Another reason 2024 sucks....

[fortyshooter]

When I was a kid riding my bike up to High's Ice Cream or other places buying a 25 cent milk shake was no big deal. I was making money turning in soda bottles at the local grocery, running my paper route or cutting grass. 25 cent milk shake whenever no big deal. Now I am 70 retired everything paid off and now have to think do I have that extra 4.45 for that very good milk shake from Cookout burger shop ? Back in 2009 a six pack of Miller HighLife was 2 bucks and change! No matter what life brings in November cost of that milk shake will still continue to be $ 4.45 or more!
Must mention that 4.45 includes the city's 11.5 % local food tax which is something a 70 year old should be exempt from!

[Vaquero]

Couldn't agree more there, forty.

And life was so much simpler back then.

RP

[fortyshooter]

Well I bought that Double Chocolate shake yesterday evening and got back in time to watch Tour of Duty TV show which I like while enjoying that shake! I guess I can afford one per week.

[HenryFan]

I stopped at a local gas station/convenience store/hardware store on Thursday of this week to buy four 9/16 X 2 1/2 carriage bolts and they were $.95 each.

I bought a Coke Zero while I was there and it was $2.39.

Sticker shock. I can remember when I was a youngster, you could buy a hot dog and a coke for $.25 + .01 tax. Of course, that was probably 65 years ago.

[Mags]

Back then, a Big Mac combo was 99 cents. The sales moto was meal for under a $1 with change back. Burger, fry and a drink.

[BigAl52]

Sticker shock is when you go to the grocery store and can get 100.00 worth of groceries in 2 bags. And we have heads of the country that dont no how inflation works.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

When I was a kid, there was still a 5 Cent Coke machine in our neighborhood.

Now, I quit smoking (half pack a day) 49 years ago, but Camels were 40 Cents a pack back then.

The other day I was at the grocery store and saw that a pack of Camels is now $9.00 !!

One more. Again when I was a kid, I bought a great running '58 Chevy that was only 10 years old.

I paid $50 for it. Try doing that today, lol.

[Sir Henry]

I seldom went out for dinner and drove old cheap beaters. Now that I’m retired I spend about $14 daily at the latte shop and drive newer cars.

I have a neighbor that is broke and he tells me I need a boat, snowmobile and a 4-wheeler. All things that will depreciate. In the meantime I’m buying propane tanks and building a garage. All things that should appreciate.

That same neighbor has a brother that is a multi-millionaire. A couple months ago he told me I was the brother he wished he had.

[Luv the lever]

Where can you get a shake for less than $5? Last time I stopped at a shop for one I assumed the front door came with it!

[dave77]

Soft drinks were 10¢ and 25¢ at the A&W I worked at in the early 70's. Owner told the carhops and fountain workers that drinks were always to be served in mugs unless it was a to-go order as a paper cup cost more than the pop in it (which was only a couple of cents). We were allowed a free burger and fries and all the pop we could drink, but no free ice cream. But I did the closing cleanup and was the one who emptied and cleaned the ice cream machine so I got to have free sundaes or milk shakes.

[HenryFan]

The posts all recall the prices of days gone by but this is offset by the pay of days gone by.

In the Summer of 1968, I worked at a MacDonalds restaurant while I waited to go on active duty with the Army. I made $1.25 per hour that summer. After I went on active duty in October of 1968, $1.25 per hour seemed more attractive.

I guess I am saying it is that prices of days gone by are relative to the pay of days gone by.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

True, but I was able to buy 2 cars by the time I was 16 with just afternoon paper route money.

The dollar seemed to last a lot longer, even for adjustments to today.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

Another thing. Things are so bad out there that it seems I'm always in some kind of boycott mode.

Not just for the money, but in principle.

Really never had to boycott anything back in the old days.

[cooperhawk]

Carol and I aren't rich, but we're pretty well off considering. I do feel sorry for our children and Grandchildren though.
As prices are rising their wages are not keeping up and they are having increasingly hard times. Groceries are the worst.
Also with the high commercial interest rates many builders are curtailing construction and jobs are going away.
We help out when we think we should but I don't want them to learn dependence on us because we won't always be
there in the future.
I also notice that many old businesses are closing, some due to not keeping up with the times, but others because of
the economy.

[BrokenolMarine]

One thing to keep in mind.
Way back in the day, people "earned" things, so they appreciated them and took care of them. As a kid, I didn't have a room filled with so many things I forgot what I had. A bike? I bought my first beater from money I earned mowing lawns, trimming hedges, and edging walks. I was suddenly mobile. The following Christmas my folks were in the position to replace it with a Stingray model with the popular banana seat. Did you ever find it dumped in the yard or driveway? Were my toys not put away when I finished with them?

People today want everything now, and aren't willing to save. They want to own the house, filled with perfect furniture, drive the best car, wear the right clothes, talk on the newest phones, and go on that dream vacation. What? What are priorities? Savings? We don't need no stinking savings. We got four credit cards. (All charged to the limit... But we can get a couple more, apps come in emails every day.)

[Sir Henry]

Our streets are paved with gold meaning we have golden opportunities if you are willing to work or know how to build a better mousetrap. Kids today can’t get a job because they learned activism in school instead of learning a trade.

The interest rate on our first house was 18% and it took both of our incomes to make the mortgage payment. In the meantime we couldn’t afford cable TV or to eat a hamburger out. Instead we ate macaroni and cheese or pancakes.

Instead of complaining we made decisions on how to become rich. Am I rich? If you are poor then I am rich and if you are rich I am poor.

[BigAl52]

And if you are rich then it doesnt mean I should give up what I have to make you richer

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

For those who strive for it and stand on their own two feet, I'm also concerned about young kids today. We sacrificed, scrimped and saved to buy our first house and if we had these present conditions of today back then, we could have never swung it.

Instead young kids today, who are totally independent anyway, like we were, will end up having to rent. And rent prices today are ridiculous.

So much for the great American Dream out there.

[fortyshooter]

Meanwhile back in 1976 life was good for a couple 22 yrs. old.

[RanchRoper]

Rockies in my backyard, family healthy, don’t watch news, eat well, and my company pays me to work from home now so I won’t retire yet.

No complaints here.