person in my friends group that had it so that definitely felt like a luxury. I loved the music channels, I'd have them playing in the background for hours just waiting for my favourite music video to come on. These days kids have access to so many different streaming services.

When I was around 13-14 I started a weekend job. I remember getting the bus to our closest big town every weekend with my friends and I'd spend most of my money on CD's. So jealous of young people today getting to stream music for free!

I don't think I felt lacking in anything growing up but my kids definitely have more today. Whether that's due to different financial means or more availablity of luxuries or increased expectations.

ALL my pocket money went on CDs… buying albums for £10 each! 😭 Now I pay £9.99 a month for unlimited music.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 21/05/2023 10:51

Usernamen · 21/05/2023 10:03

Do you think there are more or fewer cinemas now than in the 90s?

My home town has two now, both opened in the last 20 years.

Show quote history

More, I would think. Certainly cinema attendances lately have been higher than they have been since the 70s, apart from the covid blip.

Usernamen · 21/05/2023 12:28

Another thing I’ve thought of is that newspapers are a fraction of the cost they were in the 90s too.

Other than all the newspapers which are free online, I share a Times subscription with my family for something like 80p a day (for 3 households). I’m pretty sure just one copy of The Times cost more than that 25 years ago!

Mrsherdwick · 21/05/2023 12:42

Food was a luxury in our house. And shampoo (used to wash our hair in cheap washing up liquid). There was always money for my mums 40 a day cigarette habit though.

Lisbeth50 · 21/05/2023 13:41

"do remember going to see Titanic four or five times in the cinema when it came out so cinema must have been very obtainable"

I very much doubt it. The film came out in 1997, so you would have been no older than 7, and it's rated a 12.

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