What will inflation do to your money?
See how much your money will really be worth in a few, ten, or thirty years. The same calculator works the other way too: "what is an amount from 20 years ago worth today?".
Type the amount, the time period, and the inflation rate. Or pick a ready-made preset for your country (USA, Eurozone, UK, Germany).
The chart shows how purchasing power drops over time. You can literally see inflation "eating" your money year after year.
How to use it
- Pick direction: "In N years" (what your money will buy N years from now) or "N years ago" (what an old amount is worth today).
- Enter the amount and the time period in years (e.g. $10,000, 20 years).
- Set the inflation rate: your own value or click a country preset.
- The result shows: real value of the money, total inflation impact, and how much purchasing power was lost.
- The chart compares the nominal amount (the number on your account) to the real value (what it actually buys today).
When this is useful
Five common scenarios:
- Retirement planning. "I need $5,000 a month to live comfortably, but how much will that be in 30 years?". This is where you find out if your retirement plan actually works.
- Salary negotiation. "Second year without a raise". Without inflation that's "a flat year". With 5% inflation it's a real pay cut of over 9% in two years. Strong leverage in a conversation with your boss.
- Investment decisions. A 5% savings account? Great, as long as inflation stays at 3%. At 6% inflation, your money is technically growing but actually losing value. Always compare a result from our average annual return calculator against inflation from the same period.
- Historical comparisons. "My dad bought the house for $100,000 in 1995. What's that today?". The "N years ago" mode shows the real value in today's money.
- Education and awareness. 3% inflation per year doesn't sound scary. Over 20 years that's a 45% loss of purchasing power. Over 30 years, almost 60%. See it on the chart once and you'll never forget.
If you plan to save and want to compare strategies (CDs, bonds, funds), check the savings calculator. It accounts for compound growth alongside inflation.
Questions and answers
Inflation is the rise in prices over time. Each year the same money buys you less. Example: a loaf of bread cost $2 in 2020, by 2024 it's $4, that's 100% growth over 4 years. Inflation is the average of such price increases for the whole "basket" of goods and services that an average person typically buys.