(Above) Valentina Lasa and Layla McCord, both grade 9, have bought more expensive items. Valentina said she, “Bought Coldplay tickets this summer” to see them in concert this past July. She bought her ticket for about $300, but if she had made the purchase in 2011, it would be equivalent to around $431. In 2011, she could have bought a designer purse from stores like Coach or Kate Spade. On the other hand, Layla decided to spend her money on, “New brakes for [her motocross] bike because [her brakes] kept on bending after wrecks.” She was also born in 2011, and her brakes cost about $300. In 2011, it would have also been equal to $431, and that money could be used to purchase a tablet or a phone during that time.
As things have been getting more expensive, our bank accounts have been drying up. Most of the time, instead of buying fun things, we tend to focus on essential needs to maintain our budgets. The cost of living in the U.S. has increased an overwhelming amount within just the past decade. Inflation has risen up nearly 50%! However, Lake Highland faculty and students have found ways to spend money on the things they genuinely enjoy. From concert tickets to snacks at The Source, we explore how far the amount of money that teachers’ and students’ spend would go in the year in which they were born. Additionally, we’ll discover how much the buying power of the dollar has increased annually, and what the purchasing power was in the past. Let’s take a closer look at all the non-essentials students and teachers purchase.
(Above) Kate Caborn, grade 12, explained how she bought her most recent non-essential item which was, “Vinyl Records,” from albums, “A Matter of Time by Laufey, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence + The Machine, and Man’s Best Friend by Sabrina Carpenter.” The Laufey and Sabrina Carpenter albums cost $25 each, and the Florence + The Machine Record cost $50. The total cost amounted to $100. Kate was born in 2008, when she could have bought a Nintendo DS Lite for $100. That would be the equivalent to $150 today. Krishna Moorjani, also grade 12, has purchased a fun non-essential. He stated, “The most recent fun, non-essential item that I bought was a boba drink.” The drink cost him around six dollars, and he was also born in 2008. That same drink is equal to about $9.00 today, but in 2008 it could have been used to buy a full fast food meal including the entree, side, and drink. (Mabel Lin)
(Above) Kenzi Achong, grade 8, says she, “Just bought the Rhode pocket blush in the shade Toasted Teddy, because [she’s] seen it everywhere” and was inspired because, “A lot of [her] favorite celebrities wear it.” She bought this makeup item for $25 which would roughly cost about $36 in the year she was born: 2011. (Kaitlyn Achong)(Above) Mr. Michael McCabe, instructor of orchestra, said he bought, “Concert tickets” and he was able to see, “Some of my favorite bands this year: Blink 182, Oasis, and My Chemical Romance!” In total, they cost $600. He tells us that he was born in 1996 and believes that it, “Has affected [his] musical tastes a lot.” That $600 would have increased by 87.3%, meaning that it would be equivalent to $1,124 today. He could have bought several weeks of groceries for a family of four. Mrs. Jennifer Stein says she and Mrs. Jennifer Gower, teachers of Middle School English, “Buy pens and journals nonstop, and need no more but must buy more.” The last thing she bought had been a four set pack of pens for $16. Mrs. Stein explained that she gets, “Super cute journals at TJ Maxx or Marshalls for less than $6, so I feel no buyer’s remorse.” Mrs. Stein was born in the year of 1984. During 1984, she would have had $50 and could buy a cassette tape instead. (Mabel Lin)
(Above) Anika Andretti, grade 10, said the most recent non-essential she has bought was, “An acai bowl” for $12 from The Source. In 2010, she could have spent the same amount on a movie ticket and a bucket of popcorn or a drink as those snacks would have been worth $18 today. (Mabel Lin)(Above) Avni Raghoonandan, grade 11, says she bought a, “Glow in the dark nail polish,” costing around $10. Since she was born in 2009, $10 back then would be the equivalent to $14 today. In 2009, she would have been able to buy a couple days’ worth of meals from Taco Bell for $10. (Mabel Lin)
Mabel Lin is a Freshman staff member on the Lake Highland Preparatory newspaper Twice-Told Tale. She has attended LHP since she was in sixth grade. She also loves playing volleyball on her club team. In addition to volleyball, she enjoys shopping and going to the beach. Mabel likes spending time with her family and friends as well.
Layla McCord is a ninth grade student at Lake Highland Preparatory School where she takes newspaper. She has a passion for motocross and one of her favorite hobbies: fishing. She finds comfort and peace in these things, making her the happiest version of herself she can be. In newspaper, McCord is working on creating articles she is proud of, allowing her to speak her mind yet keep it factual, and creating her self profile.
Kaitlyn Achong is a Freshman on staff at Lake Highland Preparatory School’s Upper School newspaper Twice-Told Tale. She has been going to Lake Highland since third grade. Outside of school, she enjoys doing karate and playing guitar. She also loves to spend time with friends and family. Kaitlyn is excited to continue contributing to the newspaper throughout high school.
![(Above) Valentina Lasa and Layla McCord, both grade 9, have bought more expensive items. Valentina said she, “Bought Coldplay tickets this summer” to see them in concert this past July. She bought her ticket for about $300, but if she had made the purchase in 2011, it would be equivalent to around $431. In 2011, she could have bought a designer purse from stores like Coach or Kate Spade. On the other hand, Layla decided to spend her money on, “New brakes for [her motocross] bike because [her brakes] kept on bending after wrecks.” She was also born in 2011, and her brakes cost about $300. In 2011, it would have also been equal to $431, and that money could be used to purchase a tablet or a phone during that time.](https://twicetoldtale.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2-15.jpg)
