Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar- you're visiting with your parents, or perhaps even your grandparents, and you let a little complaint slip about life in general. A 'be thankful' conversation follows, said parent or grandparent reminding you that when they were growing up, they had to walk to school- a ten mile walk... in the snow! The conversation doesn't stop there, either... what follows is usually a break-down of how much things cost when they were growing up, shockingly cheap, compared to what we pay for things today.

AAG recently put out a really interesting piece, comparing the cost of living in America: 1963 vs. Now. In 1963, my parents were five years old, so they may not even remember paying so little for everyday items. My grandmother, on the other hand, remembers very well the cost of living back in the 1960's. I know she goes into sticker shock, sometimes!

Take for instance, some of these comparisons into consideration:

Bottle of Coke (Soda) 

Then: $0.05

Now: $1.50

McDonalds Big Mac

Then: $0.28

Now $3.99

Minimum Hourly Wage

Then: $1.25

Now: $7.25

Average Annual Income

Then: $4,396

Now: $44,321

Movie Ticket:

Then: $0.85

Now: $8.05

Baseball Player Contract

Then: $100,000

Now: $240 Million

After looking over some of these increases over the years, even I am in shock! It's really hard to folks to live these days. Taking the family out for a hamburger at a casual dining restaurant is no longer just a few dollars gone from the bank... it can cost $25.00 or more just to feed a family of four a fast food meal! Perhaps the biggest shock to me, after looking through the increases, was the cost for an automobile. Cars cost just a little over $3100.00 in the early 1960's, and now, the average cost is over $31,000.00! Great goodness!

Thankfully, we've managed to stay afloat and support ourselves, despite the high cost of living. This sort of makes me want to check out some different locations around the country and compare costs of living by location. Living in the southeast is definitely less expensive than it would be to live in the Northeast... but then there's a big difference in the average income, as well. 

I wonder what it would be like to be able to turn back time and spend just a bit of time living in a past decade. I've always thought I belonged in the 50's for some reason. Which decade would you like to go back to or experience for the first time, if doing so were possible?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of AAG, written by me. All opinions expressed are solely my own. Compensation was received for sharing this information, as well as my take on this subject.