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Original poster

Insane inflation

13 replies

EarlofShrewsbury · 07/09/2022 00:54

I was just watching a documentary from 1992 and it showed the gate prices for Alton Towers and it got me thinking.

Minimum wage in 1992 was £3.40. It's £9.50 today which is 2.8 times more. A pint of milk was 33p and now is 90p which is 2.7 times more. That seems OK..

However, petol was 45p, it's 3.8 times more expensive today.
The latest console was the SNES, and retailed for about £140, the latest console today is £450, 3.2 times more.
Alton Towers, was £10.50 for an adult paying on the gate, today it is £65. That's 6.1 times more (I know you can get them cheaper in advance and get vouchers for discounts but not really the point)
A weekend ticket to Reading festival was £49. Its £259 quid if you bought one today. 5.3 times more.

In 1992 my house was worth 52k, it's worth about 220k now, that's 4.2 times more.

Why are wages so shit?

I have to work for 7 hours now if I want to go to Alton Towers but only needed to work for 3 in 1992. (I was too young then but still, not the point)

On the brightside, 20 minutes on the 2p slots got cheaper.

OP posts:
HappyAsASandboy · 07/09/2022 03:18

This is really interesting, thank you for posting so much detail. I don't have anything intelligent to say about it right now, but you've got me wondering about what might be "cheaper" now than it was. This is what drives the inter generational resentment and misunderstanding about spending habits.

Monty27 · 07/09/2022 03:22

I hope you get a great opportunity to teach mathematics to politicians 🥺

Original poster
EarlofShrewsbury · 07/09/2022 09:19

HappyAsASandboy · 07/09/2022 03:18

This is really interesting, thank you for posting so much detail. I don't have anything intelligent to say about it right now, but you've got me wondering about what might be "cheaper" now than it was. This is what drives the inter generational resentment and misunderstanding about spending habits.

In hindsight I should have been in bed instead of researching all that. 😆

There were a few things that have gone up reasonably or cheaper than wage inflation, mainly electronics like kettles.

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 07/09/2022 09:54

On the other hand, in 1992 or shortly afterwards, I paid nearly a month's wages for my first washing machine - around £400. The fridge freezer cost about the same. Our second washing machine (we go for mid range, so not the cheapest and not Miele) cost £260 about 15 years later and we've just bought our third one and paid just under £400, which is now less than a fifth of what I earn.

I've read that if the cost of a chicken had increased by inflation over the years, it would now cost around £50.

The fact that you can get into Alton Towers on a discount code or by booking ahead for less now is the point, because just about everything like that now has a discount code available and it only takes a few minutes on the internet to find one. Modern day definition of 'more money than sense' is to pay full price at an attraction or chain restaurant. It's rare that you can't get it for less than 'full' price, which is set based on a large percentage of people not actually paying that much.

Some things have gone up, some haven't, housing is the big issue, and basics for the lower paid now.

BMW6 · 07/09/2022 11:12

I remember when TV's were so expensive you hired them (Radio Rentals) and the idea of buying a house simply not considered.........

I agree about the chicken, much cheaper now in terms of relative to inflation, and I imagine bread and most food staples are relatively cheap.

iwishiwasafish · 07/09/2022 12:54

An advance ticKet to Alton Towers is £36. So 3.4 times as much. So roughly in line with wage increase. Alton Towers is also bigger now, with more to do than in 1992, so that probably explains some of the increase.

Not sure it’s the best benchmark.

TheHorrorOfIt · 07/09/2022 16:20

Food and clothes are relatively loads cheaper than when I was a child (early 80s) and a student (early 90s). And books

SilentHedges · 07/09/2022 17:49

OP I liked your reference to Reading Festival "A weekend ticket to Reading festival was £49. Its £259 quid if you bought one today. 5.3 times more" as that's pretty my starting point at measuring inflation.

A Glastonbury weekend ticket in 1992 is also listed at £49. I remember going to Glastonbury in the late 80's and mid 90's with friends, all of us in very average jobs, and no one said they couldn't afford it, or baulked at the price. A Glastonbury weekend ticket now is £285 which is 5.26 times more. I'm in a really well paying job now and I'd have to seriously think about the ticket cost, never mind travel, food and the rest of it.

In my 20's (the 90's) housing (buying or renting) was affordable, so was going out, entertainment etc. White goods not so, but that wasn't really as important compared to the basics, like having somewhere secure to live.

Metabigot · 07/09/2022 19:15

They didn't have a minimum wage in 1992.
I worked in a factory during uni holidays for £2.50 an hour. This was 95.

Metabigot · 07/09/2022 19:18

SilentHedges · 07/09/2022 17:49

OP I liked your reference to Reading Festival "A weekend ticket to Reading festival was £49. Its £259 quid if you bought one today. 5.3 times more" as that's pretty my starting point at measuring inflation.

A Glastonbury weekend ticket in 1992 is also listed at £49. I remember going to Glastonbury in the late 80's and mid 90's with friends, all of us in very average jobs, and no one said they couldn't afford it, or baulked at the price. A Glastonbury weekend ticket now is £285 which is 5.26 times more. I'm in a really well paying job now and I'd have to seriously think about the ticket cost, never mind travel, food and the rest of it.

In my 20's (the 90's) housing (buying or renting) was affordable, so was going out, entertainment etc. White goods not so, but that wasn't really as important compared to the basics, like having somewhere secure to live.

I paid £10 for a leg up to scale the fence of Glastonbury in 98. Hey I was young , wouldn't do it now.
So 28.5 x more today

HidingFromDD · 07/09/2022 19:37

It cost £4.50 for an LP in the 70s, and I had to work 9-6 on Saturday and 9-12 on Sunday to earn £5 (14 so no minimum wages), so an lp cost me 11 hours work. That’s definitely something that’s cheaper. Also agree with electronics being significantly cheaper. House prices were around 3/4 times wages, but interest rates were 15% when we bought, so repayments as a multiple of salary I’m not sure were that much cheaper. We didn’t need to save the 10% deposit though which is were many young people get stuck now

Butchyrestingface · 08/09/2022 09:07

Metabigot · 07/09/2022 19:15

They didn't have a minimum wage in 1992.
I worked in a factory during uni holidays for £2.50 an hour. This was 95.

That's what I was thinking. Confused MW wasn't introduced in the UK until 1999.

I started a Saturday job just after my 16th birthday in 1994 and I was on something like £1.84 an hour. Christmas bonus was £3.00!

Metabigot · 09/09/2022 21:50

I remember the abuse students got for nor being taxed then. Regular workers got < £100 for a 40 hour week.

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