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?

Nearly 60. Hardly ever ate out as a kid. Don’t do that now due to cost of living but we used to at least once a month.

a large orange, remember winning one in the middle of a pass the parcel aged about 8, recently thought I’d buy one and nearly fell over at the price of one orange!

Totally off-topic but isn't 'Digestive' a yucky name for a biscuit when you think about it?

My 9 year old has such a better social life (treats, trips, etc-almost every weekend and foreign holidays) than I did when I was nine! So defin no luxuries for me when I was younger!
I am an “older” mum though.
my husband and I also both work FT (my mum didn’t work) and as for pets, I would say we are more aware these days and have insurance etc that bumps the price up.

Not so many people had family ‘ far away’ to visit! In the 60’s in a Naice London suburb , I knew one German lady ( married to a Brit met on National Service), and my French tutor who was French ( but married to a Brit). The lady down the road had a cousin in Israel. My father had a friend who had emigrated to Australia.

There were no children in my class throughout school who had a non British parent. My mother was an infant school teacher , and I remember the excitement when an Indian boy came into her class in 1968.

It wasn’t until I went to University that I met people who were cosmopolitan, and even then they were very much the minority.

Riding lessons were 7/6d (35p) an hour when I was a kid and desperately wanted them, but still never had them. Not a priority for DPs - boarding school fees for Dbro, OTOH….

We always had a cat, but it was fed dried food and only went to the vet to be pts. My brood of pets now live the life of luxury in comparison.

In the 90's four of us had fish and chips at least once a week. Now it's once every couple of months.

Driving lessons were £17.50 for me in 1993. My daughter paid only £25 in 2017. I'm really surprised they've not gone up that much!

Agree with previous answers.

1. having a pet
2. ride on the train
3. going camping.

Also, staying in a decent hotel. I mean, that has obviously always been a treat, but I remember just a few years ago being able to book a nice hotel for around £60-70 for a Friday or Saturday night in a big city.
Now you’re talking £120+ for a bog standard Premier inn.

It was part of the Victorian craze for marketing foodstuffs as being beneficial. So a digestive was easy to digest and didn’t give you food ironing ha ha poisoning from dodgy ingredients . So Horlicks ‘prevented night starvation’ various cereals were supposed to give people energy , Alison’s and Hovis bread were originally supposed to be doctor approved.

not that much different from muesli ( also devised by a Swiss Doctor) and all the plant based, gluten free, low sugar etc etc which are promoted today , really.

My parents never took us to the cinema, I went once when I was about 8 with my brother aged 11 because he was so excited about a particular movie coming out. I’m assuming my parents gave him the money to pay for it.

I’ve always thought the cinema is expensive, I remember going with a bf when I was about 19 (early 90s) and us both being disappointed as it would have been cheaper to have gone out drinking for the night. I went more after moving overseas as it wasn’t as expensive than the UK.

Our cat was free as my DF found it, I think she was eventually spayed after 2 surprise litters, I’d hate to think what my parents did to dispose of the kittens. And I don’t think she ever saw a vet other than being spayed. The only other pets we had were goldfish we’d win at the fair and then my mum would end up flushing them so we gave up wanting them.

Never ever had any kind of club activity certainly not horse riding.

Our biggest luxuries were a trip to the beach, my parents didn’t drive initially so we’d go on the bus or train and a couple of holidays, I remember 4, Butlins at Pwellheil, Pontins Southport a trip to Scarborough staying in a caravan also another caravan one but don’t remember where. Two of the holidays my DF didn’t go as he needed to work to pay for them.

Having a vienetta in the house was the height of luxury according to my mother.

Did anybody else’s parent pretend staying with family was a holiday. I distinctly remember pouring ‘milk’ on my cereal at a grandparents house and thinking ‘ having powdered milk on my cereal is not a holiday’.

Thank you, that makes sense- I suppose Tonic Water falls into the same category.

Me too

I only find going to the cinema a novelty now because it's so rare there's something on i'd want to watch (and there's always the streaming options now as well).

There used to be a better quality depth of films and you didn't have the abundance of choice on TV/other media.

Think it depends how old you are. I was 80s child, 90s teen. Never went anywhere, no meals out, no treats, one pair of shoes, only brownies as a club, no swimming lessons, only free school music lessons as a child.

As a teen I went to the cinema and ate out much more- was much more affordable. Went to uni before the fees and even got a grant! These days it’s ridiculous for students.

Smoking. 10 John Player were 2.50 when I was 16. Glad I gave up years ago because there's no way I could afford a packet of cigarettes everyday now.

I remember buying a magazine for 50p with a nice gift. Nowadays the ones my DC like the look of cost £5/6, with so very cheap plastic tat, so it’s a very rare treat!!

You know, you might find that's actually not most people could afford those things then. If you can't afford anything, you learn how to make it sound as though you can.

I was born in the late eighties.

-No meals out
-Cinema/ soft-play once in a blue moon
-Mcdonalds as a rare birthday treat
-Holidays abroad were not a thing. Closest I got to any kind of holiday was staying with grandparents.
-Days out were a very rare treat
-Odd trip to the beach was a big deal
-Ice cream from the ice-cream can was a rare treat
-Takeaways? Never! Except occasionally chips from the chip shop
-Swimming was a (more affordable) treat. No lessons
-Music lessons were free at school

I loved going to Blockbusters!! And we had dance lessons, but paid for by grandparents. We also played out, my kids go to paid activities.

My kids have all of the above and more.

We used to eat out every Sunday for a roast. My mum was a receptionist in a high school and SD worked as a builder. So not massively high earners at all.
no way could i afford to do that now

chocolate digestives in Aldi 69p, milk and plain and I think I might prefer them to McVities I saw £5.30 and nearly died with my legs in the air

Even 2-4 years ago each month we would take kids to Pizza Hut and bowling
Now that's a luxury.

A holiday

I think the opposite.Hardly any of my peers had dogs when I was a child now everyone seems to have them, and pedigrees at that.
The cinema was expensive when I was a child. I grew up poor and things like pop, crisps, ice cream were luxuries. Coincidently dh and I have had an ice cream today as desert.
I don’t remember ever eating out as a child yet I’ve eaten out at a restaurant this week.
We walked every where.
Train fares seamed reasonable but I think that was down to being subsidised by the council as it was cheap to travel within my own county.

Also the railways were nationalised so you didn’t have to pay share holders every time you travelled.