The cost of groceries in 1960

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I don't know why I so vividly remember this from 1960. My mom came back from Saturday grocery shopping. She was all bent out of shape. The world was apparently going to hell. She had just spent over $20 for a weeks groceries for a family of 4. Can you image- $20+!!!!!! She ranted all day long about that. BTW, the minimum wage was $1/hr. in 1960.
I live by myself, and I can't remember spending less than a $100 for groceries.
 

Don't remember 1960 grocery prices.
At that point in time it was all about going out for hamburgers and milkshakes in my world..😀.

But yes, a trip to the store for "just a few items" these days always seems to run over $100
 
My parents used to revel in their memory of being able to go shopping on payday and exiting the supermarket with 4 large brown paper bags stuffed to the limit with groceries, and they did it for $25.

Don't quote me on it, but I seem to remember being told my dad was making $10,000 a year at the time (late 60's/early 70's).
 

With that said, my folks reminded us kids (later in life) that they never has a $2 bill leftover on payday (at the end of the day) once the bills and groceries were out of the way.

My mom spent untold hours sitting at the kitchen table with pen and paper, budgeting household and family expenses for the week. Coupons and sales, along with whatever other savings mom could find wasn't an option for her, it was a necessity.
 
Cheaper to eat out now, and you don't have to wash dishes. One thing I notice today is the fact that all the large brand name products increased prices two or three times within the past four or five years, and reduced the size and weight of can goods. You pay more for less now and it should be laws putting a stop to that. If they can't do that then at least force the products to have a written warning on every item you are now paying more for less !!!
 
applecruncher said:
Quoting 😃
That's about $80,000 in today's dollars.
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I didn't realize it equated to such a high amount in todays dollars.

I do know our house was more than dads annual earnings.

Today, $80,000 here in Canada, particularly BC, where we reside, wouldn't take a family very far.

Average price of a house here... $770,000.00
 
When I got my first job in 1964, I was making $50. per week. I have some actual 1966 register receipts that my mother saved from a store called the First National. A loaf of bread was .30 cents, a pound of bacon was .79 cents, sugar was .38 cents for 5 pounds and butter was .67 cents a pound.

@Aunt Marg my mother was like yours, with all her little economies. It seems so unreal now. I'm just one person, and last month I spent nearly $400. for groceries...that was 2 month's pay for me back in 1964.
 
YES....... costs certainly changed.
In 1975, my first marriage..........90.00 month for groceries.........50.00 month for gas........175.00 home payment.........100.00 month hydro........10.00 month telephone, no long distance for that price.........50.00 month for water and rent for our lot for our trailer home.......30.00 month for each of us, for clothes, coffee breaks at work, and whatever fell into this category that we used our allowance for. Eating out......birthdays, anniversaries, 20.00 for each occasion. Dental, medical etc, used from small savings.

Groceries........then........bread, 10 loaves for 5.00.......canned goods, 10 for 5,00 .........cat food, 10 for 1.00........cakes mixes, 10 for a 1.00.......man, i could go on and on and on.

Our budget took both of us working. Were able to save a small percentage for the future, unless we had some kind or emergency.
 
Autumn said:
When I got my first job in 1964, I was making $50. per week. I have some actual 1966 register receipts that my mother saved from a store called the First National. A loaf of bread was .30 cents, a pound of bacon was .79 cents, sugar was .38 cents for 5 pounds and butter was .67 cents a pound.

@Aunt Marg my mother was like yours, with all her little economies. It seems so unreal now. I'm just one person, and last month I spent nearly $400. for groceries...that was 2 month's pay for me back in 1964.
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I've read before that everything is relative in relation to wages vs cost of living (back in the day vs today), but I don't at all agree.

It truly is unreal, Autumn. Everything just keeps going up, up, and up. Seems like there's no end in sight.

Very interesting about the prices of things you remember.
 
MickaC said:
YES....... costs certainly changed.
In 1975, my first marriage..........90.00 month for groceries.........50.00 month for gas........175.00 home payment.........100.00 month hydro........10.00 month telephone, no long distance for that price.........50.00 month for water and rent for our lot for our trailer home.......30.00 month for each of us, for clothes, coffee breaks at work, and whatever fell into this category that we used our allowance for. Eating out......birthdays, anniversaries, 20.00 for each occasion. Dental, medical etc, used from small savings.

Groceries........then........bread, 10 loaves for 5.00.......canned goods, 10 for 5,00 .........cat food, 10 for 1.00........cakes mixes, 10 for a 1.00.......man, i could go on and on and on.

Our budget took both of us working. Were able to save a small percentage for the future, unless we had some kind or emergency.
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A lovely post, Micka.

Very interesting seeing the cost of living back in the day.
 
that was a lot
fuzzybuddy said:
I don't know why I so vividly remember this from 1960. My mom came back from Saturday grocery shopping. She was all bent out of shape. The world was apparently going to hell. She had just spent over $20 for a weeks groceries for a family of 4. Can you image- $20+!!!!!! She ranted all day long about that. BTW, the minimum wage was $1/hr. in 1960.
I live by myself, and I can't remember spending less than a $100 for groceries.
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That was a lot back then @ $1 an hour..average 8 hour day.. your mum had just spent 2 and a half days salary on food ..something most of us today wouldn't even consider , because food is much cheaper now than then
 
Tish said:
I can't say I remember my parent's household bills, but wow that is amazing.
There are just my son and I and our average grocery bill is about $170 a week.
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I eat junk food and easy stuff and it cost me 70 to 80 dollars a week, but I have to say the local store is all there is and the dollar store is not a dollar store, but more of a regular store just with a dollar store name. So if you want to save money here you drive a 20 mile round trip, then of course if you don't cook a lot you really aren't saving anything to drive that far. This is rural living for me and it is much worse than living in a large city. Just the complete opposite of what it once was. When I was young in the 70s and not married I would eat out 2 sometimes 3 times a day. Where I live now there are no fast food places and once again you would need to drive that 20 miles if you wanted any fast food.
 
I was giving thought to how far money went back in the day when it came to groceries (the 1960's), and unlike today where grocery bills include a pack or two of disposable diapers, which for some families surely means going without something or another (or multiple things), however, such was not the case back in the day, leaving more income to spend on necessary food items.

Additionally, back in the day, mothers made their own baby food and formula, so that added to a families buying power when it came to getting more for less.
 
Mat said:
I eat junk food and easy stuff and it cost me 70 to 80 dollars a week, but I have to say the local store is all there is and the dollar store is not a dollar store, but more of a regular store just with a dollar store name. So if you want to save money here you drive a 20 mile round trip, then of course if you don't cook a lot you really aren't saving anything to drive that far. This is rural living for me and it is much worse than living in a large city. Just the complete opposite of what it once was. When I was young in the 70s and not married I would eat out 2 sometimes 3 times a day. Where I live now there are no fast food places and once again you would need to drive that 20 miles if you wanted any fast food.
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Wow, not even Pizza delivery. That would suck.
 

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