Ten Word Wednesday, It's in the paper.

What does it cost to fill your grocery cart today?

Shopping, Then and Now

BBBH went to market, vanilla stayed home. That led to some riffling through some old newspapers, as I was looking for some material to use in a post later in April.

The newspaper is dated April 12, 1965.  For the most part I don't look at grocery ads and such things, but just for fun, how about a comparison of  "then" and "now"?

If you have an interest in such things, you might note that Ann Margret and Michael Parks are playing in the show at the local movie house. Ann-Margret is a familiar name, and I recall some shows I have seen her in.  Who is Michael Parks?

Back to the task at hand.  Apparently bacon had not yet been discovered.  Poor orphan, going for nineteen cents the pound.  Over at Hank's, I see that we can get ground beef for thirty-seven cents.  The market today does not sell "ground beef."*  It sells "ground chuck," or "ground round," or "ground sirloin," and some packages will be labeled "Angus" and some won't be.  Prices will range from $3.49 to five bucks and more.

This is one dad who is glad his little bread snappers were growing up during the thirty-seven cent era.

Just for fun, the eggs at three dozen for the dollar are now about two dollars the dozen.  What is that, 500% increase?

You might observe here that you could invest your spare cash (who had any of that?) in notes paying 7.053%.  My bank is currently paying less than one-half of one percent.  "Inflation" you might be thinking of the Sixties.  And you would be right.  The difference is, the seven percent or so would pretty much insure that when the note comes due you will not have lost money.  You cannot say that about your "investment" today.

Oh, and you can buy some prescription glasses for under twelve bucks.

Yet I don't need glasses to see that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  If you are raising a family, there shall always be too much month at the end of the money.

*Once upon a time I worked in a butcher shop.  It was my job to prepare the "ground beef."  I could give you a recipe for 100 pounds of hamburger, but perhaps you really don't want to know.