While shopping for weekly needs and goods, it sometimes makes us think about the prices of the items we get.

A shopper's latest find brought this reality into sharp focus for Australian shoppers.


Online content creator Amy Coulston stumbled upon a 15-year-old Woolworths receipt at her mum's house.

The receipt showed a startling illustration of how much more people shelled out for everyday groceries back in the day and compared it to the prices now.

The receipt listed 30 items, which included staples such as milk, bread, and cheese.

Other items on the receipt included salami, chicken pies, and cereal.


According to the old receipt, the total came to $127.26.

Coulston recreated the order by adding the same items to her Woolworths online shopping cart.

The total price for the items now costs $170.45—a 35 per cent increase from its price 15 years ago!


The 24-year-old Coulston expressed her surprise about her findings.

She admitted that while the price hike was quite significant, it was not as steep as she anticipated.

'I'm also trying to remember that it was only a small snapshot into the big picture of what increases/decreases could look like across all products,' she added as a thoughtful perspective on the broader economic trends.

Apart from the price tags, Coulston also noticed another difference.


She noted that many items had also decreased in size—a reflection of a phenomenon called 'shrinkflation'.

A notable example she found was Turkish Delight chocolates, which shrank from 55 grams in January 2010 to 50 grams when Coulston did the review.

In the same vein, a 600 g bag of Devondale cheese used to cost $5.70 fifteen years ago.

Now, the same bag of cheese costs $10.80.

Other significant increases included lite milk, which went up from $3.59 for 3 litres to $4.35, and 500 g of sliced mushrooms, which jumped from $4.98 to a whopping $7.


The Reserve Bank of Australia's inflation calculator showed that a basket of goods valued at $127.26 in 2010 would be worth $185.94 now.

With the annual inflation rate of 2.6 per cent in the equation, that's a total change of 46.1 per cent over the said time frame.

Coulston's video sparked conversations among Aussies, who were equally surprised by the findings.

Watch Amy Coulston's full comparison here:

Some social media users felt that a 35 per cent increase over 15 years was not as dire as expected.

Others also pointed out that the actual cost-of-living stings came from the combination of rising prices and the simultaneous reduction in product sizes.

It's clear that the cost of living has steadily climbed, and purchasing power is not the same as it used to be.

It's a reminder to be vigilant about our spending habits and to seek out the best deals, discounts, and value for money when shopping.
Have you noticed a significant difference in your grocery bills? How do you cope with the rising costs of everyday items? Your insights could be invaluable to those also navigating these financial waters. Share your thoughts about Amy Coulston's findings in the comments below.