Sick of the high, high prices of the present day? Well, how about making yourself feel even worse by checking out these pics of incredible bargains from bygone years that we’ll never get back?
Seriously, even when you adjust for inflation, it’s pretty hard to believe how cheap stuff was back in the day. Some of these are sale prices, and even not on sale this stuff is so much cheaper than it is nowadays.
Prices keep skyrocketing, and last I checked, wages aren’t going up to match them. So instead of daydreaming of a time when things were better, check out this concrete evidence that things actually were better. Enjoy these pics of a time when you could buy so much bologna for under a dollar.
1
A supermarket in 1940. When they say “Low Price” they really meant it. Nothing over a dollar listed in the window.
2
Imagine buying a brand-new car for under a thousand dollars. 1938.
3
Dresses for $2.99, circa 1950s
4
Food prices from March 15, 1956
5
Basketball shoes for $3.99 in 1960
7
Just to provide an interesting counter-example– you could get a TV ten times better than this one for even cheaper nowadays! 1968.
8
Cheap portable radios from Radio Shack in 1970
9
Steak & Lobster on sale for $5.99. The regular price is still only $6.99. 1977
10
Back in 1960, gas was 15 cents a gallon
11
Land for sale in Las Vegas in 1955. Imagine how much that would be worth today.
12
In the 70s, gas was up in price from the 60s. Regardless, it was still under 50 cents a gallon.
13
In the late 1950s, your mortgage payment could be under 50 dollars!
14
A used car lot in the 1930s
15
Even McDonalds is getting expensive nowadays. This menu is from 1953.
16
Model T Ford prices in 1925
17
Save money on imported cuckoo clocks in 1955
18
Elvis Presley lipsticks were only a buck back in 1957. Nowadays I’m blowing my whole budget on them.
19
A video game system under 50 dollars is just one of the impressive low prices on this ad from 1988
20
Hmm. Not sure this deal is that appealing. 1968.
21
This house in Toronto in the 1960s was under 17k.
22
A season pass to Kings Island was just $32.50 in 1983. Imagine getting even a single amusement park ticket at that price today.
