Am I just stuck in the past or are price increases recently out of control?

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I am late 40’s and so there is some change my idea of prices are stuck in the past but my DH had a day off yesterday and we went up to town to go to a film and then dinner at very basic but nice Greek place, we got up to town early so went to a café for a cup of tea and a bit of cake to share. By the time we got home we had spent £100. In 2019 we could have done the exact same evening out for half of that. Which does leave me feeling like the goal posts have been moved quite a bit.

Obviously, I know prices go up, that hospitality is under a lot of pressure but prior to this it took more like 20 years for prices to double and now they have doubled in the past 4 or 5 years and it shows little sign of slowing down. Same with anything you buy, a new paperback book can be £15! It feels like Tea is more expensive every week.

Like I say I know prices go up but am I crazy to feel that things have gone up excessively? Even though inflation is supposed to be falling the price of products and services never seems to fall. Or am I just getting old and stuck in the past?

I'm really not, I keep a diary and usually noted down what we paid for a night out.

Prices are shocking. But Labour forced employers to pay more NI and again raised the minimum wage. We were always going to pay for that. We rarely eat out now. The prices rises have been rapid.

@macshoto Thanks for all that info, I will look into it all, hopefully I won't get nightmares!

YANBU.

The price of restaurant meals is now completely ridiculous, which is why I now eat out much less frequently than I used to. I do understand that the hospitality industry is experiencing huge cost pressures, but that’s not the point. Value for money is the issue. Too many times, I have walked out of a normal restaurant feeling like I have just been mugged. Until that changes, I will be eating out mainly when I’m on holiday or on special occasions, just as my parents did back in the 1980s.

Any services or processed goods are crazy now. Basic food stuffs and basic building materials less so.

I'm busy making my own jams, sauces, pickles & liquers with free hedgerow fruit for the next year.

I went shopping for a pair of tailored trousers for the autumn, preferably part wool, and looking at £200+ 😮

I've given up eating out completely. Thanks Labour !

That's why racism is on the rise. People are upset and angry and need a scapegoat

I suppose I don't grudge minimum wage increasing to be honest but wages across the board haven't kept pace even taking a slowing down in mid career into account. I do agree that increase prices mean we choose to stay home more often now, on the up side my cooking is getting quite good now!

It seems a vicious cycle places put their prices up some people don't want to pay the inflated costs the company want to generate same revenue with less customere so increase their prices. We used to have tea out probably once a week and takeaway once a week its now probably once a month for both as the places we went offered increasingly poor value for money and rubbish service!

Everything seems to have doubled in the past five years. Except wages.

I'm so baffled that CoL is sky high and yet every shopping street is lined with cafes and takeout places. £4 for a coffee, £8 for a sandwich or mediocre salad at lunchtime. How do people afford it when a good fresh coffee at home costs a few pence and a good sandwich or salad less than £2? I keep hearing that restaurants are struggling but the prices just don't make sense on the salaries people have these days.

We have just got back from a beach area not far from Barcelona, it was €6 for 4 coffees, talking 2 flat whites and 2 americanos. My partner and I went to a coffee shop in by the coast in the UK in July and paid £6.50 for 2 flat whites that were awful tbh.
We are getting totally mugged off here, it’s getting ridiculous.

@Meadowfinch I do think prices have gone up for basic unprocessed foods now as well but you are right its way less than if you eat a lot of ready made things or meat. I thought we were spending a lot but my parent's in law spend double what we do and it's just the two of them as well. I do cook mostly from scratch and I don't eat meat so its just occasional bits for DH. Prices are up though.

We used to eat out all the time, we don't anymore. I have joined the library, cook from scratch ( I hate cooking) cut down on meat, make packed lunches, walk as much as possible. I feel like it's about 1978. Next thing I will be wearing a vest and have my winter mittens on a string up the arms of my coat.

One thing I have noticed though is that prices seem to have levelled out. So you can go to a really bland chain restaurant and pay about £30-50 pp or you can go to a Micheline recommended but not starred indie place and pay the same.

Yeah the knock on effect must be that less people do it. I used to get a coffee on the way to work 2x a week, now maybe once a month if that. Lots of places I just refuse because the prices charged don’t in any way reflect the quality that you get. Côte is a good example, the portions are shrivelled and it was very obviously pre prepared or pre assembled and very hastily brought out. Service ok but it was just all so mediocre. £26+ for a main! Stupid. Wasn’t my choice but my FIL’s, and I really resented it. Now if I eat out I go to a pizzeria where I know they cook it fresh to order and the prices aren’t completely ludicrous. Stopped getting takeaway all together.

@SpottyAardvark It is going back that way I think!

£4.75 for a half litre of coppella Apple juice in one stop the other day! Who is buying this stuff? Well, in my case, me coz it had a yellow sticker on it - cost 45p with the reduction! But crazy prices!

@Barney16 I'm back using the Library now and I did get a second hand kobo a couple of years ago to take advantage of their ebook offerings as well.

I think part of it we do all live a bit in the past and are permanently surprised that something costs that bit more. And add to that the higher inflation we've had recently and you feel it doubly. .

Having said that I was paying £11 for a peak time adult cinema ticket in Canary Wharf in 2019. Just a normal multiplex.

@Cinaferna Interesting, perhaps I need to move up a level on the restaurants then!

I had a peppermint tea the other day. Was asked if wanted small or large. Made it clear I wanted small as large is just extra water therefore weaker tea. Paying extra for hot water.

The minimum wage has gone up by 50% in the last four years.

Utility costs and food costs have also risen. Those cafes and restaurants are not raking it in, they are desperately trying not to go under.

I remember cinema tickets being £9.50 or £10.50 in 2019. Now they're £19, £20, or £21, so it has doubled.

I noticed it with hotels too. Just the basic ones like Premier Inn, Travelodge, A room was around £50 in 2019. Now you're talking £100.

Has my salary doubled in 6 years? Has it fuck.

The minimum wage has gone up by more than 50% in the last 6 years. Plus increased NI contributions, and pension contributions. Employers have to cover it all. Has your salary gone up by that much in the last 6 years?

@Glurgle I think people understand that but it's also true that things about an acceptable price point and when it goes beyond that then people just stop going. Perhaps we are in the phase where cafe's are putting up prices to try and maintain income with lower custom which is probably driving even more customers away. The upshot is that places will close, chains will collapse (costa not looking good right now) but paying £3 + for a teabag in a mug of hot water in a café with counter service is madness.

Yes Hotels and B&B's are so much more expensive these days. We haven't had a holiday in quite a few years and were looking at places in the UK or Ireland for an Autumn break and were staggered at the prices. No wonder Air B&B's are popular as at least their you can save a bit by making your own food!