EconSim

Inflation & Purchasing Power

See how inflation quietly erodes what your money can buy — and whether saving keeps up.

Understand why money loses value over time and how inflation differs from nominal growth.

  • Nominal vs. real value
  • Inflation rate
  • Rule of 70
  • Purchasing power

Guided walkthrough

Step 1 of 3
Predict first

Raise annual inflation from 3% to 6%.

Before you act, predict what will happen. Does the time for your money to lose half its value get cut roughly in half? Then do it — did your prediction match what happened?

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What your money is worth over time

Purchasing power of cash falls as prices rise; a nominal savings balance climbs in dollars — but those dollars buy less each year.