I don't have a lot of debt or expenses, so my income keeps piling up in my checking account. Unfortunately, I don't know much about finance or investment. I want to make sure that I don't lose money year over year because of inflation, but pretty much all the CDs and savings accounts I've seen have an APY lower than the inflation rate (which is >= 1.5% according to various websites). I don't care about playing the stock market; all I want is to avoid losing my money through inaction. How do people in this situation keep up with inflation while at the same time minimizing their financial risk?
posted by archagon
on May 16, 2013 -
15 answers
I know the price of something now and what the price was 2 years ago - how do I calculate that as an annual percentage increase?
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posted by jontyjago
on Oct 19, 2012 -
12 answers
Why do most central banks target a small non-zero inflation rate rather than zero?
- Bank of England target is 2% CPI
- European Central Bank HICP target is "less than 2%"
- US Federal Reserve target is 2%
Why don't they all target zero if the ultimate aim of policy is actually "Price Stability" as most officially state.
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posted by mary8nne
on Oct 4, 2012 -
12 answers
Why did inflation increase so dramatically in most Western economies in 1975? Why did inflation remain at 10-15% levels around the world through the recessions of the late 1970s and only return to "normal" 3-5% levels in the 1983 recession?
posted by dave99
on Jan 29, 2012 -
10 answers
I am looking for a little translation help on an inflation statistics paper in German language (look in more inside for the link). This official paper is quite interesting for students of statistics and social students interested in perceived cost of living vs actual cost of living, in Europe as well as in any other country, as it allegedly shows that indeed there were some excessive rouding of prices during the conversion to euro in Germany.
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posted by elpapacito
on Jan 2, 2012 -
5 answers
Planning to use inflation as a way to show my maths students where percentages are used.
I've found a load of inflation calculators online. (E.g. from
this thread). But
what I would really like, is a comparison of the price of different goods over the past decade or so. Well known brands would be better, e.g. can of coke, can of heinz beans, Kellogg's cornflakes. UK prices if possible.
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posted by 92_elements
on Dec 11, 2011 -
5 answers
I'm looking for an accurate inflation calculator that will tell me how much a certain sum in today's dollars would be worth in any particular year over the past 30 years. For example, if I have $1000.00 USD today, what would be the equivalent monetary value in 1982? Or 1993?
posted by thewalrus
on Nov 28, 2011 -
8 answers
Looking for a certain Newsweek chart and other articles about the same topic (cost of living in the US).
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posted by Melismata
on Sep 7, 2011 -
4 answers
This Debt thread over the MeFi has me wondering: Am I completely off the mark to believe that easy access to cheap credit fuels inflation?
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posted by roboton666
on Aug 28, 2011 -
29 answers
Has there ever been a case of real-life hyperdeflation, where prices race downwards?
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posted by curuinor
on Jul 23, 2011 -
8 answers
Why has the cost of milk gone up so rapidly, proportionally speaking? Five weeks ago, I could find milk for $2 a gallon; yesterday, the cheapest I found was $2.49 a gallon at Costco, and that was only if you bought two gallons at once. Everywhere else it's been higher - I even saw a store selling whole milk at $3.99 a gallon! This is just milk. Nothing premium or otherwise meant to raise the price point about it. Other dairy products have gone up in cost, too, but not so drastically (that I've noticed).
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posted by VelveteenBabbitt
on Apr 29, 2011 -
21 answers
I feel awful. I adjusted my grading practices and now I have all these emails from angry students.
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posted by anonymous
on May 6, 2010 -
65 answers
With hundreds of years of accumulated data on how economies 'work' available for analysis, how is it possible that it is still unclear (it seems) whether or not - and to what extent - a government should boost an economy that is in a slowdown?
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posted by woodblock100
on Dec 27, 2009 -
23 answers
[Economics101Filter] How is it that the cost of living can go up, but salaries stay the same? Economics n00b questions inside.
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posted by anonymous
on Oct 26, 2009 -
27 answers
Economicsfilter: How do mortgages work in developing countries with high rates of inflation and high interest rates? For example, Pakistan has a 20% inflation rate and the average fixed term prime residential mortgage for people with good credit is priced at 17%. What are the effects of this on a market?
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posted by thewalrus
on Apr 4, 2009 -
13 answers
Seeking fire-and-forget asset class investment advice for retirement: TIPS? Global Equities Index/Wilshire 5000? I know this is mildly controversial, but it seems like the 'common sense' approach has changed lately from "stocks for the long run" to "risk = loss." See especially
here.
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posted by anotherpanacea
on Mar 26, 2009 -
7 answers
[EconomicsFilter] Deflation is evil... or so everyone in government and main stream media says. The government has an obvious conflict of interest in this instance (inflation is essentially a hidden tax) and I'm unimpressed with the main stream media's coverage of monetary policy. What's the real deal?
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posted by thekiltedwonder
on Mar 25, 2009 -
11 answers
[MonetaryPolicyFilter] In relation to the Fed's huge injection of money yesterday, please explain to me how, if at all, the Federal Reserve can
destroy money on its balance sheet in a way that offsets the inflation that normally would result.
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posted by Pastabagel
on Mar 19, 2009 -
16 answers
Will my student loan interest rate and the rate of inflation cancel one another out?
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posted by delosic
on Mar 9, 2009 -
17 answers
What are some investment strategies that would protect against and profit from (hyper)inflation?
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posted by Wallzatcha
on Feb 10, 2009 -
15 answers
Where should I keep my money (to protect it from the US economy)? I'm American and it's in US$, but I don't live there and don't have any good reason to keep it there.
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posted by xanthippe
on Oct 7, 2008 -
10 answers
What some possible solutions for the humongous inflation affecting Zimbabwe's economy?
posted by dcrocha
on Sep 16, 2008 -
14 answers
Anyone know why walnuts are so expensive right now? I went to my local healthy store today and non-organic walnuts are now $9.50 a pound. Are speculators involved? I could have sworn six months ago the price was under $5.00.
posted by Xurando
on Sep 16, 2008 -
12 answers
What options are there for a low-risk hedge against inflation if I believe that Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) aren't working?
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posted by diogenes
on Jul 7, 2008 -
6 answers
When inflation is measured, do economists take into account the shrinking size/quantity/volume of consumer products? Like when Pampers stay the same price, but each box contains fewer diapers thanks to the
Grocery Shrink Ray.
posted by punkfloyd
on Jul 3, 2008 -
5 answers
My salary increase is less than inflation. I'm making less than the previous year for two years in a row now.
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posted by anonymous
on May 29, 2008 -
22 answers
Is the Land of the Rising Sun still expensive? Expats (recent and current) and erstwhile tourists, chime in.
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posted by Gordion Knott
on Apr 18, 2008 -
8 answers
Why don't small countries use the dollar or the euro in place of their own currency?
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posted by greytape
on Dec 29, 2007 -
15 answers
How do I, alone, financially cope with high inflation and an overheated economy?
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posted by mdonley
on Dec 13, 2007 -
8 answers
I want to compare the prices of common consumer commodities over time within a specific region of the U.S. Is there any clearinghouse for this information?
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posted by croutonsupafreak
on May 23, 2006 -
4 answers
There have been numerous articles lately that the US dollar will lose its value a big time pretty soon, given the fact of our huge trade deficit and over spending.
check this article If the US dollar will be on sale soon, I'm wondering if I should still contribute $ to my 401K for retirement. I'm no where near retirement age. But what's the point of saving for retirement, while the value of the saving is going down, faster than inflation? What would you do otherwise for your retirement?
posted by dy
on May 9, 2006 -
19 answers
My government produces a monthly breakdown of the RPI - I'd like to find other countries that provide the same level of information.
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posted by Chunder
on Dec 12, 2005 -
3 answers
