Everything seems so expensive today, with the cost of living having soared in recent years.
But how do prices today compare with those half a century ago.
We’ve put together a list of some of the everyday goods and services you could get for less than a fiver in the 70s, yet would set you back much more today.
We’ve attempted to compare prices like-for-like, without taking into account inflation.
According to the Bank of England inflation calculator, goods and services costing £5 back in 1971 would cost around £64 today.
Some things are much cheaper today, allowing for inflation, than they were in the 70s, like TVs, washing machines and, in many cases, clothes.
But the costs of many other goods and services have soared much faster than inflation, easily outstripping the growth in wages, with house prices being one obvious example
What do you find more expensive today, and what do you think is better value than it used to be?
1. A large book of first-class stamps
A first-class stamp is priced £1.70 today, compared with 3p in 1971. A book of eight first-class stamps would have cost you 24p back then. Today, it would set you back £13.60. | Getty Images Photo: Jon Player/Hulton Archive
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2. A round at the pub
In 1971, the average pint of bitter cost 11.5p, with a pint of beer just a little dearer, at 15.1p. Today, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics put the price of a pint of bitter at £3.80 and a pint of draught lager at £4.83. You could have bought a round of beer for you and five friends in 1971 and still got change from £1. Today, you'd be spending nearly £30 for six lagers. | Getty Images Photo: Evening Standard
3. A TV licence
A black-and-white TV licence cost £7 in 1971, with a colour licence priced £12. From April 1, 2026, the TV licence fee will rise to £180. | Getty Images Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive
4. Top flight football tickets
In the 1970/71 season, you could get a standing ticket to watch Manchester United for 30p, according to the Red 11 website, with a season ticket starting at £10.50, and a programme costing 5p. Today, according to the club website, members' tickets for Premier League matches range from £37 to £97. A 2025/26 season ticket for Manchester United started at £608, while an Arsenal season ticket was priced £1,127. | Getty Images Photo: Mike Lawn/Fox Photos