Inflation
Inflation is the gradual rise in prices that erodes the purchasing power of money over time — a dollar buys less each year. Even a modest 3% annual rate roughly halves what your cash is worth over 24 years, which is why keeping long-term money invested matters.
Compounding runs in reverse here, and the scale surprises people: at 3% a year, $100,000 twenty-five years from now buys what about $47,761 buys today. A retirement target set in today's costs and ignoring this is roughly half the size it needs to be. The practical consequence is that returns are worth thinking about after inflation — a 4% savings account against 3% inflation is a 1% real return, not 4%, and cash left in a 0.4% account is losing purchasing power every year while the balance rises. Inflation also quietly helps borrowers: a fixed mortgage payment stays nominal while wages and prices drift upward, so the real burden of the debt falls.
Put it to work
Inflation Calculator
See what inflation does to your money: future cost of today's expenses and the shrinking purchasing power of cash over any horizon.
Retirement Calculator
Project your retirement savings: what your balance could reach by retirement age and the monthly income it could sustainably provide.
Investment Calculator
Project an investment portfolio's growth with monthly contributions — final value, your money vs market growth, and the year-by-year path.