How much did things cost in 1989?
These are prices of some sample items in 1989.
How much were these prices for someone on an average income in 1989? To get a feel for this, I have adjusted them for the increase in incomes from 1989 to today. You can see these adjusted prices in the column 'Income adjusted'.
| 1989 price | Income adjusted | |
|---|---|---|
| Gallon of petrol | £1.86 | £6 |
| Bottle of whisky (Bell's) (Tesco) | £8.59 | £28 |
| Bottle of sherry (Harvey's Bristol Cream) (Co-op) | £4.49 | £14 |
| Eisberg alcohol free wine (Co-op) | £1.95 | £6.30 |
| French Medium Dry Wine (Red or White) 3 litre box (Tesco) | £6.99 | £23 |
| Pint of beer (bitter) | 96p | £3.10 |
| Pint of lager | £1.06 | £3.40 |
| 20 cigarettes | £1.50 | £4.80 |
| 51cm Pye colour TV with Fasttext (Co-op) | £299.99 | £970 |
| Citizen TC54 Hand Held 2½" LCD colour TV and radio (Currys) | £119.99 | £390 |
| Philips VHS recorder (Co-op) | £299.99 | £970 |
| Amstrad CPC6128 computer with monitor and keyboard (Dixons) | £249.99 | £810 |
| Indesit fridge-freezer (Currys) | £199.99 | £650 |
| Saisho microwave oven (Dixons) | £89.99 | £290 |
| Hotpoint automatic washing machine (Electricity Board Shop) | £269.99 | £870 |
| Mobile phone - Motorola 9800X | £1,765 | £5,700 |
| Daily Mirror newspaper | 20-22p | 65-71p |
| Average house price | £72,000 | £230,000 |
| 250g Tesco Creamery butter | 53p | £1.70 |
| 200g Maxwell House coffee (Sainsbury's) | £2.79 | £9 |
| Coca-Cola 2 litres (Asda) | 69p | £2.20 |
| Ford Sierra Laser car | £9,050 | £29,000 |
| KP Hula Hoops pack of 6 (Tesco) | 75p | £2.40 |
| Fifteen size 3 eggs (Tesco) | 74p | £2.40 |
| Medium mature English Cheddar cheese (1lb) (Tesco) | £1.29 | £4.20 |
| Flora margarine 500g (Tesco) | 59p | £1.90 |
The income adjusted prices are based on the Bank of England's Three Centuries Macroeconomic Dataset Version 2.3 - 30 June 2016. I have updated the income figures based on the ONS: Series code KAB9, adjusted to bring the figures inline with the Bank of England's.
For a comparison of prices in 1989 adjusted for inflation see Infation adjusted prices for 1989
By Steven Braggs, February 2021, updated May 2022
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