Grandparents love to brag about how inexpensive a chocolate bar was “back in their day” or how little they paid for their first home. And in a perfect world, it wouldn’t really matter how much prices had increased because our salaries would inflate on the same scale. But as we all know, that’s just not the case today.

Costs of living are soaring all over the planet, and it seems like every year, things that were once basic necessities or little treats are turning into luxuries reserved only for the rich. Redditors have recently been discussing some of these things that have become unattainable for most of us, so we’ve gathered some of their thoughts below.

#1

A summer house. I know many families that have an old house on a lake that they go to in the summers. It’s been passed down for a couple generations. Nobody in the current generation could afford one but some how a family with a single income bought it 50 years ago and the man’s wife and wife and kids would spend the whole summer there and he would go up on weekends.

Image credits: spidereater

#2

Uh, life.

*Vaguely gestures*

Image credits: Red217

#3

Tickets for events.

Image credits: shingaladaz

To find out how this conversation started in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user Dash_Weh_Dat, who posed the question, "What was affordable 50 years ago that now only the rich can buy?” They were kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share what inspired them to start this thread.

"Well, I was having a discussion with some millennial and Gen Z friends at a housewarming party (it's a rental by the way)," the OP said. "A friend showed us pictures she took while she was on vacation in California with her parents at her grandparent's country home. We noticed that they were extremely well off."

#4

Health care. Dental visits. Glasses.

Image credits: deeBfree

"Someone asked her if her family had always been wealthy. She said her grandfather worked as a factory manager, and his grandmother was a housewife," Dash_Weh_Dat continued. "They managed to save up for a house and a vacation home 5 hours away. Eventually they moved to the country home and sold their first house for six figures."

"One income managed to get them all that. While we are struggling to make ends meet, we have to sometimes take out loans. 50 years ago, it seemed you only needed a regular job, save up for 2-5 years and pay for a house in cash. Try doing that today even on a manager's salary," they told Bored Panda.

#5

A house

Image credits: Top-Ranger-289

#6

Very large families, as in having 4 or more kids

Image credits: SquallLeonheart14

#7

Groceries.

We were also curious what the OP has noticed has become unattainable today. "Owning a home or an apartment seems like something only wealthy people can purchase, unless it's an inheritance," they shared. "Buying a car is quite expensive nowadays, the maintenance, insurance, taxes that come with it as well."

"Food such as vegetables, meat, dairy and fruits that used to be cheap back in the day and abundant are now quite expensive. I see why people opt for junk food to save money," they added.

#8

A ski trip. It was still expensive but now it’s just crazy thanks to large corporations decreasing competition by buying all the resorts.

Image credits: jeanjellybean13

#9

Organic or specialty foods that were once more affordable have become increasingly expensive compared to processed or unhealthy alternatives, making access to healthy food more difficult for lower-income individuals.

Image credits: Neekol2356

#10

Privacy

Image credits: Dog_N_Pop

Sadly, Dash_Weh_Dat doesn't expect any of these things to become affordable again in the future. And as far as the responses to their post, they said the replies were "on the nose."

"I agree with most of them apart for the 'trolly' ones," they added. "None of them surprised me."

#11

Chicken wings, nobody should be paying $2 per wing

Image credits: utopianexile

#12

Disney has gotten crazy expensive.

Going to sports or concerts.

Image credits: Urbanredneck2

#13

Time with your Senator or Congressperson (most of them).

My mom participated in a program to for youth/young adults to speak with their US Federal representatives and actually went to meetings with them to express the youth's desires for the future. She even became pen pals with one and ended up being gifted a US flag from his office for her efforts.

Today that s**t costs thousands of dollars a plate dinner, donations, and possible offers of board and executive positions to just get in the door to speak with them.

Image credits: Kiyohara

#14

University tuition.

#15

Automobiles. My first car cost me $3255. My current one cost me nearly $40,000

Image credits: Forever-Retired

#16

Stay at home Mom with a family that has food security, social activities, and family vacations.

Image credits: daHawaiianKine

#17

Cod in Sweden. When I grew up, it was the staple fish, the base for most traditional fish dishes and you’d eat it several times a week. With a dwindling cod population in Swedish waters, it has now gotten so expensive that I can’t remember when I last had cod.

In 1980, according to Statistics Sweden, one kilogram of cod was 15 SEK (US$1.42 with today’s FX rate). In 2024 money, that would be $5.60.

But in the stores today, one kilogram of cod will cost you $29.70 (cheapest cod at Hemköp).

(Apparently Statistics Sweden stopped tracking the price of cod in 2012, which I guess is just proof of its loss of importance as a staple food in Sweden)

Image credits: NanderK

#18

Medical surgical care. Prescription medication.

#19

1960’s Gibson or Fender guitars. The dentists/surgeons and “collectors” have wrecked the market for the common musician.

Image credits: makeitpap

#20

A new comic book from 50 years ago.

Image credits: PoignantPoint22

#21

Eel in Norway.

Endangered specie, illegal to catch without special pemission. Used to be cheap food, now one kilo is no less than 100€.

Same for Atlantic tuna, used as dog food in the 60’s, now even the less finer cut are above 40€/kg when available. Interesting fact: No well known Norwegian dishes with tuna as hardly no-one is familiar how to use this in Norway. Fresh tuna were off the marked for 50 years in Norway.

Whale used to be extremely cheap, but has become rarely eaten, Gen Z just won’t, to an extend that to sell the meat available the sellers had to dump prices to abt 20€/kg.

Image credits: RexRonny

#22

Housing, the younger generation are being forced to rent. sad to see

Image credits: nickilisa

#23

Rolex watches. One British guy bought a new Rolex 1966 for 69 pounds which is equivalent to £2334 now. New rolexes are starting from £7000 nowadays.

#24

A middle income starter home.

#25

Natural fiber clothing. Feels impossible to find anything affordable that has mostly cotton.

Edit: I’ve compiled a list of most of what was recommended. Sorry if I missed something.

T-shirts:

Michael’s craft stores,

Duluth trading,

Walmart,

Comfort colors on Amazon,

Carhartt,

Uniqlo,

Costco,

Go 2 clothing co on amazon

Secondhand:

eBay (Pendleton wool flannels),

Thrift/vintage stores,

ThredUp.com,

Poshmark

Materials to make your own clothing:

Foxfibre,

Joann’s,

Local fabric store,

Vintage/secondhand fabrics,

General clothing:

Uniqlo,

H&M for linen,

Target,

Old navy,

Quince,

Land’s End,

Svaha,

LL Bean,

Pact

Undies:

Haynes,

Intimissimi (lingerie),

Kirkland,

Jockey (100% cotton panties)

Image credits: l_ally

#26

College education

Image credits: devmapper

#27

Well, more than 50 years ago, but lobster. In New England It used to be used by prisons to feed inmates. Plentiful, cheap, and kinda gross, so no one else was going to eat it.

Image credits: Traditional_Ad_6801

#28

Slide Film

I miss when it wasn't $30 a roll of Fuji Velvia

Image credits: coffeeshopslut

#29

Housing, education, most high quality food, vehicles etc etc.. you can still get those things but you will die in debt

Image credits: EmeraldCrows

#30

Healthcare that covers whatever you actually need done including surgery, imaging, childbirth, etc.

Image credits: Laser-Brain-Delusion

#31

Eggs

#32

Stay at home wife

#33

2-3 kids and a wife on a single income

Image credits: Derrickmb

#34

For a real answer, instead of people just moaning about the cost of living: caviar. Caviar used to be affordable when wild caught was allowed but overfishing starting in the late 1800s reduced the populations of wild sturgeon to almost nothing.

Now all caviar is farmed which is very time and labor intensive because it can take decades for a sturgeon to be ready to harvest.

I’ve heard stories from around the Black Sea of it just being an everyday food but now it’s hundreds of dollars or more for a tin of the good stuff.

Image credits: poillord

#35

Lego

#36

Reasonable living standards.

Edit: apparently people aren't able to put the original question and answer together. My point is that having reasonable living by today's standards is something fewer people can afford compared to 50 years ago. The difference between living standards of wealthy and poor was far narrower than it is today. Sure, we didn't have internet and fancy TVs and take away deliveries from our phones back then, but *nobody* had that, so that's irrelevant. 50 years ago you didn't have to be rich to own your home, to work reasonable hours, to have some leisure time. Now you simply cannot afford to even rent somewhere in some places unless you're earning well above minimum wage.

Image credits: spiraldinosaur

#37

Big Macs

#38

Books are so crazy expensive. I was book shopping the other day and a tiny paperback copy of I am legend was $20.

I've had a coworker telling me to read it, saying it's better than the movie by a lot but man. It's a small a*s book for that price.