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?

@verdantverdure Our mum used to cut ojr hair when we were small and when we got older we had haircuts in the kitchen by a friend of hers who used to a do bit of hairdressing to earn some money on the side.

I love films and have always gone to the cinema a lot as a child, (I'm 43) and continued that with our own children at first but we have stopped over the last ten years or so.

It's a variety of factors but the cost was top of the list.

We tried a couple of mobile hairdressers and ended up paying twice.

The second time to fix it.

A hairdressing friend is a great friend to have.

I have very fond memories of my dad taking me to woolworths to get pic n mix and then sneaking it into the cinema, so I think it's always been overpriced.

I'm waiting for my son to progress a bit more in his swimming lessons before he is allowed to stop and learn a musical instrument instead. I can't afford both, and swimming is important as we live near the sea. I was allowed to do multiple clubs so feel a bit bad about this but it is what it is.

@verdantverdure they weren't great haircuts tbh, we all sported the same bowl cut until the mid eighties!

Have your tried hairdressing colleges? Mr Monkey gets his hair and beard done for free at a barbers academy. The only downside is it can take a little longer.

We have resorted to the technical college but I do have to be quite vigilant about asking the tutors to level things out before we leave sometimes

You could have knocked me down with a feather when I found out that Just Cuts is £43 now!

Well energy costs are filtering through to everyone's prices. Also I think a lot of hairdressers left the industry after covid.

I think it's the other way round. Holidays were all UK and we only ate out for birthdays. The only restaurants in our small town were an Indian and a Little Chef. For days out we always took a picnic and usually did something free.

Mum always cut my hair till I was about 15.

Brought up in 70s here. Don't remember going to a proper hairdressers for a style till I was about 14/15.
My parents both worked back then, so our standard of living was better than most. However my mum shopped locally, never went to a supermarket until late 70s, and always bought her meat from butchers. There were very few treats such as fizzy drinks, crisps or sweets. I bought them from my pocket money if I wanted them. Alcohol was only bought at Christmas or New year.
I didn't go to cinema much as a child but went a lot in the 80s/90s. Now I haven't been in a cinema for almost 5 years 😢. Too expensive.
Went swimming a lot as a child, probably cost about 50p back then.
Clothes are more affordable than they were back then. I had very few clothes and shoes as a child. As a teenager, I discovered What Every Woman wants in Scotland with the huge range ( and rubbish quality), so bought more.
My parents did get the occasional chippy, but back then it was 5p for a bag of chips . Cost less than a fiver for our family . I went a few weeks back and was £18 for DH and I

Proportionally Cinema, theatre was so expensive when I was a child that it was impossible. I only went to the cinema my first time as a child on a trip to India that Dad had saved 3 years for & only because my grandad paid for it. My first time at theatre was at school (to see witches) & only because my teacher thought it was so important he personally paid for the whole class to go.

But now we go frequently. Once a month at least depending on the show - theatre more often as kids enjoy it more.

I was a child of the 60s, teenager in the 70s. I didn’t holiday abroad until I was nearly 30, we took picnics and a flask rather than use cafes or restaurants or take-aways, soft-play didn’t exist, swimming lessons were during school-time, clothes were handed down the family and new clothes bought only when absolutely essential.

We weren’t poor. This was how normal people lived.

You are probably only slightly younger than me. My parents were both from council house backgrounds, but were adventurous. Excluding Greece, I had visited every country this side of the Iron Curtain by 1970.

But, yes, eating out, takeaways and organised play didn’t really exist for us. There was always the swing park at the end of the road. My mother or relatives made a good proportion of our clothes when we were young.

Every country in Europe, I should say.

I’m maybe a bit older - nearly 50 - and grew up in a middle class house. But we didn’t often eat out or have coffees and cakes. No mini breaks. Occasional theatre or cinema

we are lucky to have more cash to spend but a night in the large city theatre for us all is hundreds of pounds.

I'd say the swimming lessons etc were a huge luxury when I was a child, as were things like coffee out, let alone alone lunch. We never had takeaways either.
I was going to write" heating " but I think that was expensive too - I think fuel costs were comparatively affordable in the last 30 years but before that it it was a luxury.
Housing is more expensive now, that shouldn't have to be a luxury but in many parts of the uk even a small rented flat is not achievable for many youngsters.
Drinks in pubs and bars and fags are also now luxuries in a way that they weren't back in the 70s and 80s.

Buying/owning a dog, used to be able to get a puppy for £50 from a bloke down the road, cats given away for free. Now even a crossbreed or that same farm bred dog that was £50 will run you a few hundred, you're looking at about 1k+ for a well bred dog

UK caravan/camping holidays, we went for a caravan holiday to Devon probably every 2 years as kids, sometimes yearly when both parents were in full time work, no idea how much it cost but we ate out most nights while there, were given spends for the arcade in the clubhouse, ice creams bought etc and we weren't well off. I have yet to take my kids away, it now costs at least the same as my monthly rent on a whole house for a 2 bed caravan for a week in the summer.

Fish and chips
Vinyl records
Pies and pastries

I don’t think there’s a massive difference in prices. The value of money has reduced 3x in the last 30 years, £1 in 1990 is worth about £3 now. When I was a kid the cinema cost about £3 now it costs £10. Swimming used to cost about £2 now it costs £6. Fish and chips used to cost about £4 now it’s £12. So roughly in line with prices having trebled.

What has changed is that people have less disposable income. Electric and gas bills cost more. Petrol costs more. Houses cost way more, to the extent that both parents now have to work in order to cover the vastly inflated mortgage. Which means people now have an additional childcare bill that they didn’t have before, because they can no longer afford a SAHM.

same farm bred dog that was £50 will run you a few hundred, you're looking at about 1k+ for a well bred dog
I am sure you could do without a "well bred dog" but people like you keep a disgusting industry going.

Errm, where did I say I spend 1k+ on a dog, I couldn't! Mine are unpapered full breeds who I rehomed from previous owners at a total cost of £0 for both of them

I think it's the other way around actually. Things might not be as cheap as they were 5 years ago but loads of things that were luxuries when I was a child are normal now.

• a week's holiday by the sea in UK
• carpet (most rooms had lino)
• Central heating
• Fruit
• Sugar
• Coffee
• washing machine
• crumpets and malt loaf were huge treats in our house
• I ate in a restaurant once before I was 16 and that was to celebrate Dad getting a life changing promotion. It wouldn't have been considered even for things like birthdays.

I'm in my early 50s and everything people are describing here, other than Sunday roast and cats, were rare treats. We never got popcorn at the cinema. Going at all was a rare treat. Soft play didn't exist I don't think. We certainly never went. Magazines would be bought with your pocket money - al of it. Eating out was most definitely a treat and take aways, other than chippies, were never had. We took flasks and sandwiches for days out which were at a nice park or a cycle ride (bikes were hugely coveted birthday combined with Christmas presents and often second hand). There is nothing which isn less of a treat than in my childhood and we were not hard up

I grew up poor but went to the cinema lots , had swimming lessons , Brownies , drama club. I was one of 5, we all had a comic and sweets every Saturday. My youngest wanted a magazine when we were out shopping and it was £8.99 , I made him put it back as it wasn't worth the money.

It’s all flipped though hasn’t it? Basics such as housing and trains are much more expensive, while luxuries are broadly cheaper.