The news has been abuzz this week with reports of a woman who found a Taco Bell receipt from 2012 and then posted a TikTok video about it as a reminder of a time before inflation made things so much more expensive.
According to Fox Business News…
Aspiring rapper and TikTok user LovelyOcean posted a video on Tuesday of her finding a Taco Bell receipt from 2012. The receipt showed that the price for two beefy five-layer burritos cost just $2.59.
"Can you even get anything from Taco Bell for $2.59," she asked. "Where did we go wrong?" The video was also tagged, "Im so upset. I can’t even justify going to #tacobell anymore. #inflation." The video has garnered over 647,000 views.
For perspective, the article goes on to state that…
Currently, the cost of one beefy five-layer burrito at Taco Bell is approximately $3.69, though prices differ depending on state. A bean burrito, a chicken enchilada burrito and a cheesy bean and rice burrito are the only burritos that cost less than $2.59 according to its website.
Wow! The cost of two burritos has gone from $2.59 to $7.38 in a little over a decade! But if you think that one stings, try this next story recently in the news on for size.
In another Fox Business News article from a week and a half ago (January 16, 2024), it seems that the increases in the cost of housing are even more painful.
According to this article, the cost of American homes has skyrocketed over the past 80 years due to inflation. It seems that, in the 1940s, the average cost of a home was $2,938. Adjusted for inflation in 2024 dollars, that is equivalent to $64,372.84 today. This means that, when compared to 1940, today's prices are 21.91 times as high as the average price 80 years ago!
To complete the picture, the average cost of a home in 1950 had jumped to $7,354. That equals $93,602.08 today as adjusted for inflation. This means that, housing prices in 2024 have increased 12.73 times since 1950.
And now we come to 1960, when homes cost $11,900, or $123,320.18 today when adjusted for inflation. But once 1963 arrived, the average cost of a home hit $19,300, which equates to $193,470.52 in today’s dollars. Then, from 1963 to 1970, the average cost of a home jumped from $19,300 to $27,000. By the end of the decade, houses were costing Americans $27,000, which is $213,457.27 adjusted for 2024 inflation.
Between 1970 and 1975, the average price of a home jumped from $27,000 to $40,900 - which would be $213,457.27 and $233,195.38 in 2024, respectively. And the increases weren’t done yet. The largest jump occurred at the end of the decade as prices reached $74,200 in 1979, or $313,506.24 in today's inflation-adjusted dollars.
If you think that was something, hold on! One of the biggest surges ever in home prices occurred in the 1980s, in terms of the numbers at the start of the decade compared to the numbers in the transition to the 1990s. Over the course of 10 years, from the start of the decade to the end of it, the average cost of a home jumped from $73,600 to $151,200. The largest hike occurred between 1984 and 1988, with average home prices increasing by more than $40,000!
I could go on and on; but you get the point. The cost of a home in America has simply skyrocketed over the past 80 years. Should the Lord tarry in His return, one can only wonder what the next 80 years will entail!
Back in the day, we were taught that the three basic needs of men and women were food, clothing, and shelter. My strong suspicion is that any examination of the increase in the costs of clothing would indicate similar results as those in the two articles summarized above have with regard to food and housing. The price of all three has risen astronomically.
Now, food, clothing, and shelter may well comprise our basic needs in this world. Some assert that we need to add two more to these in the modern era: transportation and communication. Either way, I would assert that whatever basic needs we have it this world are surpassed by those we have in the world to come.
Thankfully, the Lord knows this. In the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 14, verses 1-6), the Bible records the following conversation between Jesus and His disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Here, Jesus affirms that He Himself has provided us with a home for all eternity. He also affirms that He will provide the transportation we need to get to that home. In other places in the New Testament, Jesus further tells us that He will clothe us in new raiments once there; and that He will also nourish us there around His table. In other words, He Himself will see to it that our most basic needs are met there for all eternity!
Of course, all of this comes at a cost. And that cost is immense. So much so that we ourselves could never even hope to afford it. But that does not matter; for Christ has already paid the price in full! He alone could afford the bill; and He alone paid the bill in full!
In his New Testament Letter to the Galatians (chapter 3, verse 13), the Apostle Paul tells us this very thing. Both the AMPLIFIED BIBLE and the WEYMOUTH NEW TESTAMENT say here that “Christ purchased our freedom…”. The GOD’S WORD Translation says “Christ paid the price to free us…”
As the above articles illustrate, the cost of meeting a person’s needs in this life is exorbitant. And it only grows higher with each passing day. But the cost of meeting one’s needs throughout all eternity is simply incalculable. Praise God, therefore, that God’s One and Only Son has already paid that price on our behalf in full!
And now, He offers each and every one of us the security of an eternity with our needs forever met. All we must do is accept His gracious and generous proposal. Thus it is that the Apostle John, in chapter 20, verse 31, tells us that if we believe in Jesus and accept Him as our personal Lord and Savior, we will then have life, eternal and abundant, though His powerful name.
For my part, I have secured eternal security through Jesus Christ. I hope you have as well.
STORY SOURCES:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/2012-taco-bell-receipt-reminds-the-internet-how-cheap-things-were-before-inflation/ar-BB1h45IT;
https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/average-cost-american-home-decade-born.
SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/niv/john/14.htm;
https://biblehub.com/galatians/3-13.htm;
https://biblehub.com/john/20-31.htm.
According to Fox Business News…
Aspiring rapper and TikTok user LovelyOcean posted a video on Tuesday of her finding a Taco Bell receipt from 2012. The receipt showed that the price for two beefy five-layer burritos cost just $2.59.
"Can you even get anything from Taco Bell for $2.59," she asked. "Where did we go wrong?" The video was also tagged, "Im so upset. I can’t even justify going to #tacobell anymore. #inflation." The video has garnered over 647,000 views.
For perspective, the article goes on to state that…
Currently, the cost of one beefy five-layer burrito at Taco Bell is approximately $3.69, though prices differ depending on state. A bean burrito, a chicken enchilada burrito and a cheesy bean and rice burrito are the only burritos that cost less than $2.59 according to its website.
Wow! The cost of two burritos has gone from $2.59 to $7.38 in a little over a decade! But if you think that one stings, try this next story recently in the news on for size.
In another Fox Business News article from a week and a half ago (January 16, 2024), it seems that the increases in the cost of housing are even more painful.
According to this article, the cost of American homes has skyrocketed over the past 80 years due to inflation. It seems that, in the 1940s, the average cost of a home was $2,938. Adjusted for inflation in 2024 dollars, that is equivalent to $64,372.84 today. This means that, when compared to 1940, today's prices are 21.91 times as high as the average price 80 years ago!
To complete the picture, the average cost of a home in 1950 had jumped to $7,354. That equals $93,602.08 today as adjusted for inflation. This means that, housing prices in 2024 have increased 12.73 times since 1950.
And now we come to 1960, when homes cost $11,900, or $123,320.18 today when adjusted for inflation. But once 1963 arrived, the average cost of a home hit $19,300, which equates to $193,470.52 in today’s dollars. Then, from 1963 to 1970, the average cost of a home jumped from $19,300 to $27,000. By the end of the decade, houses were costing Americans $27,000, which is $213,457.27 adjusted for 2024 inflation.
Between 1970 and 1975, the average price of a home jumped from $27,000 to $40,900 - which would be $213,457.27 and $233,195.38 in 2024, respectively. And the increases weren’t done yet. The largest jump occurred at the end of the decade as prices reached $74,200 in 1979, or $313,506.24 in today's inflation-adjusted dollars.
If you think that was something, hold on! One of the biggest surges ever in home prices occurred in the 1980s, in terms of the numbers at the start of the decade compared to the numbers in the transition to the 1990s. Over the course of 10 years, from the start of the decade to the end of it, the average cost of a home jumped from $73,600 to $151,200. The largest hike occurred between 1984 and 1988, with average home prices increasing by more than $40,000!
I could go on and on; but you get the point. The cost of a home in America has simply skyrocketed over the past 80 years. Should the Lord tarry in His return, one can only wonder what the next 80 years will entail!
Back in the day, we were taught that the three basic needs of men and women were food, clothing, and shelter. My strong suspicion is that any examination of the increase in the costs of clothing would indicate similar results as those in the two articles summarized above have with regard to food and housing. The price of all three has risen astronomically.
Now, food, clothing, and shelter may well comprise our basic needs in this world. Some assert that we need to add two more to these in the modern era: transportation and communication. Either way, I would assert that whatever basic needs we have it this world are surpassed by those we have in the world to come.
Thankfully, the Lord knows this. In the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 14, verses 1-6), the Bible records the following conversation between Jesus and His disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Here, Jesus affirms that He Himself has provided us with a home for all eternity. He also affirms that He will provide the transportation we need to get to that home. In other places in the New Testament, Jesus further tells us that He will clothe us in new raiments once there; and that He will also nourish us there around His table. In other words, He Himself will see to it that our most basic needs are met there for all eternity!
Of course, all of this comes at a cost. And that cost is immense. So much so that we ourselves could never even hope to afford it. But that does not matter; for Christ has already paid the price in full! He alone could afford the bill; and He alone paid the bill in full!
In his New Testament Letter to the Galatians (chapter 3, verse 13), the Apostle Paul tells us this very thing. Both the AMPLIFIED BIBLE and the WEYMOUTH NEW TESTAMENT say here that “Christ purchased our freedom…”. The GOD’S WORD Translation says “Christ paid the price to free us…”
As the above articles illustrate, the cost of meeting a person’s needs in this life is exorbitant. And it only grows higher with each passing day. But the cost of meeting one’s needs throughout all eternity is simply incalculable. Praise God, therefore, that God’s One and Only Son has already paid that price on our behalf in full!
And now, He offers each and every one of us the security of an eternity with our needs forever met. All we must do is accept His gracious and generous proposal. Thus it is that the Apostle John, in chapter 20, verse 31, tells us that if we believe in Jesus and accept Him as our personal Lord and Savior, we will then have life, eternal and abundant, though His powerful name.
For my part, I have secured eternal security through Jesus Christ. I hope you have as well.
STORY SOURCES:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/2012-taco-bell-receipt-reminds-the-internet-how-cheap-things-were-before-inflation/ar-BB1h45IT;
https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/average-cost-american-home-decade-born.
SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/niv/john/14.htm;
https://biblehub.com/galatians/3-13.htm;
https://biblehub.com/john/20-31.htm.