๐ Purchasing Power & Currency Value Tracker
Inflation & Purchasing Power Calculator
Calculate future purchasing power loss and how much more goods will cost over time.
$
%
Years
Rate Scenarios:
Central Bank Target (2.0%, 10 yr)
Historical US Average (3.2%, 15 yr)
High Inflation Shock (6.5%, 5 yr)
Retirement Horizon ($50k, 25 yr)
Future Cost of Goods
$16,076.90
+60.8% price increase
Remaining Buying Power
$6,220.10
Value in today's dollars
Purchasing Power Lost
โ37.80%
โ$3,779.90 lost value
Years to Halve Value
22.0 Years
Rule of 70 (70 / 3.2%)
Year-by-Year Inflation & Buying Power Schedule:
| Year | Future Cost of Basket | Purchasing Power of Cash | Cumulative Loss % |
|---|
The Mathematics of Compound Inflation
Inflation acts like compound interest in reverse. It compounds annually to increase the cost of goods and erode the real purchasing power of uninvested cash:
Future Cost of Goods = Present Amount ร ( 1 + i )แต
Real Buying Power of Cash = Present Amount / ( 1 + i )แต
Real Buying Power of Cash = Present Amount / ( 1 + i )แต
The Rule of 70: You can quickly estimate how many years it takes for inflation to cut the purchasing power of your money in half by dividing 70 by the annual inflation rate: $\text{Half-Life Years} \approx 70 / i$.