Questions tagged [inflation]
For questions that relate to inflation, which is the general increase in the prices of goods and services over a period of time.
181
questions
49
votes
10answers
7k views
Are you preparing for a possible dollar (USD) collapse? (How?)
After the last crisis it was easy for many to look back and say all the signs were there to indicate an impending crisis. Super-low interest rates from the FED, no down-payment loans, interest-only ...
42
votes
11answers
13k views
Is inflation a good or bad thing? Why do governments want some inflation?
Is inflation a good or bad thing? Why do governments want some inflation?
39
votes
16answers
21k views
Why would I ever put my money into a savings account that returns less than the current inflation rate?
I like a safe investment as much as the next guy. But can anyone give me a good argument on why I should invest in a bond or a savings account that returns less than inflation?
It seems to me that I ...
33
votes
10answers
48k views
Why do governments borrow money instead of printing it?
This question is raised in the movie Money as Debt (at time index 29:00).
The answer that immediately pops to my head is "because printing money causes inflation".
However, according to this movie, ...
24
votes
8answers
5k views
Why can more jobs mean more inflation and decreased stock prices? What are other links in the chain to watch out for? [closed]
Many news outlets, such as this one (there are many examples), are reporting that the current US stock sell-off is due to a stronger-than-expected jobs report in January and fears of inflation and ...
24
votes
6answers
4k views
What does inflation mean to me?
Everyone buys different kinds of goods. For example I don't smoke tobacco so I'm not affected by increased tobacco prices. I also don't have a car so I'm not affected by the reduced oil prices either. ...
23
votes
5answers
6k views
Prices go up and salary doesn't: where goes delta?
I'm not sure that question is appropriate here, if it is not I will delete it.
Question: I heard that in USA prices are rising, but salaries are not. This looks strange to me. It means that companies ...
20
votes
5answers
9k views
What does an x% inflation rate actually mean?
I've been reading some explanations of inflation and I think I generally understand what it is. What I don't understand however, and I believe this should be trivial, is what a (monthly) inflation of ...
20
votes
4answers
8k views
What Was “A Lot of Money” In 1971?
In 1971 before the United States left the gold standard, the median home price was approximately $24,000. Now, the median home price is approximately $180,000.
For people who were alive then and ...
18
votes
8answers
3k views
Is physical gold inflation-proof?
I always assumed that physical gold is inflation-proof, but my advisor at my bank claimed it is not — unfortunately without going into details. Now I wonder what he meant.
My assumption was: If I buy ...
18
votes
4answers
5k views
Do Banks Cause Inflation? What are other possible causes?
Some people believe that inflation is caused by an increase in the money supply when the banks print more notes engage in fractional reserve lending. Is this correct?
As I understand it, when there ...
18
votes
3answers
765 views
Is there any way to know how much new money the US is printing?
There is a lot of talk about the Fed printing money.
Is there any way to know how much new money is being printed and when?
18
votes
5answers
2k views
Relationship between silver and gold prices historically
Can anyone tell me, or point me to documentation that shows the historic relationship between gold and silver prices? Or, better yet, can anyone point me to a source that shows monthly or weekly gold ...
16
votes
4answers
12k views
Pros/cons for buying gold vs. saving money in an interest-based account?
Over the years, I have noticed a certain pattern when it comes to money and gold.
For example, my father bought a house 30 years ago for $20,000, and today that house is worth $200,000. If my father ...
16
votes
4answers
659 views
What is the best way to invest in gold as a hedge against inflation without having to hold physical gold?
What is the best way to invest in gold as a hedge against inflation without having to hold physical gold? Is it possible for a regular person to just purchase shares in GLD?
14
votes
6answers
3k views
Should I max or min my affordability on a new home?
Situation: Around 1,000 month disposable between 2 of us. Current mortage outstanding balance is 95k on a 120k property, saving almost entirety of disposable income.
Now the situation has arisen ...
13
votes
10answers
14k views
Should I stockpile nickels?
As the US dollar continues to be devauled the metal content value of US coins will eventually be worth more than the face value of the coins.
There use to be silver in US coins but due to the ...
13
votes
7answers
2k views
Is gold really an investment or just a hedge against inflation?
As per the title of this question, is gold something that can really be considered an investment or is it just a useful hedge against inflation?
While I can understand the value in having hedges ...
13
votes
4answers
2k views
How much is inflation?
I'm sure it's different every year (and may even differ by country?), but surely there must be a minimum increase salaried workers would have to earn in order to simply break-even, relative to the ...
13
votes
3answers
2k views
Least unsafe investment vehicle that meets or exceeds inflation?
Let's say I have an account with $30,000 set aside for long-term unemployment, medical emergency, etc. This account will most likely (and hopefully) remain unused for at least 5-10 years. I could ...
13
votes
6answers
1k views
Can you explain the mechanism of money inflation?
Can you explain the mechanism of money inflation in simple words, understandable by non-professional? Where does it come from?
12
votes
2answers
5k views
True cost of a mortgage when considering inflation
For the purposes of this question, let's assume the following:
Inflation is and will be a steady 2%
I am in the 30% tax bracket and there is a home mortgage interest deduction
I have a 30-year fixed ...
11
votes
3answers
582 views
How fast does the available amount of gold in the world increase due to mining?
How much new gold is injected into the economy of the world due to mining activity as a percentage of the already available gold? In other words, what is the annual increase in the amount of gold that ...
11
votes
6answers
24k views
Why does money value normally decrease?
When you save money in the bank, you expect interest on your investment. But if you invest, on, say property, gold, or other durable goods, you don't expect your house or gold to multiply. Why? Is it ...
10
votes
5answers
2k views
Buying gold / silver as a hedge against hyperinflation
I'm becoming more interested in buying gold / silver coins as a hedge against inflation and especially hyperinflation. I know very little about this, and there are thousands of sites on the internet ...
9
votes
3answers
19k views
How do you do inflation calculations and estimates?
I'm an engineer, not an accountant so I have no idea what formulas to use (or even the proper terms to google for). I've looked around on a couple of google results, but most of the explanations just ...
9
votes
3answers
841 views
Should we invest some of our savings to protect against inflation?
My wife and I are in our early 30s. Our gross combined income is about $125,000/year, and our rent is ~$2,500/month (we live in San Francisco). We have no debt, and we have about $85k saved up in a ...
9
votes
5answers
2k views
What is inflation?
What do people mean when they say a price is Inflation adjusted ? Like a car costing $100 in 1990 would cost $400 today adjusted to inflation?
If I buy a car at $100 today and inflation is 0.5%. What ...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
How do you model future income when doing long term planning?
One of the things I do that allows me to really get into investments, budgeting, saving money, is spreadsheeting it all out and forcasting the returns I might reap based on a given set of assumptions. ...
8
votes
4answers
12k views
How should one account for inflation when planning retirement savings and withdrawals?
Let's say one had a goal of saving $x, in order to live off of (say) 4-5% interest on the principal.
How do you then account for inflation? Do you assume some rate and increase how much you would ...
8
votes
4answers
661 views
How can I protect my savings against inflation? [UK]
How can I ensure that my savings keep up with inflation, even after any tax due is taken off the returns?
asked Aug 6 '10 at 20:13
8
votes
2answers
495 views
Should I do my budgeting in dollars?
I'm from India and earn in Indian Rupees. Should I do the math on my finances in USD?
The reason I ask this question is because INR lost value recently - quite a bit. So, for example, would it be ...
8
votes
4answers
11k views
When inflation is mentioned over a period of more than one year, is it typically reported as a compound annual growth rate?
When we say "inflation has remained steady at 2% for the past 5 years", is that typically taken to mean 2% compounded annually for each of those years, or something else?
7
votes
4answers
1k views
Is gold subject to inflation? [duplicate]
You know, we all have inflation. You can buy less on your USD, Euros and RUBs today than year before. I was advised to buy gold if I do not want my money be eaten by inflation. Gold is advised for ...
7
votes
3answers
58k views
How do I convert an annual inflation rate into a monthly rate?
For the sake of argument, let's say that the annual rate is 12%. What is the corresponding monthly rate and how do I compute that? I'm assuming it's not as simple as 1%, and there is some compound ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
How does a monthly inflation rate work?
I'm struggling to understand the following inflation numbers for South Africa given here:
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/south-africa/inflation-cpi
Year Month Inflation
2015 Jun 4.7
2015 Jul ...
7
votes
3answers
649 views
Where can I invest for the Short Term and protect against Inflation?
I am looking to open some short term savings accounts (Emergency fund, Car fund, etc) that I want to have liquidable, but I may not necessarily touch at all from month to month.
I am very worried ...
7
votes
5answers
943 views
How to correct interest rate for inflation?
I'm looking for someone to double check my math and who can tell me if I have correctly accounted for inflation.
Say you hypothetically invest $100 with 7% rate and 2% inflation. You would end up ...
7
votes
1answer
252 views
Why adjust for inflation annually, as opposed to realising it after the holding period?
Why do investors offset their annual returns against inflation, when inflation isn't realised until the end of the holding period (when the investor is actually spending the money)?
An example:
...
6
votes
1answer
3k views
How much do I need to invest monthly to accumulate a given amount?
I have a target amount T USD (in today's value, before inflation) that I would like to accumulate over N years. Every month I invest X USD with an expected return of Y%. Expected inflation is Z% per ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
What happened to the Google Price Index?
I've seen it before, but I can't find it anymore. I think I remember Google mentioning that it would only be available in graphical form, but not data form, and also that it would only show one year, ...
6
votes
1answer
330 views
Comparing Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) vs Certificates of Deposit
I was wondering what the pros and cons are of choosing one versus the other. There are TIPS that seem to have a better yield than CDs and would therefore make for better places to park savings.
6
votes
2answers
347 views
Effect of country default on house prices?
What effect would a sovereign default of a European country (i.e. Italy/Greece) have on house prices of the same country that goes in default?
What does the previous literature says about similar ...
6
votes
1answer
689 views
Is the Social Security delayed benefit increase in addition to COLA?
I understand that delaying taking social security from full retirement age (67, based on my birth year) until age 70 results in a 24% increase in the monthly benefit, or 8% per year.
Is this amount ...
6
votes
1answer
353 views
How to determine a reasonable rate of inflation assumption for long-term care?
Would it be reasonable to project that the cost of long-term care and long-term care insurance in the US will go up as fast as health-care inflation, or at some rate closer to the general rate of ...
5
votes
2answers
846 views
What does inflation actually mean? [duplicate]
Inflation, in the ordinary sense, increase in the prices of goods and services. Some economists say inflation up to 5% is even desirable. Why is this so? When governments struggle to control inflation,...
5
votes
2answers
417 views
Why is a Vanguard fund based on U.S. treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) returning more than the rate of inflation?
VIPSX says it has returns of >= 5% over 5 years and almost 9% in the last year. It appears to be based on U.S. inflation-protected securities. However, U.S. treasuries are returning near zero, and ...
5
votes
3answers
326 views
Does the rise in ACA premiums affect employer-provided health insurance premiums?
So I hear a lot about rising premiums and that the ACA is the leading cause. Recently I heard that the majority of people still get their health insurance through their employer.
Is there merit that ...
5
votes
3answers
469 views
How do economists gather retail price data, such as for tracking inflation?
How do economists track the prices of things like milk, produce, furniture and other retail products? Do they have people with clipboards going out to stores and gathering data? Scrape web sites? ...
5
votes
2answers
872 views
Calculating salary loss from inflation
When it comes to inflation, I simply know that it is an increase in prices that results in a fall of the currency's value. I'd like to apply this to wages in a workplace that has not provided a pay ...
