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

[Holdontightly]

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?

I think despite the cost of living crisis it’s still the other way round, going for a meal/cinema whatever was a big night out but now we’ll have those frequently.

Train travel - costs an arm and a leg even with a railcard!

Most of my experience is the other way round. Eating out, going abroad, electrical goods - generally unattainable luxuries in my childhood.

Yes agree.

Those are all quite 'big' treats though.

For a while in the 80's and 90's it felt like even though big things like holidays or electronics were too expensive, there were lots of smaller affordable luxuries still available at that time.

I honestly don't think anything is a bigger luxury now than when I was a kid. Things have gone up in price a lot yeah but I can still afford them far more easily than my parents could.

I agree with this.

When I was a child (60s and 70s) eating out was a BIG occasion.
A takeaway (not that there were many at all - I'm basically talking a chippy tea) was a once a year treat too.
Now it is still an affordable treat, that a much higher % of the population do regularly.
I think I went to the pictures probably 5 or 6 times before I got to about 14 or 15 - if that.

What you describe as small treats was considered for us quite big - a cinema trip was a special birthday treat , swimming once or twice in the school holidays

Small treats were a bag of sweets at the weekend or perhaps mam would bake a cake

I didn't grow up in poverty or anything but lots of things which are commonplace now would have been seen as luxuries in my childhood (I was born in 1974)

• eating out
• takeaways
• days out
• foreign holidays
• going on more than 1 holiday a year
• citybreak/minibreak
• have more than 1 car per family
• any kind of beauty treatment other than basic haircut

I know things have changed in the past 3 years but we still mostly have more 'luxuries' now than we did 40 years ago

A house

I remember going out to the icecream van for a pretty small icecream, that seemed to be not a big deal. Loved hearing the tune

I definitely think the days of cheap holidays are behind us. I remember booking Ryainair flights for a penny at one stage! Obviously a promotion, but there were lots of bargain flights to be had.

And a lot of eating out seems really poor value these days now. Run of the mill places with Brakes catalogue food reheated are very expensive for what they are. High end places can be very enjoyable but they sure ain't a cheap night out!

Kew Gardens, I can remember when it was one pre decimal penny to go in. Think it was £17 opprox last time I went. Still worth the money though, gorgeous place. Cinema was for high days and holidays as a child. Didn’t go abroad until I was 19, day trip to Boulogne. Ice creams were mainly for when away on holiday.

Having one stay at home parent and sibling(s). Parents owning their home, not renting. Parents not worried about saving for university fees.

this is such an interesting thread.

For me it’s musical instrument lessons. I learned recorder and flute with instruments on loan at primary school which was free and then carried on with flute for 8 years - it was comparatively very cheap compared to today. Music lessons in school are a HUGELY expensive luxury now.

Also knitting and making your own clothes - it was cheap when you could buy supplies at the market, but now it’s a cheaper to shop in primary

I’m 47 so child of the 80s. my kids have a lot more luxuries than I did. We’re not swimming in money but we have

2 UK holidays a year
coffee shop or similar every week
cinema every couple of months
a few big days out every year eg zoo
takeaway or meal out every month
Sky Tv and a variety of good quality devices - iPads etc

Everything is getting more expensive but food is relatively cheap, at least the things my kids like.

Driving lessons!

Weren't cheap back then, but were manageable. When I learnt to drive I bought a block of 10 for £100.

God knows what 10 lessons are these days

And fish and chips were the cheapest takeaway you could get. You need to remortgage now

Born early 70s. The cinema was definitely a treat, and we weren't allowed a dog or cat. I did have swimming lessons for a couple of years 1983 - 84. Eating out/takeaway was a holiday or birthday treat. Ditto branded soft drinks such as real Coke. We didn't have a car till I was 8.

Working class family, not hard up but always had to be budget conscious. 'No, you can't have/do that, it's a waste of money' was a common refrain in our house.

I’m 35, so a 90s kid. My DM was a SAHM for most of my childhood but my DF was in a good job. Cinema wasn’t a massive luxury, probably something we did once every few months. We did rent films regularly - Friday evening trips to blockbuster video! I don’t remember any soft plays. Swimming we all had weekly lessons and then went as a family the odd weekend and in the school holidays. Eating out was more expensive than I think, going out for dinner was more of a treat and we usually took a picnic on days out. Theme parks I went to only a handful of times in my childhood.

Swimming. For a few pounds you could go for as long as you wanted.

Now a 90 minute session can be £30 for a family at my nearest pool!

My youth was in the 90s

Chippy! £1.50 it used to be for pie, chips and gravy - now it’s £7!

Concert tickets! £10-£15 to see a good band now it’s in the £100s!

Vinyl! You’d get vinyl for dirt cheap, even 10 years ago, now.. it’s a bleedin fortune

Clothes! I’d pick up a whole outfit for £20 at mark one or Tammy girl, I now shop on Vinted because it’s all I can afford 😕

We did rent films regularly - Friday evening trips to blockbuster video!

Oh wow @Airdustmoon this has suddenly brought back a massive wave of nostalgia! Rummaging through the bins to find a video! The new releases were way more expensive than old films weren't they? I remember finding some great old Disney films that I loved in the 50p bin.

Also, my mum going mental when we forgot to leave them back in time

Is it just me or was visiting family far away so much cheaper before?

Yes the cinema was a big treat when I was growing up and we hardly ever ate out - it'd be for a special occasion. No one would think of buying a coffee out regularly either.

We didn't do things like have day trips during school holidays; it would be out playing with friends.

Maybe things are reverting to how they used to be?

I'm the same age and we hardly ever went to the cinema, only a handful of times in primary school, it was a big thing.

We didn't have takeaways other than chips (no fish). I went to McDonald's for a birthday party.

Swimming lessons we did do, and Scouts and so on.

Maybe it's just different priorities.

My school uniform was expensive from a department store back in the 1970s. I looked after it carefully, knowing it had to be handed down to my sister when I outgrew it.

Thankfully by the time I had my own children supermarkets were doing affordable schoolwear.

@Holdontightly yessss! To think my DS will never know the joy of a trip to Blockbuster … the new releases were v expensive and in demand, I remember being desperate for a copy of Titanic when it was first released on video and not being able to get one despite a whole wall having been given over to it!