Posted on 01/11/2026 11:47:56 AM PST by Libloather
A grocery store receipt from 1997 shows just how much prices of everyday items have skyrocketed in less than three decades.
TikTok user Zoe Dippel shared the shockingly low costs in a viral video after a family member found the proof of purchase in a box of mementos.
“$155 for all of this!” one of Dippel’s relatives remarked after holding up the lengthy receipt from Texas chain H-E-B dated June 20, 1997.
“That’s a lot of stuff,” Dipple declared, as she started to sort through the 122 items and read the prices out loud.
The receipt revealed that Little Debbie brownies cost $1.09, Dannon yogurt was just 50 cents, and a loaf of bread was rung up for $1.26.
Meanwhile, Gerber baby food jars were 55 cents each, while a jumbo pack of Pampers diapers cost $12.99.
Today, a jar of the same baby food is $1.57, while Pampers diapers are $29.97.
The receipt additionally shows that a one-pound carton of strawberries was $1.89. Today at H-E-B, they cost $3.97.
According to the official US Census website, the median household income in 1997 was $37,005. In 2024, that number had risen to $83,730 — a little over double.
In comparison, the cost of many grocery store items has more than tripled, showing that incomes aren’t keeping pace with prices.
Dippel’s video quickly clocked up more than 2 million views, before she shared a second clip in which she tried to purchase the same 122 items online from H-E-B.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
I don't expect any fiat dollar currency collapse. I'd refer to it more akin to a Controlled Demolition. It will collapse inward, with its replacement waiting in the wings.
I went to the 1978 Texxas Jam.
Ticket was $12.50. All day event. Quite the lineup.
You could be correct—but historically most of the time when currencies collapse there is no successful plan.
There is just chaos.
Got married in 1989.
I remember our first trip to the get groceries for our newly rented apartment.
Little over &100 and filled almost 2 carts to the top.
Now you can cart home $100 in almost 1 grocery bag.
It’s not quite that cheap at Walmart here.
Anybody remember the $.05 ice cream cone, double dip?
H-E-B is Texas version of Publix someone said on a grocery blog (one of my hobbies, history of Shopping Centers). Some products got shrunk in size, orange juice went from 64oz to now 48oz.
I have mentioned this before, but here goes again. They say inflation is lower now & this is maybe true, at least on some things. However, stop & think what inflation is based on...mostly Biden era prices because that is what we used to pay not that long ago. So... inflation may be less now, but prices are still mostly ABOVE what they were in the Biden era & still increasing, only at a lower rate. A few have possibly gone lower, but this is where sale price is marked on the product. Maybe the previous price was that high at one time, but it’s likely higher than it should be at this time. That’s not even including how the actual weight of contents has been changed from what they used to be. So the customer is generally getting not only no cheaper prices, but maybe (likely) getting cheated in the process.
Checking certain prices compared to the inflation rate will also show that some have gone well above advertised inflation rate.
Ahhhhh -— Those were the days!
DQ owner in Lakeland, FL, circa 1953 - 1955 owned a gorgeous Jaguar XK120. I liked his car more than his ice cream!
Agreed! Fiat currencies don't last forever, and this one is at its useful end-of-life.
This RESET has MAGA/TRUMP branding. Powell and FOMC members are under the gun. Attacks made on the FED. On the gold in Ft. Knox and elsewhere. COMEX/LBMA being scuttled. Significant bouts of 'Backwardation' in both AU and AG markets. More transactions than ever that bypass SWIFT and the petro-dollar completely. All the gold references with Trump, silver too. Then there are all the postings on USDebtClock.org.
Inflation statistics reported by our government, like most other statistics, are doctored up.
The numbers are either inflated (Covid mortality rates early on) or suppressed (Islamic inspired terrorism) depending on how it benefits those in charge or their opposition if they have the reigns (think Comey in the Trump era).
They are significantly under stating the true inflation.
Political futures, the budgets of agencies, the profit margins of those funding the politicians, and/or tax revenue are at stake with many of these statistics.
If a city in the DFW area reports they have a heroin problem in their schools, guess where the yuppies don’t want to buy a home, guess what that does to real estate values, guess how that impacts tax revenue?
Complete and objective reporting is rather the “exception” than the norm with government statistics.
I bought silver at 19
It has by far outperformed my money in the market
It is easy to lose money in the stock market. I like mutual funds and index funds.
Silver is now about 80, so you have more than quadrupled your money if you bought it at the low in 2022. Of course, if you bought it at the high of $41 in 2011, you only doubled your money.
If you look at the long trend, from $1.31 in 1966 to today, that is 60 years and an increase of 61 times.
The Dow Jones was 774 in 1966 and 47,716 today. So, the Dow Jones has increased 61 times (same as silver) during the same period. The Dow is much more consistent, while silver is more irregular, which can be good or bad depending on what you like.
And Silver was $4.89 and ounce.
Looking at the trends over a hundred years, adjusted for inflation, when the stock market is doing poorly, silver tends to do well. When the stock market is doing well, silver does poorly.
There are lots of short-term counter examples, but over decades, such is pretty much correct.
https://www.macrotrends.net/1470/historical-silver-prices-100-year-chart
https://www.macrotrends.net/1319/dow-jones-100-year-historical-chart
Might I point out the fiat (paper) currency came about in 1916 along with the Federal Reserve. Gold and silver prices were suppressed by the central bankers to protect their theft. Trump intends to eliminate the Federal Reserve and return us to the gold standard. No more taxes too then the IRS is replaced by tariffs (ERS External Revenue Service).
Of course, most will only believe when they see it.
then the IRS = when the IRS
As I understand it, the value of the dollar has dropped by 20% since 2020. Deep state/government is stealing our wealth out in the open.
As I understand it, the value of the dollar has dropped by 20% since 2020. Deep state/government is stealing our wealth out in the open.
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