The Cost of Doing Nothing
Doing nothing is still a choice, and inflation makes it a costly one.
The big idea
Money left in savings feels safe, and it is safe from market swings. It isn't safe from inflation. When your rate is below inflation, your balance grows a little while what it can buy shrinks. Cash has a real job (emergency fund, money you'll need soon). Long-term money needs a job that can beat inflation.
The numbers
0.38% vs. 3.7%
Average savings rate (FDIC, Oct 2026) vs. prices over the 12 months to Sep 2026 (BLS). About −3.3% a year in buying power.
- $10,000 left 20 years at 0.38%, 3% inflation, buys about $5,970 of today's stuff. Example.
- S&P 500, 1926–2026: about 10.5% a year with dividends, about 7.3% after inflation; $1 in 1926 = $19.04 today (2.99% inflation a year). officialdata.org. Past ≠ future.
Key terms
- Nominal return: the raw percentage your money earned.
- Inflation: how much prices rose over the same time.
- Real return: what you gained in buying power, after inflation.
- Today's dollars: a future amount shown in what it could buy now.
The formula
Real return ≈ nominal return − inflation
Exact: (1 + nominal) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1
7% − 3% ≈ 4% (exact 3.9%). 0.38% − 3.7% ≈ −3.3% (exact −3.2%).
Two futures: $300 a month, age 25 to 65
| Future $ | Today's $ | |
|---|---|---|
| You put in | $144,000 | |
| A: savings at 0.38% | $155,494 | $47,668 |
| B: invested at 7% | $787,444 | $241,396 |
| The gap | $631,950 | $193,729 |
Example: monthly compounding, 3% inflation. Projections are ranges, not promises: at an Example 5% to 9%, B would be about $458K to $1.40M ($140K to $431K in today's dollars). You control how much and how long, not the return.
Where cash sits (vs. 3.7% inflation)
| Place | Pays | Real, about |
|---|---|---|
| Mattress | 0% | −3.7% |
| Average savings | 0.38% | −3.3% |
| Top high-yield savings | ≈ 4.3% | +0.6% |
| S&P 500, 1926–2026 | ≈ 10.5% | ≈ +7.3%* |
FDIC, Oct 2026. *Long-run history after actual inflation, with big swings; not guaranteed.
Do this week
- Look up the APY on every account where your cash sits.
- Do the real-return math: that rate minus the latest CPI (3.7% for Sep 2026).
- Decide how much is emergency fund and near-term money. That part's job is safety, not growth.
- Run the Two Futures simulator with your own numbers. Move the two dials you control (how much, how long) and keep a screenshot where you'll see it.
- Put a date on "later": pick the day you'll take the next lesson, on compound growth.
And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.
Matthew 25:25–27 · NKJVEverOwn Wealth Academy · Education only, not individualized investment, tax or legal advice. Examples are illustrations, not promises; past results don't guarantee future ones. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.