Home Alone Fan Has Some Fun With Inflation

A TikTok user is going deep into how prices have changed since the movie premiered in 1990
By Gina Carey,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 16, 2023 8:29 AM CST
How Much Kevin's Grocery Store Haul Costs Today
Macaulay Culkin portrays Kevin McCallister is a scene from the family comedy "Home Alone."   (AP Photo/File)

Home Alone is the top movie rewatch during the holiday season, and some viewers this year had a little time on their hands to also make it a lesson in inflation. Per USA Today, TikTok-er Geoffrey Lyons analyzed a scene in the film where 8-year-old Kevin McCallister hits up a grocery store after his parents leave for a large family trip to Paris without him. Lyons compares the boy's 1990 haul—milk, orange juice, two frozen dinners, Wonder brand bread, plastic wrap, TP, toy soldiers, and two laundry items—with prices at Target today. While Kevin only had to fork over a twenty (plus a $1 coupon) for his spree that totaled $19.83, Lyons estimated he'd have to pay nearly $70 after taxes for the same booty in 2023, a 250% increase.

USA Today decided to take this experiment a bit further by comparing costs at the same family-owned shop that Kevin frequented, Rockford's Schnucks (they also tacked on Illinois state sales tax at the end). Their sum came up much shorter, $53.94 after deducting that dollar coupon. While this is in line with inflation on average, they note that inflation was on the rise in 1990 at 5.4%, but that's still much lower than what we're seeing more recently (8%). According to KATV, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates $1 in January 1990 has the purchasing power of about $2.35 in January 2023, slightly off trend with Kevin's grocery cart. (Joe Pesci says one prank scene in the film really hurt him).

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