Photo: Getty Images
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or something, it’s likely you’ve seen at least one of the many headlines urging you to be very worried about inflation. But on this episode of How To Money, Matt and Joel share some reasons why we shouldn’t let the narrative around inflation drive us crazy – or make us do something rash with our financial decisions. First, it’s important to remember that inflation is always happening in the background of the economy; that’s why investing more of your money, rather than hoarding it, gives you a better bang for your buck. But even when the overall inflation rate seems higher than usual, like now, that doesn’t mean it’s going to affect you nearly as badly as you may be worrying.
If you’re someone who normally tracks their monthly income and expenses, it won’t be too hard to calculate how inflation will actually affect you. Most people are noticing higher prices at the gas pump – but if you have an electric vehicle or a hybrid, those gas prices might not be a major factor in your budgeting. Another example is housing – if you’ve got an existing mortgage, your monthly payment won’t change for years, excepting some fluctuation with taxes. But if you rent, it’s pretty much guaranteed that your monthly expenses will go up. These kinds of individual circumstances make more of a difference in how inflation will impact you than you might realize. Don’t let the headlines dictate your decisions. Know the numbers for yourself – you’ll be more likely to make the choices that are right for you.
It’s also important to realize that inflation was actually in negative numbers during the 2008 recession, and most of us remember how dismal that economic situation was, and how difficult it was to get a job. No matter how despairing the news might make the current inflation rate sound, keep in mind that we’re also experiencing a pretty booming economy as well: GDP growth is expected to hit its best percentages since 1984; unemployment is at multi-year lows; and wage growth is growing more rapidly than the inflation rate. So if you’re investing your money in diversified index funds, watching your expenses like you might in a normal year, and making sure you’re not allowing hyperbolic clickbait to make your decisions for you, you should be able to breeze through this period of inflation without much trouble. Get a lot of great tips for how to shield yourself from the effects of inflation and much more on this episode of How To Money.
If you want to be sure you're listening to the podcasts everyone else is checking out, iHeartRadio has you covered. Every Monday, iHeartRadio releases a chart showing the most popular podcasts of the week. Stay up to date on what's trending by checking out the chart here. There's even a chart just for radio podcasts here, featuring all your favorite iHeartRadio personalities like Bobby Bones, Elvis Duran, Steve Harvey and dozens of others.