Things that have changed for the worse in the last 40 years

Wibbles

woodbine said:

I started a part time job at a petrol station in 1972 it was 32p a gallon today it's more like £7.20 a gallon, beer was about 25p a pint now it depends where you live as to it's price.
I'm a glass half full type of person most of the time, as for respect I'm a great believer that it has to be earned, whilst it's true that Thatchers time in office saw an end (and rightly so) to corporal punishment, I was at Grammar school from 70-75 and it had been abolished there by then.

I used to live on an RAF base in the early 80's and paid 14p per pint for strong scrumpy!! 

L_Volunteer

What a really insightful thread! It is interesting to hear about how the prices of things have changed over time.

The one I remember the most is the price change in fredos (chocolate). I remember when they were 1p and 2 p in the local shop and they are now over £1! 

leeCal

I bought a fender jazz bass guitar for £250 brand new in the early eighties, the price now is between £1200/1500. On the other hand my weekly wage was around £120 a week at that time, now it would be around £1000. 🙂

leeCal

Ah, no unfortunately. I gave up playing in London and sold it to go home around Christmas time. Wish I’d kept though! 

janer1967

My first job in 1983 was on a yts scheme pay was £25 per week for full time work.  It was awful doing the same job as others when they were getting at least 4 times as much 

Jo_2022

The price of houses! People in my grandparents generation could afford to buy a home. Homeownership seems like an impossible dream now for many people. 

leeCal

I bought a three bed semi in the early eighties for £23k, It was expensive at the time, five percent deposit and the mortgage was £123 a month including an endowment element. I remember it well because the mortgage was almost exactly one weeks wages for me. My partner was a clerical officer and was paid approx £120 a month! @Jo_2022.

as a matter of interest I worked for an estate agent in 1971 and you could buy a two bed terraced house for £1000 and one which was modernised for about £1200/1500. My wage as an office junior was £7 a week. This was also in the south east of the country.

poppy123456

I left school when i was 16 and went onto a YTS scheme too. My pay for the week back then was £29.50 and yes, i did exactly the same work as everyone else but for a lot less money. Thankfully, my employer did take me on full time after 6 months. Can't remember what my wages were back then though. I do remember going to the office every Friday to collect my "wage packet" in a little brown envelope lol.

Bought my first house in 1991 for £26,500.

calcotti

Jo_2022 said:

The price of houses! People in my grandparents generation could afford to buy a home. Homeownership seems like an impossible dream now for many people. 

Yes indeed. I bought my first house (three bedroom mid terrace) in 1982 for £15,000 (it needed work doing). I was earning £4500 per annum at the time. That’s a much lower salary multiple than today’s prices and with high inflation the real value of the mortgage payments reduced significantly over the next decade.

Lisatho11987777

My mum and dad brought their house 60yrs  ago 1200.00  can't buy a new car for that much now 

janer1967

While the yts scheme wasn't a success for many I was taken on by the company at the end of the scheme and stayed with the same company for 30 years working my way up the ladder 

I may have started on a annual wage of £1, 300 but when I left my salary was £35,000 with additional bonus so I didn't do too bad 

Wibbles

I started an apprenticeship in 1980 and my pay as a 17 year old was £36 per week for a 42 hour week - I paid £7.11 for accommodation and food., ran a car and still had enough to go to the pub most nights! 
I bought my first house in 1987 at £30k when mortgage interest rates were 15% and struggled for 10 years but now am happy with my lot 

Wibbles

Alicewillow said:

bekindalways said:

I'm not saying the 80's was a particularly good era.... it was however I would say, less violent, less woke and much more family oriented. 

I don’t know all the lingo but I thought being woke was a good thing? 

I think schools and education has gotten much worse. Toddlers and reception aged children getting expelled is just madness to me. I don’t understand why it’s jumped to as an option for such young children as it has such a bad knock effect for their lives. All the different reward charts and behaviour monitors and stuff just endless experiments yet it still seems classes and students are out of control. I don’t agree with corporal punishment but there must be some middle ground somewhere   

"Woke" means being alert to injustice in society, especially racism