The cost of living: 1966 compared to today
21 July, 2017
A litre of milk: 19 cents. A dozen eggs: 60 cents. The family home: wait for it… $4500.
Living costs mean different things depending on what you’re buying. Here’s some major items compared.
So how much has the cost of living gone up?
Average weekly earnings
1966: $60
Now: $1160
Wages are about 20 TIMES HIGHER now than they were 50 years ago.
The good news
Household spending … then and now
| Item | $ in 1966 | Equivalent now | What you pay now |
| Milk (1 litre) | 19 cents | $3.80 | $1 |
| Eggs (1 dozen) | 60 cents | $12 | $7 |
| Petrol (1 litre) | 7 cents | $1.40 | $1.30 |
| Butter (500g) | 55 cents | $11 | $5 |
| FJ Holden | $2,200 | $44,000 | $36,000 (Commodore Evoke) |
The bad news
Houses!
Average house in Sydney now: $1.1M
Average house in 1966 – $4500
Equivalent amount today … $90,000 (That’s not enough for a deposit!)
No wonder more and more young people are giving up on the idea of home ownership altogether.
But things seem more expensive!
- Other things are more expensive: Electricity is up 100% from just 5 years ago.
- There’s more to buy: Phones, computers, travel, streaming TV subscriptions…
- Things don’t last: We throw more out so need to replace things more often.
And, when you used to be able to get lamb chops for 48 cents a pound, $22 a kilo is never going to seem like a good deal.
