Today, the Year 10 Business and Accounting students used the Coles Little Shop minis to learn about the impact of inflation over time. Working in groups, students used the Coles website to calculate the price of their ‘basket of goods’ at today’s value. Most were shocked at how expensive it was for just 15 grocery items, with the average basket costing around 85.00.
Next, using an online inflation calculator, students worked out how much the same goods would have cost in the year they were born (2004/05) and the year their teacher was born (1974). Needless to say, the further back they went in time, the less the cost of their goods.
One student commented that the total cost worked out to less than $1 per item in 1974, with the same basket of goods costing just $9 back then, compared with $85 today. It was a valuable lesson for the students and helped them understand the importance of managing inflation and regulating the economy.
