In 1970, a pint of beer in the UK typically cost around 11½ pence to 12.5 pence (roughly 2 shillings). Prices were quite low by modern standards, with some reports noting that a 50p piece could buy around three pints of mild or bitter. By the early 1970s, the price began to rise slightly, reaching roughly 14–17 pence by 1974.
The cost of living then: 20p a pint, and a Mini for £600. With the benefit of 34 years' hindsight, life in 1970 appears to have been ludicrously cheap. A loaf of bread cost 9p and the average weekly wage was around £32. Today, a loaf costs 53p and weekly wages are about £475.
It may be hard to believe at a time when a pint costs around £2.87, but in 1973 you would only have to shell out 14 pence for one, according to Lloyds Bank's analysis of Office for National Statistics figures.
Back then, when booze was relatively cheap, it really was possible to go for a night out and still have change from 50p. A 50p piece in 1969 could buy you three pints of mild or bitter (priced about two shillings, equal to 10p) while a tube fare on the newly opened Victoria line in London cost just 5d (2.2p).
Beer was 16p a pint in 1971. Courage Tavern cost between 14p and 18p for a pint in 1972. Whisky was more expensive in the 1970s than today (allowing for inflation).
The average house price in the UK at the start of 1970 was around £3,600 - £4,400, with figures varying slightly by source (e.g., £3,667 from Land Registry for June 1970, £4,480 by year-end), marking the beginning of a decade that saw significant price increases driven by housing booms, inflation, and economic shifts, with prices quadrupling by the decade's end.
A pint of beer, costing an average of pounds 1.65 now, was only 7p (or 1s/4d ) in 1947, and a pound of potatoes that cost 23 pence in June 1997 would have been 0.5p (or 1d) half a century earlier.
Back in 1972, the average UK property was valued at just £5,158. Adjusted for inflation, this still amounts to a very affordable £49,333 by today's standards. Today, the average UK homebuyer is forking out £278,436 on the average property.
In 1971, for 25p, I could buy a pound of Cheddar cheese, but I would now have to pay £2.60. I could buy a dozen large eggs for 25p, but they now cost over £2. I could buy a pound of bacon for 24p, but it now costs over £3. I could buy four white loaves for 23p.
In 1970, a loaf of bread cost $0.25, a roll of toilet paper was $0.44, and a dozen eggs? Just $0.61! We had a blast throwing it back with our very own 1970s edition of The Price is Right! Everyone had fun guessing the retro prices — some were spot on, others… not so much!
In the UK in 1970, the average wage was £1,117 a year & the average house price was 3,800. Boomers remember this the next time you timeyoutellyoungpeople tell young people they have it easy. .
UK government proposes cigarette ban that would phase out smoking by 2040. Cancer Research UK and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty are among many who have welcomed yesterday's (4th October) announcement of a new law to protect future generations of young people from the harms of smoking.
A: New York has the highest cigarette prices, with packs costing around $11.96. On the other end of the spectrum, Missouri has the lowest prices at approximately $6.11 per pack. Other expensive states include Rhode Island and Connecticut, while Georgia and North Dakota are among the least expensive.
The early 1970s were marked by a housing boom; according to Land Registry data, house prices doubled between 1971 and 1973, rising from £4,265 to £8,794 in just two years.
