Inflation
If you have ever had a conversation with your grandparents (or even your parents) about how inexpensive things were in the good old days, you can thank inflation for the change. Inflation is the economic term that refers to the rising in prices of goods over time. Inflation is usually referred to by the rate with which prices have risen. There … Keep Reading → are several ways to determine that rate. The most common involves using the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI involves a calculation of what a typical “shopping basket” of some of the most common goods would cost. This number is calculated every month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There is a chart that has monthly records dating back over 50 years. You can choose any month and compare it to another month or to the same month in a previous year to get the exact rate that prices have increased; otherwise known as the rate of inflation.
