Ever wonder how much your grandparents spent for a car, sandwich, or even a t-shirt, back in the day? The cost of everyday necessities have increased dramatically. In the year 1924, A new home would cost $7,720.Nowadays, A new house costs at an estimated price of $188,900. If you were to live in the past with the money your parents have today you would be one of the richest people in that time. If you wanted to make a sandwich and you were all out of bread then all you need to buy a loaf of bread is 9 cents! Today a loaf of bread would cost $2.43 at an average price.As you can see the cost of everyday items has increased by a lot.

     I went along and talked to Ms. Barranger, a language arts teacher at Unis about how the cost of items were when she was a kid or a young adult. I asked her “What was the price of a few items and education when you were a teenager/young adult?”She replied, “The price of college when I was younger was about $100-$125 per credit hour.” “My first car was about $2000.” “When I first became a teacher I got a paid about $30,000″. The average salary for teachers today is $25,000-$30,000.   

     Houses aren’t the only necessity in life, you also need food. I spoke with Chamo Barakat, a local businessman about what the cost of food such as meats and vegetables when he worked at a restaurant in Syria in his late teenage years. I asked, “As a teenager what did you have to pay for a bag of vegetables or meat?”He replied with saying that a bag of fish was 10 cents when he was a teenager.Also, a bag of fruits and vegetables was 1 cent!”Everything was really cheap, I would buy everything in the restaurant for only about 15-20 cents” He stated.

     The cost of clothes has also changed very much. I asked Fordson High School student, Zanda Barakat about how much she pays for clothes today.I asked her “How much do your clothes cost today?She replied by saying “the cost of clothes I buy are a range between $10-$50 which in my opinion is a bit too high.The prices of shoes has also incresed.The cost of shoes were about $3.79.Today shoes would be about $40.I asked Dean Abusaleh and Mohamed Almusawi, 8th graders at Unis middle school, On how much they pay on their shoes.Dean Abusaleh said that the cost of his shoes range from a price of $40-$170. He said, “The top branded shoes I buy are very expensive compared to my other shoes and the price has changed over the years”.Mohamed Almusawi said his shoes were from a range of $20-$150. “I wish the prices of shoes were as cheap as they used to be”, He stated.

      The amount of resources in the world has decreased so they are starting to be more valuable which means the prices of those resources have increased greatly.An example of a resource is gasoline. Back then gasoline costed 2 cents per gallon. Nowadays gasoline costs an estimate of $2.26 per gallon.

     As you could see the prices of everyday items has increased dramatically. Your grandparents spent only about a fraction of what you spend today.But, your grandparents also earned a fraction of what you earn today. The prices and minimum wage will always increase and stay at a equal level.

       Zaradasht Barakat, Unis middle school journalism.