Grocery bill from 2000 is hitting people with pure nostalgia (2024)

People often have old bills and receipts lying around in their houses. And when they are timeworn, they tell stories of the past. When Jeanene (@jeanene333) was sifting through old boxes in her house, she stumbled upon a grocery receipt from 2000 which left her amused. By recording a short clip of the receipt, she took people on a trip to the good old days when one could walk into a store and buy anything for a nickel. The receipt showed how times have changed much.

When Jeanene shared a grocery receipt from the supermarket chain Stater Bros. Market bearing the time stamp of the year 2000, nostalgia came flooding to people, but at the same time, they were shocked. To face that food prices have been skyrocketing over all these years is something distressing. “What groceries cost back in 2000,” Jeanene wrote in the caption of the TikTok video that has currently reached 765,000 views, over 4,700 comments, and more than 86,000 likes. The clip started with her sharing the antiquarian receipt unrolled in front of the screen. “Look at all the items I got for only $104,” she exclaimed while checking out the receipt.

The receipt in question showed a total bill amount of $104.84 with a tax of just $1.77. She pointed at specific items and read their prices, sparking discussion on how grocery prices have leapfrogged in the past two decades.

“Don’t get freaked out, but back then, we only spent $3.75-$3.99 for a rib eye steak,” she said, adding, “And don’t have a heart attack. Diapers were only $7.69-$7.99!” During that year, the moisturizer came just for $8.99, whereas currently, if someone gets it even for $20, they feel lucky, she says. Even basic staples like milk and eggs cost as good as just $1.87. Coffee was available for only $2.49, mayonnaise for $0.99, a pineapple for $0.99, a shampoo bottle for $2.79, and a pizza for $5.99. “Look at that!” she exclaimed. “Cherry Pepsi for a dollar thirty-nine! Oh my God!” Jeanene was not overreacting at these old prices. According to The Washington Post, although inflation is cooling down, groceries remain expensive. Food prices have jumped by 25 percent over the past four years.

People were equally heartbroken as her. @ofabloomfield said that if all these items were bought today, the total price would be approximately “$400,” almost four times the price in the old receipt. @fbas222223 even calculated that the bill would cost around $500 in the present day.

@outer_spacebar suggested to Jeanene, “You should buy all of this again and compare,” to which she replied, “I never buy this much at a time anymore. I could only imagine how much it would cost 100s! I buy 1 to 5 items at a time now for $50 if I’m lucky.” But @xtinaaababyyy experimented by putting all the items in the receipt on Target’s online shop and discovered that the total price came to be “$259.55 after around a $5 discount." @ravengreen_studio commented, “I remember cans always being cents and less than a dollar.”

In addition to giving an eye-opening picture of inflation and soaring grocery prices, the receipt also hit people with a heavy dose of nostalgia. Jeanene too was slightly sentimental about this little keepsake from the 20th century. “It's so hard to throw it away because I can’t believe I am looking at history 23 years ago,” she said in the video.

But she was also surprised how she had been able to preserve it for so many years. “So many things disturb me about this receipt. First of all, how did this receipt survive 23 years?” she said while zooming into the receipt that showed a vintage-style printer receipt printed in blue ink. She said the grocery store must have some “supernatural paper,” or an “apocalyptic receipt paper that will last 23 years.” But TikTokers said it was just the printer. Nowadays, supermarkets employ thermal printers and cheap plastic paper, whereas, in the past, they mostly used hard paper that lasted longer.

Since her receipt, apart from giving information about increasing prices, also offered a window into the past, people urged her not to throw it away. “This belongs to history books,” said @darkv87. @jv713htown even suggested that she “frame it and hang it up.” @austinzemio, who said he worked at the Stater Bros (the same supermarket where the receipt once belonged), commented, “OMG! This is a relic!”

You can follow Jeanene on TikTok for more interesting vlogs.