Flashback Friday: How much did life cost in the ‘80s?
What would life be like if we had 2025 salaries and 1980s prices?
Can you imagine paying 99c for a packet of chips or forking out less than R6,000 for a new car?
We understand that with rising costs and inflation, the prices match up today. However, seeing these ‘tiny’ price tags attached to items has left many locals wishing for the costs of days gone by.
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Instagram page @basscatalogue shared a few pictures of everyday items and how much they would set you back in the 1980s.
South African social media users weighed in on the rising cost of living and inflation and compared salaries from then to now. Take a look:
@tshepow_one_dee noted that “an average 9 to 5 worker earned R50 per month” back then. @thareal_7k got us thinking with their question: “How much was property?”
Other Instagram users noted how times have changed, with @ottoclayz saying, “It was not easy because to get that 5k was still a serious mission." While @bb_semenya explained, “It’s called inflation. The prices seem cheap but were high back then as well so it isn’t a good comparison."
Some felt the pain of the cost of living in 2025 as @naledii_boityyy said, “This is honestly heartbreaking." Meanwhile, @rock.bantwana commented on a box of 50 Grandpa sachets costing a mere R2, saying, “Take me back. Grandpa is now R3 a sachet”.
Take a look at some of the prices of everyday items over 40 years ago:
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Image courtesy of Instagram