Inflation calculator: what will your money buy?
Enter your cash balance, inflation assumption and time horizon. Explore how buying power changes with an interactive chart in your chosen currency.
Same money. What will it buy?
Example amounts. Currency sets the unit; no exchange-rate conversion. Constant inflation, chosen by you. No interest earned on cash. An illustration, not an inflation forecast.
buys today · -25.6% buying power
For every 10 bags of shopping your money buys today, it buys 7.4 in year 10.
How the calculation works
Future basket cost = A × (1 + i)^y; cash buying power in today’s money = A / (1 + i)^yA is your starting amount, i your annual inflation assumption as a decimal, and y whole years. Cash earns no interest. The chart compares the price of the same basket with the purchasing power of an unchanged balance. Explore each year with the chart slider.
Limitations
Inflation is chosen by you and held constant. It is not live CPI data or a forecast. Your own spending basket can differ from a broad index. No interest, taxes or exchange-rate conversions are included; currency selection changes the unit only.
Questions, answered.
Is 3% a current inflation reading?
No. It is an editable illustration. Try several assumptions.
Why does a 10% price rise not mean a 10% loss of buying power?
Buying power divides by the price factor. If prices rise 10%, unchanged cash buys 1 / 1.10, or about 90.91%, of the original basket.
Can I model falling prices?
Yes. A negative rate illustrates deflation: basket costs decrease and unchanged cash buys more.
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