How Much Would £10 Have Bought You Over The Years?

1940s
Even if you had been lucky enough to have had £10 in your pocket during 1940s Britain, you would have found it difficult to spend it. The outbreak of World War II led to food shortages and the introduction of rationing. With a week's food shopping costing the pre-decimal equivalent of £1.20, £10 would have fed a family of four for roughly eight weeks.

1950s
After all the austerity of wartime Britain, the arrival of the 1950s marked more freedom for consumers. As the decade progressed, new labour-saving products became available such as washing machines, electric fires and even fish fingers! Fish and chips was the nation's favourite dish; £10 would have bought 100 fish and chip suppers at the equivalent of 10p each.

1960s
Inflation remained low during the 1960s and only started to rise towards the end of the decade. Average incomes rose steadily and consumers started to enjoy a wider choice of products and services. The variety of food available in the shops increased dramatically during the 1950s, with frozen food becoming widely available across the UK. With a season ticket for Manchester United costing £8.50, football fans would have had plenty of change from £10 to buy beer and cigarettes each week!

1970s
The 1970s was a period of high inflation with overall prices rising by 261% over the decade as a whole. High oil prices meant the cost of goods rocketed, but availability and choice increased at the same time. Home shopping meant consumers could split the cost of goods into manageable instalments. £10 would have bought one of the very first baby car seats for a new family, or a food mixer for a budding chef.

1980s
For many the 1980s was the era of yuppies, Margaret Thatcher and an explosion of consumerism.
The first mobile phones hit the market in the early 1980s, looking like bricks compared to the sleek models around today and costing the equivalent of thousands of pounds. CDs also went on sale, and a little known company called Apple Computers launched the Macintosh computer. Whilst the average wage in the UK was around £6,000 (the equivalent of about £19,000 today), a pint of beer cost the equivalent of 35p, a loaf of bread 33p and a pint of milk 17p.

1990s
The 1990s was a decade of low inflation. Developments in technology continued at a staggering rate and the price of electrical goods such as computers fell to levels unimaginable to previous generations.
Households started to spend more money on services such as internet connections, mobile phone contracts and gym memberships. £10 would have bought you 10 tickets for the first ever National Lottery draw on November 19th 1994, precisely the same number as you would be able to buy today.

By: Marcus A Taylor

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This article was written by Wonga.