How much did things cost when YOU were young? Fascinating calculator shows what groceries, petrol and property would have set you back in another decade
From buying groceries to houses, petrol to cars, this online tool lets you compare prices now with years gone by
NOW there's a new tool that lets you compare how much things cost today compared to the prices paid by your parents and grandparents.
The tool reveals how prices of homes, cars and groceries have changed over the years based on where you live and even shows the average salary for each year.
All you need to do is enter a year and the area you live in and the site tells you.
And some of the results will surprise you as prices haven’t followed a straight upwards trajectory, from cheap to expensive.
War and post-war years showed price dips and stagnation, while some things cost more 100 years ago because the technology was new, like cars.
The year of 1917 was the worst to buy groceries with an average price of £32.50, petrol at a staggering £3.08 making it more expensive than today's prices.
Related Stories
If you look at the year 1980, in London, the tool shows that a house cost just £30,047 - in today's money that's £137,315 making it 70 per cent lower than the current average price.
But the price of a litre of fuel was 28p - in today's money that's £1.29 - 24 per cent higher than it it is now.
It seems like the good old days, were really affordable when it comes to house buying with the best year to buy in 1945, with an average property price of £24,800.
In 2010, the average salary was £31,462, while petrol just cost 75p in 1928.
Surprisingly 2015 was the best year to buy your groceries with an average cost of £14.40.
Created by Hilarys.co.uk, a British window and floor specialist, the online calculator uses data from the Office for National Statistics, the AA, the Nationwide Building Society and the National Archives.
A spokesperson for Hilarys.co.uk said: “I’ve often reminisced about the times when penny sweets really cost a penny, while the older generation is forever wincing at the price of a meal out – let alone a mortgage.
"Thanks to this new tool, it’s now possible to easily see how costs today compare to back in my, my parents and my grandparents' days.”