1962 cost of Living

Comparatively speaking, food was more expensive in 1962 than today, according to this chart. In 1962 we bought our first home, $14,000, but our income was more like $4,000, and a wife's income did not count in mortgage applications unless s...he was a nurse or school teacher (considered safe jobs). Banks were strict; no more than 1/3 of income could be home related. My father financed our 2nd mortgage. We rented the upstairs apartment for $65/mo which was the mortgage amount. Rental real estate is the only home that isn't a hole in the ground where you bury money. Tuition, fees and housing at the University of Illinois was probably about $1200/year ($30,300 today). I don't recall specific prices for food, but a good size candy bar was 10 cents. Yes, gas really was that cheap, but automobiles were very inefficient and less safe 40-50 years ago--I had a huge 4  door '69 Olds that got about 10 mpg. My husband had zero benefits in 1962--no insurance, no vacation, no pension. We purchased a hospitalization policy and a small life insurance policy--I think they were about $30/quarter. We paid cash for doctors and dentist. All that said, I think higher education has gone up faster than health care (1,120% since 1978; medical 601%), food or housing--probably because of all the government assistance and loans, and it will only get worse now that the government has taken that over completely.

We were not church members then, and if our "giving" was $10/year, I'd be surprised. We were definitely in Joe Biden territory. We always had month left over after the money ran out until we started to tithe.