A bookmarked receipt from over 40 years ago has revealed how much more Aussies pay on groceries.
A coupon from a Coles supermarket in Pennant Hills, Sydney’s northwest, for nearly three kilograms of white onions, crisps and about two kilograms of thick sausages totaled just $17.50.
A photograph of the receipt, dated 14 May 1992, was posted to the Old Shops Australia Facebook Group by Derek Woodlands, who found it after it had been bookmarked in a book about the history of Pennant Hills.
The receipt is also rounded down to two cents to account for cash payments and predates GST, which was only introduced by the Howard government in July 2000.
According to a recent Finder report, the average grocery store in Australia costs $185 a week, more than at any other time in history.
A receipt from Coles, dated May 14, 1992 (pictured), points to the rising cost of groceries, with items costing only $17.50 in total
According to Mr. Woodlands, the book was ‘released in 2007, so I must have bookmarked that receipt in another book as well’.
“The state of the receipt didn’t surprise me,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘They used real ink, purple in colour. Today’s receipts are often on thermal paper and fade to nothing within a few years.’
“White onions were cheap back then, you don’t see them much anymore, brown and red onions predominate these days,” the Facebook post reads.
“The snags were probably 1kg packs, and the chips were probably my favourite, Smiths Salt and Vinegar.”
The Coles website shows a big difference in price today, with Cole’s classic beef sausages costing $6 a kilo, while white onions cost a customer $5 a kilo.
The cost of Smith’s Salt and Vinegar chips varies depending on sizing; the largest, a 380g party size, costs $8.50, while the standard 170g variety costs $4.80.
If we add up the costs, the same store would cost a customer about $45 today, compared to an inflation-adjusted price of $39.79 in 1992.
According to Finder, 43 percent of Australians this month cited shopping as a source of stress – more than housing, petrol or energy.
“With 94% of consumers noticing an increase in their grocery bill, it’s no wonder Australians place groceries in their top 3 most stressful expenses,” reads the site’s Cost of Living report.
“More than 30% of all Australians have asked a friend or relative for financial help in the past 12 months, with half of those seeking help paying for the groceries.”
According to Finder’s recent survey, 43 percent of Australians are worried about the cost of groceries after the average shop cost a record high of $185 a week
The photo of the receipt received hundreds of comments from social media users reflecting on the cheaper cost.
‘I still visit that exact West Pennant Hills Coles! Have lived in the area since 1985,” one user wrote.
“Love those awards…not today,” wrote a second.
Another user pointed out that the price for 1992 was a rip off.
Other users focused on the receipt’s near mint condition.
“I’m too busy thinking how wonderful it is that the ink hasn’t faded. I have receipts from 2 months ago that are almost invisible,” one user wrote.
‘Look at the SIZE of the receipt! No useless information about it,” wrote a second user.
“More importantly, how good is that ink,” a third user wrote.
While Australia’s food budget has skyrocketed, inflation has fallen for the second month in a row.
Consumer prices rose 6.8 percent in the 12 months to February, from a rate of 7.4 percent the previous month.
The fall in inflation was stronger than expected.
Although the inflation rate appears to be slowing, it is still well above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target inflation rate of 2-3 percent.