Natasha Clarke
Money & Banking

"That's insane": Vintage Woolies receipt shines a light on cheaper days

One mum has gotten more than she bargained for while cleaning out her wardrobe, stumbling across an old Woolworths receipt from 2011. 

While the item itself wasn’t so exciting - and most would immediately toss it away upon discovery - she looked a little further, and one thing stood out to her: the prices. 

“I'm currently going through my wardrobe and I found this receipt in a coat pocket," Tegan explained in a video posted to her TikTok, where she displays the receipt for everyone’s inspection. “It's from 2011, very vintage, and I was a new mum."

Her purchases can be seen in the clip, highlighting the size and prices of the various items she picked up that year - the likes of baby formula, spinach, chocolate, capsicum, avocado, and lamb cutlets, totalling the sum of just $49.59. 

As she noted, the price of meat was her main point of interest, as it was “so cheap” at just $13.50 in 2011. Meanwhile, in 2023, anything under $20 is considered something of a bargain. 

However, for those in the comments, the chocolate was the true upset. And as many pointed out, it hadn’t just gotten more expensive, it had also gotten a lot smaller. 

“Lol that Cadbury is now 180g and $5.50,” one wrote. 

“That’s what I looked up,” Tegan agreed. “Less for more”. 

“Block of dairy milk was 200g too,” another chimed in to add, “now it's 180g”.

And another simply declared, “omg that's insaaane how much the price has changed!!”

For those whose priority is the baby formula, it was painful, with one pointing out that their brand had almost doubled in price - it had been $23.99 for Tegan back then, and marketed at $40 in present times. 

“A weekly essential for some parents,” Tegan noted, “would blow out my budget these days.”

“My baby drinks the same formula it costs me $36,” another shared. 

“Gosh I feel for you,” Tegan said in response, before adding, “we went through so many tins.”

One had a suggestion to properly compare the prices over the years, telling Tegan she should “buy it all again and put the two together.”

Tegan, however, already had a suspicion, responding that “it’d probably be over $100”. 

 

Images: TikTok

Tags:
shopping, groceries, money, banking, cost of living, Woolworths